Lunt 20mm HDC

[John]

15 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Those are great reviews John.

I've had a couple of nights with the 20mm Lunt HDC and this eyepiece so far is VG. In the 15" f4.8 I notice no astigmatism at all and will try it at f3.8 once that scope is up and running. The Lunt is very sharp on the moon @ 91x, and it does exhibit a bit of off axis "gold fringing" to my eyes, not to be confused with the blue ring of fire at the field stop. The 21E also exhibits off axis fringing, thinner than the Lunt with green on one side of the moon and purple on the other. The 21E has a similar blue ring of fire.

With the SQM-L between 19.8 and 20.5 and the moon subsiding I caught the Veil and more importantly a bit of Pickerings Wisp with the 20mm Lunt/Lumicon OIII. This is a good sign IMHO. I detect a small amount of FC in both the 21E and Lunt 20mm HDC, but could be scope related.

So far I really like this eyepiece.

Thanks Gerry.

My favourite of the Myriads was the 20mm. Not just because it performed well, there was something about it that was just "right" in mt 12" dob

An eyepiece that you can leave in the focuser all night for galaxy hopping !

Edited July 3, 2017 by John

[Stargazer McCabe]

2 hours ago, jetstream said:

So far I really like this eyepiece.

Excellent insight... Thank you for taking the time to post and report back. Inspired by your comments the trigger has been pulled this evening on a 20mm and a 9mm. Appreciate the comments Gerry

Ed

[Paul73]

Sounds like it may be a keeper! There is a lot of Astro budget tied up in 21E's.....

I tried the ES 20 100° for a while as an alternative to the capital hogging E21. Good, but not quite close enough. The Lunt/Myriad might be a very attractive compromise.

Paul

 

[Piero]

I'm very happy with mine. It is optically very good and ergonomically comfortable. It is rather light compared to the 21E or 20ES.

[jetstream]

4 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Sounds like it may be a keeper! There is a lot of Astro budget tied up in 21E's.....

I tried the ES 20 100° for a while as an alternative to the capital hogging E21. Good, but not quite close enough. The Lunt/Myriad might be a very attractive compromise.

Paul

 

Paul, what aspects of the 20ES 100 were not quite right? I'm curious as always about peoples take on eyepieces.

[Paul73]

3 hours ago, jetstream said:

Paul, what aspects of the 20ES 100 were not quite right? I'm curious as always about peoples take on eyepieces.

Don't get me wrong, the ES is a very fine eyepiece. The view just wasn't quite as immersive as the Ethos. It also lost a tiny bit on contrast. As expected, the narrow gap between the two got narrower in scopes slower than f5.

Paul

[John]

3 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Don't get me wrong, the ES is a very fine eyepiece. The view just wasn't quite as immersive as the Ethos. It also lost a tiny bit on contrast. As expected, the narrow gap between the two got narrower in scopes slower than f5.

Paul

My findings were similar.

I also found that I needed to fold the eyecup of the ES 20 / 200 down to see the full FoV easily wheras I can do the same with the E21 with the eyecup up. Occasionally this seemed to lead to some stray light getting between my eye and the folded eyecup and onto the eye lens, reducing contrast a little. My observing site is not completely dark !

Very small differences though and I could have lived with the ES quite happily I'm sure.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by John

[Paul73]

Agreed. So much of the observing experience is down to ergonomics. Eyepieces with similar optics can make for a different viewing experience. ie, the Delos range with their endlessly adjustable soft eye cups are a delight, but try them with the cups down and they are near unuseable.

Paul

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Agreed. So much of the observing experience is down to ergonomics. Eyepieces with similar optics can make for a different viewing experience. ie, the Delos range with their endlessly adjustable soft eye cups are a delight, but try them with the cups down and they are near unuseable.

Paul

I've been using a 10mm Delos since they were first introduced with both the adjustable sleeve and eyecup all the way down without any issues.  I find it easier to take in the view with eyeglasses than the Pentax XW line because Pentax recessed the eye lens a few millimeters for unknown reasons.  This forces me to push in closer and touch the top of the eyepiece with my eyeglass lens.  The Delos is just about flush with the top of the housing like the older Pentax XL series and views like them as well.  Hovering works fine, no contact to leave smears on your eyeglasses.

[jetstream]

8 hours ago, Paul73 said:

It also lost a tiny bit on contrast.

I find that the 30ES 82 also loses a bit of contrast compared to the Ethos line but it is VG eyepiece. I have heard that the Lunt 20mm HDC is a bit better than the 30ES in this regard and goes a little deeper. In reality I think this must be the "golden age" of eyepieces for us to have such a great selection at the prices offered on some of these.

Me, I'm thinking of a 24" dob atm...

