Presale advice - coin flipping failed

[Melgarh]

Hello (laser) world,

I've been working with Mamba Elements V3 (this SW is so amazingly easy to use and make shows in!) paired with a cheap chinese 500mW RGB SD TTL unit (with "35kpps" which is more like 10kpps, yes, mistake purchase on my part, but who knew that this hobby is so addictive!), which is now not enough for my home hobby use.. yes, I've got caught in the wonders of laser colours.

I would like to upgrade to something with decent scanspeed, analogue modulation and decent quality for graphics animation show while staying within current budget boundaries and there are quite few options that I've found on the web within EU or within reasonable shipping range.

My current list of candidates: (cost 500 USD / 450 EUR / 400 GBP)
VolksLaser Evocube 1000 RGB v3 (https://www.thomann.de/gb/volkslaser...e_1000_rgb.htm )
LightmaXX Pegasus PRO 600 ( http://www.dv247.com/lighting-and-ef...ro-600--201780 )
LightmaXX Q.lase 600 RGB ( http://www.dv247.com/lighting-and-ef...-laser--202457 )
LaserDock from Indiegogo campaign ( https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/laserdock-199-laser-show-system-music-edm--2/x/1076966#/ )
LaserWorld CS-1000RGB Mark 2 ( http://www.dv247.com/lighting-and-ef...-laser--223291 )

Expectations:
- Scanspeed & precision sufficient for graphics (eg. dragons) or Arial Font text of ~13 characters at once with low flickering - sample SVG graphics: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8E...ew?usp=sharing
- Suitable for projection for personal in-house use, projection wall 3x3m
- Suitable for projection for community of ~50 friends, office-sized, secured & safezoned area
- Analog modulation, as TTL is giving me proper headache with colouration limitations
- Lasers pew pew

Could any kind soul weight in on this and help me out with info so that I can choose the "right" way to advance on my laser journey?

Thanks & have a great day with just the right temperature that is suitable for optimum relaxation & performance!
-Mel

[Bradfo69]

I think you can eliminate the Pegasus Pro right off the bat. Just to look at it, and from life experience of being around this stuff, that case screams "cheap". Thin metal, stripped screw holes etc. Certainly not as rugged as your other choices.
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The jury is still out on the LaserDock since it isn't in the marketplace.
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I have heard of VolksLaser but, know nothing about them. I've NOT heard of LightmaXX at all.
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If I had to personally pick one of the 5, I'd be going with the Laserworld CS-1000. I've seen them in person and, for the money, it's probably the best of the bunch. I've spend more just on shipping to buy a laser, than any of these cost so I'm not as well versed on how the cheap end of the market is anymore.

[ric9887]

Hi all, I too am in the similar place to Mel, although I havent actually taken the plunge of purchasing anything yet.
I have put my foot on the road to investigating getting something a couple of times before, but been lost in the minefield of what I want to achieve and my expectations.
My interest has been re-sparked by the LaserDock, and am contemplating whether this will be enough to 'scratch the itch', or if I am likely to be disappointed right away.

Ive spent quite some time using E1.31 pixel matrices with Madrix software - and enjoy syncing them with music etc, so getting a laser show linked in is just a logical extension of that.

Regarding the LaserDock - I can tell already that I wouldn't want to be tied to a USB cabled to a PC - but this can be negated with the use of USB to Ethernet extender - or I could go right for an Ethernet DAC.
This always leads me onto the differences between DAC's - which initially appears to tie you to particular software (or exclude you from other software) - again, the LaserDock appears to be leaning towards being integrated with LSX - and this appears to be one of the software packages which I would consider.

This kinda leaves me wondering about the Projector it's self - and the various componenets therein to consider. I wouldnt want to start off building my own - so thats out of the question.
I suppose I would want to spend about £2K - I suppose I want something capable of decent scannning speeds - like Mel. The LaserDock claimes 20K.
I am in the UK btw.

Like Mel, any advice on the right direction would be appreciated.

