Leica Zoom 7.3 - 22mm 1.25" First Light

[Pig]

My Leica zoom has finally arrived

First Impressions

The packaging was excellent with very little chance of damage during transit.

The case that is provided to keep the zoom in is very smart indeed.

Very well built and feels good in the hand, I think this is to be as expected considering the price.

The eyepiece weighs around 320 grams, which is not bad for a zoom.

After all the reviews I have read I was expecting the eyepiece to be a lot longer than it actually is, so I am pleasantly surprised.

I was also fortunate enough to get to use the zoom on the sun within 30 minutes of it landing, in both the Lunt 60 and the Equinox (with a Herschel wedge) :shocked:  How lucky is that !!!

The seeing was a little hazy with some fine cloud hanging about. However, I was more than surprised at the detail I could see. The zoom is certainly at least a match for any dedicated focal length eyepiece I have used in the past for solar observing. ( Both Ha & White light.) I was using the Vixen SLV 9 & 6mm as a comparison so quite a toughie for the zoom.

It looks as though we may have a clear skies tonight so I will save a comprehensive review for when I have had more use with it. I am also keen to see if the zoom works with the Antares 2" 1.6 x Barlow as the inward focus can be an issue with some refractors.

Some pictures

Image 1 = What's in the box

Image 2 = 1.25" Herschel Wedge

Image 3 = 2" Diagonal

[YKSE]

Nice short session report, Shaun, looking forward to read more.

[John]

Interesting Shaun

I've read loads of reports on the Leica ASPH zoom but very little on this one. I'll be interested to see how you get on with it.

[Pig]

Thank you Yong  Lovely eyepiece and It seems worth the wait.

[Pig]

Thank you John,

I will give the zoom a good run out and compare it to my other eyepieces over the next few outings, the sun is a fairly forgiving target for visual.

[Pig]

A break in the clouds last night gave me the chance to try out the recently purchased Leica zoom on the Moon and a few stars.

I started with Capella at the 22mm setting, the star looked excellent and was tack sharp and remained so no matter of where it was positioned in the field of view. I zoomed all the way in to the 7.3mm setting to see if the zoom was parfocal, it wasn't bang on and required a very slight amount of fine tuning to achieve tack sharpness. Once again this sharpness remained the same everywhere in the FOV,

I moved to the Double cluster and again the zoom performed excellently, a small amount of focus adjustment was needed again to achieve tack sharp focus when moving between the extremes of the zoom settings. this adjustment was applicable to all the targets I looked at throughout the session.

I finally moved on to one of my two favourite targets the Moon, what a wonderful sight it was. All the craters I looked into were excellent and the contrast amazing, another point that struck me was the amount of white rimmed craters I could see that I have never seen before with my other eyepieces, not even the Nagler zoom. Once again I could not detect any changes in the shape of the Moon when moving across the FOV.

I tried the zoom in my 2" x 1.6 Antares Barlow and I was unable to achieve focus (not enough inward travel) However because the adapter that comes with the zoom is suitable has both 1.25 & 2" barrel sizes I didn't realise at the time the barlow still had the 1.25" adapter attached and this will most likely be the cause. I will try again the next chance I get to see if removing the adapter makes any difference.

The FOV difference of 68 degrees at 7.3mm and 38 degrees at 22mm did not affect my overall experience. I believe this may be down to the amount of sky I can see through my refractor, almost 1.8 degrees at the 22mm setting. This may be an issue for people using a larger aperture SCT but I was not concerned.

During the whole of the session I did not detect any kind of distortion, reflections, curvature etc... on any of the targets. I also used my SLV's for comparison purposes during the session and the Zoom was not out performed by them.

The main plus for me was the colours delivered by the zoom on both the lunar surface and stars, blues, reds, oranges, yellows, whites and greys all excellent. All contributing to a 3D effect that I have not experienced before through a scope.

One slight point to note is the zoom is a little stiffer to turn than other zoom eyepieces I have used but it was not a huge problem and the eyepiece itself did not rotate in the diagonal.

All in all a very big thumbs up from me for both night and day observing with this beautiful eyepiece.

[John]

Nice report Shaun

I suppose the acid test is how it compares with your Delos eyepieces. If the zoom matches or beats a Delos they have really cracked it !

If it matches the SLV's then it's already doing pretty darn well from my own experience of the Vixen eyepieces

Can I be nosey and ask what the approx cost of this Leica zoom is ?

Thanks

[Pig]

John,

The Delos are pretty special eyepieces and I have not tried anything that has been better, the blackness of the background with them is incredible for DSO's. However, I would say the SLV and the Zoom are a match if not a tad sharper on the larger planets & Lunar.

.

I have sold all of the Delos now as the FOV was to large for my 80mm refractor and I was experiencing a curving effect when sweeping across the FOV, I did not experience this same curving with any of my previous SCT's.

The price of the zoom was £370 including the stepped 2" - 1.25" adapter plus another £12 postage. (I believe the adapter is normally an extra £60 euros)

I was quite fortunate as the exchange rate is in favour of the £ at this time. The price in Euros is 495

[John]

Thanks for the info Shaun

Funny that you should have got rid of your Deloi now - I've just recently got my 1st one, the 10mm.

[Pig]

Yes that is funny John  also If you didn't buy it new there is a chance it my have even belonged to me

 Its hard to say which Deloi was my favourite as they were all great. I would say the 17.3mm for DSO's, the 10mm for planets and he 6mm for lunar.

[Pig]

I had the chance to use the Antares 2" X 1.6 Barlow with the zoom last night and I am please to say by removing the 1.25 adapter from the Barlow it allowed the zoom to sit lower and I can now achieve focus across the whole range of the zoom on both the Moon and stars.

In fact Barlowing the zoom gave surprisingly high quality views, I wasn't expecting that.

[jetstream]

Great review Shaun! The LZ's are really good with no barlow, but using one with these EP's brings the view to a new and extremely high level. In the 120ED nothing comes close to the LZ/VIP on solar...These EP's are also hard to beat on the planets, so far, and for me anyway.

I look forward to further reviews of your Leica zoom Shaun

[Pig]

Gerry,

Between my first and last review I am not sure if there is much more to say, apart from its a joy to use

[YKSE]

Nice review Shaun, I'm glad that you solved the barlow issue neatly.