looking at puting laser on my FN P9 red or green?
- Thread starter Bennett
- Start date
Red vs. Green (via Crimson Trace)
By all means get a green laser if you have your heart set on it. I personally perfer red. I've referenced some material from Crimson Trace that outlines the difficulties and shorcomings of a green laser. Take it for what it's worth and balance the facts that A) these guys know lasers and B) they only sell RED lasers.
These are from CT's homepage and forums respectively.
http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/WhyLasers/UnderstandingGreenLaserSights/tabid/559/Default.aspx
http://forums.crimsontrace.com/index.php?topic=33880.0
Two really good articles.
By all means get a green laser if you have your heart set on it. I personally perfer red. I've referenced some material from Crimson Trace that outlines the difficulties and shorcomings of a green laser. Take it for what it's worth and balance the facts that A) these guys know lasers and B) they only sell RED lasers.
These are from CT's homepage and forums respectively.
http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/WhyLasers/UnderstandingGreenLaserSights/tabid/559/Default.aspx
http://forums.crimsontrace.com/index.php?topic=33880.0
Two really good articles.
The human eye is much more sensitive to green light than red light. Since laser sights are legally limited in terms of the amount of power they can put out, selecting a wavelength that the eye is more sensitive to is the only way to make the laser appear brighter.
A green laser that's the same power as a typical red laser will appear to be significantly brighter due to the difference in the eye's sensitivity which means it can be easily seen in much brighter environments--even outdoors in sunlight.
The downside is that green lasers are harder (more expensive) to make.
A green laser that's the same power as a typical red laser will appear to be significantly brighter due to the difference in the eye's sensitivity which means it can be easily seen in much brighter environments--even outdoors in sunlight.
The downside is that green lasers are harder (more expensive) to make.
I have both and I would love to carry the Viridian Green BUT.........
Its almost impossible to find a leather holster that will allow you to carry a Viridian and the on/off function buttons on the side of the viridian are nowhere near as easy to use as simply gripping your gun to turn it on.
I have a Sig P220 Carry and I bought the Viridian specifically for it but I hate plastic holsters and I cant find anything else that will accomidate it. If someone knows one that will I would love to know about it.
Green is way easier to see but for the moment red is a lot easier to carry and requires no extra steps to use.
Its almost impossible to find a leather holster that will allow you to carry a Viridian and the on/off function buttons on the side of the viridian are nowhere near as easy to use as simply gripping your gun to turn it on.
I have a Sig P220 Carry and I bought the Viridian specifically for it but I hate plastic holsters and I cant find anything else that will accomidate it. If someone knows one that will I would love to know about it.
Green is way easier to see but for the moment red is a lot easier to carry and requires no extra steps to use.
laser for fn p9
thanks for the responses guys I want to thank BG for the information about the holsters and the veridian being hard to carry.
I wasnt knowledgable enough to ask the right question but he gave the help I needoed without having to be asked in the correct manner.
I am going with the red for the reasons he stated.
thanks so much for such a wealth of knowledge and your willingness to share.
b
thanks for the responses guys I want to thank BG for the information about the holsters and the veridian being hard to carry.
I wasnt knowledgable enough to ask the right question but he gave the help I needoed without having to be asked in the correct manner.
I am going with the red for the reasons he stated.
thanks so much for such a wealth of knowledge and your willingness to share.
b
Greens also need to run hotter so they use batteries faster and they don't light up well in cold weather until they warm themselves up.
Last but not least they do leave a slight laser trail that can be traced back to the light which red lasers do not contrary to every tv cop show you have ever seen.
They do show up better in daylight and especially military versions that run at 40 instead of 5 MW.
Last but not least they do leave a slight laser trail that can be traced back to the light which red lasers do not contrary to every tv cop show you have ever seen.
They do show up better in daylight and especially military versions that run at 40 instead of 5 MW.
cougar gt-e
New member
That's not exactly correct. They are more expensive because they are not in volume production. A red laser used to cost a significant amount of money, now they are 2 bucks for the cat toy (same laser chip as the gun laser). All based on volume. As the volume of green production goes up, the price will drop like a stone. It's already dropping by the way. That's why you can get a green pointer for 7 bucks from China including shipping.
