Which zoom eyepiece?

[cosmic_girl]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of buying a Hyperion zoom eyepiece. The wider field of view compared to other zoom eyepieces should be helpful when using it with my 8" dob, but I am concerned about some reviews which talk about the large amount of kidney beaning. How does this eyepiece compare with the TeleVue/Meade/Vixen zooms? Are the cheaper Seben zooms on eBay worth considering instead?

I've noticed David Hinds are selling the Hyperion zoom, do they still do 10% discount for SGL members?

Cheers,

Michelle

[anthony]

I got the hyperion from Steve at FLO a few weeks ago and have been really pleased with it on both an 8"SCT and a 4" refractor for the moon and saturn. Weather, work and summer time have prevented it woring on any DSOs as yet.

I did notice the kidney beaning a couple of times but once I got used to the eyepiece itself i quickly learnt where the eye should go!! Consequently - not a problem.

A good eyepiece indeed. In fact it is several good eyepieces being a zoom! They rarely come up secondhand and i reckon that reflects their quality/price.

Anthony

[Brinders]

I have the Seben zoom and use it on both my TAL150P and my Celestron 9.25 SCT with no problems at all. I would say that the eyepiece is just as good (but without the widefield of view) of my Hyperion 8mm and any one of my Plossols from Celestron, Meade, TAL and Skywatcher. Indeed, I now only use the Hyperion and the Seben zoom. The only problem I have found is that it is necessary to refocus at the 8mm end when zooming from 24mm, otherwise all is Bisto (as my youngest daughter would say - meaning good).

I have even taken some decent images of the whole moon using my compact digital camera afocal with the Seben on the TAL. Here is one:-

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(click to enlarge)

Brinders

[Whippy]

I think by and large, the Hyperion zoom is pretty well regarded and as Anthony says, they rarely come up second hand which says something .

I have a Celestron 8-24mm zoom that I picked up from the States (not sure if it's available here) and all I use it for is sorting out the alignment whilst setting up my GOTO mount. It's not a patch on my Hyperion eyepiecs (non-zoom!) for observing, but for convenience it does the job.

I believe the way zoom eyepieces are designed, you do lose a bit of light as opposed to a 'normal' eyepiece so those faint fuzzies might well be a bit more faint and fuzzy (I've found this out to be true comparing my own). Something you might want to take into account if you're planning to go DSO hunting with it.

Tony..

[jcm]

I have heard the WO zoom eyepiece is pretty good.

John

[anthony]

The Seben sounds interesting and that's a nice picture through it too.

Anthony

[cosmic_girl]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It looks like the Hyperion zoom is a safe bet, but I am very interested in what Brinders said about the Seben zoom. I too have the Hyperion 8mm and if the Seben zoom compares to this then I wonder if it is worth spending over £100 more on the Hyperion zoom just to get a bit extra field of view. BTW great picture of the moon Brinders!