Night Vision for focusing?

[Kiwi7475]

Never thought about using a laser pointer. That would totally work. Especially if you can get an assistant to hold it for you.

Better find something that will hold it steady. Like taped to a tripod leg or some place in the camera.

[Nodda Duma]

As an optical engineer who is familiar with the hazards of lasers, I would advise *against* viewing the focused image of a laser spot with the type of magnification used for viewing the ground glass. Too much risk of damage to your retina.

[Drew Wiley]

Good point, Jason. As someone who has sold quite a variety of commercial lasers, I should have qualified it as something weak. Consumer devices have actual EPA limitations in terms of beam intensity, but all kinds of import gadgets get sold under the radar possibly out of spec. A tight beam miniature flashlight works well too if there is a tiny reflective target. Another problem with lasers is that they're colored, so might be skewed unequally to different color contrast filters. And something like deep green filter is going to almost completely block a modest red beam.

[RivetGun]

As an optical engineer who is familiar with the hazards of lasers, I would advise *against* viewing the focused image of a laser spot with the type of magnification used for viewing the ground glass. Too much risk of damage to your retina.

You would never look at even a weak laser if you have had retina surgery with a laser! It feels like a bullet going right through your brain while a Doctor yells at you to hold still.