Explore Scientific 82deg EP choice.

[russ.will]

Kerching! Her Majesty deprived me of another £55 for the privilege, but they're here and for a significant saving.

Russell

[Bart]

Kerching! Her Majesty deprived me of another £55 for the privilege, but they're here and for a significant saving.

Russell

Like it, Like it!

Russ I'd be very inteterested in what you think of the 18mm, have my eye on that one.

Barry

[Dunkster]

Very nice

11mm is probably my favourite out of the bunch so far, but given the lousy weather we've had (mostly since I got these!) this is not an objective conclusion it's just the one I've had the chance to use the most

It's interesting that the eye port (name?) is smaller on the 18mm than the shorter FL.

[cs1cjc]

Come to think of it, there seems to be a serious number of ES owners posting in this thread, whilst I don't notice such a presence in threads asking for EP recommendations in general.

I think for a general query, people are more likely to recommend locally available eyepieces. You have to be very convinced about a product to import it personally.

In passing, I am not sure that the latest Meade 5000 line eyepieces are the same as ES. In particular the Meade 5.5mm eyepiece does not sound the same as the ES82 4.7mm.

[Matthew]

All but one of my explore scientific eyepieces have been bought from the states,and each time ive made significant saving on the retail price in this country,its a shame perhaps if more people stocked them it might help bring the retail prices down,heres a pic of them next to a bottle of Dr Pepper ( the 20mm is huge )

[russ.will]

Like it, Like it!

Russ I'd be very inteterested in what you think of the 18mm, have my eye on that one.

Barry

I think we'll both be waiting. a while to answer that one.

I did take both the 18 & 11mm outside and jam them in my ST80, before the rain set in and that was interesting. I compared them to my BST 18 & 12mm, looking at the usual suspects such as distant treetops, aerials, etc.

The first thing that grabs you is how wide the FOV is, your eyeball really having to swivel to see the field stop. In so doing, you note that eye positioning is, compared to the BSTs, required to be a little more precise laterally, if you want to maintain vision of the field stop in it's entirety. There seemed to be no other issues in terms of kidney beaning or blackouts, so axial positioning is a lot less restrictive.

In terms of sharpness, the ES is in a different league. In the little F5 refractor, they showed a small gain in the centre of the field. However, they stay sharp right out to the fields stop. If I were being picky, there's a slight softening in the outer 5%, but it's nothing like the detail destroying mush that happens in the latter 20% of the much smaller BST FOV.

One thing I did notice was that the ES EPs do seem to give a slightly warm cast to the view. By contrast, the BSTs are slightly cool, which may accentuate the difference, but I wouldn't call either strictly accurate, nor worse than each other - Just different.

I'm looking forward to getting them under a proper night sky in the big, Dob to really test their sharpness, light throughput and contrast, that's for sure. As certain, is that will require some patience.

Russell

[russ.will]

In passing, I am not sure that the latest Meade 5000 line eyepieces are the same as ES. In particular the Meade 5.5mm eyepiece does not sound the same as the ES82 4.7mm.

I think you're right. Physically at least, they seemed to have a lot more in common with the original ES82.

Russell

[andrew63]

Just wondering - did anyone buy any of the ES from Glen - lyra optics - he was selling 4 on ABS last night for £95 all in?

andrew

[russ.will]

I saw those adds and the timing of them was not lost on me.

Russell

[olander08]

All but one of my explore scientific eyepieces have been bought from the states,and each time ive made significant saving on the retail price in this country,its a shame perhaps if more people stocked them it might help bring the retail prices down,heres a pic of them next to a bottle of Dr Pepper ( the 20mm is huge )

I have to agree, especially since most US shops that sell them are offering a significant "discount" until the end of August. I'm currently waiting for the 100 degree 9mm, 14mm and 20mm along with an 82 degree 4.7mm to be brought to Sweden (my aunt is arriving on the 9th!). I contacted most authorized retailers asking if they could give me a discount since I was buying so many eyepieces at once and was able to get the four at a price of £640 including shipping (which was free), compared to the price of £1326 if I had bought them in Europe (excluding shipping).

They sure look pretty on that photo of yours

[Bart]

Wow! Olander, you don't hang around do you? That is a fantastic price for the lot. Eyepieces, eh? Its a never ending story, I have a serious itch at the moment, but I know i have enough of the 68* and 82* range to keep me going for a while. The next step up are the 100* range or Naglers or something like that. There are beyond me at the moment. I'm saying that, but haven't even looked through some the EPs mentioned above becasue I've got them recently and there has been permanent cloud cover. Come on those dark (clear) nights.

Congrats on the EPs, lovely.

Barry

[Dunkster]

From my time using my ES82s so far, I'd say 82 degrees is probably enough for me for now. Maybe it's just my eyes, or maybe I'm doing something wrong, but with my eye in what I think in the right place, I can't see the field stop without moving my eye toward the edge rather than the centre. So far I'm pretty happy with the bang for buck, but hopefully I'll learn more from them as we head into the dark season again. I also have a 20mm Nagler which (again, what little I've used it...) has also been very satisfying... a taste of what's to come I hope. I don't have an ES of similar FL, thought that would be a bit frivolous Maybe next year the curiosity will get the better of me, or I'll learn to use 100 degree and get the 20.

