Zoom eyepieces...any good?

[tombulgin]

I am fast getting immersed again in owning a telescope for the first time in 30 years.

I really want to upgrade my eyepieces from the two standard issue ones that came with it. I find myself constantly switching from 10mm to 25mm during my session so I'm thinking it must be a lot easier to click through the settings of a zoom eyepiece without having to remove it from the main scope.

Am I missing something fundamental in the maths??

What do people think of the MkIII Baader Hyperion 8mm-24mm? I have a 2x Tal Barlow coming so that's going to increase my magnification options anyways.

Would be interested to hear opinion.

Tb

[Moonshane]

I have not used a Baader zoom but most reports suggest they are excellent and great value for money. not as good as decent to good quality fixed eyepieces but very close and certainly better than the standard pair that come with scopes.

personally I am not a fan of zooms other than the 3-6mm Nagler zoom I have which is truly excellent.

[John]

I've owned a Hyperion 8 - 24 zoom and I think Shane has hit the nail on the head with his comments.

The Nagler zoom is a rather special little eyepiece too

[Matt2011]

The Baader 8-24MM Clickstop Zoom eyepiece is awesome and use it with a Skywatcher 127 Mak and the quality and overall performance is superb and no one should be without one!!!!

[hayju01]

The Baader 8-24MM Clickstop Zoom eyepiece is awesome and use it with a Skywatcher 127 Mak and the quality and overall performance is superb and no one should be without one!!!!

I agree but echo that it is not a replacement for decent eps. I use mine alot and often never get round to switching to a specific ep. It has helped me decide which size decent quality eps to buy that work with my scope so when I have stopped faffing about I can switch from zoom to specific.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

It is generally held in high regard, i can't speak from experience though. I hope to get one some day.

[Grunthos]

What do people think of the MkIII Baader Hyperion 8mm-24mm?

I've just finished my first real observing session with my new SW 250PX and Hyperion Zoom. I'm well impressed.

Had taken a bit of a punt on the zoom but now think it is the bees knees.

There are "better" EPs out there but I rate the Mk3 very highly when performing a cost/convenience/benefit analysis.

e.g. tonight - a bit on the nippy side - no faffing around with changing lenses/barlows - just me and my new dobo touring the cosmic neighbourhood.

(I also intend to purchase various addition bits of Baader kit over the next couple of months which compliment the Mk3 zoom - e.g. Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlowlens 2.25x and a Baader adapter for a webcam).

Just my 2p worth...

[Charon]

I have the Baader zoom and think it is an excellent piece of kit but as said it is not as good as individual eyepieces but it is still well worth the outlay.

[swamp thing]

A lot of others will disagree with the way I observe but in my 10" two eyepieces is all I need.

I do have others but just don't feel the need for them in this scope.

By using wide field eyepieces ( which can replace several normal plossls ) and a good quality Barlow, all basses are covered.

Also by using wide field eyepieces you can use higher mag which increases the contrast between object and sky.

A good quality Barlow also means you get to keep using the big comfortable eyepieces, with their nice eye relief, and big picture window eye lenses.

Regards Steve

[MorningMajor]

Agree with all the above concerning the Baader - I do like it - but tend to spend more time with my 30mm Vixen

[tombulgin]

tonight - a bit on the nippy side - no faffing around with changing lenses/barlows - just me and my new dobo touring the cosmic neighbourhood.

That's my thoughts entirely.

The Hyperion seems to get a decent billing from most here. And I like the idea of assessing the various focal lengths before then deciding which individual eyepieces to buy.

Thanks all.

tb

[DOBBY]

added bonus to the 'zoom' great for 2 star alingment...can zoom in to really centre those stars

[Gina]

I reckon that's going on my wish list Thank you all for your comments

Although my main interest is AP, I still like to do a bit of observing - nothing quite like seeing things "in the raw"

[bish]

A lot of others will disagree with the way I observe but in my 10" two eyepieces is all I need.

I do have others but just don't feel the need for them in this scope.

By using wide field eyepieces ( which can replace several normal plossls ) and a good quality Barlow, all basses are covered.

Also by using wide field eyepieces you can use higher mag which increases the contrast between object and sky.

A good quality Barlow also means you get to keep using the big comfortable eyepieces, with their nice eye relief, and big picture window eye lenses.

Regards Steve

I've got a few eps but spent 4 hours last night looking at DSO's with my 250px under a dark sky using just a 11mm nagler. I did put the barlow on to show Jupiter to my mum!

[E621Keith]

A good zoom eyepiece can perform close to primes, sometimes even beating them.

I haven't used the Hyperion zoom, but I've heard quite a lot of good reviews about it.

[inspectapart]

Can`t speak from personal experience with regard to the Baader zoom,although I have heard that they are a very good zoom ep.

I have the Pentax 6.5 - 19.5 and have compared it to my televue 11mm plossl. I can honestly say that the view through the Pentax was slightly sharper in detail than the TV plossl. This was a great surprise to me. I think Zoom eps have come a long way in quality and performance. The higher quality more expensive Zooms seem to be on par visually to even the best standard ep. And they are fun to use, especially for luna work.

[tombulgin]

I have the Pentax 6.5 - 19.5

You give the Pentax quite a billing inspectapart!

I had considered these too (although, as always, more expensive than I planned)....I assume the fact that this is supposedly designed for the Pentax 65mm Spotting Scopes is a non-issue?

Thanks

tb

[John]

You give the Pentax quite a billing inspectapart!

I had considered these too (although, as always, more expensive than I planned)....I assume the fact that this is supposedly designed for the Pentax 65mm Spotting Scopes is a non-issue?

Thanks

tb

There was a good piece on this eyepiece on here a while back:

http://stargazerslounge.com/member-equipment-reviews/132823-pentax-xf-6-5-19mm-zoom-vs-orthoscopics.html

[E621Keith]

Here is a thread with a review of the Pentax XF zoom. According to this review the XF zoom is comparable to BGO and UO Orthos, for solar at least.

http://stargazerslounge.com/member-equipment-reviews/132823-pentax-xf-6-5-19mm-zoom-vs-orthoscopics.html

The higher quality more expensive Zooms seem to be on par visually to even the best standard ep.

I will second this statement. My Pentax 8-24mm zoom is certainly on par with my TV Radians. Although light transmission seems to be a bit lower when used for DSO.

Edit: seems like I was a bit slow typing and finding that thread

[Hugechris]

Hi, are there any users of the Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlowlens, this looks like a very useful piece of kit for further magnification with extenders without the need for compounding barlows and / or lenses.

[alan potts]

I have the Antares 5-8mm and I think it is excellent Plus it it 82plus degrees FOV.

Alan.

[Eastridge]

People seem to be happy using the Baader Hyp zoom with faster scopes like the 250, but general concensus over the months I have read this forum was that the fixed Hyperions are poor with fast scopes due to edge astigmatism.

Is the zoom a different design that does not suffer from the edge issues?

[coulthamst]

The Televue 3-6mm zoom is a superb eyepiece by anyone's standards. I have no need for any other eyepiece in that f-range. Only drawback - they are expensive!

I also have a Skywatcher 8-24mm zoom. Whilst its 20-24mm range is constrained by small field, the rest of its range is great for white light sun use (with the appropriate solar filter of course) and extremely convenient. I never use anything else for solar observation.

[8kids]

+1 for the hyperion, I only have the two eyepieces at the moment, the zoom with my scope works very well and is helping me decide on my favourite focal lenghths which are 14mm and 8mm. Some ultra wide angled eyepieces are on the cards.

I also have the hyperion barlow which works a treat.