Vixen LVW in a 127 Mak. Waste of money?

[BrixtonAstronomer]

Hi all

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 22mm LVW eyepiece for my 127 mak. Because I'm getting it from a friend in Japan, I'll be able to get it half price 

Nevertheless, I'm relatively inexperienced and I've never had a 'posh' eyepiece like this before and I've heard that I won't really see much difference over cheaper eyepieces in a slow scope like mine (F11.8). Is this true? Should I just get something cheaper like the 30mm NPL instead?

Obviously I will benefit from the wider FOV but will the image be no better?

[AlexB67]

You'd still enjoy the superior contrast of better eyepieces over a cheap one, likely reduced scatter, better coatings and internal finish of the casing all affect the views all result in a better viewing experience regardless of scope speed.  While there would be more benefit in a slower scope in terms of the improved correction across the FOV. In the end, is it worth is each to their own, hard to say and depending what you are upgrading from and expecting to get, but if they are stock eyepieces I guess you'll be happy with a noticeable improvement.

You may want to check on the weight and see if you'd have balance issues, I believe the LVW has a fair bit of weight gain of a stock eyepiece ?  Others will be able to help as I don't know about the scope mount in that regard seeing it is GOTO.

HTH

[alan potts]

I have never owned a Vixen eyepiece but many respected site members have them, I would have thought not a waste money in any way.

Alan.

[andrew63]

I've owned a few Vixens from plossl to LVW - all performed very well.  I would think the quality of the 30 NPL would be in every way as good as the 22 LVW.  The advantage really is in the extra field of view 65 deg lvw as opposed to 50.   Both will give fine views.

andrew

[Mr Spock]

I have a couple of LVWs the same type as that - the 13mm and 8mm. They are big but the quality is superb and they offer the most relaxed viewing of any eyepiece I've used.

My only complaint is they don't make a 10mm...

[BrixtonAstronomer]

Thanks for the responses.

I have decided to go ahead with the 22mm LVW if for no other reason but to enjoy that 65 degree FOV (especially as I'd not be paying much more than what the equivalent Baader Hyperion eyepiece would cost over here). And even if it doesn't really improve things massively on my 127 mak, I've always got the Heritage 130p to enjoy it with.

In terms of the balance issues, would it not just be a case of positioning the telescope slightly further forward on the dovetail mount? I suppose the problem might be that it will knock the (already pretty inaccurate in my experience) goto out of line when I try and use both the LVW and lighter eyepieces in the same session?

[Merlin]

I have an earlier VIXEN LV  9mm eyepiece that I bought in mint condition from a camera shop for £40. It's very good and I like the long  eye relief.

[philj]

I have a set of LVWs and they are used regularly in my mak 180 pro, they work very well. Go on treat yourself you wont regret it. Also the 22mm imo is the nicest of the lot comfy to use and cracking sharp views across the full field

As for balance, just move the scope further forwards in the clamp

[Tiki]

I have 5 and 8mm LVW's, both are excellent and the 22mm is rumored to be even better. As noted above, the LVW's are very comfortable to use and are thus very handy to give non-astronuts a skywards peek. It is a shame about the size but imo is worth putting up with.

[rowan46]

A good eyepiece is good in any scope so not a waste especially if you are buying at a good price.

[John]

I had the Vixen 22mm LVW for a while and then moved on to the much praised Panoptic 24mm. Having made the change I realised how good the LVW was as I could see little or no improvement in the Panoptic views. I've used a few of the LVW's and felt they were all top notch eyepieces that would benefit any scope as well as having that "future proof" attribute of working well in virtually any other scope you may get in the future.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Vixen EP's are good for 2 things, over any other EP i have used.

1/ They give sharper views. 

2/ They give better contrast between light and dark, which make them ideal for searching for faint fuzzies. Galaxies really pop out more against the darker background that the Vixens give.