So far this year I've bought more eyepieces and astro accessories than I've had nights out with the stuff

[Bart]

far this year I've bought more eyepieces and astro accessories than I've had nights out with the stuff

I know what you mean!

[alan potts]

I think for a general query, people are more likely to recommend locally available eyepieces. You have to be very convinced about a product to import it personally.

In passing, I am not sure that the latest Meade 5000 line eyepieces are the same as ES. In particular the Meade 5.5mm eyepiece does not sound the same as the ES82 4.7mm.

Maybe, but the older Meade 5000 series had a 4.7mm 6.7 8.8 14 etc. My very good friend is the only Meade dealer here in Bulgaria, he tells me this is the same company. Meade own Ex SC now, they didn't before but do now. Bresser is also Meade.

According to him they are all made in the same factory in China. If this is true I would be amazed if there was any real differences. Meade for years have been a market leader in many areas of astronomy and make some very fine scopes.

I was doing the exact same thing in the last 10 years of my working life, make something in China or where ever, call it a different name spray it a different colour and mark it up 50%

Look at one of the Bresser range of eyepieces, it is the same as the old 5000 Plossl range, 5.5, 9, 14, 20, 26, 32, 40.

Maybe we will never know for sure, but it passes time.

Alan.

[cs1cjc]

From Wikipedia:

Explore Scientific is a company founded by former Meade Instruments Vice President of Brand Community Scott W. Roberts in 2008 and owned by Chinese manufacturer Jinghua Optical Electronics Co., Ltd. (JOC). Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company designs and manufactures telescopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, microscopes and other scientific devices. Products are manufactured in China by JOC and imported.

The Meade Instruments Corporation (also shortened to Meade) is a multinational company headquartered in Irvine, California, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, CCD cameras and telescope accessories for the consumer market.

I think that Meade is not tied to JOC, unlike Explore Scientific.

[russ.will]

Quite. Whilst there is nothing to stop Meade sourcing stuff from JOC, ES are a distinct entity. There is an obvious physical similarity between the Meade 5000 UWA EPs and the MkI ES 82 Series, that may indeed imply a shared optical heritage. This heritage may yet still be shared in the ES 82 MkII EPs - to a point.

Given the entirely different physical makeup of the current ES 82s (waterproof, N2 purged, etc), you also have to factor in the unknown specification tollerances of two different customers, which can have a large impact on the end product. For all we know (and I don't know a lot) Meade and ES could have entirely different coating, edge blackening and tollerance specifications. I have recently read a review where a pair of simultaneously purchased Meade 5000 18mm 82deg EPs had, not only visibly inconsistent levels of coatings (causing the owner to reject one EP) but also the anodized blue banding of the name plate was different.

As ever, there is more to this stuff than the raw specs alone.

[Bart]

Folks, anyone used an ES 18mm 82* in a fast scope yet F4.5. I have the 20mm ES 68* and its gets reasonably soft from about 70% out. Just wondered if the 18mm 82* is better or would I be getting an additional 14* of increasing mush?

Thanks

Bart

[russ.will]

If this dadgummed cloud ever breaks I'll let you know what my 18mm looks like in an F4.9 Newt, compared to the 18mm explorer that went before it.

I've had the 11mm in my F5 ST80 against my 12mm Explorer in daylight and it's in an entirely different league at the edges. In fact the only problem with the edges, is trying to see them as the FOV is so large. But leaves of trees and distant aerials are very crisp, right up until you're up against the field stop.

For the record, the 32mm Panaview that many seem to rate as decent at the edge in a fast scope, merely looks average to my eyes.

Sunday night looks hopeful, but we shall see.

Russell

[Bart]

thanks Russ, everyone would be interested to hear what you think, especially me!

[Dunkster]

Ditto that, even though I only have slow scopes, I'm assuming if it works well at f/4.9 it'll be no worse at f/10

[Bart]

Ditto that, even though I only have slow scopes, I'm assuming if it works well at f/4.9 it'll be no worse at f/10

I'd say you're safe there Dunkster

[Dunkster]

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If the ES line are similar to the Meade UWA, it might be useful to know that my previous Series 5000 14mm UWA worked very well in Olly's 20" F/4.2 Dob. Really sharp, with a performance very close to my 17mm T4 Nagler.

[russ.will]

Blimey. The forecast is for clear skies over Cambridge from 2200 to about 0100. Not that I'm pushing my luck, but the scope has been out on the lawn for an hour already and collimated to death. Twice.

In the ten days since the ES 82s arrived, this is the first opportunity to give them their first light. I've squared the focuser, flocked the top tube, printed a Az setting circle on the Dob base and bought a digital level and a Rigel Quikfinder. I have been VERY bored...

I've also noticed my propensity for spending money on odds and sods, is inversely proportionate to the opportunity to use them. I'll have to keep an eye that, or rather make sure Mrs Williams isn't!

Russell

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Dunkster]

Fingers crossed Russell, look forward to your first light