Franklin

If you have a pair of binoculars you will know that they are very easy to look through, you just hold them up, focus then enjoy the low power views. Unfortunately it's not that simple with a scope, telescopic observation is a skill that needs to be developed through practice and planetary observation in particular is probably one of the most demanding types of observing that there is. Unlike low power viewing of star fields and many deep-sky objects, planetary observing demands the use of high magnification, quality optics that are collimated well, steady seeing and bucket loads of patience. A good practice ground for developing your "planetary observing eye" is the surface of the Moon. It's big, it's bright, it's easy to find and hold in view but most importantly it's full of detail and it's this enormous wealth of detail that you can use to hone your observing skills. Using a Moon atlas, try to identify the smallest features that are perceptible by you with your optics and in time and with practice you will begin to notice these features becoming finer and finer. It's the skill that is required when trying to eke out the slightest hint of detail created by subtle changes in contrast on the surfaces of the planets presented through a telescope. Not easy but very rewarding.

2x Svbony 3-8 zooms in MBII and FS128 = 3D shadow transits😁.

I use an ED102 weighing around 5kg with the APZ and 1.65kg conical weight and it seems to be working fine. I did try using the long bar and weights equal to the scope but do not think it matters that much.

What does the scope weigh and do you use a counterweight on the bar or just the eyepieces and tray?

Totally agree and I have the HR and SLV ranges for that but for those short, impromptu sessions the zoom is very convenient.

Yes, I think the SW pillar plus extension is the only option available currently for refractors users. Orion US used to sell three different height pillars in black but I haven't seen the taller one for years.

The APZ looks a good fit on the SW pillar, I wish they still made the taller version.

I get the appeal of your "little thing" and am envious. My back garden only has access from the side of the house and it is an absolute pain going back and forth. The side door is in full view of the street and I'm sure all the neighbors must see the door opening and closing throughout the night and think I'm a complete lunatic!😁

Just back in from an hour with the ED102S F9. Saturn was showing well earlier with a hint of a white equatorial belt, shadow from the rings on the globe and shadow from the globe on the rings, CD just visible at the edges. Jupiter was excellent at around 200x, the GRS had just left the meridian and the Io shadow transit had begun. Some darker patches on the NEB and also above in the N Temperate area (zone/belt?). Hoping to get out later to carry on where I left off last night on the Moon but there appears to be a freezing fog descending, should still be able to follow Jupiter through the haze as it culminates.

Don't eat the yellow snow! - Frank Zappa.

You're correct, as usual😁, I've just had the SLV6 and the Svbony zoom @6 both next to each other in either eye against a bright sky background and yes the zoom is noticeably wider, strange how at night this wasn't noticed as much. In fact the difference between the zoom and SLV is greater than the difference between the SLV and HR as the figures suggest. It could be eye relief as you say but the HR is quite claustrophobic as good as it is.

Yes I know the numbers but I see a bigger apparent difference between the SLV and HR than the Zoom and SLV. The SLV's shorter than 9mm are definitely less than 50deg as you say. Maybe my zoom is not quite as advertised?

Apart from the smaller fov I think you will be impressed.

Also Vixen moved production of there SLV's to China so that tells a story of improved manufacturing over there.

