Novalaser or Dragon laser?

[rizky_p]

Hi i am new to this laser thing although i got DX 30mw as a start and ALOT of red 5mil lasers. I am now thingking of getting a Novalaser X45 or X65 or the alpha series. What is the difference between X series and Alpha series? and can you recommend Novalaser? or other like Dragonlaser is as good?

Thanks.

 

[rizky_p]

anyone?

 

[marianne]

i'd definately recommend the nova x-series, they're great. as far as i can tell, the alpha is just bigger and more expensive, it has better cooling due to it's size and thus a better duty cycle (200 seconds on and 20 off as opposed to the X's 100 on and 10 off), and does come with a safety key thing, can't turn on without being "unlocked", but i have noticed comments by people who weren't happy with their alpha - i do have a sucky memory, however, so i could be wrong. hope you're happy with whatever you get, anyway as for dragon lasers, they're the exact same laser as an X series (same manufacturer), but seemingly at a higher price.

 

[comozo]

I've got an Alpha 105. Had it almost 3 months works fine and contrary to Marianne I've not heard of any complaints about that series of lasers

 

[marianne]

oh? well i could be wrong - my memory really does suck! and i'm glad your alpha is working out for you

 

[rizky_p]

Yes people at LPF recommends the Nova, i'll probably get X105 or X85 still cant decide and justified the 40 dollars difference between the two. I wanted to get Alpha but it is beyond my reach. I like that Nova usually under-rated their Lasers. is there anyone who own both models?

Thanks.

 

[marianne]

i own a nova X85 and a CNI 112mW - the latter is the same manufacturer and model of laser as the nova X series, and if nova had sold it they'd classify it as an X105 - they're both great lasers, the 105-equivalent definitely burns stuff quicker though, and to me seems just the slightest bit brighter. get what you can afford, basically, you'll be happy either way but get quicker burning out of the 105 (and possibly be able to burn stuff that the X85 would have a tougher time with)

 

[lazerlover]

I would say forget dragon lasers, their prices just went up and there is some controversy going on with their honesty. Nova is a part of Laserglow so you can trust they will send you the product, you should also look into ones from Wicked Lasers, they are more expensive but generally have lower failure rates than CNIs. I have heard issues with their 125mW model, so get a 95mW or lower. Also, just started seeing positive reviews of techlasers products on lasercommunity, however, can't tell if they are true or not since its Wicked Lasers own forum.

 

[marianne]

from what i've seen, most things negative about WL products (including people complaining that their WL lasers are broken) or any criticism gets quickly deleted from lasercommunity lately, often resulting in a ban for the person making the complaint, so LC is really not a trustable unbiased info source anymore.

as for lower power WL stuff being more reliable, this may generally be the case, but when i ordered an executive 15mW from them, it arrived, started mode hopping, flickering on and off, and finally fully died within 14 hours of arrival. i sent it back to be replaced, and what i got back is a 15mW that seems to basically work and not mode hop, but the brightness of the beam is unstable and fluctuates like crazy, dim-bright-dim-bright-dim-bright, can't keep itself stable ever. i'm pretty sure it's putting out more than 15mW at it's peaks, as it's able to sting my skin.

as for my other WL lasers, my core was non-functional without tin-foil in the cap (a minor complaint, but really, their manufacturing standards should be better and someone who wasn't aware of that fix would be stuck with a broken core), and my pulsar has no issues other than design flaws inherent to the pulsar - big fat beam that's essentially useless, and lack of regulating circuitry to protect against slightly too much voltage - i mean, come on, a couple odd circuit bits added shouldn't be too much to ask for. lithiums + pulsar = dead pulsar (not that i've done that to my own pulsar, and yes, they do say in a few places not to use lithiums in it but like i said...simple regulator circuit like most lasers have shouldn't be too much to ask for).

on the other hand, both my CNI lasers have been incredibly reliable, very stable, with a great beam (although the divergence is a little higher than it could be), essentially utterly faultless, and one of those is even second hand. of course, everyone's experiences and opinions vary, this is just mine, but if i wanted another pen style high power green (currently i'm saving for an RPL) i'd go with nova, no question.

