Looking to add a blue/violet to my collection...

[ks_physicist]

I have several reds in the 670 to 635 range, a couple of HeNe lasers, and a couple of green DPSS lasers.

I'd like to add one blue laser to my collection, primarily to use during the demos and labs with diffraction gratings and prisms.

In class, I use the <1mW green pointer I bought from Atlasnova; this is plenty, is brighter than my reds, and helps deflect any "nervous nellies" who might complain about me using a laser in class.

I don't see any blue/violets at Atlasnova, but I'm not as concerned about getting a <1mW as it won't be a daily use pointer. Up to 5mW is fine.

Is there a particular seller or brand that is known to be decent, or is it like the reds are--pretty much any manufacturer makes ones that work OK?

 

[elugelab]

I'd buy a blu-ray/violet laser if I were you. Even the low powered blue lasers still cost hundreds of dollars.

If you're not gonna use it that often, it's not worth it to spend a lot of money for the blu-ray either. There's a 10mw blu-ray laser for sale for $24 on 0-like. Sure, it's one of those cheapo chinese lasers, but at least they always test the lasers at the 0-like before shipping, so there's no danger of getting a non-working unit. If you really must have a 5mw one, then there are some on dealextreme, but it's more of a gamble when ordering there, whether you get a working laser or not.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

I have a 10mW from o-like (the focusable silver one). More than the advertised 10mW, though. Wouldn't recommend for a presentation pointer. It's all about luck of the draw. Some are overpowered, some are under. So yes, it's pretty much like how reds are.

Focusable might be good if it's a physics class. You can use it to detect fluorescence in some things, and the focusable feature will let you turn the laser dot into a larger image of the emitter. Drawback being most focusable lasers' focus isn't as stable since the lens nut isn't glued in place.

 

[lonewolf858]

You can find cheapie BluRay pointers on ebay for around $10, just to see if you like the wavelength (405nm).