russ.will

Well, I had another couple of hours free of cloud to play tonight and tried out the extension ring with and without the eyecup up. No problems achieving a steady eye position with either, although I preferred it with eyecup up from the point of view of blocking out extraneous light. What it also showed is what easy, relaxing EPs the Morpheus are to spend time looking through. I spent over an hour on the Leo Triplet first through the 17.5 and then the 12.5 probably only removed my eye from either eyepieces a couple of times. Considering what I have spent before, I'm very happy with these little EPs. I have an ES82 24mm arriving as a bit more of a finder EP, so it will be interesting to see how my somewhat distant memories of that line stack up in comparison. Russ

Certainly is. Move to PM.

For sale. Boxed and immaculate. £40 Inc postage to UK mainland.

All good.

I haven't received that PM. Russ

I'll take the ES82 24mm if it's still available? Russ

You should sit in that chair and pretend you're Kate Bush Cloudbusting! Russ

Which water butt stand is that on the bottom? Russ PS. that barely qualifies as a 200p anymore!

It came with it. I was expecting and would rather have had the red dot. Flimsy it may be, but the 6x30 is plastic (quite clear though) but back breaking to use! Russ

@johninderbySome questions if I may? Which length Bob's Knobs are they - 35mm? I assume it's the tiny grub screws on the focuser base that allow the focuser to rotate? Did you do anything to ease the action of the base? Russ

Like so many things since I was last passing through these here parts, things have moved on. The trusty SW 200p is still the king of cheap views, but the Bresser makes an exceedingly strong argument for spending a bit more to get a properly equipped and finished scope. It simply feels and operates a lot more expensive than the price difference would suggest. Of course, that does not mean I won't tweek it a bit, but my expectations and wants are very different this time around. Serious amounts of road cycling has joined hi-fi as my joint money-pit, so astronomy expenditure will be focused on value for money rather than doubling budget to chase an extra percent. 8-10" Dobs fit that bill and based on previous experience the extra £100 (is it even that?) for proper bearings, tube rings to help with balance and a very good standard focuser is money worth spending. When I was last about you almost needed to spend double £100 to get shot of that bloody awful SW focuser and now scopes come with this?!?! Russ

Actually, a first light for everything. After a 3 year lay off for one reason or another, my 8" Messier Dob and a brace of Morpheus turned up this morning. First impressions? I would perhaps prefer a millimetre or two of extra depth on the eyecup to assist in keeping eye position constant, but even then it wasn't exact;y an issue. I've struggled with long ER EPs in the past. I did not enjoy my Delos despite them having the eyecup to end all eyecups. Even with that assistance, I felt like I was treading a very fine line between losing view of the field stop and kidney beaning. I spent more time concentrating on using them than relaxing to look through them. Of course, other's mileage varied greatly in this respect and although I wear glasses, I do not need them to view. The Morpheus are bang on for me and from memory the 78deg AFoV (much like my old ES82s) is a very natural viewing experience. I had the Maxvision SWAs and other 68/70deg EPs and found it adequate. I adored my ES100s for many reasons, but mainly because they removed the field stop and what happens near it right out of view; it was just a limitless pool of stars and I also had no trouble with eye position with them. Very relaxing. The Morpheus, on first acquaintance seem to offer ample AFoV, an easy relationship with eye position, are happy in an F6 Newt (as should any EP be) seem to be very colour neutral and do it at a price I would not have believed when I last swam in this pond. I simultaneously overjoyed at the value progress has finally delivered and slightly miffed at the money I spent before. I look forward to spending more time on the lawn with them and hope that the inevitable APM UFF 30mm that seems likely next month delivers on the internet hype like the Morpheus have. Russ

I can't complain. Both it and a pair of Morpheus turned up by 10am this morning, out on the lawn early evening to cool and a quick collimation check. Not much wrong there, so returned after 9pm for first light. Venus a crisp little crescent, then revelled in some moon for the rest of the evening. May add a knob or handle as per John above, because by the time I've added a camping mat dew shield, it's nice to have something to tug it around with.

Yep! Tactical astronomer look is possibly a bit extreme for this side of The Pound though. Russ

Wear them round your chest gun-slinger style. The warmth may keep them from misting up. No? I'll get me coat... Russ