10-12mm Eyepiece for around £100

[Andyb90]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for an eyepiece in the 10-12mm range for about £100. I'm intending to use it mainly for DSO's such as planetary nebulae and galaxies. I like good eye relief, although I don't wear glasses.

I'll be using a Skyliner 250px so just under f5.

I'm pretty flexible on the AFOV.

So far I've looked at the ES82 11mm and the Vixen SLV 10 or 12mm. They both seem to be well regarded.

Any recommendations would be gratefully recieved.

Regards,

Andy.

[Roy Challen]

I'd say the two choices you have already looked at are among the best in that price range. The Vixens have a smaller field of view, but better eye relief. I would say they are probably a bit sharper.

[Joe12345]

I have both - the explore scientific has incredibly uncomfortable eye positioning, whereas the vixen is very comfortable and better corrected. I would get a second hand Slv if I were you, but that's just me. The vixens sell quite cheaply second hand - you might be able to get one for £65 from ABS, then if you don't like it you can sell it for a similar price

[Moonshane]

Used Radian if you can find one.

[Chris Hopson]

Don't know anything about these but how about the Celestron Luminos 82 deg?

First light optics have them on there website.

Regards

Chris

[Drop Of Sun]

I've not used the Vixens. I like the Radians, I have the 8mm and 5mm. 20mm eye relief, good build quality, eye placement is comfy for me, can cope with pretty fast scopes, F5 is plenty fine. And you start your green and black downfall

[John]

I own some Radians and I've used some of the Vixen SLV's. Optically I'd say that the Vixen's are a touch better than the Radians although there is not much in it. The Radian's obviously have a slightly wider apparent field of view. I felt that the Vixen's had a more neutral tone and slightly better light transmission. Both very good eyepieces. You will have to rely on the used market for a Radian though.

My own personal choice at that focal length would be of somewhat wider field of view and somewhat more expensive, unfortunately

[Piero]

If I had a telescope like yours and were in the market for an eyepiece of that focal length, I would wait and save a bit more. Then I would go for either a Pentax xw 10mm or a TV delos 10mm. I believe the latter will be easier (between the two!) to find second hand although you will have to be very quick anyway.

[Chris]

Well I'd say you've got plenty of choice

For a start there is a 9mm Baader Morpheus on astrobuy and sell for 110 pounds. These are new on the market but already have excellent reviews. They have a generous 76 degree field of view and good eye relief. 

The Celestron Luminos are excellent for the money (around 100 pounds new). They have 82 degrees and better eye relief than the ES82's. I've just given ES82's a second go but really can't get on with the eye relief, unless you have your eyelashes hitting the glass you can't see the full field of view, infact with the eyecup rolled up it's more like 55 degrees. Nothing wrong with 55 degrees but when you know there's more around the corner it's slightly annoying. I've owned both the 7 and 15mm Luminos and they feel much more open. I have been warned not to get the 10mm Luminos by more than one person, apparently it's the weekest out the lot but can't remember why?

Vixen SLV's are really excellent albeit only 50 degrees, it's a perfect 50 degrees with great eye relief and comfort. I have no idea why but they don't seem to hold their value particularly well? They used to sell new for 109 pounds but now they are reduced to 99 pounds new. Second hand they can be had for 65 pounds including delivery, even less in some cases, I'm struggling to sell my 5mm for 63 pounds.

The ES82 probably have the nicest fit and finish if you ask me, but the eye relief just kills it

A good budget option would be a 12mm BST Starguider - 60 degrees, good eyerelief, comfy, 49 quid.  

[F15Rules]

Might be slightly longer FL than you want but the Vixen LVW 13mm has superb build, great optics and 20mm eye relief. I have the 5 and 8mm and love them. You can get used ones for £75-£90, great value.

Dave

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

What about the Pentax XF12. I had the 8.5mm version, and that was better than the Radians 8, especially in terms of transmission.

[Andyb90]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm leaning towards the Vixen SLV 12mm, but the Pentax XF 12mm also looks good.

Does anyone have an idea of how they might compare at f5?

Also from what I've read the SLV has 7 elements and the Pentax has 6? Is the extra element likely to make a significant difference?

As for Televue I've already had to remove the link to their website from my favourites to prevent persistent drooling 

I can see myself succumbing to the lure of green and black in the future.

