maxvision 24 v maxvision 24

[rowan46]

I am going to be getting a c5 spotting scope soon. So I figured to ditch the 2" diagonal and 24mm maxvision 82 and get a 1.25" diagonal and maxvision 24mm 68.  Space and weight are at a premium when you are a portable astronomer.  sorry no pictures the camera is charging  so i'll try and upload later.

For the sake of clarity and brevity I will rename the eyepieces 82 and 68

The first thing to hit you is the size and weight the 68 is easily less than 2/3 the size and weighs less than half the weight of the 82

I tested these in my f6 triplet 80/ 480 at the moment its the only scope I have and both were used in a 2" diagonal as I wanted to introduce as few variables as possible. 

My 82 is used as a finder eyepiece really so if I am using it to view its used on open clusters really so thats mainly what I tested on 

double cluster perseus 

The 68 fits the double cluster in just about, stars are sharp to the edge, focus snaps in quite quickly, colour is neutral 

The 82 fits the double cluster in easily stars are sharp to the edge but focus takes a little longer to dial in the whole field into sharpness. colour is neutral it is however noticably brighter across the whole starfield

m45

The 68 cannot get the whole starfield in, stars are sharp to the edge but theres enough of the starfield to make it out as m45

The 82 fits the whole starfield in easily again focus is more fussy to get the whole field sharp and again once its dialled in its noticably brighter

M42

At a mag of 20x there are not too many objects to test contrast on I opted for m42 to see how both eyepieces showed up nebulosity

The 68 showed acceptable levels of detail for such a low magnification focus was again easy to attain 3 stars in the trapesium were visible and nebulosity was clearly evident everything was very sharp

the 82 was again harder to get precise focus the image however was cleaner and for some reason the trapesium showed 4 stars ( I don't understand this)

M44 

the 68 again struggled to get the whole field in (perhaps I should play around with the eyecup) but the whole field was sharp and clean

The 82 showed the whole field again sharp and clean but again brighter

Jupiter

I didn't expect much at this mag but it was there and it seemed rude not to

the 68 showed a clean sharp disc and sharp points of light indicating 4 moons

The 82 showed a brighter disc and moons and perhaps a little flare from jupiter itself plus several background stars

Conclusion

I am just slightly disappointed with the 68 it doesn't seem as bright as the 82. This maybe a function of the wider field of the 82 giving a better frame and the brain filling in the space around it as extra contrast but on every oblect I looked at the 82 was better.

However the 68 is half the price, half the weight and half to 2/3 the size I don't have to pither around with my diagonal when changing to other eyepieces which are all 1.25" So on portability and convenience it wins its easier to focus and gives good views. The 82 is fussier to focus bigger heavier more awkward but gives better views. I had intended to ditch the 2" but the views are that much better I think I will keep both.

The usual disclaimers on eyepiece reviews your mileage may vary 

[RikM]

How odd that the 82 gives a brighter field than the 68? I haven't a clue why but if that's what your eyes are telling you then so be it. Didn't you have a C5 before? They are nice.

[rowan46]

How odd that the 82 gives a brighter field than the 68? I haven't a clue why but if that's what your eyes are telling you then so be it. Didn't you have a C5 before? They are nice.

Yes I used to have a nexstar 5 old version but wanted something more portable, however I miss planets with my wide field set up so thought i would get the  c5 spotter scope to put on my mount. I was surprised by my results and can think of two reasons why it might be so 

1 it might be better glass

2 it might be an optical illusion caused by the framing

would using a 2" diagonal cause any light loss on the smaller eyepiece?

[YKSE]

Very interesting results about field brightness. it'll be great if members who have done similar comparison can share their experiences too.