Jump to content

NLCbanner2024.jpg.2478be509670e60c2d6efd04834b8b47.jpg

25mm BST, what's the beef?

Spec-Chum

Recommended Posts

Spec-Chum

Spec-Chum

Posted
Posted

I’ve heard the BST 25mm described as “the runt of the litter”

Are they really that bad? I mean, a 60 degree 25mm EP for £41? Sounds like a bargain to me, so why all the bad opinions? Is the quality really that bad?

I was going to get a 32mm PanaView but I’ve seen on here it’s not too fantastic for an F6 or faster and for £79, it’s not worth the gamble.

Also, Alan has some 70 degree 2” EPs for £38 for 24mm and £46 for 36mm. Now, I understand these are not going to be the best things since slice bread, but Alan said I can try it out for a short time and send it back if need be, bless him. I just wondered if anyone had tried these as I don’t want to waste Alan’s time.

Thanks :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 28
  • Created
  • Last Reply
PorkyB

PorkyB

Posted
Posted

I have a 25mm BST and three others. They are all excellent EPs. The 25 is significantly better than the 25mm plossl that came with my scope.

i know everyone's experience and opinion is different, but I am more than happy with all of my BSTs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

Posted
Posted

Hi spec-chum, I can't speak for the latter, but my 25mm BST is excellent value for money.

I bought it to replace my S/W stock EP. I've used it in my dob & Mak & am more then satisfied with the sharpness & contrast.

Some will have varst amounts of experience with various kit & I'm sure much better trained eyes to boot!

I've also had other fellow astronomers with serious ep & scope investments look through it & all enjoyed the views.

Tis a cheap upgrade!

Many Thanks

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paulus17

Paulus17

Posted
Posted

Having just recently bought the 25mm BST and the Panaview my first impressions are fantastic.

i thought the stock 25mm was good enough but after using the 25mm BST i can clearly see the difference.

The 32mm Panaview i have now gives a great FOV and i can see me using it a lot in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paulus17

Paulus17

Posted
Posted

I thought it was pretty good,but my friend i was with said he could just see the very outer edges going,but to be honest there is that much to look at i don't think you would notice it at all,i certainly didn't.

Pleiades looked fantastic through it filling the FOV,and i could even make out the bands on Jupiter with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Donkeiller

Donkeiller

Posted
Posted

I too read the "runt of the litter" review.

Then had the opportunity to compare the BST and XCel-LX 25mm EPs.

The XCel is a bit better but £22 more (at the time).

Ended up with the XCel, but have got the rest of the bST range.

Can't really go wrong at the price

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rwilkey

rwilkey

Posted
Posted

The 25mm BST is good, despite some doubts by others, I have the PanaView 32mm as well, a bit soft at the edges at f/5 but doesn't bother me, main viewing area in the centre as sharp as you can get, also uded in my f/9, much better, but the BST performs well in both scopes. The poor report on the 25mm originates here I think: http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1914

But I have no problems with its performance I have to say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
angusb1

angusb1

Posted
Posted

I have the 15mm, 18mm and 2x 25mm BSTs. I find the 25mm is maybe not quite as sharp as the 18mm in my fast scopes but it is still a good eyepiece and for the price its excellent. I prefer the 25mm over my 32mm Meade 4000 plossl as it gives almost the same TFOV but shows a darker sky. I compared it side by side against the 26mm Meade 5000 SWA and found it was very similar although the Meade slightly had the edge on it, but is more expensive. I'd love to try it alongside the new 25mm XCel but that is also more expensive. I like my BST enough that rather than sell it and buy two of something else when I bought my binoviewer I just bought another BST. I'll be trying it out in an f8 scope quite soon in the binoviewer and I think it will do very well even though it will probably vignette slightly. I'll hopefully be comparing it against the 26mm Meade again in the coming weeks in a couple of fast scopes so I'll do another writeup.

The one EP I would really like to compare it to is the 25mm Sterling Plossl that the guys on CN rate so highly as the price is very similar and so is the FOV, but the Sterling has a slightly smaller FOV which would not vignette at all in my binoviewer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Capricorn

Capricorn

Posted
Posted

Someone reviewed the lot, think over on CN.

Then came that odd statement that the 25mm was the "runt" of the litter, being quite a wide view the loss of sharpness at the edges was more apparent. It has more edge to play with however.

I suspect that yes it didn't perform quite as good, but it did still perform pretty good.

Reviewing 6 and someone saying that of the 6 one didn't impress quite as much doesn't mean that it is poor, just perhaps not quite as good as the others. If 5 score 95-100% and 1 scores 90% even that "poor" one is damn good.

If you get one I doubt you will be disappointed.

There seem quite a few of us that have the complete set of 6.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nightfisher

nightfisher

Posted
Posted

I have the full set and rate them highly, including the 25mm this ep works very well in my ZS70 for wide field work, i plan on submitting a full review but just dont seem to get the time to make the observations with them

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spec-Chum

Spec-Chum

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I had a few and liked them - especially the 12mm. I found them not to have that edge in crispness of a good plossl though.

andrew

Yeah, I must admit my 12.5mm Sterling Plossl is a better view than my 8mm BST in terms of contrast and sharpness, not much in it tho.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spec-Chum

Spec-Chum

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The 25mm is pretty good. I wouldn't recommend the 32mm Panaview. For the price of the BST you cannot go wrong.

Hiya mate, any reason on not recommending the Panaview?

My budget is limited to around £60 (2nd hand is fine) and I'm just looking for a half decent replacement for my stock 25mm MA. That said, I find the supplied 25mm not too bad so I'm also considering a 32mm EP and keep the 25. At the moment I'm leaning towards keeping the 25mm and getting a 32.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spec-Chum

Spec-Chum

Posted
  • Author
Posted

You'd get the same field in both 1.25 degrees approx.

AFOV / magnification:

1200 / 25 = 48 so 60 / 48 = 1.25

1200 / 30 = 40 so 50 / 40 = 1.25

Cheers Moonshane, BST it is then. Same field of view and more contrast due to slightly higher mag. Ordering tomorrow...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.