Pentax XF Eyepieces - Opinions ?

[John]

Has anyone here ever tried one of the Pentax XF eyepieces ?. They seem to have a similar spec to the Tele Vue Radians but are considerably cheaper. I'm particularly interested in the 8.5mm.

Thanks,

John

[AndrewP]

Holy thread revival batman!! :shock:

John, did you ever get the 8.5XF in the end? I'm possibly (well, more than likely) going to be buying 2 of them and a pair of 12XFs later down the line for use in a Denk binoviewer. All the reviews I've read seem to suggest they're pretty good EP's......

[John]

Holy thread revival batman!! :shock:

John, did you ever get the 8.5XF in the end? I'm possibly (well, more than likely) going to be buying 2 of them and a pair of 12XFs later down the line for use in a Denk binoviewer. All the reviews I've read seem to suggest they're pretty good EP's......

No - in the end I went for a Nagler Type 6 9mm - I like Nagler T6's :-)

John

[mike bacanin]

sorry folks, i missed this thread. i used a pair of 12mm XF's with my previous c8 and Denk binoviewers.

these are excellent eyepieces, 60 degree field,lovely coatings, sharp and contrasty and very comfortable. the twist up eyecups are nice, they cannot slip, which may occur with the radian's instadjust.

they are also very light and compact and are ideal for binoviewing.

[AndrewP]

John, I agree the 9T6 is a superb EP!

Mike, I noticed you sold your Denk - did you not get on with it? I really want to get one as I love binos and as I'm off to the States soon can get one for around £275. The main problem I'm thinking about is do I get another Nagler 9T6 or a pair of 8.5XFs? The weight of the BV and the 2x 9T6s is quite a bit so the XFs are a better option in that respect.....anyone want to buy a nagler?!

[mike bacanin]

Hi Andrew,

the denks were very nice,its just that i've collected some very high quality planetary eyepieces(see photo) and something had to go!

btw i've used 9mm t6's in a denk and they too are very sharp! a lot heavier than the pentax xf's though!

regards

mike

[AndrewP]

Thanks Mike. Do you think I would be better off getting another 9T6 then? How did the the Denk and the 9T6s fare weight wise on your scope?

Another 9T6 is similar money to the 2x 8.5mm XFs...... To have 3 EPS around the same size also seems a bit silly that's all.

[mike bacanin]

Hi Andrew,

i would say yes go for another 9mm! they are superb in denks! the 9mm t6 are not the heaviest of naglers

the difference in weight between a 9t6 and pentax 8.5 xf is about 2 ounces, so 4 ounces for the pair.

that's not a great deal to worry about.

hope this helps.

regards

mike

btw i compared a 9t6 to a 12 radian and i felt the 9t6 was sharper!