2 eyepieces plus barlow = all I need ?

[John]

My Leica ASPH zoom is in Portugal being serviced so I'm not in a position to proceed with my "downsizing", if thats what is going to happen.

I used my Baader Classic Orthos plus the Vixen NPL 30mm for my session the night before last with the Tak FC100DL and had a grand time. The cost of that whole set is less than the VIP Barlow

As someone commented in the thread that I posted on that session, for me, I think it's time to stop comparing everything and just enjoy the sky 

 

[Highburymark]

4 hours ago, GavStar said:

I think that this thread posts a thought provoking question.

After my recent visit to a dark site with my 130mm frac, I've been reflecting on my most used eyepiece set which consists of a Leica zoom, a 1.8x Leica extender, 21mm ethos, 17mm ES 92, 12mm ES 92, which is reasonably close to what John is considering (with a few extras!).

With the planets low in the sky, I've been focussing more on DSOs than I have before and its been a lot of fun and opened many new interesting objects. However at the recent session I was disappointed with the Leica zoom, I felt the fov at the low end was too restrictive for me and my other eyepieces presented the star fields in a much more attractive way to me. My initial reaction was to get an 8mm ethos to get the wider fov but with c100x magnification and only use the Leica zoom extender combo at the high power end. But I love the extra eye relief and comfort of the ES 92, so have decided that (for now and potentially until the 8.8mm and 6.5mm ES 92s come out next year) I will use my 2x Powermate with my 17mm and 12mm to get 8.5mm and 6mm. It creates a bit of a beast but I have done it before as an experiment and my focuser coped fine. I will also put my Leica away in a box for a while and for higher power use my 5mm Pentax xw as a replacement. So I seem to have gone the other way from using a zoom back to a set of 4 fixed eyepieces and a powermate.

 

Thought I saw a Leica extender on ABS Gavin. Would have snapped it up if I hadn't bought one myself a couple of months ago

[rockystar]

On ‎24‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 20:17, Richard Hather said:

Wow honestly the way you explained it, having that many eps makes perfect sense ?

don't let the wife hear you say that

 

[Richard Hather]

8 hours ago, rockystar said:

don't let the wife hear you say that

 

She knows what I'm like haha of course for me with one scope it's relatively simple ?

[Louis D]

Well, I'm back from the eclipse.  I took along my old ST80, home made Baader solar filter, and a used heavy-duty Manfrotto fluid tripod head on my old Manfrotto tripod.  I also took along a cheap Celestron mirror diagonal, my 32mm GSO Plossl, and my 8-24mm Celestron Regal zoom and no barlow in a small photo case.  It was just about perfect for observing the partial phases and the corona during totality.  It really depends on what you'll be observing to know which eyepiece set you'll need.  I had to pack compactly and cheaply in case my car was broken into while traveling.

[John]

On 21/08/2017 at 15:58, John said:

My Leica ASPH zoom is in Portugal being serviced so I'm not in a position to proceed with my "downsizing", if thats what is going to happen....

 

Glad to hear that my Leica zoom is on it's way back to me, cleaned and serviced by Leica and at no cost to myself. As the 2nd owner of this eyepiece I think this is good service

They even agreed to time the delivery for when I had returned from my holiday

I can continue the evalauation process during the Autumn .....

[Piero]

That's a great news!  Let's cross our fingers for a nice clear Autumn!   

[Pig]

Excellent John, it's quite staggering how good customer service can help restore some faith in a product after a bad experience ?

[Pig]

I just added another ? Oooops a daisey.

 

[AstroKerr]

Dear John and Anyone else to whom this might apply,

  I had to create an account and fill out that profile fluff to share this thought with you, so this isn't just off the cuff:

  Be as minimalist as you like by restricting yourself to three eps in a kit bag. Sure, if you like, do not vary the contents for extended periods. That's actually a fine exercise in restraint, appreciation of limited resources, and 'making things work'.  But I will advise, selfishly, that you keep every ep of any real quality. You have them and you post - that makes you an extremely valuable resource - a reference - for all of us looking for eps. 

