5mm Eyepiece for 180x magnification

[F15Rules]

A classic high power planetary eyepiece whose only weakness IMO is very tight eye relief.

Enjoy?!

Dave

[Louis D]

7 hours ago, F15Rules said:

A classic high power planetary eyepiece whose only weakness IMO is very tight eye relief.

Enjoy?!

Dave

Well, that and a narrow field of view that can become painful with long focal length scopes nudged by hand.  That's why eyepieces like the 110 degree 3.7mm and 4.7mm Ethos are so popular among the big dob crowd.

[Littleguy80]

6 hours ago, Louis D said:

Well, that and a narrow field of view that can become painful with long focal length scopes nudged by hand.  That's why eyepieces like the 110 degree 3.7mm and 4.7mm Ethos are so popular among the big dob crowd.

It's a fair point. Even with the EQ mount, it's not ideal. I think narrower field of view is the compromise made to have the sharpness and contrast of more premium eyepieces without the premium price tag 

[John]

9 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

It's a fair point. Even with the EQ mount, it's not ideal. I think narrower field of view is the compromise made to have the sharpness and contrast of more premium eyepieces without the premium price tag 

I've found Pentax XW eyepieces a very good "compromise". 70 degree field of view, 20mm of eye relief and superb optical and build quality - very much like orthoscopics to my eye in terms of transmission, light scatter, neutral tint etc. OK they are expensive as well but you can get them for under £200 used and, having compared them extensively with the 3.7 and 4.7 Ethos for over a year I'm satisfied that the 5mm and 3.5mm XW's are optically even better

 

[Littleguy80]

14 minutes ago, John said:

I've found Pentax XW eyepieces a very good "compromise". 70 degree field of view, 20mm of eye relief and superb optical and build quality - very much like orthoscopics to my eye in terms of transmission, light scatter, neutral tint etc. OK they are expensive as well but you can get them for under £200 used and, having compared them extensively with the 3.7 and 4.7 Ethos for over a year I'm satisfied that the 5mm and 3.5mm XW's are optically even better

They sound fantastic, John. I suspect my scope is probably the weak point in my equipment at the moment and wouldn't do the XW's justice. Although, I'm certainly not knocking it. It's a beginner's scope for a beginner Astronomer! Maybe next year I'll reach the level where my observing skills will warrant a scope upgrade and one of those XW's

[Littleguy80]

35 minutes ago, John said:

I've found Pentax XW eyepieces a very good "compromise".

Out of curiosity, how do the ES82 and Vixen SLV's compare to the XW's? They both seem popular for a step up from the lower cost eyepieces

[John]

5 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

Out of curiosity, how do the ES82 and Vixen SLV's compare to the XW's? They both seem popular for a step up from the lower cost eyepieces

I've not used ES82's but the XW's are a touch better than the Nagler T6's IMHO so I'd expect a similar difference between the XW and the ES. The SLV's are very much like the XW except with a smaller FoV. All excellent eyepieces though - I'm being picky of course

All these are quite a big step up from lower cost eyepieces.

[Littleguy80]

9 minutes ago, John said:

I've not used ES82's but the XW's are a touch better than the Nagler T6's IMHO so I'd expect a similar difference between the XW and the ES. The SLV's are very much like the XW except with a smaller FoV. All excellent eyepieces though - I'm being picky of course

All these are quite a big step up from lower cost eyepieces.

Thank you, John. I'm glad you are picky. I've spent hours pontificating on eyepiece purchases in the few months since I got my scope. When you don't have the option of trying out the eyepieces you're interested in then opinions of experts, such as yourself, is absolutely invaluable. Those little details can really help make up your mind.

For the cost, the Vixen SLV's seem like the logical next step for me when the time comes. Of course, when that time does come, I'll be posting because I've spent hours looking at 6 different eyepieces and can't make up mind

[Charic]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

........I've spent hours pontificating on eyepiece purchases................I've spent hours looking at 6 different eyepieces and can't make up mind

Nothing new there then, I bet your losing sleep too!

All part of the astronomy process, supposedly in the small print! if you can find it?

Advice here is normally given in good faith, and corrected if mis-leading, but non-the-less, always invaluable, but hands down, an eyepiece in the focuser is the only way to go to satisfy your eyes on your scope,  and expensive as it is, even with second hand eyepieces , its how and why I have settled on the present eyepieces. 

 

[mikeDnight]

On 2017-6-6 at 12:23, Littleguy80 said:

I keep toying with the idea of getting a 5mm eyepiece to give me the option of 180x mag. I have a 1.5x barlow which gives ~169x magnification with my 8mm BST Starguider. I think 180x is about the maximum that's realistic for my scope. After that exit pupil starts to get too small. I think 180x would be good for planetary, I've read Saturn responds well to higher mags. Also thinking about Lunar and splitting some of the tighter doubles. 

Interested in whether others find 180x a useful magnification and recommendations for 5mm eyepieces. I've thought about the Vixen SLV as it's on offer still though seems quite expensive for an eyepiece that may have limited use due to needing better conditions. Also considering BST Starguider or maybe another ortho as cheaper options. 

All thoughts appreciated

The 5mm Pentax XW is an amazingly good eyepiece! But you'll then want the set!!

[onlyme]

I got a Meade 5000 UWA 5.5mm 82° from Amazon USA, cost me around £105 shipped including U.K. import taxes from source, and I am very pleased wit hit, very bright,sharp and relatively lightweight.

[Louis D]

10 hours ago, onlyme said:

I got a Meade 5000 UWA 5.5mm 82° from Amazon USA, cost me around £105 shipped including U.K. import taxes from source, and I am very pleased wit hit, very bright,sharp and relatively lightweight.

Hard to believe the UK charges import tariffs and VAT on such a small amount.  It seems like it wouldn't bring in enough revenue to justify a government employee's time to collect.

In the US, the exemption amount was increased in 2016 from $200 to $800 per individual per day and sales tax (VAT equivalent) is never charged on imports.

Can the UK point to domestic jobs being saved by collecting so much in taxes?  It's not like there's any domestically made equivalent to this eyepiece.

[Littleguy80]

4 hours ago, Louis D said:

Hard to believe the UK charges import tariffs and VAT on such a small amount.  It seems like it wouldn't bring in enough revenue to justify a government employee's time to collect.

Sadly so. On a trip to the States to visit my wife's family, my kids did some paintings on canvas. We didn't have room for them in our suitcase so my mother in law had them shipped to us afterwards. She made the mistake of describing them as paintings with a value of something like $50. UK customs charged VAT on that! The VAT cost more than the canvas and paint! Needless to say we weren't happy!

[TheLookingGlass]

If you can't afford the XW's, grab a 5.2mm Pentax XL, it's awesome.