Baader Clickstop Zoom Eyepiece

[Matt2011]

Has anyone got the BAADER EYEPIECE CLICKSTOP ZOOM EYEPIECE and how good is it and is it worth the money!

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

If it's the Hyperion 8-24mm zoom, then it's pretty decent. Eyepieces are personal, so what one person likes another may hate, but it's generally accepted that these give much better views than the eyepieces that come with your scope, and are basically a handful of eyepieces in 1, so good value for money.

However, as you get more experienced, and your eyes become more discerning, you'l probably want a set of quality single length eyepieces, since they'l offer better views, but will cost a bit more. You can always sell the zoom to recoup most of the money back, the good thing about astro gear is that as long as you care for it well, it holds its value really well.

So yes, they're good, much better than the bundled eyepieces, but they aren't the best.

[Charon]

I think they are good value for money. Use mine very often especially when setting the scope up.

[g0ibi]

I use mine all the time! I find the eyepiece really comfortable to use and it saves time swopping EP's all the time. I find I have to slighty adjust the focus changing from 24-8 but it is well worth it. Its better than my single EP's and I recommend them fully!!

[Luke]

For me the Hyperion zoom is a lot better than the eyepieces supplied with our scopes, not quite as good as the fixed focal length Hyperions, but very nice and definitely worth the money if you want a zoom.

We sold ours to fund new gear and I do miss it a bit, we ended up buying a cheaper zoom eventually as we realised we missed a zoom for alignment (low power to find the star, higher power to centre it, no messing around changing eyepieces).

[SplintUK]

So are you saying buy a cheaper zoom for the alignment, then fixed hyperions for viewing?

[John]

So are you saying buy a cheaper zoom for the alignment, then fixed hyperions for viewing?

That sounds extravagant !.

The fixed length Hyperions have a wider field of view than the zoom does so a low power one like the 24mm is a good "finder" eyepiece too.

[E621Keith]

or just get a good zoom.

I have a Pentax zoom. It did very well against my fixed LVW and Radian. In a very good night and in a dark site, the LVW will beat the zoom by a small margin, but in light polluted city sky there is no difference (except AFOV). The zoom easily beat my Celestron X-cel and Series 4000 plossl, in terms of image brightness, (lack of) aberrations and (lack of) internal reflections.

After reading some comparison between the Pentax and Baader zoom, I suspect the Baader zoom may also perform better than some mid range eyepieces.

[Luke]

So are you saying buy a cheaper zoom for the alignment, then fixed hyperions for viewing?

No, I miss the Hyperion zoom a bit for general observing as well.

For me a zoom is nice to have in addition to your fixed eyepieces if they are close enough in quality for times when you can't be bothered to change the eyepiece or when you want to travel with as few bits of kit as possible.

I don't use the new cheaper zoom for that as it's a fair way off the quality of the fixed eyepieces, whereas it was close with the Hyperion zoom.

If it's a choice between fixed Hyperions or the zoom, I think you can make a case either way, the zoom is arguably better value, being several eyepieces in one and saves you the hassle of changing eyepieces, but the fixed Hyperions are a touch nicer to look through in my experience.

I don't think you can go far wrong either way, if you get the zoom it's still possibly a keeper even if you add fixed Hyperions later. Ours went to fund new kit, but I do miss it more than I thought I would!

[Matt2011]

Thanks all I did order the Baader Hyperion MarkIII Zoom Eyepiece on friday and arrived today along with the Celestron GPS SkySync and was actually close in buying the Baader Hyperion 8mm and 24mm eyepieces but heard a lot of good reviews on the zoom which made me decide and as soon as there are clear skies will put the eyepiece to the test. Cheers:)