  Starting out as I am, I don't want to waste resources trying out every 25mm, say, in any particular fov/element/price range. I'm going to see what each you have or would put in your 3 piece kit(s) for viewing [blihbleh]. By reviewing your varied 3-kits, I should quickly find three safe (keep for life) eps to suit my current needs and resources. And this works best if all of you with collections keep those collections to draw from as your interests, eyesight, etc change.

  Another reason to keep a collection are those special viewing occasions where conditions and what's in your 3-kit just don't line up and the difference just one more ep would make is significant. Unless there is a pressing need to limit your options, don't. Wudda-cudda-shuddas bite. And that's not just for your comfort, satisfaction, enjoyment - it could affect the whole community, or worse, me! I don't want to miss out on something you wouldn't want to miss out on, probably, nie?

  I don't think I'll ever be a 'just 3' guy. I can see maybe, maybe, being a 1 barlow and 2-planets and 2-dso kinda guy, with 'tweeners when needed. But I do see the value in not having every incremental lens in a given set where a few of them and a barlow equals the whole set.

Please, folks, keep your collections unless you really have to downsize - you are appreciated, and will be appreciated. I'd love to be at a gaze and just happen to have an ep in the kit someone wanted to try out - that'd just be brass ring!

Anways, Hi! and Thank You for a very fine topic. Who's going to start the "If you could only have a variable polarizer and 2 filters, which would they be?" thread?

 

Jim

[John]

Hi Jim - I've replied under your other thread

I don't think I will ever be a 3 eyepiece person either, despite having the excellent Leica zoom back in the collection now.

I seem to be more of an "18 plus 2 barlows" kind of person

[Highburymark]

Look forward to your future thoughts on the Leica John. I love mine as much today as the day I first used it

[John]

I've used it for one session with my 12" dob since it came back from it's service / cleaning and it performed very well but I'm not 100% convinced that the newtonain is it's most natural setting as yet.

 

[Highburymark]

No - think you are right. Lunar, planetary, brighter dsos with a decent refractor are where it shines. Though I'm biased as a frac-only astronomer now. Another reason to love the ASPH is solar - both white light and ha - I'm chuffed it works beautifully with my new Lunt 60.

[25585]

When I started telescope viewing I had a 32mm Erfle, 20mm Erfle & a 2x Barlow only used with the 20. 

Later added my 13mm Nagler. Those 3 did for 10 years for DSO and were enough to keep Mars, Jupiter & Saturn in my dob's FOV. I later got a TV 2.5 Barlow.  

With my Genesis refractor I bought a 55mm ep as finder at 9x magnification which is good for my C8 also. All other buys were indulgence!

So a good Barlow & 3 good eye pieces. 

John do your finder scopes take inter-changeable eps?

 

[Piero]

On 24/09/2017 at 23:31, Highburymark said:

No - think you are right. Lunar, planetary, brighter dsos with a decent refractor are where it shines. Though I'm biased as a frac-only astronomer now. Another reason to love the ASPH is solar - both white light and ha - I'm chuffed it works beautifully with my new Lunt 60.

I prefer a zoom to a fix length eyepiece when I am observing one target specifically. As you said, Sun, Lunar, planets are all examples. Small DSOs too. In these cases, I find a wide field eyepiece distracting. Visually, it can often amplify light scatter. 

To me, wide field eyepieces dominate on large targets (e.g. star clusters) or when I want to see "the big picture". 

[John]

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

...John do your finder scopes take inter-changeable eps?

 

No, the optical ones are stock Skywatcher / Orion (USA) RACI finders.

I had a good session with my ED120 refractor a couple of nights ago. I really enjoyed using the Leica ASPH zoom / VIP barlow combination giving the equivilent of 9mm - 4.5mm zoom. I'm getting the feeling that the Leica zoom is particularly suited to refractors. My 10, 7 and 5mm XW's did not get used much during that session - I think the zoom was doing just as good a job with the additional benefit of being able to instantly, and seamlessly, adjust the focal length to suit target / conditions.

