5mm BST vs SLV

[Space_Plane]

Hi all, was looking to buy a 5mm eyepiece, for use in a 72 mm frac / 150 newt (both manual mounts).

With various sales & offers on, is the 5mm Vixen SLV worth the extra over the 5mm BST Starguider?

I read good things about both, eager for any more opinions!

Cheers!

[Chris]

You can't go wrong with either considering their specific price points (I've owned both), but the SLV is a better eyepiece in terms of optics and in fit and finish. The BST's are good for the money, but considering the current sale I wold personally opt for the SLV's. 

[Paul73]

Like Mr Lock says!

But the BST does have a wider field of view. 

If you are happy nudging then the SLV will give slightly cleaner views. Otherwise, the BST will be perfectly good.

Paul

[Moonshane]

Agreed. I have not used a SLV yet but have bought a pair of 12mm in the sale myself. I have used BSTs quite a long time ago and they are really very good. You'll be happy with either. Personally, I trust the people that have reviewed the SLV and their feedback gives me confidence that I made the right choice. Time will tell but I'd think that even in a worst case scenario I'll be able to sell them for £55-60 after they return to a more normal price so not the end of the world.

[nightfisher]

I am a big fan of the BST range, but in truth i did not rate the 5mm as being all that sharp, so with sale on i would pay the extra and get the Vixen

[jetstream]

My vote:SLV.

[Alan White]

SLV are very good, I am working toward a full set.

[Space_Plane]

Many thanks for all your quick responses so far!  Keep em coming! 

Given the choice the SLV certainly looks to be the popular opinion.

Having never owned a Vixen eyepiece, i was leaning toward it, always like trying out eyepieces from different manufacturers.

Think you have me convinced!

[John]

BST's are very good but the Vixen SLV's are up another notch in terms of optical performance

[Mr Spock]

Agreed - the SLV is on a different level. The BST is ok at the price but can't match the SLV on image quality.

[Piero]

I have the 5mm and 9mm SLV and both are really good. In terms of optical performance they are on par with my previous Televue Delos (tested this with and without powermate 2.5x). Apart from the field of view, the only minor difference to my eye between the Delos and the SLV was colour rendition. This goes down to user preference though. In my case I prefer the SLV colour because it appears more neutral. 

I never looked through a Pentax XW, but my bet is that the SLVs are "baby XW" with 50deg.

Aside from the very good optical performance, the SLV are comfortable whether you observe with spectacles or not. Very light too.

At £79 they are highly recommended from my side. 

[Space_Plane]

Thanks again everyone for your very helpful info & persuasions 

5mm SLV on its way! 

Apologies for the inevitable (additional) clouds! 

[Louis D]

7 hours ago, Piero said:

I never looked through a Pentax XW, but my bet is that the SLVs are "baby XW" with 50deg.

My 20 year old 9mm Vixen LV is just as sharp as my Pentax XLs and XWs, but views a bit darker despite showing the same dim stars.  I don't know if that's due to the lanthanum element or the coatings.  The coatings look extremely similar to the Pentaxes, so I doubt they are responsible.  My understanding is that the SLVs don't suffer from this darkening.  The old LV is sharp to the edge and is super comfortable to use with eyeglasses.  The exit pupil is rock solid, no SAEP at all.  The fact that they come up for $50 to $70 used here and still aren't more popular is surprising to me.  They do sell, but it can take several days instead of minutes.  I paid $90 for mine which would be about $138 today.  The SLVs range from $150 to $170 here in the States today, so that seems about comparable to 20 years ago.

The fact that they're about $85 (without VAT, since I wasn't including US sales tax in my prices) at FLO right now is mind boggling.  I can have one shipped here for $106!?!?  Why the huge price difference UK vs US?

[Piero]

I have never noticed any particular darkening in the SLVs compared to my other eyepieces, so I guess they sorted that out too.

At the moment the SLV are quite cheap over here because they are discounted.

[davehawkins]

Iv'e got BST's and Vixen SLV's and my preference is for the SLV's. I bought the 10mm just a few weeks before they came down in price, GUTTED.

