New Eyepieces From Vixen: The HR-Series

[Dave In Vermont]

So I just ran into some new glass from Vixen making it's way to the West Coast of the US. They are called the Vixen HR-series and come in three FL's: 1.6mm, 2.0mm, and 2.4mm.

I'd say these will have a rather limited appeal. But who knows? Maybe these will appeal to the diehard power-head out there wanting to get 250X out of their ST80? My eye's hurt at the thought!

Here's a link:

http://agenaastro.com/eyepieces/shopby/vixen_hr.html

Have fun -

Dave

 

[Alien 13]

I can imagine its like looking through a blocked keyhole (not that I ever have) and oh the floaters..

Alan

[Fozzie]

21 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

 Maybe these will appeal to the diehard power-head out there wanting to get 250X out of their ST80?

 

Lol Dave, made me chuckle that..

[Louis D]

Cloudy Nights had a long discussion on them here.

[John]

And we had a discussion on them in February (including Dave !):

 

 

[Floater]

4 hours ago, John said:

And we had a discussion on them in February (including Dave !):

 

 

Aw, Dave.

Man, you've been rumbled.

???

[Dave In Vermont]

Sawwy! How am I supposed to keep track of everything in this Universe? I'm too busy trying to find a way out of it!

<now where did I leave my keys.....>

Dave <and his muse>

[Ruud]

Unique eyepieces, but Vixen missed out on one crucial selling point: a 0.965" barrel.

[bomberbaz]

some people will do anything to get their 

[bomberbaz]

post count up 

[F15Rules]

I came across this new review by Bill Paolini recently published here: http://astronomyconnect.com/forums/articles/field-test-of-the-vixen-hr-eyepieces.36/

It's interesting, Bill was quite sceptical when the launch of these new units was advertised earlier this year, as I guess were most of us, but in his review he sounds genuinely gobsmacked at the performance - comparing them favourably with ZAO II and Pentax XO eyepieces, which is praise indeed.

Of course, these are highly specialised eyepieces, and really only for high quality scopes with either or both smaller aperture and/or shorter focal length, but their performance on lunar, planets and double stars under very good conditions  sounds to be really top notch.

I know that in the UK we might only get 10-15 nights per year (if we are lucky) on which such eps could give of their best, but I for one would be genuinely interested to see how my Vixen ED103s (F=795mm) would work with the 2.4mm Vixen HR (this would give x330 in the Vixen).. I doubt I could use this on Jupiter, where I find that around x200 or so is as high as I can usefully go, but on Mars when favourably placed, on the Moon, and, for me especially closer double stars, I'd be quite interested to try this one out.

I also appreciate that for Dob and altaz mount users such short focal lengths and relatively narrow fields (42 degrees, so like an ortho), these eyepieces would present real challenges. But with a driven mount, reasonably aligned to Polaris (I do this routinely with my polar scope and the scope can hold an object for 30 minutes with no problem), it would be very possible. I couldn't see myself using any but the 2.4mm though. I have had the ED103s up to 300x plus on the moon and double stars with pretty decent images, using barlowed longer fl eps, so it would be interesting to see how the Vixen 2.4mm performed without the extra glass in the way - maybe even without a diagonal, Japanese observing style!

When you think that a used Pentax XO is going to cost around £250-£300 (if you can find one), then these appear well priced at £259, around the same as a Pentax XW new. And from what Bill says, they have better eye relief (around 10mm I think), more comfortable ergonomics and great build quality.

Has anyone on SGL pulled the trigger on one?

Dave

[John]

I've been thinking about these since they came out but so far I've not been tempted to invest. The 2.4mm would be the one that would get some use in my Tak and Lzos refractors but even that would be marginal on most occasions I fear.

If Vixen produced some slightly longer focal lengths (eg: 3 - 6mm) then I might get a lot more interested.

It is encouraging that Vixen are coming out with some new ideas though and executing them well too

[F15Rules]

I agree John, if they offered 3,4,5 and even 6 mm variants they would really have a wide appeal I think.

Is there a possibility of FLO loaning you a couple to test??

Dave