Widefield eyepieces brighter views ??

[spaceboy]

OK so I have noticed this a couple of times now. I'm not sure if it is simply an optical illusion or if my eyes are playing tricks on me but has anyone else found that wide filed eyepieces seem to give brighter views ?

When I say brighter I also mean to some degree washed out. In my mind it kind of makes sense that the eye can be tricked in to believing the whole image is brighter as there are obviously more stars and indeed LP sky with the field stop often being out of sight. The views in a similar magnification eyepiece but of a tighter AFOV are ringed by a field stop making 15% + of the view in the eyepiece stand out as solid black ring with the view of the stars compressed in to the centre. Less stars in view and so too sky.

For argument sake lets say we have an 82° ep and a 50° ep.  My guess at similar magnifications a tighter 50° FOV would in theory appear more contrasted ? Where the wide field eye piece would have a significant advantage is the ability to increase magnification and so too contrast while still fitting in the same amount of stars as the lower magnification 50° FOV eyepiece.

Does this sound about right ?? I have to assume it is simply an optical illusion I'm experiencing ?

[John]

I don't notice brighter views really. I have compared my Ethos 8mm with my XW 7mm and the views are very similar apart from the field size.

 

 

[spaceboy]

I'm not sure brighter is the right word TBH John. I wish I could better explain it. I'm not entirely convinced they are "brighter" as I have picked out the faintest stars I can see and they are apparent in both. It's almost like you have 2 tv sets, one 50" one 82". Both have the same image but the larger tv lights the room more

[Moonshane]

In a way I have experience of a similar but slightly different take. When for planetary observing I was using an ortho compared with a similar focal length widefield I felt as though the wider expanse of dark sky in the latter created a wider pupil than the former.  I felt this created more depth of field with the ortho and hence detail popped more. I think this was also also illusion.

[spaceboy]

Mentioning about exit pupil feeling larger I think you may have had a similar experience Shane. It would be interested to have a line of same focal length eyepieces with varying fov and see what several people thought. We do after all have different eyes and perceptions.