Just took the pointer outside and shot through a few sucker holes. I think Rich is correct about the beam spread. If you illuminate a nearby surface, I think every rod and cone on that quadrant of the retina gets lit up. Outside, the beam appears evenly narrow all the way up. Again, I can't do a side-by-side with another pointer, but this one doesn't feel any different from any of the others I've seen. I believe I'll be perfectly happy with it. Of course tonight, there are quite a few ice crystals in the air, so the beam will be more quickly absorbed. But that gives a chance to see that there's no visible divergence. And all of those ice crystals are really pretty when they go through the beam. On Dec 18, 2006, at 4:51 PM, Richard Tenney wrote:
That sounds a bit much for spread, but then again, it's so dang bright that your eye may just think it's an inch across.