Everyman's Casual Comparison of Pentax vs Baader: 8-24mm Zoom

[F15Rules]

Having owned both Baader and Pentax zooms I agree that there isn't a huge difference optically. 

For me, though, the Pentax has the feel good factor, just because it feels top notch quality in the hand. The other thing I like is that it is water resistant and dust resistant to JS4 standards which means if you intend to keep it long term you are unlikely to need to worry about dust or moisture ingress. Conversely I have read about a number of Baader zooms which have had internals literally disintegrating or showing black specs internally..(none of the 3 I owned had this problem though).

The Baader is great value for money. I only bought my Pentax when FLO had it on offer at £299, compared to its original £405..I don't think it's worth £405, and at that price I'd rather buy a pair of used XW fixed length units?. But at £299 for the quality you get, it's cracking value.

I'd love to try the Leica too..If Stu rates it as highly as he does then I know it's a good 'un??.

Dave

[YKSE]

On ‎2017‎-‎04‎-‎03 at 00:11, iPeace said:

Anything in particular I should look for?

Going over and over Bill review (in cloudy nights, don't we have many?) is a good start:

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/user-reviews/24-26-mm-eyepiece-comparison-r2651

Or even simple details as Bill decribed here are mcuh revealing, since these descriptions happen to match the optical measurements (done by someone else later) very well.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/428549-explore-scientific-82-degree-67-mm-vs-nagler-type/?p=5530720

 

[iPeace]

The shoot-out continues with no clear front runner. Last night, both again gave me all there was to be had in the sub-optimal conditions.

Hope, as we all do, to get some really good nights in soon. Maybe then one will pip the other.

Then again, perhaps I will have to get a Leica ASPH to settle this once and for all.

[Merlin66]

I've tried many.....

and Pentax won out every time .

 

[Highburymark]

3 hours ago, iPeace said:

The shoot-out continues with no clear front runner. Last night, both again gave me all there was to be had in the sub-optimal conditions.

Hope, as we all do, to get some really good nights in soon. Maybe then one will pip the other.

Then again, perhaps I will have to get a Leica ASPH to settle this once and for all.

Mike - I bought my Leica from a Dutch website ('Photo Specialist' I think it was called) for half the UK price. Haven't checked prices recently, but if you are in the market for a new Leica ASPH, it pays to shop around. 

[Richard Hather]

Glad your enjoying the Pentax ipeace, it is a lovely EP Zoom or no zoom dark background lovely contrast and as you said a very cool feel on the moon and planets especially ?

Very nice comparison by the way and I can't wait to hear more ☺

Richard 

[iPeace]

Well, it's been a while now, and it's time for me to render a personal decision. No clear winner when it comes to the views I get - both great performers, the Pentax perhaps slightly better but I'm afraid it's another case of "can't quite explain"...

So one or the other, depending on your observing style, circumstances, etc. For me, at this moment in time, it's primarily about keeping my interests mobile so the lighter, more compact Baader has the edge. In a more static setting, or indeed if I was lugging around a big scope anyway, the Pentax would certainly win out just because it's a bit more posh. It's not a huge eyepiece, mind you, just bigger than the Baader and that has me using the Baader more readily.

So the Pentax has slowly made its way to the bottom of the spares box and it deserves better (I've hoarded gear of all sorts for too long, time to lighten up ) so I will be seeking a new home for it soon.

In the mean time, the Baader is a lot of fun and a great tool to have.

[John]

How do you find the Baader on DSO's ?

When I had my last one (in 2014 and a MK III) I enjoyed it but found that it lacked contrast when observing galaxies like M82 when I switched to an alternative 8mm (eg: the Ethos). The galaxy surface brightness was noticebaly brighter with the Ethos which was a little surprise because I thought the Baadeer zoom would compete well on such targets. M82 got a lot of attention in early 2014 because of Supernova SN2014J

[iPeace]

5 minutes ago, John said:

How do you find the Baader on DSO's ?

When I had my last one (in 2014 and a MK III) I enjoyed it but found that it lacked contrast when observing galaxies like M82 when I switched to an alternative 8mm (eg: the Ethos). The galaxy surface brightness was noticebaly brighter with the Ethos which was a little surprise because I thought the Baadeer zoom would compete well on such targets. M82 got a lot of attention in early 2014 because of Supernova SN2014J

Good question; I do seek out the occasional fuzzy, and indeed have put effort into things like the Veil, but will count on a Panoptic or Nagler for the best possible view. Dedicated DSO man I am not... 

I suspect that I am not quite as discerning as you and others, but more importantly I also feel that a mid-range zoom like this one suits a particular mode of observing, one which I enjoy, namely trawling around through star fields, looking for colorful stars, asterisms and clusters of the brighter variety, and zooming in on anything that looks interesting.

It's a short frac thing.

[25585]

Be interesting to compare the Vixen LV 8 to 24 zoom as well. 

[John]

4 hours ago, 25585 said:

Be interesting to compare the Vixen LV 8 to 24 zoom as well. 

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/user-reviews/eyepieces/eyepieces-14mm-55mm/baader-hyperion-and-vixen-lv-8-24mm-zoom-eyepieces-r2074

There are plenty of other comparisons of these 2 zooms elsewhere on that forum plus a few on here somewhere I reckon.

[F15Rules]

I was just reading about the Vixen/Celestron/TV versions today...

9 minutes ago, John said:

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/user-reviews/eyepieces/eyepieces-14mm-55mm/baader-hyperion-and-vixen-lv-8-24mm-zoom-eyepieces-r2074

There are plenty of other com myparisons of these 2 zooms elsewhere on that forum plus a few on here somewhere I reckon.

The one's I read generally seemed to think the Baader had the edge on the Vixen and TV. 

Not for the first time, IMO Celestron used to offer a good quality Vixen-made version of their own, then dummed down the quality (not the price) to mediocre. They did this also with early their refractors,again Vixen built and of great quality, and then they went to the cheap side but made out in their marketing hype that they were (still) great optics.

Back to the original thread, I did prefer the Pentax build, appearance, optics and mechanics to the several Baaders that I owned..which is why I've just bought Simon's from him!!?

Dave

[iPeace]

3 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Back to the original thread, I did prefer the Pentax build, appearance, optics and mechanics to the several Baaders that I owned..which is why I've just bought Simon's from him!!?

I'm sure Simon will be glad to hear that...

[F15Rules]

48 minutes ago, iPeace said:

I'm sure Simon will be glad to hear that...

Or even Mike!! Lol???

[iPeace]

That's right, the Pentax is on its way to Dave.

[John]

I'm not the only one who mistakes Mike for someone else then ?

[iPeace]

24 minutes ago, John said:

I'm not the only one who mistakes Mike for someone else then ?

It's an epidemic...

[Piero]

I'm late for this thread! 

Great review! Not in the market for other zooms but happy to hear that there are some nice options in this area in contrast to fix focal lengths eyepieces. Zooms are a joy to use in my opinion.