Baader 31 aspheric

[The Flinty Fox]

Hi all.

To keep a long story short I purchased this eyepiece, Baader 31mm aspheric,  last Saturday in the hope of achieving some nice low power views of the heavens. Due to bad weather, tonight was my first real look through it and as this is my first wide angle eyepiece wasn't totally sure what to expect, so my question is at what point from the centre of FOV should the image start to go a bit wobbly? Looking through mine it seems that the image is already going a bit wronge at about 50% from centre (small comet tails). It this normal for this type of eyepiece? I am using it in my WO 80mm F 6.8. I wasn't expecting edge to edge sharpness but wasn't anticipating it going at only 50% from centre either. I should think that in my 150p it will not be any better. Any advice much appreciated.

 

Thanks Paul.

[DRT]

Hi Paul,

I owned one of these a couple of years ago and found it very good in my 11" SCT, which is F10, but not so good in the 8" Dob I had at the time, which was F5.

The Baader eyepieces from that range tend to have a reputation for being more suited to slower scopes so perhaps your F6.8 is just below its optimal range.

 

[John]

I've owned an Aspheric 31 as well. It's nicely made but quite astigmatic in the outer 50% of the field of view with my F/6.5 refractor, less so with my F/7.5 but still noticable. I only used it once with my F/5.3 dob but it was not really intended for that scope because I already have a 31mm Nagler which shows sharp stars across the whole field as you would expect.

I imaging that the Aspheric 31 is a decent option for F/10 scopes but, as Derek says, not great when things drop below around F/7.

 

 

[Tinker1947]

I use one in a 250P-DS Reflector and the only thing i found was a the stars elongating around the very out edge this also happened with e 36mm , for the money i thought they were a good EP.....

[The Flinty Fox]

Interesting replies thanks DRT, John. Would perhaps exchanging it for a maxivision 68 or a skywatcher aero be a good idea? 

Haven't yet tried it in my 150p yet tinker1947 but will give it a go and see.

Thanks Paul.

[John]

I'm not sure that the Aero ED is a lot better, a little better perhaps. I feel a little more confident about the Maxvision 68 because I've been using the 24mm extensively tonight with great effect in my F/5.3 12" dobsonian. While not perfect at the field edges it's pretty darn good for it's cost (<£50 used !) and I've been able to find and view a couple of dozen galaxies around Leo with it 

[The Flinty Fox]

OK,  thanks for that John. Might exchange it, if I can, for the 34mm maxvision. Have read on various Web sites that it's good down to F5. 

Choices, choices,  it can be hard to know what to get.

Happy galaxy hunting. I was trying to find comets last night.

 

Thanks Paul

 

[alan potts]

Paul,

In my opinion you will be much better off with the MV, 24, 28 or 34mm, I had all of them dressed up as Meade Series 5000 eyepieces with a larger asking price for the green skirts around them. I have never been impress by the Baader eyepieces I have used like Hyperions, I could see issues at F7, the BGO though are rather tasty.

Alan

[The Flinty Fox]

Hello.

Have just returned from exchanging the baader and now have a Altair 30mm Kitakaru RPL. I had seen it before and found it very interesting but when I got the baader it wasn't it stock (think it's a new item) but some came in this week. They suggested this as the 34mm maxvision wasn't in till later in the week so I took one. Had a go in the shop and it seemed nice so looking forward to trying it under the stars, think it's going to be clear tomorrow.

Must admit it is a slightly odd exchange but was very intrigued to try it out, I'm hoping it's going to be good. 

Paul

[triton1]

I have the 28 maxi it it's sharp at f5 across the fov.

[jkwhinfrey]

I'd love to know how the Kitakaru turns out Paul as I've been pondering giving the 30mm a whirl myself. I've got a 150PDS and an ST-80 too, plus I'd like to try it in my Altair f11 as a step up from the 42mm Superview I already have... just curious, you know how it is ;-)

James

[The Flinty Fox]

Hi James 

Well, I have only tried it in the WO F6.8 so far and I have to say that I don't think that it is particularly better, or worse than the baader. Maybe a tad better than the baader but not by much, but it does cost £40 less and has a slightly smaller afov, if that is significant to its performance.

