Odd O-Like pricing

[eggplant]

Hi, I'm new so take pity. In looking at the O-like site I find a odd price structure for their green Lasers. They have a 350 mw IR filtered one for $295, but a 400 mw waterproof focusable one for only $205. This seems peculiar to me. Could it be that the more expensive one being IR filtered is actually brighter giving 350 mw of pure green light while the cheaper one is giving 400 mw of a combination of green and IR light? I also note that they are selling a 450 mw IR filtered green Laser for $389. I would be most interested in the opinions of those who know more about Lasers that I do, and that would include just about everybody around here, about the relative merits and demerits of these three handheld Lasers. Which one gives you the most bang for your buck?

Eggplant

 

[snoutke]

Hi,

The price diference is mostly because of the IR filter. This is a rather expensive part.

I second Droid's opinion and I will order the 400mw O-like (for $208 now) as soon as they will restock it.

 

[Leodahsan]

@snoutke
they sell the IR filters for $3. What are you talking about?

@eggplant
the $205 says ">350mW" on his description, like "less than 50mW of IR". I'll be getting 200mW from rayfoss because 400mW really make eyes hurt

 

[snoutke]

@snoutke
they sell the IR filters for $3. What are you talking about?

Leodahsan, where did you see that please?

I was under the impression that the IR filter is a rather expensive part and therefore the lack or IR filter is a possible explanation to the price difference. I'll be glad to be proven otherwise.

 

[Leodahsan]

@snoutke
As you said, quality differences makes the price differ. Faona @ Rayfoss.com sell'em $3 a piece, 10*10*5 (all in milimeters).

 

[plexus]

I was in the market for a higher powered 532nm laser. I have a 90mw pointer and 260mw labby. i wanted something portable. the sweet spot for mw per $ seemed to be 350-400mw. i looked at rayfoss and o-like. like many people, the o-like 400mw looked attractive. but knowing the way DPSS works, i opted for the o-like 350mw IR filtered one for $295. why? DPSS modules have to warm up to a certain temp and operate within a narrow temp band for the best performance. smaller lasers mean smaller heat sinks which means faster warm up and faster time getting out the temp band (eg over heating out of the optimal range). that little o-like that is cheaper looks great but the heatsink capacity would diminish its power output. further most non IR filtered lasers have about 20-30% IR in the total. so running at spec, the best you could do is about 320mw of green. if it were over spec at say 600mw total that would be 480mw of green however the thing would heat up so fast that number would drop considerably, under 350mw.

I felt the larger o-like would be better. i actually got it today and did some measuring with my kenmeter pro LPM. I was averaging 490mw of green over a 1 minute sample after the unit warmed up to peak at 510mw. after the 1 min it was still holding around 460mw. is is IR filtered! from a 350mw rated laser. and i feel comfortable running it for long periods because of the massive heatsink.

I don't mind the lack of focus because for burning things i would use my 1.2w 445 or my 600mw 405 - much better for burning.

by the way, you cant really filter out the green and just measure IR using goggles because the goggles will absorb IR so the reading will be a lot lower than what comes through. you have to use a glass IR filter to filter the IR out. IR pass filters are very expensive (used a lot with CO2 lasers, often vaporized gold).

 

[Leodahsan]

^
- 20~30% IR depends on the manufacturer.. without IR filter that is.
- the goggles can be used if the VLT applies to IR light too.. or if the manufacturer/you can test the transmission of 808nm and 1064nm light.. hard.. but not impossible
- uuuh.. I have a IR pass filter.. I ripped it off from a TV remote control :wtf: it is black, when you look to a lamp with it, you can see very dark purple..

 

[plexus]

Plastic absorbs IR and depending on the plastic, it can absorb quite a bit. A remote control lens is usually quite opaque, i think, to match the remote case colour, and look cool. it only needs to transmit IR from the LED and does pass enough to work at typical distances.

For optical work which includes taking measurements, a plastic IR filter should not be used and this includes using googles for this purpose (or plastic IR filters from remotes). you will not get accurate results. This is why quality glass IR filters are used so that the optimal amount of light is passed.

But if you use your goggle or anything other than a good glass IR filter, please mention it in your reviews so we know what was used and adjust our understanding of the testing accordingly.

 

[Leodahsan]

Ok. I just re-read my answer and it looked somehow agressive. Sorry if you noticed that, ok?
I'll surely test the IR.. when I got an LPM . Faona offered me a IR filter but I refused, as I don't really need it, and the IR is rated 40mW of 200mW green..

 

[plexus]

no problem, Leodahsan. i just wanted to point out that if you are measuring IR you really should use a good glass filter to get the most accurate results. that's for measurements. for use, it doesn't really matter... however if the laser is not IR filtered you have to be sure to use it safely knowing this. often IR will have a larger divergence and the beam will be outside of the green beam (but invisible). if you take this into account, and ideally wear goggles, you'll be safe. having IR in the beam is good for burning too for the obvious reasons.

I personally like 532nm lasers for their visual qualities and so I am prefer to have the IR filtered out. 445nm and 405nm are better for burning, at least that is what I have found.

You can get IR filters from ebay. they are usually pretty cheap. its good to have some on hand for measurements and experimenting and also installing in lasers that don't have IR filters in them (if you want).

 

[Leodahsan]

Regarding IR:
My goggles protect from 532, 808 and 1064nm radiation. For burning it helps a little too, you're right. Thanks for caring tho as I give advice to the newbies and have a big experience with DPSS and such.

Yeah, I'd like some, but the price at rayfoss is $3 a piece and I can buy with something else for free shipping, I don't think it is worth to send something from Canada to Brazil, unless it cost <$3.

 

[laserlands]

you are very easily satisfied.:san:
and you are very lucky. not every 400mw laser can go to a 600mw level.

The more expensive ones may just have better quality parts.

There are a lot of reviews on here with the 400mw $205 laser. It actually has very little IR. And mine tops out at almost 600mw. I like it BUT I actually think the host is semi cheap feeling. And I took a little bit apart before and the insides seems semi cheap too. The glass is probably not as good either. However it's a heck of a deal so I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that if you want to spend more on those other ones they are probably a lot more top notch of parts and may even last longer. The 400mw one for $205 is plenty good price/quality ratio for me. And with mine being almost 600mw it's a steal.

You can spend up to $600 - $800 or so and get lasers with that power that are built like tanks and will last forever. But you just spend more. To me it's not worth it though. I'd rather have this 400mw O-like for $205.