best 8mm e.p.

[carlc]

Not sure yet possbly a Pentax, I cannot get on with the Radian so it has to go.

Out of interest what bothers you about the Radian?

I tried my new (to me) 8mm Radian tonight and had terrible problems with black outs all the time.

Is there a learning curve to Radians or is it just me?

[faulksy]

interesting, come on derek we need to know

[Charon]

Whether it is down to my old eyes, but I get a orange/brown halo effect with it, no blackouts though. I have tried it on many occasions with different viewing conditions and I still get this halo effect. I do not get this effect with the rest of my eyepieces. Strange.

[Moonshane]

I have a theory that certain designs don't suit certain people for certain objects. I'd never dream od using my 13mm Ethos on the moon as there are strange chromatic effects visible (pinks and blues mostly) and I prefer simpler designs for that. I like the Radians and have a 10mm and an 8mm. You need to remember that 20mm of eye relief is a lot more than most people need if not wearing glasses and it's important to get the adjustable eyecup in the right place to get best views. this seems to be worse as you go up in power with Radians - never had any issues with the 18mm and 14mm I had previously.

[John]

Getting your eye in the right position can make or break the view through an eyepiece. With some designs it seems intuitive but with others some practice and experimentation is needed. When I first used the Pentax XW I saw blackouts and kidney beaning and was rather disappointed with it. It took me a while to work out that I needed to move the eyecup to almost it's highest position and then things became much more comfortable.

To be fair, the Pentax instructions do suggest this but I'm a bloke and we don't read instructions ......

[Charon]

I have decided to buy the Pentax XF8.5, it will be interesting comparing it to my Radian.

[faulksy]

thats strange derek but i phoned flo today but no answer, going for the same eye piece x-f 8.5. my original plan was i phoned modern astronomy first lovely pepole, but didnt have what i wanted was going for 7mm bgo and 8mm ts h-r so my plans have changed

[carlc]

Shane and John

Thank you guys - I'll persevere - I find the BSTs intuitive and so thought all EPs were.

Instructions? Sorry have a blind spot there.

[faulksy]

i had the 8mm bst very good ep, but it did add some colour to the view but seemed more like a 9mm or maybe 10mm. definately gave less power than my 9mm

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Both the 8 and 10mm Radians are great. I like the click-stop system that allows you to set the eye cup to your personal preference quickly. I have had no real black-out and kidney-beaning problems with either. The XF 8.5 has the edge in comfort.

[Charon]

Michael can you explain the orange/brown halo effect with my 8mm Radian?

Dexs.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Not really. I did notice a yellowish brown cast in terms of the colour balance of the Radian. This was particularly evident on the moon an Jupiter. Did not notice a halo, except when the eye lens had a slight smudges on it. A careful wipe with Baader wonder fluid solved that.

[faulksy]

hi mike whilst your on line do you think i will gain buying the pentax xf 8.5 due to having a 9mm bgo, i no eye relief is better and fov bigger but in terms of performance or do i go for another focal length to suit my collection

[Charon]

Not really. I did notice a yellowish brown cast in terms of the colour balance of the Radian. This was particularly evident on the moon an Jupiter. Did not notice a halo, except when the eye lens had a slight smudges on it. A careful wipe with Baader wonder fluid solved that.

The lenses are perfectly clear/clean Michael. Never mind , if the Pentax works for me I will sell the Radian when I get back to the UK.