iPeace

Beautiful eyepiece, solid yet wonderfully light and compact, *very* nice views. Quite tempted to have it back; highly recommended.

I have done so in the past. To my eyes, the ES was - for all practical purposes - just as good. I eventually chose to keep the Panoptic, as it is a bit more compact...but the green lettering probably meant more.

No problem.

With grateful thanks to @johninderby, a very nice 6x30 RACI with low-profile mounting. This little guy did not seem very happy at first, would not accept any of my spare finder shoes, had to faff about a bit. I suspect that it's a bit miffed that it got passed over for StellaMira duty. Alas, it is the way of things, it will have to slum it out with Bjorn for the time being. I don't expect the weather to improve for a year or two (hundred), but in case it does, even if only for two minutes, we can grab - and go.

Excellent suggestions all, I confirm (mostly) first hand. I would like to mention the 3mm DeLite from Tele Vue. A fair bit more FOV than Vixem HR or Nagler zoom, very comfortable to use and VERY nice views, Tele Vue's closest offering to the Vixen HR in terms of crystal-quality view - IMHO. Not as wide a view as the Type 6 Nagler, but that's a 3.5 mm.

More post-renovation pictures! Please.

PM underway

I don't. But I'd like to. If I had an obsy, with a driven mount, a comfy seat and a nice sturdy table / wide shelf for the case to rest on in complete safety and in easy reach, then yes, absolutely. Gentleman observer. By all means. As it is, my EPs are either in some kind of tote on the (cold, dewy) planet's surface or in my pockets (each has been issued a neoprene pouch to wear) awaiting their go in the night's scope. So a wooden case makes no practical sense for me. Anyway, I need something me-proof that doesn't launch all the EPs when I clumsily knock it about with open lid. Then again, the permacloud makes me consider either displaying the Naglers in wood and behind glass, or... well, not just yet.

Most deservedly.

Was out tonight for the first time in quite a while. As forecast, it abruptly stopped raining and the skies cleared to show the Moon. I put the 8" f/6 newt out and gave it the beans, most enjoyable. Couldn't be bothered to look up the names of all the great features on show, but they were all there. I swapped out eyepieces, sampling magnifications of 240x, 170x, 110x before settling on 133x as best in show on the night, using the aperture as opposed to magnification to cut through the gooey air. Really nice sharp views in between the ripples. In the end it got pretty cold and dewy, but nothing fogged up and I got back in with all digits intact. Good to get out again.

Inclined to agree... ...provided you've got a decent finder

Same here. 'Foibles' seemed the place to put it. Glad as well.

The fuller the phase, the more difficult I've found to observe Venus clearly. (This is just relating my experience, not explaining anything... ). I've always been able to get a nice crescent phase to give a decent image. Never any real planetary detail, though - but don't give up on my account.

I went through this myself, and though I'm not much wiser, I don't mind sharing... I've come to the realization - and one's milage will vary - that it's all compromise. Always. Unrelentingly. It's never going to be perfect - whatever that looks like, anyway. But if you do your homework, it will always be good enough to make you happy, ecstatic, even. You pick your premium. Whatever's important to you - size, weight, cost, light grasp, resolution, cooling, collimation, mounting, transport, etc. - a solution is available for your priorities, and you'll love it, exactly because it fits. Plenty of folks fully enjoy their f/5 (or even faster) scopes for visual. They've often chosen eyepieces and other accessories to match. You know what you really want. Go for it.

Pentax XL Zoom: very nice build, very nice views. Relatively heavy and bulky, but no more so than many other very nice eyepieces (I've switched to more compact types). Baader Mk IV Zoom: nice build quality, to my eyes the views are just about as nice as the Pentax at less weight and bulk. I've kept this one. HyperFlex Zoom: the most compact and lightest of the "mid-length" zooms I've tried. Build quality is less posh, but solid enough and the views are good. Excellent value; after comparison I kept the Baader but only for its more posh feel. TeleVue Nagler Zoom: at 3-6 mm, limited to use for high magnification, but so amazingly useful and fun, premium quality, compact powerhouse. I also own the 2-4 mm version, now no longer in production. Between the Baader and the HyperFlex, I'm inclined to say that the price differential gives you more additional build quality than actual additional optical performance. If you like your eyepieces light and compact, the HyperFlex will serve you well - surprisingly so, with a Q Barlow for higher mags. If your OCD is of the touchy-feely variety, you may enjoy the Baader more. Good luck, and enjoy!