Maybe someday, but right now it's not an issue of volume, it's a technology limitation.
Even with volume the green lasers the way they make them today won't ever be as cheap as the red. It's much easier and cheaper to make a red laser diode. Red laser diodes are pretty easy to make. They have to work some "magic" to get the green wavelength. That involves added expense and that's also why the green lasers use batteries faster and run hotter.
Even with volume the green lasers the way they make them today won't ever be as cheap as the red. It's much easier and cheaper to make a red laser diode. Red laser diodes are pretty easy to make. They have to work some "magic" to get the green wavelength. That involves added expense and that's also why the green lasers use batteries faster and run hotter.
Ah well he didn't really say anything about carrying... Yes finding a good holster for a Viridian is quite a challenge. No doubt. he just asked what worked better. I've bought red lasers and they just left me wanting. I've never had problems with mine in the cold... WI here. Now I am curious. My Viridian is on my HD gun so Size isn't really an issue.
orionengnr
New member
The CT makes a laser that is unobtrusive--adds nothing to size/weight of the pistol.
As soon as Viridian can build something equivalent, I will consider buying one.
If getting a green laser requires an attachment that is a monstrosity, they will continue to be a non-starter for me. I'll stick with the CT.
The green adds something in full daylight (where the need for a laser is questionable to begin with).
Okay...so the green is a "nice-to-have" but adds very little.
As soon as Viridian can build something equivalent, I will consider buying one.
If getting a green laser requires an attachment that is a monstrosity, they will continue to be a non-starter for me. I'll stick with the CT.
The green adds something in full daylight (where the need for a laser is questionable to begin with).
Okay...so the green is a "nice-to-have" but adds very little.
cougar gt-e
New member
The difference in cost is minuscule. You can buy a green laser pointer from china delivered to your door for $7.15 in quantities of ONE.
That price INCLUDES all shipping and handling. I've gotten several and they are excellent quality. You can get red pointers for $2. If a green laser adds more than 1-3 dollars over the price of a red laser, it's NOT the cost of the diode -- it's profit due to rarity.
If you want the pictured laser, here's the link.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/5mw-532nm-green-laser-pointer-pen-with-dx-logo-2-aaa-44128
It's easy to make native red laser diodes, but green lasers are made by using a high-power infrared diode and converting the frequency to green.
That means that extra components are required and also that energy is lost in the frequency conversion process. So green lasers are more expensive than red lasers due to added components and manufacturing complexity and they use batteries faster and run hotter due to the losses in the conversion process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode-pumped_solid-state_laser
When you look at the really cheap products that's not a big dollar difference. When you get into the quality products it's a different story.
That means that extra components are required and also that energy is lost in the frequency conversion process. So green lasers are more expensive than red lasers due to added components and manufacturing complexity and they use batteries faster and run hotter due to the losses in the conversion process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode-pumped_solid-state_laser
"The most common DPSS laser in use is the 532 nm wavelength green laser pointer. A powerful (>200 mW) 808 nm wavelength infrared GaAlAs laser diode pumps a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) or a neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO4) crystal which produces 1064 nm wavelength light from the main spectral transition of neodymium ion. This light is then frequency doubled using a nonlinear optical process in a KTP crystal, producing 532 nm light. Green DPSS lasers are usually around 20% efficient, although some lasers can reach up to 35% efficiency. In other words, a green DPSS laser using a 2.5 W pump diode would be expected to output around 500-900 mW of 532 nm light."
http://blog.gadgettown.com/2010/07/05/differences-between-red-laser-pointer-and-green-laser-pointer/"Green laser pointer is more expensive than red laser pointer that is because the cost of green laser pointer is higher. First of all, the conversion efficiency of green beam is less than 10% of the general that means 50mW green beam should come with a 500mW infrared laser tube. A high power IR laser diode at 808 nm pumps a tiny block of Nd:YVO4 generating light at 1,064 nm which feeds a KTP intracavity frequency doubler crystal to produce the green beam at 532 nm. This process is with very low conversion efficiency, so leading to green beam output is very low. In addition, KTP crystal is also very expensive, so the green laser is expensive."
Your numbers indicate that the difference in cost is a factor of 3 or 4.
When you look at the really cheap products that's not a big dollar difference. When you get into the quality products it's a different story.