[Charic]

On 26/04/2017 at 15:52, Space_Plane said:

I read good things about both

Buy both, only then can you tell which is the better for your needs, you'll still  be able to sell either of them.

I bought a Delos thinking this is gonna be great, better than my 8mm Starguider.
I don't have the Delos anymore, but the facts the theory and the feedback suggested otherwise?

[Paul73]

Where as. I bought a Delos, it beat the BST fairly comfortably (both 8mm). I now have 5 Delos.

So how come Charles and I have such differing views?

The probable cause is different speed of test scope. Mine was f4.7 and Charles' was, form memory, about f7 or 8. Thus validating the old adage about needing to spend more for faster scopes. Having had a brief non side by side look in a faster scope. The differences are much much smaller. And, given the price differential, I'd probably pass on the Delos too.

Paul

[Charic]

.....a little faster at f/6 (f/5.91) but still middle ground as scopes go, plus my eyes and perception are possibly a little older!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have the SLV 5 and 15mm, and both are great. I did a head-to-head comparison of the SLV 5mm to the Pentax XW 5mm, and apart from field of view, the performance was very, very similar. The SLV 5mm is very much like a comfortable 5mm Abbe orthoscopic. I prefer the Pentax for its FOV, but I still kept the SLV 5mm, mainly for travel

[John]

13 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

...The SLV 5mm is very much like a comfortable 5mm Abbe orthoscopic....

Thats just what I thought when I compared the 6mm SLV with the 6mm Baader Genuine ortho

 

[iPeace]

Hovering over the 5mm and the 6mm. Would they be better than the Nagler Zoom? The Nag Zoom reportedly has only 10mm eye relief, but that has never bothered me at all.

[John]

22 minutes ago, iPeace said:

Hovering over the 5mm and the 6mm. Would they be better than the Nagler Zoom? The Nag Zoom reportedly has only 10mm eye relief, but that has never bothered me at all.

I've currently got a Nagler 2-4mm zoom and I've owned a couple of the 3-6's. I'd say that the SLV might perform very slightly better in terms of light scatter around bright objects than a Nagler zoom but, and it's quite a big but, the advantage of the instantly variable focal length at high magnifications is really quite substantial.

It's quite a tough call but the Nagler 3-6 might answer all your high power needs in one eyepiece

 

 

[iPeace]

21 minutes ago, John said:

I've currently got a Nagler 2-4mm zoom and I've owned a couple of the 3-6's. I'd say that the SLV might perform very slightly better in terms of light scatter around bright objects than a Nagler zoom but, and it's quite a big but, the advantage of the instantly variable focal length at high magnifications is really quite substantial.

It's quite a tough call but the Nagler 3-6 might answer all your high power needs in one eyepiece

 

 

That's just about what I suspected.

There would be no question of actually replacing the Nagler Zoom, due to the combination of performance and convenience you mentioned, but lately I have been contemplating trying something which would give the best raw performance, regardless of eye relief and FOV, at 5mm and 6mm, the focal lengths at which Jupiter seems to work best for Stanley and me.

[Timebandit]

10 minutes ago, iPeace said:

That's just about what I suspected.

There would be no question of actually replacing the Nagler Zoom, due to the combination of performance and convenience you mentioned, but lately I have been contemplating trying something which would give the best raw performance, regardless of eye relief and FOV, at 5mm and 6mm, the focal lengths at which Jupiter seems to work best for Stanley and me.

 

If it's raw performance regardless of fov and eye relief then it's the ZAO or TMB supermono territory ?

 I have the NLV, predecessor to the SLV I understand, very very good. Ortho like performance quality optics , but 20mm eye relief and a great buy with FLO having them on offer.

Who is Stanley ? Have you been and named your telescope  ☺

[iPeace]

16 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

If it's raw performance regardless of fov and eye relief then it's the ZAO or TMB supermono territory ?

 I have the NLV, predecessor to the SLV I understand, very very good. Ortho like performance quality optics , but 20mm eye relief and a great buy with FLO having them on offer.

Who is Stanley ? Have you been and named your telescope  ☺

Indeed. This is Stanley.

In earlier days, when Starbeams and grenades were on the menu. And this is his custom-made case.