High Power EP; Meade 5000 5.5mm or Vixen SLV 6mm

[lestergibson]

The missus wants to get me a prezzie so I've been torturing myself about what to go for as a 5mm/6mm planetary ep.  I had considered a BGO but, although I don't wear glasses, I just don't think that I could get on with the ER.  I've also been keeping my eye out for a used TV Radian but they've been like hens teeth for the past while.

These two are at the top of my list but would anyone care to chip in?  £125 would be at the limit of the budget.

[John]

I've never used the Meade but the Vixen SLV 6mm is excellent - 6mm Baader GO qualities but with a little more field of view and a lot more eye relief. Much larger eye lens too which makes for even more viewing ease.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

its hard to beat a good ortho on planetary,but if it has to be meade or vixen,i would be tempted by Vixen.but if it was purely me, i would take BGO any time despite tighter eye relief

[LeeB]

While i like the 5000's I stopped my set at 9mm and went for the orthos, just a bit sharper when field of view is unimportant, the vixens are good but again back to the orthos for the same reason.

[Paul73]

+1 for the Vixen 6mm. Well made. Comfortable to use. Optically vouched for by those far more knowledgeable than me.

I'm going to get the 5mm as well at some stage to give 250x vs the 6mm's 200x

Please note. I have no experience of the Meade offering.

Paul

[alan potts]

I once owned the 5.5mm Meade and whilst it is a very good eyepiece it is very short on eye-relief. I have never used Vixen eyepieces but if John recommends them then it is advise well worth listerning to.

Alan.

[southernman]

I too was faced with a similar dilemma . Having the 6.7 & 8.8 Meade 5000 uwa I wanted the 5.5mm. However a Vixen 5mm LV came up for sale locally at a (to me) reasonable price , so I bought it. Would I do it again ? yes in a heartbeat. If you can adapt to the narrower AFOV these Vixen eyepieces have , especially when using a dob , go for it. Quality of view beats field of view every time in my mind especially with an eyepiece that is comfortable to use. My 2p worth anyway. Good luck with your decision .

Peter

[AndyWB]

I got the 6mm Vixen SLV on the basis of John's first impressions - and it is very good. I'm not very experienced at such reviews, but in a shoot out looking at the moon, while my 5mm BST might show smaller craters on the moon, the 6mm SLV is more contrasty and nicer to look though. Not having ever used particularly wide field eyepieces, I don't find the field of view annoying. I would cheerfully get more SLVs, if I needed them - though being a dob user, I might stick with the wider field of view for the 5mm only.

[alan potts]

Sorry I am misleading this post. I was stating the ER on the 5.5mm Super Plossl from the 5000 range which has tight relief.

I also bought the 5.5mm UWA and had this for about a year, this has better eye-relief and is easier to use than the Super Plossl.

Hope this helps and sorry for the mistake.

Alan

[lestergibson]

Cheers for the replies, folks. I think I'll see about maybe buying a BGO/BCO and the SLV and A/B'ing them to figure out which one to keep. I'm a dob mobber so a narrower FOV might be a pain at higher power but I know the BGO has a stellar reputation, even with the tight ER.  The Meade is on the list because it has a wider FOV and I love my MVs.

The BCO comes in at £50 where the SLV is £109.

[alan potts]

I don't know which 5.5mm Meade you are talking about as there are two at this focal length though one of them(S PlossL) is no longer available. If it were the 5.5mm UWA I did a review on it and a 6mm Delos if I recall, the review is in the Equipment section.

Alan.

[John]

Cheers for the replies, folks. I think I'll see about maybe buying a BGO/BCO and the SLV and A/B'ing them to figure out which one to keep. I'm a dob mobber so a narrower FOV might be a pain at higher power but I know the BGO has a stellar reputation, even with the tight ER.  The Meade is on the list because it has a wider FOV and I love my MVs.

The BCO comes in at £50 where the SLV is £109.

Thats sort of what I've done with the SLV 6mm but there is nothing like trying them for yourself to see which you prefer. Here is my report in case it's of any use:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/217971-vixen-slv-eyepiece-report-6mm-12mm-and-20mm/

[Dude_with_the_tube]

i had Meade 5.5 UWa(had a whole set of Meade 5000) and still have BGO`s, i really liked meade 5000 series UWA`s,not all of them where great,but majority of the series where solid performers in dobsonian.30mm and 24mm where the most used and gave really good quality views on low powers,where 4.7 ; 6.7mm and 8.8mm where the best for high powers,eye relief on these where better as to compare to BGO`s,and FOV was obviously larger,but for dedicated planetary,i would still give BGO a win as images where sharper and better presented(in short to say),however,if you really like 82 deg FOV,Meade 5000 series or ES 82 series will be very solid performers and highly recommended.you can go wrong with them.

P.S. i will have a 6mm BGO up for sale once i get back home on thursday(cheap).this EP has a small cosmetic flaw on outer barrel,nothing to affect the EP use and optically it is perfect.

[lestergibson]

Thats sort of what I've done with the SLV 6mm but there is nothing like trying them for yourself to see which you prefer. Here is my report in case it's of any use:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/217971-vixen-slv-eyepiece-report-6mm-12mm-and-20mm/

Aye, John; that brilliant report of yours was what put me onto the SLV in the place:)

i had Meade 5.5 UWa(had a whole set of Meade 5000) and still have BGO`s, i really liked meade 5000 series UWA`s,not all of them where great,but majority of the series where solid performers in dobsonian.30mm and 24mm where the most used and gave really good quality views on low powers,where 4.7 ; 6.7mm and 8.8mm where the best for high powers,eye relief on these where better as to compare to BGO`s,and FOV was obviously larger,but for dedicated planetary,i would still give BGO a win as images where sharper and better presented(in short to say),however,if you really like 82 deg FOV,Meade 5000 series or ES 82 series will be very solid performers and highly recommended.you can go wrong with them.

P.S. i will have a 6mm BGO up for sale once i get back home on thursday(cheap).this EP has a small cosmetic flaw on outer barrel,nothing to affect the EP use and optically it is perfect.

Dude, colour me interested:) PM me on it.

I don't know which 5.5mm Meade you are talking about as there are two at this focal length though one of them(S PlossL) is no longer available. If it were the 5.5mm UWA I did a review on it and a 6mm Delos if I recall, the review is in the Equipment section.

Alan.

Thanks, Alan.  I'll have a read at that. It was the Meade 5000 5.5mm UWA I was looking at.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

have to correct my post:

You can NOT go wrong with either meade or ES. Both optically good,only different design.Meade has screw up outer body what acts as eye guard,where ES has folded eye guard.My apologies for typo mistake earlier.