 

[lazerlover]

from what i've seen, most things negative about WL products (including people complaining that their WL lasers are broken) or any criticism gets quickly deleted from lasercommunity lately, often resulting in a ban for the person making the complaint, so LC is really not a trustable unbiased info source anymore.

as for lower power WL stuff being more reliable, this may generally be the case, but when i ordered an executive 15mW from them, it arrived, started mode hopping, flickering on and off, and finally fully died within 14 hours of arrival. i sent it back to be replaced, and what i got back is a 15mW that seems to basically work and not mode hop, but the brightness of the beam is unstable and fluctuates like crazy, dim-bright-dim-bright-dim-bright, can't keep itself stable ever. i'm pretty sure it's putting out more than 15mW at it's peaks, as it's able to sting my skin.

as for my other WL lasers, my core was non-functional without tin-foil in the cap (a minor complaint, but really, their manufacturing standards should be better and someone who wasn't aware of that fix would be stuck with a broken core), and my pulsar has no issues other than design flaws inherent to the pulsar - big fat beam that's essentially useless, and lack of regulating circuitry to protect against slightly too much voltage - i mean, come on, a couple odd circuit bits added shouldn't be too much to ask for. lithiums + pulsar = dead pulsar (not that i've done that to my own pulsar, and yes, they do say in a few places not to use lithiums in it but like i said...simple regulator circuit like most lasers have shouldn't be too much to ask for).

on the other hand, both my CNI lasers have been incredibly reliable, very stable, with a great beam (although the divergence is a little higher than it could be), essentially utterly faultless, and one of those is even second hand. of course, everyone's experiences and opinions vary, this is just mine, but if i wanted another pen style high power green (currently i'm saving for an RPL) i'd go with nova, no question.

LC is not an unbiased source of laser info indeed, but I can say the same about every other laser forum including this one. I give WL credit for this, they were the only laser company to open up a forum, and this was 3 years+ ago. At least they are up front and tell us why we now cant talk about other lasers. Other places, I see blind promotion of some companies and planned defamation of other companies.

As from your experience with WL, from what I hear, they did everything they were supposed to do, and they probably gave you an overpowered greenie. If you are thinking what I am thinking, I also am not a fan of a huge corporation controlling the entire market like Wicked Lasers has always done. I just wish that there would be more laser models out there to choose from, it looks like everyone is just selling the same old CNI lasers while Wicked Lasers is coming out with a new model every month. But thats probably because no other laser seller owns their own factory.

Does anyone here have experience building lasers like Wicked, if so, they could team up with a competitor and actually give WL some real competition other than this forum trash talking.

 

[Freyth]

LC is not an unbiased source of laser info indeed, but I can say the same about every other laser forum including this one. I give WL credit for this, they were the only laser company to open up a forum, and this was 3 years+ ago. At least they are up front and tell us why we now cant talk about other lasers. Other places, I see blind promotion of some companies and planned defamation of other companies.

As from your experience with WL, from what I hear, they did everything they were supposed to do, and they probably gave you an overpowered greenie. If you are thinking what I am thinking, I also am not a fan of a huge corporation controlling the entire market like Wicked Lasers has always done. I just wish that there would be more laser models out there to choose from, it looks like everyone is just selling the same old CNI lasers while Wicked Lasers is coming out with a new model every month. But thats probably because no other laser seller owns their own factory.

Does anyone here have experience building lasers like Wicked, if so, they could team up with a competitor and actually give WL some real competition other than this forum trash talking.

First of all, let's take a look at what WL has done over the past few years to allow for such biasness to arise.

They were the leading company in selling and distributing CNIs, after which they sold their own manufactured lasers. I can't say for sure which is better, but as far as I know in LC, there were lots of complains of under spec-ed lasers. Even after RMA-ing, they still received under spec-ed lasers. Sure, some have received over powered ones, but with every laser company, they will receive a few that has exceeded their specifications. What then do these other companies do? They classify them as lasers with a higher power rating, one which WL never did. Why? Because they never tested their lasers – that's including divergence. Some of the lasers even experienced mode-hopping, it's none the least bit exciting to see your expensive laser go down the drain – without doing anything to it.

Furthermore, RMA-ing your laser will definitely incur shipping costs. But, we aren't forgetting WL's poor spec-ed lasers. So what happens? The buyer who is under WL's mercy continues to send his laser back until he gets an over spec-ed or a just as specified laser. I can't give you a personal recount because I've never bought from WL (except for their goggles). But I can say one thing; some have even RMA-ed more than 4 times. Tell me, do you find this amusing? I definitely don't.

