Baader eyepieces - any experiences

[tramsden]

Hi..

I only have the basic meade 4000 26mm eyepiece that came with my LX90 & was thinking about buying a few well priced eyepieces to add to my stock, can't really afford the topline stuff but I did read somewhere that the Baader hyperion series was good & that they were "modular" so you actually got 2 eyepieces for the price of one?, is that correct.

.. Tony

[GazOC]

Hi Tony,

Welcome tp SGL

I've got a set of Hyperions that I'm very happy with and they are great for the money, I've never used the modular design, ie unscrewed the bottom lenses, but opinions vary as to how good they are when used this way. I'd guess they'd be more likey to be acceptable in a slow scope like your LX90 than in a fast scope. If you regard he 'second' 2" widefield eyepeice as essentially a freebie then you can't really go wrong.

Gaz

[russ]

Agree with Gaz (third time today). I have two (8mm and 21mm) Hyperions and I'm very happy (understatement) with them. At their native 1.25" focal length they are superb, no quibbles at all. I wasn't sure about their performance in 2" mode but it compared favorably to a Moonfish 2" 30mm. That was in a Meade LX200 14", so should perform equally well in your LX90, in both 1.25" and 2" formats.

It has to be said the modular 2" bit is less successful in a faster scope. It's not really happy in either my f6.8 80ED or the Orion Optics 8" f6. But still fine as a finder eyepiece.

Russ

[tramsden]

Well I took the plunge and bought a 5mm Baader eyepiece, it is very good and quite a weight, actually the weight helps me balance the meade triplet on the HEQ5 setup I have, it used to do a nose dive when I extended the lens shade :?. I think that over time I will purchase 1 or 2 more.

[russ]

balance the meade triplet on the HEQ5

Tony, have you got one of the new Meade 5000 Apo's? If you have, would like to hear about it

Russ

[tramsden]

Russ

Yes its a 80mm meade 5000 APO triplet, I'm no expert but its a fine bit of kit. Well made , looks good feels good. The views to my eyes are perfect I don't detect any CA or softness. The only gripe I have is with the focuser, its a little 'rigid' & 'clunky'., but I think that you can adjust this , I'll have to look that one up.

I got it after talking to Ian at rother valley optics, I think I made a wise purchase. I have it mounted on a HEQ5 which is somewhat of an over-kill, because of its low weight its a little fickle to balance, ie one weight right up against the mount & in the other axis, if I extend the lens shade the CoG shifts and balance is lost, I found my self actually balancing the scope by the amount of shade extended ..

.. Tony

[russ]

Hi Tony, that sounds a mighty fine bit of kit. It certainly looks good in the pics. Having a triplet lens the field of view must be very flat. Great for imaging. One thing, does it have a rotatable focuser? It's not clear from the promotional pics.

And I know what you mean about the lens shade and balance. I've got the Revelation 80ED and use the built in dovetail to mount the scope on the GP. If I extend the dew shield the balance is thrown off. So I can either retract the dew shield until it balances. Or slightly tighten the DEC axis until there's enough friction to stop it moving. When I can afford it, I'm going to ditch the built-in dovetail and buy some CNC rings from Astronomica.

Regards

Russ

[tramsden]

The whole scope is rotatable, the mounting bracket it fixed to a ring around the tube, just unlock the knob and you can rotate the whole tube, neat I reckon.

[russ]

That is neat 8)