Celestron Luminos eyepieces in F/10 Mak?

[Steve-G]

Planning on upgrading my eyepieces in the near future & quite like the look of the Celestron Luminos range. Bright, sharp views, good eye relief, 82 degree fov & twist up eye cups tick several boxes but reviews seem to show them as a bit hit & miss. Edge of field brightness seems to be the biggest gripe but many reviews don't mention the scope being used.

Has anybody used these in F/10 scopes & could offer any comments, good or bad?

[SpaceWalker]

1) It depends on what you call *good* eye relief. For example, the 7mm and 10mm Luminos have just 12mm ER. The longer FL Luminos indeed have longer ER.

2) EoFB is an aspect of the eyepiece itself and doesn't depend on the scope used that's probably why not all reviewers specify it. Mak users also see the EoFB in Luminos eyepieces, e.g. check out this thread, IIRC, the OP has Mak 127. Although, the degree of tolerance varies widely among users. Well, at least you've been warned  .

[Steve-G]

Thanks, Spacewalker, that thread was an interesting read. Looks like the EOFB is a subjective issue that bothers some more than others. Maybe I'll take a punt on one of the shorter focal lengths & see for myself how intrusive the brightness is.

Plan B is to head down the Explore Scientific 82's route but I'm not a fan of those roll down eyecups & eye relief seems very tight on some of the range.

[Chris]

Hi I've used the Luminos 7 and 15mm from F/9 to F/16. 

I really like them for the money, especially how roomy they feel compared to the ES82's which have amazing optics but feel like you are peering through a tight porthole. The Twist up cup on the Luminos is very well done and comfy. 

I read the reviews on CN saying about edge of field brightness and to be fair a recent discussion on SGL revealed that many even top end eyepieces show this to some extent. 

When I first used the Luminos I was specifically looking for EOFB and I think I can see what people mean but it wasn't in my face, infact it was really quite far out to the edge and didn't drown out the view at the edge in any way. They were of course very sharp to the edge at F/9 as you would expect. I wan't to use them more before giving a proper review but the light throughput and control of scatter was very good, no ghosting or blackouts that I noticed.

The 7mm gave me a better view of Saturn than my 6mm Vixen SLV which is quite something. I'm guessing the 7mm was just a better mag for the seeing conditions as the SLV's are faultless planetary eyepieces (orthoscopic).

I need to use these EP's more before a proper review but for the price in slow scope maybe they are worth considering. They are very immersive 82 degree eyepieces, I like the ES82's but I don't get the feeling of being immersed by space with them, rather they are more like being on a space ship looking out of a small window which is still good of course. The ES optics are sharp down to f/5. I've not tried the Luminos in a fast scope yet.

I've heard the 10mm Luminos is the worst for EOFB so I'm curious to try this one to see for myself. 

Word spreads fast, someone said that the 25mm BST was a bad EP then everyone was saying it. Was it true? I don't think so and I used to own the whole set of BST's.

[rwilkey]

Hi Chris, having tried both the Luminos (Axiom LX's) and the ES82's I couldn't agree more with your sentiments as I have had the same experiences, but only at f/9.  But if I were to choose one it would be the ES82, though I will never part with the Luminos, which are more comfortable that the ES on many occasions. However, the ES82 11mm and 14mm cannot be equalled in my opinion.

[jetstream]

I own the 10mm Luminos and see no EOFB, I do see this in other eyepieces though. The 7mm Luminos will rival many high end EP's on some objects like Chris says. I find that only on objects that allow the highest resolution that the Luminos gets beat. Here orthos will best them ( & certain widefields), but don't get me wrong....the Luminos are VG on the moon etc! This is all just my opinion...

[Steve-G]

Thanks to you all for your input, much appreciated. The 10mm Luminos seems to be one that gets quite a few negative comments so I'll probably order one & see for myself. If the EOFB isn't too much of an issue then may well start adding to the collection.

I agree with Chris too. I've always been happy with my BST Explorer 25mm but many have said it's one to avoid. Either I'm not so critical or there's some 'jumping on the bandwagon' going on when it comes to negative reviews.

Thanks again chaps for taking the time to chip in.