Advice please - best 9mm eyepiece....

[dweller25]

Hello,

I want to buy a 9mm eyepiece purely for planetary viewing.

I am short sighted and wear glasses and for this one eyepiece I want the sharpest performance possible. Upper price limit of £150.

I am looking for suggestions.

Thanks in advance .

[Andrew*]

can't beat a Nagler 8)

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=15855

Andrew

[StarMan1701]

Hi Dweller25,

If you have to wear your glasses while you observe, then eye-relief will be a major consideration. The Vixen Lanthanum series, (or the new NLV series), all have 20mm of eye-relief and IMHO are very good eyepieces. They also come well within budget too...

http://www.orionoptics.co.uk/ACCESSORIES/eyepiecesnlv.html

Hope this helps.

Lee.

[John]

Another EP that has a reputation for being very good, and has good eye relief and a 60 degree FoV are the Burgess / TMB Planetaries:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=BurgessPlanetaryEP

You can get 3 of those for your budget

Alternatively might want to have a look at a Pentax XF 8.5mm which are similar in specification to the Burgess / TMB's but a bit more pricey.

I have a Tele Vue Nagler Type 6 9mm which is superb but the eye relief is a little on the short side for those who wear glasses when observing (12mm). They are more than your budget new though.

John

[iancandler]

second hand either a Nagler or Radian if you want value for money and an eyepiece that isnt far off the radian according to side by side tests go for the Burgess.. theyre great eyepieces. I dont regret buying mine.

[FLO]

The Baader Genuine orthoscopic is the classic choice for planetary observing but the Burgess TMB Planetary offers wider FOV and greater eye-relief.

HTH

[dweller25]

The Baader Genuine orthoscopic is the classic choice for planetary observing but the Burgess TMB Planetary offers wider FOV and greater eye-relief.

HTH

Hello Steve,

In terms of pure optical sharpness and contrast which eyepiece will give the best on axis planetary view the 9mm Baader Ortho or the the 9mm Burgess/TMB ??

Regards.

[Andrew*]

can I answer that one?

I think the ortho wins for sharpness and brightness over almost any other eyepiece. However, that's traded against small eye relief and small AFOV.

HTH

Andrew

[lunator]

If you are just short-sighted then the orthoscopic will be fine.

For the money you can't do better than an ortho IMO

I have a 9mm ortho and it is an excellent eyepiece made all the sweeter as it only cost £20.

Cheers

Ian

[FLO]

I agree. For absolute brightness, acutence, definition and flatness of field - the ortho wins. But, we're splitting hairs and as Andrew says you are losing some convenience. Personally, I'd go for the ortho but there is no wrong choice between these two.

[johnnyc]

Although not exactly 9mm, another to consider is the Pentax XF8.5mm. It is v user friendly if you wear glasses and also v good performance too.

John

[25585]

Sorry to bump up this decade-old thread but can anyone recommend a 9mm ep with 20mm+ eye relief and also a wide FOV.

So far the TV Delite & Orion LER Lanthanum are what I have found. Former is 62 deg, latter 80 deg (30mm eye lens). Delite is well known, Orion LER is new (from Long Peng, Taiwan). 

I have a Vixen LV 9mm, but want more than the 50 deg AFOV. Both my Equinox fracs are 900mm FL so a 9 would get 100x magnification. I use an unguided alt az mount. 

[John]

Tele Vue Delite ?

Baader Morpheus ? (not quite 20mm ER though)

 

[alanjgreen]

I would say, get the 10mm Delos (yes, I know its one more mm) but on short focal length scopes it makes little difference.

The 10mm Delos is fantastic in my Borg89 and has 72 degree FOV + great eye relief.

Get a second hand one for under £200 (make sure you get all the original end caps and box). You wont sell it, believe me

Alan

[25585]

1 minute ago, John said:

Tele Vue Delite ?

Baader Morpheus ? (not quite 20mm ER though)

 

Looking for a pre-owned Delite.  

How critical is eye placement with that range for shorter focal lengths? Radians came with an eye guide!

