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Not a LVW, but hopefully as good. Eye cup does screw up but is loose. It comes off completely leaving a bare metal red rim. Screwed down or removed made no difference to eye relief. I could see almost the FOV, less than on my LVWs. The eye lens is slightly concave but near top so not very recessed. This 2 incher is heavy, more than my 30mm NVLW, not much difference between this Orion & a 42mm LVW. Good feel to the construction and broad rubber grip ring. This 20 does not replace the LVW 22mm I want, but hopefully will dampen my yearning. Onto bigger things!

Last Vixen LVW (unless the Orion 20mm LHD is one secretly) The NLVW 30mm 65 degree AFOV. Fine in itself but is much lighter than it looks. It's big golden metal jacket both protects a thinner black metal cylinder which holds all the optics, but one. The cylinder is easily unscrewed from top of its armour. Middle part which holds the broader diameter lens is screwed to bottom of the armour & finally just the empty silver tube. Rubber eye cup is removable, but it does not go up or down, it's a buffer and nothing more. As the lowest lens is well protected, so is the eye lens. Unfortunately for spectacle wearers, as my photo shows, the top eye lens is recessed & much more deeply than plain LVWs. However not too much FOV is lost, there are no black out or kidney bean issues, and head/eye movement needs no millimetre critical positioning. This ep is like my very first Vixen, a 32mm Erfle 36.4mm screw thread fit with broad but recessed eye lens. Very easy & forgiving on posture. The 30 NLVW will be interesting to compare with my 35mm Panoptic, TV Plossl 32mm & the Erfle mentioned above. Pleiades are at zenith... VID_20171117_192945.mp4

Astro Physics diagonal. Heavier than I thought. Going to have some re-balancing to do.

Vixen 22mm LVW in Wanted forum post. Have a 30 NLVW forthcoming. Up against Vixen 32mm Erfle, TV 32mm Plossl, TV 35mm Panoptic when it arrives.

Brexit bad for exchange rates, from an importer's perspective over here! Bigger factor than taxes.

Good points John. My 42 was an import. Still cheaper than a domestic 45 Panoptic. Having grown a liking for all LV, it was more a known-unknown if you'll forgive the Rumsfeldian oxymoron No long fl XW anywhere. I think why TV win is because their eps are a sort of currency, and they are known-knowns. Reading a CN post string on 17mm Delos v LVW (amid the usual bickering), LVW were said to be better in fast scopes with no coma corrector, but Delos has slightly better colour etc. It can also need a TV negative value optic. I would like to try an ES with "long" eye relief, perhaps the 28 Maxview as the 27 Panoptic er is too short. (Have enough 17s already!)

FLO have none now. 365astronomy & Widescreen Centre have certain fl left, including 17mm - generally the shorter FL LVW eps are still around. My 42 was from ebay US seller, unexpectedly large VAT to pay, but still less overall than a 45mm Panoptic. 13 & 17 were 2nd hand from an ebay UK seller. Nowhere either side of the pond are there 22s being sold. SLV was new. LV eps also ebay. Plenty still.

Gotta ask, what's your frac?!

Outdoor activity vest such as fishermen use with pockets galore is useful. And has better weight distribution.

Like to try one on its own and with a low power 1.6x Barlow, that might give the 31 Nagler that little bit extra eye relief for me if needed.

Just a Jessops camera kit bag with moveable, padded dividers inside. LVWs lie on their sides, LVs stand upright.

Glad I was able to get the 13, 17 and 42 LVWs. I can see the 42 taking over from my 55 TV Plossl. Not sure how the latter would compare to a 50mm LVW, or the 30 to 35 Panoptic. Maybe get the whole range from a collector's mentality....

Last LVW, a 17mm (unless a 22 turns up). Field trip ep for that fl as my Nikon is too expensive for away from home. All the Vixens, apart from 42 I have, fit into a small gadget bag ideal for space saving. They give decent enough eye relief, were (42 apart), inexpensive and edge to edge satisfaction. My Vixen bag is grab & use.

Eye lens diameter is 27mm (just noticed cup fold is torn & lens has prev owners finger print) The Nagler T1 eld is 25mm. Holding this venerable ep to my un-bespectacled eye, rigidly, I can see about 70 degs. Twitch my nose & less!

LVW 42mm 2 inch. Penultimate of the LVWs I have bought. This will be interesting to compare with my TV 55mm Plossl & older Vixen 32mm 36.4 Erfle. Not too heavy, lighter than my 35mm Panoptic, which will also be tested alongside, on a suitable night. Need some 2 inch filters now! Photo is with cup rolled down.

No 22s as far as I can find, though there are a couple of 30s, but I prefer XW on read reputation. I would swap my Nagler 13mm T1 for a LVW 22mm, but unlikely to happen......

13mm LVW & another 20 LV (for a future bino viewer). The LVW takes over from my Nagler 1 13mm. Former is way more comfortable to use, much lighter in weight & no kidney beaning. The eye cup pulls of, but doing so does not increase eye relief - but the cup rolls down. Eye relief is actually a better "20mm" than LV & (more definitely) SLV eps. More LVWs on search & buy list! One minor irk is that the LVW's cap, as for LV range, is too narrow to go over a rolled down eye cup. Not a problem on the SLV.

Which of your eps are you using?

I can just see they are f7 on the board to right. What is the maker please? Can you change eye pieces?

Ideal as finder bins too though more for fracs & cass scopes than newts maybe.

Bottom photo the LV's eye cup is rolled all the way down. Thankfully it still has a rubber rim that protects my spectacle lenses. Annoyingly the eye cup rolled down is too wide for its cap! Have another 20 on the way from an ebay purchase for when I buy a bino viewer (model to be decided yet). Sadly it seems Vixen have decided that astronomy eps sell more profitably on AFOV width than eye relief - TV apart. This makes me wonder about the continuation of their SLV range.

SLV 25mm. Compared to the LV20mm, the SLV25mm has slightly less effective eye relief as the cup and more recessed eye lens make a difference, though marginal. With spectacles neither gives whole FOV, without both do - the SLV still needing it's cup at lowest position but avoids eyelash smear which LV does not. SLV is slightly heavier but easier to hold. Waiting for a decent night to test both out on the night sky now.

Hi mikeyggg. I agree setting up an Astro scope can make you nervous. Especially in a dark site alone. I have some good places to go not far from where I live but going out at night with expensive equipment especially makes me feel jittery if not paranoid. It's why quickly stowable scopes apart from convenience have an equal appeal to aperture. Inexpensive looking unattractive Dobsonians are also less likely to be nicked than shiny white refractors if you have to leave in a hurry. Going anywhere in a car have a dash cam and rear view cam running while observing. Safe watching!