Andy

[John]

Here is a comparison between the Radian 12mm and the Pentax XF 12mm:

http://www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/user-reviews/eyepieces/televue-eyepieces/12mm-radian-and-12mm-pentax-xf-r1393

I've not used a Pentax XF so I can't comment how it would compare to the Vixen SLV.

The number of elements is not an issue either way.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Here is a comparison between the Radian 12mm and the Pentax XF 12mm:

http://www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/user-reviews/eyepieces/televue-eyepieces/12mm-radian-and-12mm-pentax-xf-r1393

I've not used a Pentax XF so I can't comment how it would compare to the Vixen SLV.

The number of elements is not an issue either way.

Interesting comparison. Matches my experience when comparing the XF8.5 to the Radian 8 and 10

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/134341-pentax-xf-85mm-vs-radian-8mm-and-10mm/

[Damo636]

Personally I'd avoid the 12mm Pentax xf at all costs, it has most amount of field curvature I've ever encountered. The 8.5mm is excellent, the 12.5mm I kept for one week!

[bomberbaz]

I have had a 12mm Vixen 12mm SLV. Lovely EP. Crisp views, good ER and very light. They are very easy to use in terms of eye positioning and superb to view through. If a newcomer came on here looking for a set of EP's a shorter focal lengths with a reasonable (ie not TVue budget) I would tell them without question to go for them. I still have a vixen at 15mm which I doubt I will sell.

Steve

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

My SLV5 is also excellent. I now have the mighty Pentax XW7, but I am not at all sure I will get rid of the little SLV 5. The image quality is very, very close to that of the XW, albeit over a much smaller FOV. The weight is so low I think I will keep it for my airline travel set (SLV5, WO Zoom-II 7.5-22.5 and MaxVision 24mm 68 deg).

[Fozzie]

I currently have both the ES11mm 82deg and the 12mm SLV (along with most of his brothers)

I would say the general consensus here that both are good quality EP’s is spot on but the eye relief is a “yes or no” for the ES11mm.  It probably is that black and white with the ES82 range from the 18mm down.

The SLV’s are a joy to use, so much so I traded in all of my Televue plossl’s for the equivalent SLV’s and it’s probably been the best decision eyepiece wise I’ve made.  They are usually my preference over the ES82’s due to the comfortable viewing experience.

That being said though on an unguided scope, as all mine are, having a nice wide field of view does help when viewing targets, cuts down on the nudging in to view somewhat.  The best view I’ve had of the double cluster and Orion’s neb was with the ES82 range. 

That’s why I carry both, framing a target nicely can, I feel, add to the overall experience.

If I’m honest to myself I’m waiting on the reviews of the Morpheus EP’s to start to appear, initial comments look really encouraging, and this could lead to a change from the ES82’s..  You really cannot beat great eye relief for comfortable observing…

Not sure that helps at all… But for me time at the EP needs to be comfortable, and the SLV’s give me that way and above the ES82’s.. and whats a bit of nudging the object back in to view other than a bit of a reminder we live in a dynamic moving universe…

Good luck on your choice!

Ta

Fozzie

[Andyb90]

Thanks again for all the advice. I've gone for the VIxen SLV 12mm, just ordered it from FLO 

It looks like there may be a clear spell at the weekend in my neck of the woods, so hopefully I'll be able to try it out then.

Andy.

[Chris]

Great choice Andy, enjoy

[Fozzie]

Seconded... excellent choice..

What's a clear spell, and where can I get one from????

[Mak the Night]

The 10mm Luminos is a nice eyepiece, although supposedly they can be prone to 'glaring' on fast scopes and even I've noticed this with a 130mm Newtonian. They work well in Mak/SCT's. They are 3/4 of a pound in weight. The twist-up eye guard is a bit redundant IMO and it has a relatively comfortable 12mm eye relief. From what I've heard Celestron will probably discontinue the Luminos series soon.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-luminos-eyepieces.html

[Chris]

 From what I've heard Celestron will probably discontinue the Luminos series soon.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-luminos-eyepieces.html

Luminos replaced the Axiom, so I wonder what they will replace them with, if anything?

[Mak the Night]

Luminos replaced the Axiom, so I wonder what they will replace them with, if anything?

I know about the Axioms, I think they were discontinued because of a dispute Celestron had with the manufacturer and the Axiom range was possibly not priced competitively enough. I have no idea what will replace the Luminos series.