[alanjgreen]

Delites are great too providing lovely sharp image. But the extra FOV of the Delos wins out for me. I found the Delite too narrow after using wider FOV eyepieces and sold mine on.

[25585]

1 minute ago, alanjgreen said:

I would say get the 10mm Delos (yes I know its one more mm) but on short focal length it makes little difference.

The 10mm Delos is fantastic in the Borg89 and has 72 degree FOV.

Get a second hand one for under £200. You wont sell it, believe me

Alan

Have a 10mm XW, so that FL already (& a 8mm LVW). I wanted a 9 for exactly 100x - or more with Barlow. 

 

[alanjgreen]

8 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Looking for a pre-owned Delite.  

How critical is eye placement with that range for shorter focal lengths? Radians came with an eye guide!

Delites are wonderful to use. There is absolutely no kidney beans (blackouts). Put your eye anywhere and they work! Easiest to use eyepiece that TeleVue have ever made!

...just too narrow for me  

[Timebandit]

16 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Have a 10mm XW, so that FL already (& a 8mm LVW). I wanted a 9 for exactly 100x - or more with Barlow. 

 

 

 

Personally,  if you already have the pentax 10xw, a superb eyepiece and the vixen 8 LVW. Do you really need a 9mm ?? Personally even if you get a 9mm I do not think you will be using it much. I think you will still be reaching for the pentax 10XW . As the pentax XW are so good.

If you really want a 9mm then get a quality Ortho. Not a lot of fov and eye relief. But Sharp and crisp optics at sensible money.

[alanjgreen]

1 hour ago, Timebandit said:

 

 

Personally,  if you already have the pentax 10xw, a superb eyepiece and the vixen 8 LVW. Do you really need a 9mm ?? Personally even if you get a 9mm I do not think you will be using it much. I think you will still be reaching for the pentax 10XW . As the pentax XW are so good.

If you really want a 9mm then get a quality Ortho. Not a lot of fov and eye relief. But Sharp and crisp optics at sensible money.

I agree with this. If I had a 10 and an 8 then I wouldn't be looking for a 9. But observing is a personal thing.

You could be radical and sell both the 10 and the 8 that you own. Then replace all three (incl. the 9 that you want) with a second hand 100 degree Ethos 8mm. The FOV is probably greater that your 10 and you get the power of the 8  

That is what I would do!  It really is that good (in any scope)

I know it's a view that I struggle to get away from. It's physically smaller than a Delos too. They are a great match for a scope without tracking.

[25585]

I wear glasses so need long eye relief. Wide FOV as alt az mount at a high magnification. 

An alternative could be the SW 0.85 reducer. FL then 765 which would give 109x with my 7mm XW or LVW. 

 

[alanjgreen]

39 minutes ago, 25585 said:

I wear glasses so need long eye relief. Wide FOV as alt az mount at a high magnification. 

An alternative could be the SW 0.85 reducer. FL then 765 which would give 109x with my 7mm XW or LVW. 

 

I've not tried the E8 with glasses. It has 15mm eye relief though. Someone may have one and glasses?

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/475911-need-more-eye-relief/

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/535205-8mm-ethos/

-   (looks like 15mm means that you will be able to use an E8 but not get the full 100 degree)

 

i can't see the point of a reducer on a refractor.

if 10mm gives x90 and 8mm gives x112, what specifically do you need x100 for?

[Ruud]

Explore Scientific 82°

ES 82° have too little eye relief for me, not because I wear glasses, but my eyelashes are constantly in contact with all that rubber in front of the eye lens.

Eye relief is measured from the eye lens. With these eyepieces, the eye lens recessed so deep that a large chunk of the eye relief is 'lost'. Effectively, the ES 82° have more like 10 mm  eye relief.

For people with astigmatism there are better options.

[Moonshane]

Delites for me. I have the 7, 9, 11mm and they are fantastic.

 

[25585]

1 minute ago, Moonshane said:

Delites for me. I have the 7, 9, 11mm and they are fantastic.

 

Looks like I'm heading that way.