Pentax 10.5mm XL

[AlexB67]

Hello,

Perhaps got the opportunity to snap up one of these for a just over  a ~ 100+ second hand. Tempting, been reading some reviews  and it may be just for me and actually one of those eyepieces that are worth it, in the sort of TV quality camp, also good for glasses perhaps or is that the XW ?   . Anything anyone wants to add to this eyepiece, good or bad at that price , I gather the XW 10mm is a little better but a close call ?

[alan potts]

Alex,

I have never seen one but it has Pentax writen on it so that is a good start, I don't think they made any poor eyepieces.

Alan

[AlexB67]

some cloudy night reviews rate it highly, not quite as good as the XW, bit less darker background mainly, slightly less FOV but 65 degrees is fine for me and apparently offers a slightly brighter image that some of the TVs in the comparison.   All beginning to sound good :0)

Anyone know the eye relief on this one ?, the seller tells me he traded it for an XW 10mm mainly because of glasses, but reading elsewhere the XLs seem to work fine with glasses too, it is not as if he could not use it with glasses I get the impression ( we are in communication about it), perhaps not just quite as comfy, but a BST has 13mm, and I get on absolutely fine with that.

[AlexB67]

I think the eye relief is 20mm, plenty enough for me, according to this anyway, another review I just found.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=256

[John]

20mm eye relief is plenty for anyone - even those that wear glasses when observing. Maybe he did not figure out the correct positioning of the eye cup for his needs ?

The 10.5mm XL gets excellent feedback on the Excelsis website, which is an interesting resource for older products:

http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/entry/pentax-smc-xl-10.5mm-22-57.html

I've only used the truly superb XW 10mm but the XL 10.5 sounds a really excellent eyepiece too 

[AlexB67]

I am pretty close to pulling the trigger on this one if seller is happy. After much reading and surfing I get the feeling if I were to say it is in the sort of TV Radian  camp with some pros and cons either way, it would be a fair assessment ?.  If a TV radian came up at that sort of price and FL I would buy it. Perhaps the Pentax XLs do not get mentioned quite as much, but at the same time a similarish sort of quality.

Now lets see if we can come to a price, a little bit less perhaps depending on how old it is  . My only reservation, these are quite old and coatings these days are improving all the time, so the reviews got to be taken as such when they were written.

If I were to ask how would it compare to  say a ES 82 degree

http://www.explorescientific.de/explore-scientific-82deg-eyepiece-11mm-125-p-22949.html

ignoring the FOV what would the reaction be ? 

Outside my 28mm maxvision I'd like to get, but that can wait, ( I don't think that offer is going to run away that soon, and if it does, so be it)

investing in the pentax would give me a very decent eyepiece, a focal length I am very keen on too. Frequently I find myself using my 8mm and 15 BST and often saying, something 10 - 12 would be really nice to have. Not only that, It will give me a first taste of the premium stuff and perhaps I will never look back. (I could even compare it to my SW super plossl 10mm hehe  :0) ) 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The XWs were the successors to the XLs. The latter had the same eye relief as the XWs and as has been said a slightly smaller FOV (very similar to the LVWs in fact). Very good EPs by all accounts I have seen

[AlexB67]

20mm eye relief is plenty for anyone - even those that wear glasses when observing. Maybe he did not figure out the correct positioning of the eye cup for his needs ?

The 10.5mm XL gets excellent feedback on the Excelsis website, which is an interesting resource for older products:

http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/entry/pentax-smc-xl-10.5mm-22-57.html

I've only used the truly superb XW 10mm but the XL 10.5 sounds a really excellent eyepiece too 

That was very useful John   Will I stretch to the asking price if seller is still interested, Ideally 100 - 110 I had I my head, but hey, what is another 15,  it is close enough, but not heard  back since so I'll wait and see. I am very tempted and may just buy this one in any case if seller still wants to go ahead.  Many reviewers state the comfort of these eyepieces  too, and that matters to me.  It looks similar to the BST with the twist  cup design that I really like.

[rgm]

The 10.5XL would be an excellent eyepiece to see if you like the Pentax brand.  I have a number of XWs that I have collected over the years, and they are my go-to eyepieces.  I wear eyeglasses and they are perfect for my circumstances.

[Naemeth]

Hi Alex, did you pull the trigger in the end?

[AlexB67]

Hi Alex, did you pull the trigger in the end?

I got the pics in the end today. I looks mint, as new, very tempting. Now that 5mm radian is also in the adds here luring at me, which admittedly I'd probably use less, that said, Jupiter season is amongst us and that 240x it would yield would be fab, splitting doubles, etc  seeing a 5mm is on my todo list.   Then there is the 28mm Maxvision I want also, a bit cheaper and more comfortable price leading up to Xmas,  either way one of these options is my Xmas present.  Now I have to decide

Feel free to fill up with suggestions, as long as it is not along these lines

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/201188-why-wine-and-the-internet-dont-mix/

or I end up with all three in my basket and one angry missus

[Qualia]

Alex, like the others I've never heard a bad word about Pentax eyepieces and feel the 10.5mm in your 10" would be a lovely addition. All I can do is speak on a personal account but for my own 10" f/5, the most used eyepieces in terms of magnification seem to be around: 50x (24mm), 90x (14mm), 125x (10mm), & 6mm (200x). Of course, I'm playing around with magnifications, field of views etc within these ranges but these four powers seem to be the general sign posts from which I experiment around.

[Naemeth]

I'd get the 10.5mm XL, 5mm may not get used very much, and for now you have the 25mm for low power, that is, if you only are allowed one

[AlexB67]

Alex, like the others I've never heard a bad word about Pentax eyepieces and feel the 10.5mm in your 10" would be a lovely addition. All I can do is speak on a personal account but for my own 10" f/5, the most used eyepieces in terms of magnification seem to be around: 50x (24mm), 90x (14mm), 125x (10mm), & 6mm (200x). Of course, I'm playing around with magnifications, field of views etc within these ranges but these four powers seem to be the general sign posts from which I experiment around.

You are right Qaulia, the radian makes less sense, on the other hand the radian has green and black on it .  So the winner ??? .........

.... been to busy till now. I'll decide a bit later, the pentax is in the lead at the moment in the back of my head. 

[AlexB67]

A quick jog around the block, get some fresh O₂  running through the brain, after tonnes of reviews last night and thinking about it, the winner is the pentax XL 10.5mm. Well, I paid for it anyway, Hopefully I'll receive my first top drawer high quality eyepiece in the post soon

[Qualia]

I truely believe this eyepiece will become one of your most used, Alex. Seriously. It's going to give you a good solid power (115x) with a lovely 2.1mm exit pupil. That's pretty much as good a sweet spot as you're going to get. Out at a nice dark site it's going to be just perfect for things like galaxies, globulars, nebulae and small clusters and the such. In fact, when out in the scrub lands the 24mm and 10mm spend most of their time in the dob and just about all my sketches of those kind of DSO objects mentioned simply use the 10mm .

[AlexB67]

Qualia, everything you said in that post was in my consideration list as to why I should get it, I could have given it 10 likes   If the radian had been a 10mm it would have been even more difficult to call, but in all honesty, apart from the magnetic label, the  green and black of the Radian, It still would have been hard to pick for me, never having owned either.

Impressions I get coming from the more experienced observes where the Radian wins in a little edge sharpness the pentax wins in some other areas I get the impression, and even a few articles  state the pentax performing well in very fast scopes down to f/4. Anyway there are loads of write-ups on them.  I feel I got a good eyepiece here, and the fact it is spoken about in the same breath as a Radian speaks for itself.

Of course I will never know the diff, unless I ever have the privilege of comparing the two myself at some stage, I m sure either would have done the job and would make me very happy with the views they provide   .

[John]

I think you will love the Pentax XL 10.5mm and it really is a premium eyepiece in every respect from all I've read about it. The danger for your bank balance is that you get a taste for this quality of course 

[alan potts]

Well done on getting the Pentax,

The Radian is a top eyepiece as well but it is no good if it is not going to get the use, this gives you time to see if you feel you really want something as high as 5mm. I have just gone to 3mm but only because I have run out of things to buy.

Alan

[Qualia]

Good move, Alex and just as the other more experienced observers have already said, this is going to be a mighty EP in your collection. I imagine it is going to be one of those special ones - a keeper.

I'm not well versed on the literature but everywhere I turn, if there is Pentax XL in the title, there's not a bad word to be said. Indeed, if I look about CN, the Pentax XL range not only hold their own against TV Radians, but in many, many, many of the forum threads they were clearly the preferred choice. That is something you don't often see. This is just a round about way of saying you've made a great choice and you shouldn't have a smidge of doubt .

I would love to see some photos and hear your opinion when you get a chance to use the eyepiece and how you think it holds up against your expectations etc. I imagine there are a few SGLers from around Somerset (one of my favourite areas in the UK ), so it might be nice for you to meet up one evening and have a little comparison and natter. 

[AlexB67]

The danger for your bank balance is that you get a taste for this quality of course 

One of the reasons going for something more premium  to try now, whilst it was going at that sort of affordable level.  I may as well find out sooner than later how to best affect my bank balance  . I have a reasonable starter range of eyepieces now to be getting on with, so upgrading can be a slow process from here on  out if need be. 

I already find the 20mm MV is rapidly becoming my favourite eyepiece now, just because it is that bit better compared to the 25 mm BSTs in sharpness. Saying that, when it comes to vibrant colours and contrast these BSTs still  never seize to amaze me for what they are.  If anything, when it comes to the background sky, the more I have used them, in my eyes at least the 25mm BST with a larger exit pupil has a darker background compared to the MV 20mm, it is as if the MV has a very subtle but slight haze on the background in comparison.  So has an MV blown away my BSTs, personally I can't say it has, but it sure is a step up. I need to think of flocking soon and shrouding that 10 inch though, that is probably not helping my cause.

I am ready to sample a bit of the next stage for eyepieces  

[John]

The performance steps get smaller as the eyepieces get more expensive, but we still keep chasing them ! 

[AlexB67]

The performance steps get smaller as the eyepieces get more expensive, but we still keep chasing them ! 

Do your best at trying to promote emptying my wallet.   With eyepieces being a bit like the third law of thermodynamics this could get costly. I will state the eyepiece version of this law.

It is impossible to buy a perfect eyepiece in a finite number of purchases, no matter how close to perfection you get, a 100 % perfection will never be reached.

AlexB third law of eyepieces

[Naemeth]

The performance steps get smaller as the eyepieces get more expensive, but we still keep chasing them ! 

This one would be quite nice.

http://www.apm-telescopes.de/en/product.html?info=3100&xa2b88=43e98db6c9a3d088997927f02c081a7f&xece83=7c41469d0564927bb396aa492c5f2edd&x3803f=l1toqepc7g0m1v0ga4m9m019t5