LVW 22 vs Maxvision 24

[RK93]

Hi!

I'm looking for another eyepiece for my 15" f/4.3 Newton. I currently have LVW 13mm and NLV 6mm, both of them are great. 

I need an eyepiece that will give me relatively low magnification (60-80x) helpful while observing big DSOs or searching for them. 

Tele Vue eyepieces are too expensive for me, so I'm considering:

-LVW22mm 70* 

or

-Maxvision 24 82* 

Of course, the Maxvision offers much wider (31%) FOV than LVW, but will it be useful in a f/4.3? I am afraid the coma will be unacceptable. I have tested other LVWs and they all worked great in my scope. But, again, having a wider field of view would be great while searching for DSOs or observing even larger ones.

Do you have any experiences with Maxvision in fast Newtonians? I'd like to hear your opinions.

Radek

[triton1]

I use the 28mm 68* and it's great ep which I bought from Es.Reading on their website they do state on certain maxvisions that they tested to f4 so might be worth a look.

[Mrbloke]

I have the 24mm 82 MV. I really like it and use it exactly as you describe. It's great for locating DSOs. I don't really notice much in the way of coma, but it is in a 12" f/5 so won't be as much as in your scope.

FLOs website does suggest that the maxvision range is used in f/5 or higher....

[John]

I've owned the 22mm LVW and reviewed the whole series here:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/blog/vixen-lvw-vs-baader-hyperion-review.html

I felt the 22mm LVW very similar to the Tele Vue Panoptic 24mm but with better eye relief.

I've not used an Maxvision 24 / 82 but from recent reports I've read I strongly suspect the Vixen 22 LVW will be a better performer, especially towards the field edges, at F/4.3 than the Maxvision.

The narrower field of view might be the best place to be with regards to seeing too much coma, unless you have a coma corrector that is.

[triton1]

Just looked at the Es website they do say the 24mm 82* is good to f4

[bingevader]

It's interesting how people's experiences of the same EP vary!

I have the ES 82° 24mm and think it's fab, but I do find it soft around the edges in my 8" f5.9 dob!

I'd have thought that this would be worse in a f4.3 'scope.

However, as you say, there is a difference in FOV between the 2 EPs.

John's review of the 22 LVW does say that it's sharp nearly to the edge.

Out of interest, I put them both into Stellarium.

In my 'scope therefore, considering the difference in FOV, I think the area of the sky that is "sharp" in the MV would be as large if not better than in the LVW.

I suppose it would depend on whether the remaining area, although obviously larger, would be a benefit or a distraction if not as sharp.

[alan potts]

I have not used any of the Vixen ranges but I trust John's judgement, his reviews are very in depth not just a 5 minute look. I have used and reviewed the 24mm UWA Meade which is the same thing wearing different Y fronts. It was a pretty good performer down to F5.3 but I am not sure that would hold up under F4.3. I have a scope this speed now but didnot then, I have tried other Meade's or Max Visions in this scope and it really ruins those edges and a fair bit of the rest of the field of view.

I think the Vixen option which stands well with Pentax and Televue would be the better road to take.

Alan

[Paul73]

I'd worry about the MaxVisions at f4.3 68° & 82°. I'm not sure that I would trust my, more expensive, ES 82° 24mm at F4.3 without a coma corrector.

It my be just too expensive to get 82° in such a fast scope. Maybe 68-70° Should be your target?

Thoughts anyone?

Paul

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have used the MaxVision 68° 24mm in an F/4.1 20" Dob. It clearly showed astigmatism at the edges. However, the 68° versions are specified to work down to F/5, whereas the 82 #degree# version is specified to work down to F/4. Regarding coma: I have used several Naglers (12T4, 17T4, 22T4, 26T5 and even the 31T5 "Panzerfaust") in the same Dob, and I was not troubled by coma (it is there, but not obtrusively so)

[RK93]

Well, I'm still confused and I don't know what to buy, but I'm leaning toward LVW22- I used LVW17 and LVW8 in this scope, and I own LVW13, and all of them are sharp almost to the very edge. So I guess LVW22 will be, too. And the LVWs are really comfortable.

I checked the FOV in Stellarium, too- it's not that bad. Of course, the extra 31% of FOV is tempting, but I'm too afraid the extra field would be not useful. Maybe I will borrow an 24mm 82* ES and see how it works- I don't know anyone who owns Maxvision 24mm, though. 

Thanks for all your help!

Radek