Rich

[Bradfo69]

Are you looking to budget 2k for the projector or, is that projector and DAC/control? There are a number of good projectors in that 1500-2000 range and my suggestion is.... spend it. Don't go cheap as in the examples above. I think the mindset really needs to be that a good entry into laser projectors is going to be 1,500. This Laser Dock projector is freakishly cheap and I'll be very interested to hear the reactions once shipping starts in September.

[ric9887]

I'm trying for upto 2K for the projector and then the DAC/control will be additional.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards the Kvant Clubmax 800 or 1800 basically because they have 506's, I believe, and they appear to be quite well reviewed on the forum here.
I'm hoping there might be some bundle of Projector/DAC/Control

[absolom7691]

Don't go cheap on hardware! Those examples you listed above will not satisfy you. It's always best to spend more initially. Trust me, it's cheaper that way!

A couple of things to remember when looking for a projector:
Scan speed isn't everything. You need to look at the complete specs. That laserworld projector touts 30k but only at 4°! That means that the scanners can probably barely pull 20k ilda. Ilda standard speed is always measured at 8°. If you're wanting to do graphics, 30k @ 4° is going to let you down and make you regret your purchase.

Beware big power advertising. Sure, that Laserworld is 1W but all of that power is in the blue. Also, the red laser is 650nm. For graphics, that is going to give horrible color balance. You'll lose a lot of that power in attenuating the lasers to get a good white balance. I would say the red:blue power should be 1:1 or at the very max, 1:1.5. Also, 650nm reds are garbage IMO. You'll want the red laser to be 637nm~642nm. For red lasers, the higher the wavelength, the lower the apparent brightness. It sounds like it wouldn't matter too much but the difference is striking! 650nm reds look DRAMATICALLY "dimmer" compared to even a 640nm red. Hope this helps!

[Bradfo69]

I'm trying for upto 2K for the projector and then the DAC/control will be additional.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards the Kvant Clubmax 800 or 1800 basically because they have 506's, I believe, and they appear to be quite well reviewed on the forum here.
I'm hoping there might be some bundle of Projector/DAC/Control

Good answer! As absolom said, do not go cheap on hardware. This is not an inexpensive endeavor. Get used to it. As I have said many times, boats, women, pilots license.... all cheaper, maybe better uses of your money.

[Melgarh]

@absolom7691: Cheers for technical description - I'm aware that the colours will not be hitting the marks, in my line of work its a common problem (printer industry), but compared to crappy chinese TTL, its going to be glorious upgrade none the less!

Why the Volkslaser is on the top - its the same company as MediaLas - the creators of Mamba laser show software ( Volkslaser - ist eine Marke der MediaLas Electronics GmbH ), their address seems to match.
They claim that the laser can do 25kpps via ILDA output and are quite responsive to emails (24-48 hours generally), hopefully (leap of faith No.3) they are not big shot marketeers... I've looked closely on all of the videos from the LaserDock, and it seems strange that it can produce so many points and animation so fluidly for 200 bucks, if it is real, then all the chinese copy-cat lasers will be paperweights.

But ok, lets double my budget, even thought I won't be able to travel much for like 3 months, its fun hobby and sacrifices can be mode, plus I've found a local distributor, so how about this laser:
http://www.cameolight.com/en/product...gb-show-laser/ Less total power, more kpps, buuuut no specification on individual beam power...

[Bradfo69]

That's an interesting little laser. Do you know what they're asking for it? I don't want to buy one (not legal for US) but, I'm interested in hearing more of what you discover about it since I sometimes get asked about recommendations.

[Melgarh]

The asking price is 15 917 CZK which is 640 USD, on other sites its about 600 EUR - eg. here:
http://www.prolighting.de/Lighting_/...40_41500_0.htm

I've found the company's catalogue - http://www.adamhall.com/media/shop/d...logue_2016.pdf

The company does seem to produce rather wide range of effects equipment, like BeamZ or AJ - which may not be so good, as they don't specialize in lasers but also may be good price-wise, since they can negotiate better parts deals, I presume.