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Baader Classics - the story so far ....


John

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I've not used a BST Explorer so I can't comment really.

I've compared BGO's to some of the best eyepieces there are and they really are superb in terms of pure optical quality. You have to pay an awful lot more (£hundreds) to get any improvement and then it's only subtle at most and only becomes apparent during the periods of best seeing conditions.

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thats why i sold my 8mm bst due to yellow tint and replaced it with the 9mm bgo. no regrets

I think a more telling comparison could be with say a televue plossl. Say a 11mm with the 10 BCO both at 50 deg. From initial impression on here, it would appear that the plossl would offer better edge sharpness over the BCO as mine are pin sharp to the edge.

andrew

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I think a more telling comparison could be with say a televue plossl. Say a 11mm with the 10 BCO both at 50 deg. From initial impression on here, it would appear that the plossl would offer better edge sharpness over the BCO as mine are pin sharp to the edge.

andrew

It sounds like the TV would most likely win that contest. It does cost nearly twice the price though. TV plossls are one of the best in their league but also one of the most expensive. Also, like any adictive substance, ownership of the TV plossls can be the start of an unhealthy and possibly financially leathal addiction to the black and green :grin:

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An orthoscopic is just not a design where edge sharpness is a priority beyond an apparent field of around 40 degrees or so.

@ Jules (Nightfisher): The Q-Turret barlow is optically a fine one. Like the other eyepieces in this series, it has a "no frills" finish and mine did seem a slightly loose fit for 1.25" eyepieces inserted into it. This did not seem to affect the optical performance though.

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Thanks for the great report John.

Even thought the BCO weren't as good as the BGO, it sounds like it will be a worth while replacement for circle T.

I've just found this on the University Optics website. I would suggest people get in quick and snap up stocks of the BGOs.

NOTICE. After more than 60 years, Japan's respected eyepiece maker (Tany™) has closed shop as of 12/30/12. We have a few of the focal lengths listed below, and when they are gone, it will end an era in eyepiece history.

Tani made Circle-T (UO volcano top), not BGO (UO HD ortho). The elderly gentleman kept making these wonderful eyepiece well into his retirement age. I'm glad he finally decide to take retirement and grateful for his years of service to the astronomy community.

BGO was made by Masuyama and it has been discontinued a while ago.

This means if you want a good cheap planetary or minimal glass eyepiece, buy it now or else in a year time, the only one left on the retail market will be Chinese made ones.

2012 is really a year of doom for the ortho. Pentax discontinued the XO, Masuyama stopped making the BGO and finally Tani decided to retire.

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The 6 and especially the 10mm are very useful focal lengths for me n my scopes. One day when my finances settle, I may try them out.

The finish of these orthos remind me very much of the Apogee Abbe Orthos I had. ie: alu one piece body. So far from reports, the glass inside sounds of a better quality.

Clear skies to all that have bought them. Hope you get a good run of dark cloud free nights, to give em a good run out !!

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...The finish of these orthos remind me very much of the Apogee Abbe Orthos I had. ie: alu one piece body. So far from reports, the glass inside sounds of a better quality....

Thats a fair assessment Andy and at one point I was wondering if they were from the same source. The 1.25" barrel of the Baader Classics does screw off the BCO's but the anodised finish looks similar to the Apogee Super Abbe's.

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Addendum:

I'm trying the 6mm BCO, BGO and Circle-T orthos on Jupiter tonight. So far it's very difficult to see any difference between them apart from changing the focus position.

I've tried the Q-Turret barlow optical element in the Circle-T and the BCO 6mm's and the results are impressive. The resulting 4.6mm eyepiece gives 195x with my ED120 which is excellent on Jupiter this evening :smiley:

I was rather nervous removing the optical element from the barlow and then screwing it into an eyepiece with cold hands though. The optical surfaces are very exposed.

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Great review John. i hope you will get to do some more tests later on.

Its sad that these are the only orthos left. i saw a post recently somewhere else which said beginners want magnification, experienced people want wide field but experts want contrast. I guess that kind of sums up my own journey from being guided to widefield as the be all andend all through to where I am now where I want a comfy view but contrast above everything else.

I dont rate myself as expert by the way, just found what I like which is orthos. Its a shame with almost no makers left of these that the new starters in astronomy will not have these as an option in years to come.

The circle Ts were miraculous for the price but they look fuddy dudsy to many. i am just glad I was steered onto them before they stopped making. Glad also I bought some BGOs as well.

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they are certainly superb value for money. as with most eyepieces though the differences are small but there. they will not generally allow you to detect things invisible with any half decent eyepiece but the view will be a bit sharper, a bit more contrasty, a bit more detailed.

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they are certainly superb value for money. as with most eyepieces though the differences are small but there. they will not generally allow you to detect things invisible with any half decent eyepiece but the view will be a bit sharper, a bit more contrasty, a bit more detailed.

Thanks for the info, probably a stupid Q but if I were to use a wideview EP to find, would the ortho be any good for fainter deep space objects like say the pinwheel or whirlpool galaxy?

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yes, indeed. the excellent light transmission of orthos will work on all objects but only to the limits of the scope aperture. what orthos provide is a view that is second to none other than field of view (and eye relief) in my experience. in fact I prefer the view of the moon through my 12.5mm BGO to my 13mm Ethos.

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I found the 18mm and 10mm Baader Classic orthos very good for viewing deep sky objects. The 18mm in particular showed M42 superbly given the small aperture scope I was using at the time and actually seemed to show a little more nebulosity than the 18mm Baader Genuine Ortho.

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I found the 18mm and 10mm Baader Classic orthos very good for viewing deep sky objects. The 18mm in particular showed M42 superbly given the small aperture scope I was using at the time and actually seemed to show a little more nebulosity than the 18mm Baader Genuine Ortho.

John

I'm torn between getting the 18mm or the 10mm for my 5" mak.

18mm sounds pretty awesome from your review but the 10mm will probably give the biggest planetary detail

Can't make my mind up!!!!

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Get both.....i use a selection of orthos from 9mm through to 25mm in my 180 Mak. An ortho makes the most of the Maks narrow field of view and of course with the huge F ratio orthos arent pressed into edge aberrations. An ortho and a Mak...its a match made in heaven :)

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John

I'm torn between getting the 18mm or the 10mm for my 5" mak.

18mm sounds pretty awesome from your review but the 10mm will probably give the biggest planetary detail

Can't make my mind up!!!!

Yes Get both - I was torn between the 6mm or both 6mm and 18mm BGO and ended up getting both and I'm chuffed to bits with them :grin:

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