I did find the Kitakaru easier to use though, easier eye placement and less kidney beaning but I do have to use it with the eye shield folded down to achieve the whole fov. 

I think that the WO at f6.8 is at the Kitakaru's  limit and should think that your f11 will be better suited for it. 

Having said this on the two sessions  that I have used it i did enjoy them and got some nice views of the double cluster, m42 etc and managed to catch m81 and m82. 

In all I think I may like it, it's a little quirky, I think,  and for £90 can't grumble too much. 

Sorry for the lack of autopstick detail just don't have the experience.

Paul

 

[jkwhinfrey]

Thanks for your impressions Paul. It's interesting to hear from someone who's used one. Glad to hear that it's comfortable to use.

But it doesn't sound too good for the F5 scopes. The Kitakaru RPL appears to be a reworking of the asymmetric plossl, and at 62 degrees AFOV I had to wonder how good it'd be.

The 42mm Superview works very well in the F11 and surprisingly well in the 150PDS when I'm feeling reckless, but I think the extreme low magnification (18x) helps to hide the mess in the latter case ;-)

It might be worth a go for something a bit different? Something to think about.

So you're not having second thoughts about the Maxvision? They're bulky and heavy, but do work very nicely. I just found my 24mm a little too uncomfortable. Eyepiece ergonomics are very personal though.

James

[John]

What was that old saying ? - "wide field of view / sharp right across in a fast scope / low cost - pick any two"

Something like that anyway !

 

[The Flinty Fox]

Hi James. Haven't given up on maxvisions yet still deciding what to do. Have seen a 24mm ES on ebay, the nitrogen purged one I think,  so might keep an eye on that. 

Thanks for the ditty John but I think you missed a bit of the end that goes

....or just buy one televue.

Thanks Paul.

[Paul73]

Just my quick 2p worth. 

The 34mm MaxVision is a heavy eyepiece. It is well worth checking that your kit is OK with the weight. It would be too heavy for my travel setup. I have owned the 16,20,24&28mm MaxVisions in the past for use on a f4.7 scope and really rate them for the money. The 28mm was a bit bendy of view but I far gave it because of the lovely wide starfields. You will be more than fine at your f ratio.

Paul

Ps. Beware! The views are addictive. I bought the 68° 28mm 2 years ago then moved to a ES 82° 30mm and have recently added a TeleVue Ethos 100° 21mm. All completely by accident and getting more expensive each time ????. Love the views though. ????

[jkwhinfrey]

Just to return the favour as someone tipped me off a couple of weeks ago, if you're interested in the ES eyepieces you should take a look at the Bresser ex-display items

http://www.bresser.de/en/Sale/Display-Items/2/

They have 28mm ES68 and 34mm Maxvision for 95 euro I think, and the ES68 24mm you were talking about for 75 euro.

I bought an ES68 16mm I'm very happy with, but it doesn't come with the fancy ES box. In great condition otherwise and delivery wasn't expensive.

James

 

[Paul73]

4 hours ago, jkwhinfrey said:

Just to return the favour as someone tipped me off a couple of weeks ago, if you're interested in the ES eyepieces you should take a look at the Bresser ex-display items

http://www.bresser.de/en/Sale/Display-Items/2/

They have 28mm ES68 and 34mm Maxvision for 95 euro I think, and the ES68 24mm you were talking about for 75 euro.

I bought an ES68 16mm I'm very happy with, but it doesn't come with the fancy ES box. In great condition otherwise and delivery wasn't expensive.

James

 

That is why the delivery is cheap! Those boxes are massive!?

[cs1cjc]

You could always look at the FLO offers.  You may be pleasantly surprised...

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces.html

 

[The Flinty Fox]

At 75 euro that's about £60, nice. I see they also have the 34mm ES68 for 140 euro which is about £108. 

It seems that the maxvision's are at a similar price to uk prices but the ES68 seen much cheaper.

Never really seen this site before, thanks.

The FLO offers are good also.

 Paul.