[Stargazer McCabe]

16 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Me, I'm thinking of a 24" dob atm...

That's one piece of advice of yours I might ruminate on for a bit longer than I did on the Lunt 20 & 9mm eyepieces !! ?

[jetstream]

2 minutes ago, Stargazer McCabe said:

That's one piece of advice of yours I might ruminate on for a bit longer than I did on the Lunt 20 & 9mm eyepieces !! ?

Well, right now I'm living in very dark skies and with enough property to leave the 24" set up (and equalized) and wheel it out whenever the sky allows (lots). I guess I'm thinking here's my chance...

[Piero]

2 hours ago, jetstream said:

Me, I'm thinking of a 24" dob atm...

 

[jetstream]

2 minutes ago, Piero said:

 

I just ordered it.

[Piero]

1 minute ago, jetstream said:

I just ordered it.

Well done, Gerry! Congratulations!  Did you get an Astrosystems?

Looking forward to seeing the pictures and reading your thoughts about it! Pretty sure it will be a terrific hunter of faint fuzzies!

 

Regarding the Lunt 20mm, I can see the whole field of view with the eyecup up (without spectacles of course). No problem at all. Very comfortable.

[John]

14 minutes ago, jetstream said:

I just ordered it.

Don't blame you Gerry - "you only live once"

With your dark skes and experience, the reach of a 24" scope is going to be awesome !

[jetstream]

19 minutes ago, Piero said:

 Did you get an Astrosystems?

Thanks Piero!

I just ordered that too... f ratio etc in the f4.5-f4.6 range. We're shooting for January, or possibly the spring. I'm not ready for it yet lol!

Edited July 5, 2017 by jetstream

[jetstream]

7 minutes ago, John said:

Don't blame you Gerry - "you only live once"

With your dark skes and experience, the reach of a 24" scope is going to be awesome !

Thanks John and yes this is my idea on things too.

I'm building a temperature/humidity controlled building so my scopes are equalized all the time and hopefully this controls the condensation issues etc. I will be able to wheel it out assembled, collimate and use it.

[niallk]

Congrats! 24" ... Your dark skies... Permanent setup...

[jetstream]

Thanks Niall!

there is much to do here to get set up...

[jetstream]

Tonight gave a window of opportunity to compare the Lunt 20mm HDC to the 21E on some nebs in very transparent skies with 21.7 mag darkness. So the stage is set... 15" cooled and collimated dob, an OIII and a UHC (Lumicon).

The Veil was a tie between them as was Pickering Wisp with all of the features in the borrowed image easily visible in both eyepieces. It was a tie here really but the 20mm HDC did best the 21E on "E" on the map, whereas the 21E did a tiny bit better on the core of the Wisp.

The NAN was a tie but the 21E gave a hair more contrast on the closely detached patch just of the tip of the Gulf. The Pelican a tie.

Over to NGC 6888-the Crescent and here the Lunt bested the 21E no question, the brightest section of the neb was that much brighter in the Lunt, with no filter and both filters.They both gave a nicely filled "brain" look to the interior- a tie on this part. I'm not sure which direction to go here first... I'll go up to LBN 208 I guess. In this whole area the Lunt excelled- not that the 21E is a slouch, both offered VG views of the area, but I preferred the Lunt. Once you start seeing these nebs around the Sadr area they really do blend together- from the Crescent to SH2-108  to IC1318E with LDN 889 cutting in between, with IC1318D on the other side. This whole area was better in the Lunt, IMHO.

The views around Sadr are rewarding and when beginning, confusing. I must say that on the "Butterfly section of IC1318 (E, LDN 889,D) the Lunt was the clear winner.

After tonight's somewhat shocking results, I can say that on nebs I prefer the Lunt to the Ethos! Most was a tie, but where the Lunt was better, it was clearly better. Much more comparisons need to be done, next time galaxies I think.

This was a great night to observe!

ps everything I listed, I saw and very well...

[Paul73]

???????

Hericy !!!! The E21 not Top Dog!! 

Facinating findings. And, an enjoyable read. Looking forward to your galactic findings. Maybe Lunt have done something clever with the coatings?

Paul

[Stargazer McCabe]

Very comprehensive and informative Gerry. I must say that I've been equally impressed by the 20mm and the 9mm purchased recently. 

Both exceptional eyepieces in all the scopes used, right down to f4.5

[Stu]

Great review Gerry. That gives me a good target for when I start re-investing. Ethos will be out of my range for a long time so this is a good alternative

[Stargazer McCabe]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Great review Gerry. That gives me a good target for when I start re-investing. Ethos will be out of my range for a long time so this is a good alternative

It's not just the 20mm that's really good Stu. The 9mm is equally impressive. Loving using both in a f4.5 Dob