Skywatcher 25mm MA vs Meade Series 4000 26mm Super Plossl

[Naemeth]

So, I wanted to compare what is considered to be one of the better starter scope eyepieces (Skywatcher MA) and the Meade 4000 Super Plossls, now by many accounts these are a mixed bunch. From research, I believe the 15mm, 26mm and 32mm are the best of these. Of course, before I started comparing, I made sure collimation was good.

How the size compares to the standard MA (sorry about the bad picture quality )

and how one looks looking down the barrel (on the left)

First Impressions

I liked the look of it, simple design and black and yellow works rather well. The eye cup looked a little more comfortable, and it was nice and lightweight, although slightly heavier than the MA.

First Target - Arcturus

I thought it would only be fair to compare them both looking at Arcturus, nice and bright and easy to find, and it is also fairly high in the sky, but not in an uncomfortable area like Vega. It was only just getting dark, so not much could be seen, nevertheless I first popped in the Skywatcher MA and was greeted by a nice clear star with 8 other stars in the field, all fairly clear.

Then I changed to the Meade, and instantly noticed it had a far more in-depth feel, it was far more comfortable looking in that eyepiece merely because of the eye cup, it had a very immersive feel. Not only that, but I could also see 9 stars, not 8 that I saw in the MA. The stars appeared slightly brighter and sharper, which I must admit was a bit of a surprise. Thinking it was just due to the darkening of the sky, I kept swapping between the two for 10 or 15 minutes double and triple checking, and while I got to 9 stars in the field with the MA, the Meade was more clear and bright.

Second Target - M13

When it was darker, I had a go at finding M13 again, it took a while, but when I finally did I was greeted by a fantastically big white smudge, far bigger than I remember it (view from the MA), probably because of the darker skies. Swapped the MA for the Meade, and again the image in the Meade was brighter and sharper. In addition, I noticed that the Meade was pretty much sharp entirely across the field, the MA certainly wasn't.

Third and Fourth Targets - M92 and M14

Same story, and I even got to add M14 to my Messiers' list.

Conclusion and Final Points:

The Meade produced brighter images, was sharp over much more of the field, and was easier to focus. The Meade was also far more comfortable and produced a spacewalk effect, I really felt like I was there, even with only 52 degrees!

The only downside I see with the Meade is that it needs to be a long way out of the Heritage focuser to achieve a sharp image, only a few more turns further out and it would fall off! No matter, the eyepiece was stable and wasn't going to fall off.

Considering I paid £25 for it 2nd hand, I consider this a true bargain . I also feel it necessary to say I got a "wow" moment at M13 through the Meade, truly spectacular and so much larger than I'd remembered.

[ObscuredbyClouds]

Maybe put a spacer in the focuser of 10 or 20mm so its not all the way out

There is a technical word for spacer but its too early in the morning for my brain to function

[Damo636]

Nice report. I have owned a few 4000 series and found them very capable ep's.

[Naemeth]

In addition, this is the "Japan" barrel stamped EP, I'm not sure if the newer ones are any different quality wise. The design even when it's not in the scope is far more comfortable and nicer to look at than the MA. I'm rather interested in comparing this to a Vixen NPL 25mm, along with the MA. If only I had every 1.25" EP to compare....