Brrr.... Bitterly cold last night, out around midnight for only an hour. Still experimenting with the Svbony 3-8 zoom and the target was of course the Moon. I thought I'd try something a little more scientific😁, yeah right! and finally found a use for my Vixen flip-mirror diagonal, with the tripod extended higher than usual I was able to make instant comparisons between eyepieces by flipping between diagonal and straight through viewing. I alternated the positions as the straight through view holds an unfair advantage. I compared the 3-8 zoom on the 6mm, 4mm and 1/2 way between 3 and 4mm settings with my SLV 6mm, SLV 4mm and the HR 3.4mm eyepieces. Magnification used was 104x, 156x and 183x, all in the SD81S. The seeing was quite still last night and there was none of that high, hazy cloud around either, the conditions were good, apart from the cold. Firstly, the fov in the zoom is a bit wider than the SLV's and considerably more than the HR with it's "orthoscopic" sized 42deg. The view of the Luna terminator was etched, crisp dark shadows offering excellent relief, revealing features with high contrast, the SLV 6mm and zoom @6mm performed equally, I could see no difference. Upping the power with the SLV 4mm and the zoom @4mm, to my eye I could not see a noticeable difference between the image presented. This 156x power is taking the SD81S to around it's limits really with an exit pupil of 0.5mm and I could see a hint of CA appearing off-axis in the shadows of Luna craters but this was not noticeable in the straight through view, alternating SLV with zoom confirmed that this hint of CA must be coming from scatter from the mirror diagonal. Still, the views through both were very good and without noticeable difference. Finally I set the zoom about half-way between 3mm and 4mm and compared that to the HR3.4 giving a magnification of 183x and an exit pupil of 0.44mm. This is the point where things became interesting because although the Svbony held up very well and presented an image that was still useable, despite the slight over-power, the zoom image definitely had become softer. Whereas the HR3.4 presented an image that remained crisp and with the same high contrast that the others at lower power revealed. I think that if I'd been using my larger refractor this difference would have been less noticeable and that's something I will have to try at a later date but from doing this I've seen for myself that a "budget", "made in China" zoom can perform on a pretty much equal standing with more expensive "made in Japan" eyepieces. The better performance of the HR is obviously due to its more sophisticated design regards control and suppression of stray light, it's just a shame they can't design an eyepiece that suppresses floaters in the observers eye! An enjoyable hour despite the cold and the only conclusion I can draw is that the view through all eyepieces was very good indeed but the Svbony zoom cost £75 new and the three Vixen eyepieces set me back £400 used. edit. just realised I've posted this in the "What did you see last night" thread and it's more of an eyepiece test post however, last night I saw the Moon😁.

Clear outside has a 3 hr clear skies window around midnight for my location so I'm hunting for thermals right now.

Now that's what you call a "yard canon".

Out again trying out the new Svbony 3-8 zoom, watched the first half of the shadow transit and it showed well at the 3mm setting, quite a bit over the usual 2x aperture in mm max mag advice. Inky black dot very visible and I thought I could even see Io against the disk fleetingly at times, the seeing is very good tonight and the haze seems to be helping. The waning Moon was magnificent along the terminator, the outer mountainous walls of Mare Crisium were seen in great detail and contrast, Langrenus was impressive as was Petavius and Rima Petavius was the best I've seen it in a good while.

Never too old to learn! At college and has grandkids, that's brill! Hope you have some clear skies.

Just been out for an hour before the hazy clouds arrived to give the Svbony 3-8mm it's first light. Scope was the SD81 and the targets Saturn and Jupiter, if the sky clears later I will try it on the Moon as well. First impressions are that this eyepiece is very good, both planets were crisp and sharp across the range, not quite as sharp on the 3mm setting but then I'm only using a 3" scope. The image held up really well towards the edge of field and the image presented was no different, if not slightly better than my SLV's give and with a touch more fov, impressive. The zoom appears to be parfocal across the range but the 3mm setting required a slight tweak to keep focus with the rest of the range. Using the 4mm setting for around 156x in the 81mm F7.7 refractor gave the best view and looked very good, sharp shadows on Saturns rings and hints of belt detail on Jupiter which isn't bad going for such a small scope. I don't normally buy stuff that doesn't say Vixen on the side but this Svbony zoom has serious potential, I like it.

If it moved at the same rate as Jupiter it could have been an internal reflection.

I like "made in Japan" kit as well but this zoom has been getting very good reviews and it hasn't disappointed, lovely eyepiece.

I've had the 32mm T2 Baader prism with fine focus for a while and it's my most used diagonal and easily the best I've owned. Being T2 on both sides you can swap between 1.25" and 2" nosepieces and even fit a T2 clicllock 1.25" on the eyepiece end. I've never used the top-end Zeiss diagonals from Baader but they must be exceptional to be better than the 32mm version.

I was brought up to believe that Jupiter was "King" of the planets and after the Sun it dominates the solar system. I also read that if Jupiter was any larger it might even have "switched on" and become a star itself, making a binary system with the Sun.

Those Baader fine focusing eyepiece holders work well too.