Baader Hyperion 8-24mm zoom on a Skywatcher Skyline 250px Dob?

[pinters]

Hi

Semi-newby question:

After many months of deliberation I'm about to take the plunge and get a Skywatcher Skyline 250px Dobsonian. I've been having a look around and have come across the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm zoom, which to my untrained brain looks like quite a good deal, i.e. effectively five eyepieces for the price of one. I've seen some really good reviews for it, too, but the only query I have is whether it will perform well at the SW's f/5 speed, as I've seen a couple of posts on here saying the quality seems to tail off a bit at higher speeds.

Also, and just as a cheeky add-on, is it relatively easy (or even a good idea) to take the 250 px OTA off its Dob mount and place it onto an NEQ6? It's something I will most likely want to do a little further down the line for taking DSO images.

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on either of these questions.

Cheers in advance :-)

[John]

The Hyperion Zoom is a good quality eyepiece and does work well even with faster scopes. A bit better than the fixed focal length Hyperions in terms of edge sharpness in fast scopes actually. It's not perfect at the edges of the field but pretty good.

At the 24mm setting the field of view is rather constricted and the field stop not well defined so I prefer to think of it as a 20mm - 8mm zoom and use a 24mm 68 degree eyepiece for low power / widefield viewing. 

The Hyperion Zoom Barlow lens can be added to give a short focal length range of 10.5mm - 3.5mm (I think thats right ?).

You can put your 250PX OTA onto an EQ mount. You will need to get the correct size tube rings and a stout dovetail bar to do this.

[pinters]

John

Many thanks for the invaluable advice -- much appreciated, as it's put my mind at rest on a couple of issues. And yes, I have also taken a look at the Hyperion zoom barlow and it looks pretty tasty, too. Cheers.

[MattJenko]

I have the 250px and I also have the Hyperion Zoom and I would say that you should rethink unfortunately. I have some other eyepieces which perform much better in this scope. This is not to say it is bad, but there are significantly better options. I find the whole experience just a bit soft and disappointing these days, and the comparison to my MaxVision EP is marked. The Hyperion is excellent in my 2 refractors though, so as mentioned, it is not a bad eyepiece at all, I just think the 250px is a bit much for it. It was a definite step up from the stock eyepieces for sure, but once I put some other EPs in, I just don't use the Hyperion in the 250px any more. John is absolutely right about the 24mm setting, it is noticeable narrower, so I rarely go above 20mm.

I have also taken the OTA off the Dob base and put it on an NEQ6 with some tube rings. It is big and scary, but works fine. I don't recommend you repeat this experiment though

[John]

Interesting thoughts from Matt above. I have to admit that F/5.3 is the fastest scope that I've used the Hyperion Zoom in and I thought it was pretty good in that. F/4.7 is that much tougher on eyepieces though so it's quite possible that the faster focal ratio would push the zooms capabilities just a bit too much. To be fair F/4.7 pushes most wide field eyepieces pretty hard unless they of the black and green type !

I have recently acquired a Maxvision 24mm 68 degree eyepiece and I'd agree that it's an excellent performer for it's price.

[laudropb]

I have the Hyperion zoom on my 8 inch Dob, but have to agree with Matt the image you get is quite soft compared to better eyepieces. Having said that I did use it quite a bit when I started out. I liked not have to change eyepieces when increasing magnification. Now I mainly use it on the Moon.

[pinters]

Thanks, guys, for some invaluable advice and thoughts. 

[Paul73]

I have a 250 f4.7 SW dob and have a Baader Zoom & barlow arriving later this week. I'll give it a go and post thoughts.

The zoom was bought for my little ED80 refractor (f7.5). I'm not expecting much from the Zoom Dob combo.

John is right. The 250 / MaxVision 68° 24mm is a great combination. The 250 / Explore Scientific combo is even better but 3x the price! £200 new.

The 250px is a splendid scope. The eyepieces can be added / upgraded over time.

Paul

[pinters]

Cheers, Paul. The general consensus seems to be to try the Maxvision, so I think that's what I'll go with. Thanks to everyone.

[John]

I've got one of the zooms on it's way tomorrow - I'll be able to compare it with my 24mm Maxvision

(when the clouds clear that is )