cajen2

I have the Mythology one; it's a good read if you like both mythology and space.

No, doesn't bother me much. I've found my extender and put it in my EP case, so all good. The Skywatcher 2" 30mm EP which came with the scope also needs the extender, if that's of any relevance. I assume the scope and focuser have been set up mainly for 1.25" EPs (using a 2"-1.25" adaptor), and without the adaptor, the f/l is a bit short. There again, I may be spouting nonsense! 😄

I doubt it, though you never can tell with Chinese products. Most of the time, they're the same EP, often with no brand name on them at all. Sometimes the manufacturer has an exclusive contract to make a batch for one brand but is free to sell them to all and sundry afterwards. Then you get the copycat products....

....and you'll probably find it with another ten names. Svbony and presumably Bewinner just market series of EPs etc made by a few Chinese optics companies. That's why you'll often get people just calling them 'redlines', 'goldlines', etc.

Of course. However, I think any EP review is enhanced by making comparisons with other EPs of the same type, even if different prices. Had the CUE not been any material improvement over the Vixen, I could have recommended that everyone save their money!

I went out to try and test my new Xmas present - a Celestron Ultima Edge 30mm EP, in my StellaLyra 8" dob. The clouds had some breaks and were fast moving, so I had to concentrate on something obvious. I chose Jupiter - seeing was very good between the clouds and at 185x mag (Baader Morpheus 6.5) the planet was sharp and quite detailed, with several clear bands and the moons as discs. Anyone interested in the Celestron EP can see my thread: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/403780-celestron-ultima-edge-30mm-apm-uff-stellalyra-uf/page/3/#comment-4329957

Ok, at last, my take on the new EP. Cloud cover tonight but patchy, so I took the chance of doing some cloud dodging with the CUE 30mm. Firstly and most importantly, in my scope / focuser it wouldn't come to focus. I had either to ferret around for my extender or just pull it slightly out of the drawtube, which is what I did (simple with a Baader Clicklock). This was only ever going to be a brief first light with the prevailing conditions. I chose Jupiter, as it was sometimes still visible even through the clouds. Once focused, the image was sharp and high contrast for a long f/l EP. I compared it with my Vixen NPL 30mil, which I've always rated highly for the price, and the Celestron blew it out of the water: * much wider FOV (50° v. 70°) * much sharper, higher contrast views * much more detail than the Vixen. Three out of four moons were clear in the Vixen, with one only with AV, but the Celestron showed all four clearly. * sharp image right across the FOV. The Vixen is pretty good in this respect, but not as clear as the CUE. Now, none of this comes as a huge shock as the Vixen retails at £58 compared with the UFF at £179 - £219, depending on whose version you choose. I checked the seeing with my Baader Morpheus 6.5 mm, which clearly showed several bands on Jupiter without shimmer or shake, so between clouds, tonight was a good test. Tech: StellaLyra 8" F/6 dob - two-speed Crayford focuser. Other EPs used - Vixen NPL 30 mm, Pentax XW 14, Baader Morpheus 6.5 mm. The Vixen and Celestron gave 40x mag in my scope. Conclusions: initial reactions were extremely positive. Low-magnification EPs around these mags are usually Plossls with narrow fields of view (making their niche as wide-field EPs more problematic) or ridiculously expensive. The Celestron Ultima Edge 30mil is neither. Do remember that the APM UFF and the StellaLyra UF are said to be the same EP. I've had no opportunity to confirm this with a side-by-side test, but if so, the StellaLyra looks to be an incredible bargain!

And to you and yours. I hope to be able to make a spring meet if you have a date yet?

Stray light and dew problems are hopefully now a thing of the past!

High magnification! 🤣🤣🤣 In what?

The Skywatcher Heritage 100p has a parabolic mirror (though at f/4) and is also £119....

You're very welcome. I don't get many moments of inspiration but this was one.

Love it! Also note my 'collimate your collimator' thread: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/400843-collimate-your-collimator-the-easy-way/#comment-4297466

I'm a bit sensitive about this sort of thing because I bought an Oklop bag for my StellaLyra 8" dob. It fits perfectly, but only if I take off the alt bearings, which is a PITA. If I'd known, I'd have bought the bag for a 10".

Ah, but it does say up to 90mm aperture. Would a 102 squeeze into that?

So plenty of room for accessories, a book, hip flask....😛

There's this Oklop one for not much money: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-102mm-1000mm-refractors.html

No dew but empty pockets! 🤣

Gorgeous, FB.

I'm slightly north of 110 kg and my Berlebach Charon chair bears my weight comfortably with no flexing. The seat is padded and comfy enough except it's a bit narrow.

I have the StellaLyra (Long Perng) 20 mm 2" 80° EP, which makes a 17.5 Morph a bit redundant. That SL is a great bit of kit, btw.

A quick squirt of WD40 and it'd be good to go...

Personally, I wouldn't want to carry mine in one piece.....but there again, I'm ancient! 😉 It was the dual-speed focuser and the RACI that sold the SL to me. I'd never go back to a single-speed focuser again and I just can't crawl around on the ground to use a straight-through finder. The fan is nice to have: I've used it a few times when I was in a hurry, but not essential.

As Mr S says, the StellaLyra is very well built and equipped. I have the 8" and I honestly can't fault it, especially the azimuth bearings, which are silky smooth. I find it better than the SW in all respects. I've never used the Bresser, so can't comment there.

But the Morpheus 17.5 is such a gorgeous EP - best of the range.