BrightBeam Forensic Laser?

[Peter Griffin]

Hi All,
I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with a BrightBeam Forensic Laser? We have grant money available that needs to be used before the end of the year and are looking to get a laser. I believe we have enough for the Coherent Tracer 6W or the BrightBeam 8W, but not the Coherent 8W . I have some casework experience with the Coherent from about 5 years ago and it was great. I am always hesitant to go with a company that I have never heard of vs. one that I know is the main provider of lasers in forensics.
If you have any info on BrightBeam as a product or a company I would appreciate it.
Thanks
PG

http://brightbeamlaser.com/BrightBeam_F ... ducts.html

[josher89]

PG,

I have remained in contact with Ray Lefenfeld from BrightBeam for the past five years. I've demoed their laser at the IAI and I think it was used in a workshop that Wade Knapp taught at one of them.

The dual laser is both blue and green so it'll excite most of the reagents you would use for LP processing as well as looking for trace evidence. Blue is great for basic yellow and ardrox, green is great for R6G, etc.

I can PM you his email contact for more info if you are interested.

[Peter Griffin]

Thanks for the information. We are actually in contact with Ray Lefenfeld now; I was just curious how reliable it has been for use in casework and if there were any issues, how quickly and easily were they addressed. From what I have seen, it seems like a good system. We are now just trying to figure out if there is a reason to go with Coherent or BrightBeam.

[Matt - SFE]

You will definitely want to look at the Dual 77 before making a decision. I own a 8w Coherent 532nm laser and love it and have done side by side test with the Dual 77 and the Dual 77 is outstanding in performance and price. The design, light weight and ease of use is second to none. Plus several built in safety features and the potential to be expandable into other nm wavelengths in the future. I have also had the chance to go side by side with the comparable portable bright beam and from my experience the Dual 77 out performed it without question. Strongly suggest you do your own side by side comparisons with any other lasers you are considering before buying. Here are a couple links. Hope this helps.

https://www.arrowheadforensics.com/a-cs ... laser.html

https://www.arrowheadforensics.com/blog/D77-why-dual/

[Zan]

I have to agree with Matt. I would not purchase a large laser even if it were only going to be used in the lab. You never know when you will have a case where you want a laser in the field and the larger models are very expensive and not very portable. I saw the arrowhead Dual 77 at the 2018 IAI conference and I would put that in the running for one of the best new products show. I did not see it compared to brightbeam or coherent but I did see how powerful the laser was at the demo and it was fantastic. I already have a coherent and am very happy with it but the Dual 77 is potentially expandable, less expensive, lighter, and better. Even if you think you will not need it in the field, think of how much it costs to ship a large coherent or brightbeam back if they need service.

[Peter Griffin]

Wow, the Dual77 looks tiny! It would definitely be great for crime scene or moving around the lab if needed. Thanks for the information Matt and Zan, I will add this to the list to compare. Hopefully all of this competition will keep the price of lasers coming down.
PG