You are assuming there is biasness against WL because WL's business practices are ethical. Although I would LOVE to say something about it, I'm in no position to do so because all of it would be pure speculation. BUT I will work on the evidences that I've seen.

• Shipped via UPS? Mine wasn't and was shipped using EMS.
• Tracking info? I didn't receive any tracking info even after contacting customer service.
• Returns? This, I must applaud WL for having this policy.

That said, I always wonder why they didn't inform us of their "only WickedLasers Product" policy in the forums? Before they made their policy official, many have been banned for just mentioning other companies. So tell me, how is this being "UP FRONT"? They didn't announce their policy but expect everyone to adhere to a ghost policy that wasn't even known. Wow.

In addition, I don't see how participating in another forum is a good justification to be banned from LC. They wish to maintain their monopoly over the laser industry, but I don't see any reason to do what they do. There are other more respected ways of doing business.

The only reason there is biasness against WL because there is a cause for it. It isn't simply "not liking" the name WickedLasers or the fact that they've been banned from LC but it's an understanding, perhaps an enlightenment of WL's business practices. There isn't any biasness against any of the other major laser companies. Why? Because there is no reason for it, they uphold all of their promises, and go the extra mile of ACTUALLY answering emails sent by customers or to-be customers.

IMO, WL has no competition because most of the other laser companies are in a totally different league. WL is purely meant for commercial while the others have dealings with industries.

Just for your information, there are other models to choose from, you just have to keep looking. WL isn't coming out with new models every month; they are simply re-texturing the casing to make it look "fancier".


To keep my post on track: I suggest purchasing from Novalasers, although I don't have anything against Dragonlasers, I think the extra light years and the casing that you get is a plus. Whatever your choice is, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[ah-see]

To get this thread back on topic, novalasers underrate their lasers and they come at a very cheap price when comparing to dragonlasers.

Also, i've only heard good things about novalasers and their X series lasers, so if it were my choice, i'd get the novalasers laser due to it being cheaper.

Good luck with your decision

 

[wondergimp]

I agree wholeheartedly with Freyth. But again, to get things back on track, I do have a 95mW Infiniti that I'll write a review on. To make things short, that thing kicks butt. I'm going down to the lab this week, so I'll have both the Infiniti and Crossfire tested and will report back.
As for NovaLasers, I don't believe I've heard anything bad about them yet, all I've heard is good things. I personally don't have any experience with them, but they definitely sound like a safe bet.

 

[rizky_p]

Didnt know that laser has so much politics behind it the conspiracy and stuff, i used to praise WL for their product not because i own one but because the price is high(you know like ferarri maybe) and their product look sleek and profesional i guess that is as far as it can go.

I am sure that X105 will keep me happy for quite some time.

 

[nero_design]

MODS: A bunch of former members of 'another forum' and partners in crime in another... chewing the fat here as if they've never met before. Banned for bad behavior elsewhere.

The goal of this thread is to 'down' their competition with negative feedback via Google searches. I know because I observed them discussing this elsewhere online last week.

I suppose there's no point posting screengrabs of their conversations but seriously, THIS is the sort of behavior that triggered the censorship on another forum. It's only a handful of around 6 people doing this but it's a shame that bias has such a strong influence here.

 

[comozo]

Nero don't get me started about WL's unethical policies. I've have saved many claims and off site sources by WL to show that their business practices are questionable.
For whatever reason you seem blind to these very same questionable business practices.
I recognized WL's underhanded policies a long time ago, I've now been banned. This is unfortunate for me and other banned former posters as we will no longer be able to inform the unsuspecting newbie's of WL's policies.
Nero I have nothing personally against you, but you should stop being a yes man for WL it reflects poorly upon your character.

 

[rizky_p]

i hope i didnt star anything bad :shrug:

 

[wondergimp]

i hope i didnt star anything bad :shrug:

Heh, anytime someone talks about Wicked, it seems to derail the original thread. Its normal, too many of us immature adults with strong opinions and companies pushing their products. Between the two I would suggest going with Novalaser.

 

[Kiessling]

Business as usual in trhe laser forum ...


bernhard