As an experiment I also used the lower cost Baader Q-Turret 2.25x barlow with the zoom and the results were also very good - better than I expected in fact.

Not ready to seriously downsize my eyepiece collection just yet though

 

 

[cloudsweeper]

OK, it is easy to get carried away.  I'm three years "in", and have 15 EPs and a zoom.  (Once had a Barlow, but would rather have a set of EPs than extra glass.)

So I've got a good range of mags and exit pupils covered, but then there is FOV fever, slightly less addictive than aperture fever, but enough to set up a "wanted" list.

Anyway, as a result of this thread, I've had a good look at which EPs I use frequently, and as a result, have concluded that the WA replacements I thought I wanted are no longer necessary.  

Great!  Lots of £££ saved, and deep satisfaction with what I've got.

Thanks everyone!

Doug.

(But I still want further 'scopes.....)

[Doc]

A friend of my fathers is coming to visit us over Christmas and he is allowing me to use his Leica ASPH 17.9mm - 8.9mm eyepiece over Christmas. I can't wait as I've been tempted by this eyepiece for a long time but it's pretty expensive to just buy on a whim.

Hopefully I will fall in love with it, the same as John has done. I'm not sure if it will be good enough for me to sell my beloved Delos's but who knows.

Fingers crossed for clear skies.

[25585]

Never sell..just collect & hoard. 

[John]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

A friend of my fathers is coming to visit us over Christmas and he is allowing me to use his Leica ASPH 17.9mm - 8.9mm eyepiece over Christmas. I can't wait as I've been tempted by this eyepiece for a long time but it's pretty expensive to just buy on a whim.

Hopefully I will fall in love with it, the same as John has done. I'm not sure if it will be good enough for me to sell my beloved Delos's but who knows.

Fingers crossed for clear skies.

I'll be interested hear what you think of it

 

[Highburymark]

On 04/10/2017 at 22:15, John said:

No, the optical ones are stock Skywatcher / Orion (USA) RACI finders.

I had a good session with my ED120 refractor a couple of nights ago. I really enjoyed using the Leica ASPH zoom / VIP barlow combination giving the equivilent of 9mm - 4.5mm zoom. I'm getting the feeling that the Leica zoom is particularly suited to refractors. My 10, 7 and 5mm XW's did not get used much during that session - I think the zoom was doing just as good a job with the additional benefit of being able to instantly, and seamlessly, adjust the focal length to suit target / conditions.

As an experiment I also used the lower cost Baader Q-Turret 2.25x barlow with the zoom and the results were also very good - better than I expected in fact.

Not ready to seriously downsize my eyepiece collection just yet though

 

 

Much as I love the ASPH, I wouldn't want any zoom to completely replace my fixed F/L EPs (though there are many contributors to CN who seem to have taken that radical route). I see it as complementary - as a brilliant travel option, an alternative solar and lunar ep, a benchmark against which all other eyepieces can be measured. Am sure that the Zeiss/Meopta/Pentax zooms are great all-rounders too. But wouldn't want to give up the joy of fixed ep swapping.

[John]

16 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Much as I love the ASPH, I wouldn't want any zoom to completely replace my fixed F/L EPs (though there are many contributors to CN who seem to have taken that radical route). I see it as complementary - as a brilliant travel option, an alternative solar and lunar ep, a benchmark against which all other eyepieces can be measured. Am sure that the Zeiss/Meopta/Pentax zooms are great all-rounders too. But wouldn't want to give up the joy of fixed ep swapping.

Yep, I think I'm feeling the same Mark

 

[25585]

I'm like that for photography. Eye pieces are like prime lenses (Barlows like teleconverters). 

Using another parallel, the cost of an upmarket eye piece or pair of binoculars is roughly the equivalent of a camera lens. Zeiss & competitors being "reassuringly expensive". 

[R26 oldtimer]

Since I' ll never own a full line of Ethoes or Pentaxes, my answer to the O.P. is quite simple. Yes!