Celestron X-Cel LX review-ish

[todd8137]

HI all

i got the 7mm and 18mm celestron x-cel lx eps yesterday and thought it was going to be 3 weeks of cloud ,around 5 the scope was out tea was cooking,it was mushy till around nine when it went really clear 4/5 trans temp -2,set the dob ready to go,the eps them selfs look ans feel great in the hand and are medium weight not the biggest of eps funnily ,the 7mm is much bigger than the 18 and has more weight ,the rubber grip as a nice feel to it,i then got the 18 mm in and had a look at a few clusters the owl was my first choice and give in around x 86 in the 300p it frames it well the contrast is so much better ,it was like have in a different scope so much more crisper the colors ,the orange and light blue and the definition was unreal,

i then had a look at some galaxys Andromeda ,this was so large in this ep it was so big and bright and it was so easy to see detail in the smudge m110 was there as well this was a scream moment nearly,of course ,wow wee this took me by surprise,

o only had a 20mm gso plossl and a,20mm SW uw 66, that were close to it,(pluss a range of eps from 9mm-32 about 8 more) the sw as great contrast but bad field curvature comet like stretched stars there's about 30 percent of that around the outer edge but i can live with that because the Orion neb with it is unreal till it drifts out the center, any way m94 was next never could find this but tonight ding ding ,there it was bright as well bright center and some real light surface area,m81 82 where also so much bigger and brighter,

double stars now the gso plossl was a waste of time and the sw was not that good, but did a few doubles.

ok tonight double stars were of a class all in the own i never wrote down the ones i saw bit Rigel in Orion was the one that stick out because i have never seen them so clear the clarity of the the stars along with what seemed like a 75% increase in brightness and contrast the twist up eye cups were never used but they a nice touch ,i was in the shed with a old velvet red curtain over my head and,the are very easy on the eye the was no internal reflections no kidney or baked beans zero field curvature,thats what i noticed the most no bloated stars or comets trails ect not a thing no false color either they take a few looks first to get used to the view but unlike the uw sw ep it wobbles and moves all over the place,when letting m44 drift through the ep the stars stayed pin sharp and in focus 100%

i then put the 7mm in for a look at Jupiter also with the neodymium filter i had tried a few times early but around 22:15 it was clear and high,the detail with this ep is great i could see at least 6 bands and the detail was great that lasted all of 10 mins before the mush of thee wispy clouds drifted about,the gemini twins wewre next they to were like looking at new things may a just say at this point for the first time in 3 years i felt for the first time what a 300p can achieve from the back garden thats rather dark and i do not have no low level orange glow of any big built up areas ect tonight felt like looking at the clusters and doubles for the first time the biggest hightlight " galaxy's " wow m94 and the sunflower galaxy for the first time i would like to thank adam from rother valley optics

these have really gave me the view i have been looking for a no these are not "top of the range but in the 300p they excel they did for me tonight i would recommend these greatly.

these really have let me see what my scope is capable of,i will increase my collection with 2 more of these because i really like them they suit my eyes and they suit the 300p like peas in a pod

clear skies

[Damo636]

Nice review Todd, they are amazing value considering the performance. I have read that the Meade 5000 HD 60 are the same eyepiece, just a different set of clothes.

[cotterless45]

Wow, nice review,heard these were good.

Try beta Monoceros ( triple) and Sigma Orionis ( multiple) for some good splitting action.You might have a go at the extra stars around the trapezium if you're in that area.

We had a cracking crystal night last night in middle Earth.

[Stephen]

Nice write up, I need to add the 7mm and 25mm to my existing ones

[andrew63]

Enjoyed reading the review, they do seem to be an excellent choice in different scopes, well built to. I am a bit puzzled in your view of the 20mm GSO, as they are also well regarded. The plossls i use TV are close to the GSO range, and will match any lens costing several hundreds of pounds for sharpness and contrast!

andrew

andrew

[Tyr]

Thank you very much for the review Todd, I've been looking around for anything I can find on this range of EPs over the last couple of days, most helpful.

[RikM]

Good review Todd. They do seem to be good EP's and very good value for money. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

[Catweazel]

Thanks for the review Todd

I wonder if one of the 7mm would be better than a BST 8mm for my Evostar 120, quality wise?? Hmmmm.....

[todd8137]

Thanks for the review Todd

I wonder if one of the 7mm would be better than a BST 8mm for my Evostar 120, quality wise?? Hmmmm.....

not sure but alan down there sent me a bst and a tmb they came the next day now they was on trail and am glad a did not get them they are a good ep just not in my 300p for some reason they were bad for curvature and bloated stars for about 30% of the outer edge i could no live with that to be honest they did not seem as bright

they may well work in ur scope but take other advice about the said eps and scope you have

[todd8137]

I am a bit puzzled in your view of the 20mm GSO, as they are also well regarded. The plossls i use TV are close to the GSO range, !

well a may have given that a hard time but i did use it for a good year and 3 years on never use it

[todd8137]

Wow, nice review,heard these were good.

Try beta Monoceros ( triple) and Sigma Orionis ( multiple) for some good splitting action.

doubles are my thing and they both perform weel on that front

[todd8137]

Nice write up, I need to add the 7mm and 25mm to my existing ones

the 25 and 12 are on my list

[Charon]

Great review Todd, they are a fair lump of an eyepiece.

[todd8137]

as you a cam see and i may not have been the best person to do a write up on these ep,but they have opened the yet what my scope is capable of i have looked with TV`s, and they are great eps,but the price aint cheers all if any one is local and wants a look the sheds always open if its clear

[todd8137]

Great review Todd, they are a fair lump of an eyepiece.

the 7mm is bigger and heavier than the 18mm

[nicnac]

Great write up

[todd8137]

Nice review, I've just bought 9mm X-Cel LX, can't wait to try it out.

hi there i got the seven i i love doubles ,and splitting them is easy with the 7,tonight the moon looked 100% better with the 7mm this is where this ep really let me see the moon the detail was out standing to say the least ,the range of grays ,blacks and white were a lot better over my other eps

[Celestdon]

Been over to rother valley optics today and got the 25mm, just need some clear sky's now itching to try it out on Jupiter with my cpc 1100!

[Ricardo70]

Great review, was thinking about upgrading my standard eye pieces to these equivalent, now i know its a must.

[Markinaboat]

Can anyone here comment on how the X-Cel LX compare to Baader Hyperions? I've just got my first scope (100ED DS PRO) so of course need to add 2 or 3 to the standard 28mm LET.