Zoom eyepieces

[harrydog]

Any thoughts re Meade 4000 Zoom v Hyperflex Zoom (Williams Optics) v TS planetary zoom

Many thanks in advance

[umadog]

One thought is: are you sure you want a zoom? Generally speaking, you will get higher quality results from fixed eyepieces.

[harrydog]

One thought is: are you sure you want a zoom? Generally speaking, you will get higher quality results from fixed eyepieces.

Must admit not sure; I have bought a Meade 102mm APO and have a variety of eyepieces but thought a zoom would be more convienient; casual planetary/lunar observer

[umadog]

Yep, probably is more convenient. One downside of the zoom eyepieces is that they tend to give narrower fields of view than non-zoom eyepieces. For planets this wouldn't be a problem, though. Then again, a zoom may not be useful for you. What you want is the highest power possible for planets, right? WIth a larger scope, one that is seeing limited on all nights, a zoom would be helpful for zeroing in on the highest useful power available on that night. This will vary from night to night. However, with a 100mm APO, you're not seeing limited all that often so your highest useful power is known to you. e.g. 40 x per inch. In that case a single eyepiece will do the job. Just a thought. I guess it depends also on personal preferences and whether you like to change power a lot.

[Josh Wilson]

Dedicated eyepieces definitely have a larger FOV than a zoom EP. I thought about buying a zoom eyepiece once but I was thrown off the wagon when I saw that they had a FOV of about 40-30 degrees--maximum. I also thought that I'd save money by getting more focal lengths out of a 100 dollar EP. In my opinion, you might get more use out of a dedicated FL eyepiece.

[sologuitarist61]

If you are going to get a zoom, then make sure it is the best you can buy for the sake of getting the best quality. It really depends on what EP's you already have. If you have the stock ones that come witrh the scope then the chances are any zoom will be better, but if you have half way decent ones, say BST's, then I would go for the Hyperion. It is pricey but of good quality.

[harrydog]

many thanks for all advice

[Rossco72]

For planetary views with your scope I'd think a smaller zoom of 6-3mm or 4-8 would be best. The TV 3-6 let's me eek out the very last of the seeing on high powers for planets where the tight afov isn't an issue.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[jabberwocky]

i have the williamoptics zoom and really like it, saves faffing about changing eyepieces, but i am in the process of replacing it with individual eyepices, ill keep it though for my travel setup, i think the FOV varries between 40 and 60 degrees, but the clarity suffers towards the edges.

i bought mine sceond had as a cheap way of moving away from plossls until i had decided which eyepieces to buy

eyepieces seem to be a never ending money pit.

[Stevie816]

Hi HarryDog

How much does this hobby cost ? Answer, just a little bit more than you have,

Borrrow a few different EP's from a friend and you will perhaps discover you just need one or two and a decent barlow.

I have built up a decent collection of second hand EP's but mostly use only two of them and a third on good nights.

One of my best purchases for wide views was the Skywatcher 70 travel mate which gives great views and was cheaper than any of my EP's

Finally, If it looks too small just get closer !

Steve

[Antscope]

Rosco72 took the words out of my mouth the nagler zoom covers the sweet spot for that scope in order to get the best results or fine tune to the seeing conditions, the field of view is 50* throughout the zoom, if you have a driven mount that would make life easier for you too.

[Vega26]

Perhaps a bit above the price range of the eyepieces mentioned in the original post, but I am lucky to have a Televue Nagler Zoom and I find the performance matches fixed eyepieces. I love being able to tune the magnification to the seeing conditions or the size of the object in question without switching to a new eyepiece. Though I had heard a lot that at least historically the zoom eyepieces had a bad reputation. I got to try before I bought.

[Mr Q]

Also, two other things to consider with zooms - first, in most cases, the quality of the optics in zooms is far less than fixed EPs due to a trade off to keep pricing reasonable. Second, by getting used to say 3 EPs (low, medium and high powers) with their fixed fields of view, knowing what each's FOV is important in star hopping if used to locate challenging objects.

[Rossco72]

The nagler zoom would be your high power ep. It's just that it would be fine tuneable to match the seeing.

[JamesM]

The Baader Hyperion Mk III zoom is a pretty useful bit of kit and although I would concede that the available fields of view are not as generous as the individual equivalents, the contrast and quality of the view is only slightly diminished. For those starting out this particular zoom can represent good value for money and of course you can access the focal lengths in between the identified stops that might help you identify for future reference the preferred focal length of eyepiece that will suit your observing needs. It's certainly no magic bullet otherwise we would all have only zoom eyepieces and no other eyepiece in our kit bag but for those starting out, the convenience and the ability to frame a view for example whilst looking at the lunar surface, is really great. If you have any other visual hobby (e.g birdwatching) then this eyepiece will also perform for its keep.

James

Rossco, don't show anyone a picture of that Pentax zoom of yours, the last time I looked at it I nearly fainted! :grin: :grin: