No Televues allowed...

[nightfisher]

I bought a filter but keep forgetting i have it, would have helped last niight!   back on topic would have to say 18mm BGO in the TAL or 25mm volcano top ortho in the 150 mak

[AndyH]

In the area of less glass.....

Believe it or not, a quality Kellner can give very good DSO views. Exceptional light throughput. At least as good as an ortho or plossl.

I have a few Japanese KK Kellners(volcano top ala the orthos) and a much maligned 15mm Tal Kellner. They surprise me. Often. 

I don't do fast scopes though.

edited for horrific use of the english language

[nightfisher]

Yes the VT kellners, i still regret selling my k25

[John]

The lowest amount of glass is the ball type eyepiece - just 1 element and 2 air to glass surfaces. Siebert in the USA are now marketing them:

http://www.siebertoptics.com/Planesphere.html

They seem to be aimed more at the planetary observer though.

[YKSE]

In this review,

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2729

It seems to me that Sterling plössl is rated as good as Panoptic/ES68/Meade SWA on e.g. M42, anyone has more experience about it?

Also I've read on CN that RKE 28mm has some kind of WOW effect, might be interesting to know what it is.

[AndyH]

I had a very old 28mm RKE. Stress very.

It was very relaxing to view through. Huge eyelens. When I tried it out alongside my MKII Tal plossl, I prefered the Tal. So the RKE left a few years back, when I had an eyepiece clearout. Known in this household as 'The year of the great purge'.

Andy

[jetstream]

I just read Yong's link http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2729 ,I'm glad I'm not the only one to see differences between EP's on M42.On the basis of cost then I guess the Sterling plossl is great at $40.00 and Johns choice, the Baader Classic ortho at $80.00 is fantastic.All the recommendations are appreciated and should help us pick from a wide variety of EP's at an afforable price point,new or used

[bingevader]

I don't have a wide variety of EPs at the same FL to play these comparison games! 

But if we included FL too, then I'd say my much maligned (or marmite edition!) 18mm ES 82^o !

There's more detail and contrast through the Meade 5000 UWA 14mm, but you just can't get it all in to capture the overall splendour of the object.

Cheers

[jetstream]

bingevader,the ES 18mm really showed well last night in very challenging conditions,excellent contrast and I mean excellent.I really hope the difference between my 21mm Ethos and the 18mm ES is due to the magnification separation....the ES showed M81/M82 better,and was equal on the M42 complex.Flame neb in 18mm was great,as were everything I pointed it at.It does have a flaw,but its benefits far outweigh it.This was under 21.6 avg sky,4/5 transparency with M33 visible naked eye.Oh ya and -35 at the end of the night.

What is marmite?

[RikM]

What is marmite?

Yeast extract spread. You either love it or hate it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm1qP_y9V9k

[AndyH]

Yeast extract spread. You either love it or hate it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm1qP_y9V9k

The smell gives me the dry boak.

Rank stuff, that should be outlawed. Call the Hague. It could be a chemical weapon.

[bingevader]

We have a 500g jar going down very nicely thanks! 

It does have a flaw

You jest surely!?

Merry Xmas!

[jetstream]

We have a 500g jar going down very nicely thanks! 

You jest surely!?

Merry Xmas!

Merry Christmas bingevader and and I jest not!LOL! My 16mm Nagler when held up to a light will show the field stop edge as a blue ring,as does my 18mm ES.On some stars at the field edge in the 18mm ES,they show a blue colour sometimes-this is at f 4.8 however.Eye position plays a role here.The thing is the contrast of this ES eyepiece is so good its not funny,excellent image brightness.I'm going to check the Nagler out in the 4.8 dob more too when conditions allow,but I already know this....I would buy the ES 18mm before the 16mm Nagler-$150.00 vs $350.00 and the difference is minimal to my eye,on the objects I view.

[John]

Gerry, thats the "ring of fire" effect. A well known issue with many ultra wide eyepieces including Naglers and others. It's caused by modern multi-coatings, even the very best ones, not refracting light perfectly equally when viewed at an oblique angle I believe.