10mm Radian - does it make sense to buy it now?

[newman]

Hi all,

I'm getting frustrated with my 10mm ep that came with the scope. The Radian 10mm line has been discontinued, but I found a vendor that has one (his last one, actually) about 120km away. I want to use this ep for planets and sometimes, certain DSOs (though I'll mostly be using medium and low powers for those instead).

Since it will take me some time to reach the vendor by car, I thought I'd check if it's still worth the drive and 210€ it costs - since Radians are an aging TV line of eyepieces. I definitely want a good 10mm ep - I get 100x magnification with it, and can easily barlow it. I might get higher power ep's later but for now I want a good 10mm. The Radian's 60 deg AFOV seems enough to me for high power - don't think I need a huge amount of space around a planet, once it's zeroed in. Opinions, please?

[swamp thing]

Hi

TBH I have no idea how that price compares to similar eyepieces over there so It's difficult to know.

I can tell you the Radian range are well proven Planetary eyepieces with a great reputation.

Good luck with your choice.

Regards Steve

[brantuk]

I would wait for a second hand one to come up. They're usually around £100-£120 and I've never had one in bad condition. Or Telescope House usually have bank holiday sales - last time they did "buy two get one free" on brand new Radians - and they post it to you so no petrol costs. Hope that helps

[cs1cjc]

Or you could just go for a TMB Planetary II, now at less than £50. It will be a lot better than a stock 10mm even if it is not as good as a Radian...

[newman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look at those TMB Planetary II ep's. However, I've been reading up on Baader Genuine Ortho eyepieces. From what I could gather they're really good (according to some even better than TV Radians or Plossls) for planets, at about half the price of a Radian. If so, this would make it a very attractive choice for planetary work. And, I can easily get two for the price of a single Radian.

So.. Baader genuine ortho vs Radian.. thoughts anyone?

[cs1cjc]

If the short eye relief does not bother you then a 12mm or 9mm ortho (mine are branded Antares but are I understand similar to the BGO) will, in my experience, give you more contrast on details of Jupiter and Saturn than a TMB Planetary II. The 12mm is more comfortable for me (with spectacles) and will Barlow well to 6mm.

[Moonshane]

I have the following as my planetary set so can comment directly:

7mm, 9mm, 12.5mm and 18mm Baader Genuine Ortho (BGO)

8mm, 10mm Televue Radian

11mm, 15mm Televue Plossl

6-3mm Televue Nagler zoom

Whilst a little over the top, I find that different seeing conditions and targets enable me to regularly make use of all of these eyepieces. I like to see the field stop on eyepieces and use an equatorial mount which tracks even at high power so do bear this in mind when considering my comments below. These are also my own personal views and others may well disagree.

BGOs

These are my preferred eyepieces for planetary and lunar observing. They provide a crisp, contrasty white biased view of all targets and seem to have a truer colour to my eyes, or at least show what I expect. They are small and light and relatively inexpensive, especially used.

They have a narrow field (around 40 degrees) but this is more than adequate for planets etc. Eye relief can be an issue making these eyepieces unsuitable for people using spectacles when observing but I find e.g. the 7mm BGO more comfortable to use than the 11mm TV plossl.

Radians

These have a much wider field than the BGOs at around 60 degrees. They provide very sharp and flat images and with great contrast. Like many TV eyepieces, to me at least, they do have a slight yellowish cast to them but it's not 'ugly' and only really shows itself when switching from the BGOs. Quite a heavy eyepiece but not overly so.

They have excellent long eye relief and an adjustable eye cup. Very comfortable to use and some would find them better with an untracked mount I expect.

TV Plossls

Also very reasonably priced and of excellent quality. Provides an image which is in every way comparable to the Radian (again with a slightly yellow tint) but with a field of around 52 degrees. I find the field stop hard to see with the 11mm plossl and whilst this is an excellent eyepiece it is not used so often for this reason as I find the BGOs more comfortable despite their lesser listed eye relief and narrower field. Even the 15mm TV Plossl is 'harder to use' than e.g. the 12.5mm BGO which goes against everything you seem to read. Nevertheless both really are as good optically as any other eyepiece I have used.

Nagler zoom

This is a superb eyepiece and makes shorter focal length eyepieces (for me anyway) redundant. It has a good field at 50 degrees and eye relief of 10mm. It provides images as good as the BGOs and is more flexible (albeit expensive). This is really my double star eyepice and also on good nights of seeing can be used on lunar and sometimes even planets (although at 367x-533x it is mainly a double star eyepiece).

All of these eyepieces give superb images with stars sharp to the field edge even in a f5.3 dob. That said, with planetary observing the field edge is not so important, although with a manually driven scope, you will benefit from more time, being able to let the planet drift further across the field between nudges.

Hope this helps a bit.

[ollypenrice]

I have three Radii and think they are fine EPs but, if it is just for the planets, I know the Baader Genuine Orthos have a big, big following.

Olly

[F15Rules]

I'm a big fan of all things Baader..build quality is great and I do think that their Phantom coatings are the best. Of course, TV eps are excellent too. As Olly says, if planets are your thing, the Baader Orthos are difficult to beat..

Dave

[newman]

Wow, thanks for the very detailed responses, very very useful. Leaning towards BGOs now but the TV Plossls are great choices too, by all accounts. But the 12.5mm BGO would suit my needs perfectly, giving me 80x magnification just plugged into the diagonal, or exactly 200x with my 2.5x apo barlow. That would probably give me the highest practical results unless the seeing is perfect.

[newman]

Update: ordered the 12.5" BGO. Will report when it arrives and I get a chance to test it. Can't wait.. Thanks for all the help people, the BGO will be a lot kinder to my budget than the Radian would be..

[Mr Spock]

Excellent choice. After all these years, vast improvements in technology etc., the ortho is still the best for planets.

[newman]

Thank you, Mr. Spock.

..always wanted to say that

[Moonshane]

the 12.5mm BGO is probably the best all rounder. Don't underestimate the clarity of an ortho for other targets than planets either. if it can fit in the small field, it's also a great eyepiece for other faint targets like galaxies etc.

[Damo636]

Great choice, you will not be disappointed with the BGO.

[newman]

"The Baader Ortho is currently not in stock. According to our latest information Baader does not yet know the delivery time for this item. But of course we will send it out to you immediately as soon as we get the next shipment."

You know, it would have been nice to know this before I confirmed payment. It was listed as in stock. Guess I get to practice patience now...

[Moonshane]

typical! hope it arrives soon

[newman]

At least the weather will be nice until it arrives

Edit: after a few emails exchanged back and forth, it turns out they really have no idea when the Baader Orthos will be in stock (apparently, it's been quite a while since they had a shipment of these and it could be months). Turns out they have the Kasai Orthoscopic eyepieces in stock which, from what I can tell, offer a similar level of performance. They'll ship a 12.5mm one on Monday.