Is my new Panaview 38mm faulty? Help!

[Xiga]

Hi guys

So just today I took delivery of a shiny new 2" Skywatcher Panaview 38mm eyepiece for my C8. This baby is no baby, it's a beast! I was a bit shocked at the sheer size & weight, but on closer inspection, it's something entirely else which has me worried.

If I tilt the eyepiece from side to side, or to be more accurate, if I turn it upside down, I can hear and feel the lens noticeably shifting about. With the caps off I can even see it move! The bottom section that unscrews is on nice and tight, so I know it's not that. It's very disconcerting I have to say.

This is my first 2" eyepiece, never mind an oversized one like this. Is what I describe above normal, or should I return it asap? It will probably be 3 or 4 weeks before I can test it out fully on my C8 so I'd like to return it before then if needs be.

[John]

There is not normally any movement of the optics within eyepieces, except zooms which have optical elements that are supposed to move.

If you can return it for an exchange, I would do that.

[Dave In Vermont]

Ditto. Send it back. Make a note of any lot-number that may be on it's box or the receipt. Personally I'd scan all the paperwork and send it to Skywatcher itself (not the EP, just the paperwork) so they might check their quality-control team.

Dave

[physicus]

Okay, so I just got mine out and shook it about a bit (:-P).

I unscrewed the bottom section as you say you did, and shook it again: very slight noise, but nothing of concern.  I then unscrewed the next part of the lens a bit, which seems to compress the lower lens element, and it starts to thump a bit as you describe.  So, my advice (at your own risk!)  is to make sure that second section (i.e. not the lower bit that fits into your focuser, but the next ring) is tight.  I'm not doing any more expewriments on mine, but you may find a lens element has come out of line or something, in which case consider undoing that retaining ring and resettle the element before doing it up. 

Good luck.

Tim

[Xiga]

Thanks guys. The middle section is nice and tight, so it would appear I have a faulty EP :-(

I always buy my Astro gear from FLO, but on this occasion I opted to use some Amazon vouchers I had knocking about. Lesson learned I suppose, stick to the dedicated Astro sites for Astro gear, and leave Amazon for other things.

[Xiga]

One other thing, it came in a small box which had no padding or foam, and not a single piece of paperwork or even a receipt. The box has a barcode on it and a sticker that says 'SWA 38 mm' on it and that's it!

[Zakalwe]

Amazon is normally very good when it comes to returns - even when bought on their Marketplace. I doubt that you'll have any problems getting a refund or replacement.

[physicus]

Yep, I've been pleasantly surprised by Amazon re refunds etc.; so you should be fine.  FLO get most of my business too, but it's always worth scanning other sources.

[John]

If it was bought online in the UK you are entitled by law to a full refund including the postage costs both ways because it is faulty. If you decide to accept a replacement thats up to you but the postage costs of the new one and returning the old one should be paid by the supplier.

I returned one eyepiece under these laws simply because I didn't like it. I had to pay the return postage and they knocked the delivery cost off the refund of course (because there was nothing wrong with the eyepiece) but there was no fuss about this.

There are time limits for the above though so check the small print of the purchase agreement.

We are quite well protected in the UK over distance shopping

If we purchase from outside the UK it's generally not so good.

[Xiga]

Ok so the Panaview is going back to Amazon. There won't be any issue with a refund, I've never had any bother with them before.

My initial view was to go for a direct replacement, probably from FLO, but I decided to do a bit more research first.

The way I see it, my C8 will be pretty forgiving of most eyepieces, I certainly don't need to be splurging on a Televue or anything. Plus, this will be my only widefield EP for the C8. I plan on getting an ED80 soon, but it will be mainly for imaging, and any EP's I get for it will be in the lower mm range.

I've read that about 1.3 degrees TFOV is about the maximum one should really go for in a scope such as mine, so I decided to check what EP's out there that currently retail for less than £100 would get me in terms of TFOV, to see how close I could get to this number, my results are below:

EP Mag AFOV TFOV Cost           Revelation 42mm 48.4 65 1.34 £33           Revelation 50mm 40.6 55 1.35 £33           Meade 4000 Super Plossl 56mm 36.3 52 1.43 £78           Panaview 38mm 53.5 70 1.31 £85           Sky-Watcher SWA 70 32mm 63.5 70 1.10 £86           WO SWAN 40mm 50.8 70 1.38 £97           WO SWAN 33mm 61.6 72 1.17 £97

The Revelation 42mm seems to be the clear 'bang for buck' winner (jn my very unknowledgable opinion i might add!). Obviously, I have never actually looked through any of these, so I can't comment on whether they are actually any good or not, but I think I've decided to go for the Revelation 42mm and save the £££'s for something else, maybe a Telrad or the like, to replace the annoying 6x30 finder i'm currently using.

Welcome any comments anybody has on the above, as I won't actually be buying the Revelation until Amazon have processed my refund.

[Xiga]

Arghhh, formatting didn't show up properly. This does not fit well with my OCD levels!