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Name your top 10 brands of eyepieces


icebergahed

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Hi

I would like to know what members here would consider in ranking the best eyepieces 1-10.

Now i know there may be some eyepieces designed for particular purposes However i am more interested in the overall quality and build for the more common uses.

Thanks

 

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Top ten eyepiece brands?  I would consider TeleVue, Pentax, Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Myopta, Swarovski, Docter, Brandon, and Vixen to all be top brands.  I would put Explore Scientific (Jinghua Optical (JOC)) and Baader a step behind these in overall image quality.  Close behind is whoever is making the Williams Optics 82 degree range and the Lunt 100 degree range.  No one knows for sure who is making them.  After that, there is Guan Sheng Optical (GSO) and Barsta (or whoever makes what Barsta markets).  I'm not sure if Synta and Ningbo Sunny make eyepieces as well as telescopes, but their quality is simlar to GSO.  I'm sure I've left out a manufacturer here or there.

Brands such Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Myriad, Astrotech, BST, Paradigm, etc., are all marketing names when it comes to eyepieces.  They are not manufacturers of eyepieces.

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I just tried to google who manufactures Celestron eyepieces, and got a big fat nothing. Why so secret?

Now the more well known brands have dropped a few points in my eyes.

I may need to invest in the Badder or Explorer range after all.

 

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Well here's  my best eyepieces 

 

1 ZAO 1 Zeiss 

2 ZAO11 Zeiss 

3 Pentax SMC Ortho

4 TMB supermono 

5 TMB supermono second production run

6 Pentax XW

7 Badder Genuine Ortho 

8 Televue Delite 

9 Televue Plossl 

10 Televue Nagler 

 

There is my top ten eyepieces?

 

  

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  1. Televue
  2. Televue
  3. Televue
  4. Televue
  5. Televue
  6. Televue
  7. Televue
  8. Televue
  9. Televue
  10. Televue

Although they are more expensive, I have been content with my humble collection of two Televue plössls, being at the cheaper end of the range. I've looked through other televue EPs I could never afford and have been impressed. One day....

I'vehad them for several years now and previous to that, went through a whole welter of cruddy cheap eyepieces. Buying cheap is a false economy and I learned the hard way. 

 

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TeleVue are generally, and correctly regarded as the best, in general. There are certain EP's that are more adept at certain objects. In my opinion Baader BGO for planets, TeleVue Radians for the moon and TeleVue Ethos for DSO's, although some think that the newer Delites are better, although a smaller FoV.

You get what you pay for, to a point.

Only you can decide what the best EP is for particular target.

Best not to buy an EP kit. Save the money and select specific EP's for the situation.

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50 minutes ago, Louis D said:

No one knows for sure who is making them.  After that, there is Guan Sheng Optical (GSO) and Barsta (or whoever makes what Barsta markets).  I'm not sure if Synta and Ningbo Sunny make eyepieces as well as telescopes, but their quality is simlar to GSO.  I'm sure I've left out a manufacturer here or there.

Brands such Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Myriad, Astrotech, BST, Paradigm, etc., are all marketing names when it comes to eyepieces.  They are not manufacturers of eyepieces.

BarSTa produce the BST Starguiders, and probably some of the various clones?
This will be an interesting thread as everyone has their favourites. I still think TeleVue are market leaders, but after trialling their Delos and Plössl EP's, I still favour my  BST's  over the Delos and the Revelations over the TV Plössl's, that's the way it is :icon_biggrin:

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1 minute ago, ronin said:

Only to answer, kits are rarely worth it. Baaders seem tempermental, they sometimes work but at other time don't. ES are safer.

Start this as a new topic, best not to hijack anothers as answers get mixed.

Hi Ronin

This is my topic☺ my idea is to get more experienced users take on brands then try and make my next upgrades on eyepieces.

I will have a look at prices on ES thou thanks. I currently only have a 21mm Celestron Ultima, which im pretty happy with. But better is always better.

Thanks

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27 minutes ago, icebergahed said:

Wow. I havent even heard of some these. Suppose what you get when yor a noob.

SOOO Badder vs Explorer Scientfic as these seem to my wallet range.

Its for a 6inch SCT f10 or f6.3 (reducer).

Thanks

 

Perhaps you should have titled your thread "Name your top 10 brands of affordable eyepieces" and then define what affordable means to you in the text.

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You can't really generalise by manufacturer. All of the midrange manufacturers and brands have varying levels of quality at varying prices. 

With regards to Baader vs ES I would choose the Baader Morpheus over ES 68/82 but ES 82/68 over Baader Hyperion. 

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3 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

You can't really generalise by manufacturer. All of the midrange manufacturers and brands have varying levels of quality at varying prices. 

With regards to Baader vs ES I would choose the Baader Morpheus over ES 68/82 but ES 82/68 over Baader Hyperion. 

That's why I listed them both in the second tier due their variable quality.  Top tier manufacturers do not put out lower end lines that can taint their overall brand.  For instance, the ES-92 line is every bit as nice as the Delos and Ethos lines, but their ES-62 and ES-70 lines are much lower in performance than competing 62 and 70 degree offerings from top tier manufacturers.

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35 minutes ago, disciplus55 said:

Zeiss, Pentax, Nikon, Televue, Clavé, Vixen, Fujiyama, Masuyama, Explore Scientific, Leica...

Yes, I left off TMB, Tani, and Clave since they are no longer made to the best of my knowledge.  I forgot about Fujiyama, Takahashi, Masuyama, and Carton.  Japan has many fine optical manufacturers.

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13 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Which raises an interesting point.  Can an OP hijack their own thread and redirect it?  Moderators?

If its not ok to move a conversation along then? Then you have a very short conversation.

The redirection was from the ranking of Eyepiece brands to eyepieces to that more experienced users would advise me to purchase.

Thanks

 

 

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1. Televue

2. ES (they pirate all the Televue designs but coatings, eye relief not as good)

3. The rest

if you can't afford new Televue then buy second hand, still better than most other new eyepieces! (and they hold their value as long as you keep the original boxes and packaging in A1 condition)

(unless you have an f10 scope then go ES, sub f5 there is only Televue)

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16 minutes ago, icebergahed said:

Hi Ronin

This is my topic☺ my idea is to get more experienced users take on brands then try and make my next upgrades on eyepieces.

I will have a look at prices on ES thou thanks. I currently only have a 21mm Celestron Ultima, which im pretty happy with. But better is always better.

Thanks

Do you need long eye relief due to strong astimatism in your eye?  If so, your choices are more limited and expensive.  If not, there are a wealth of choices available.

If you need long eye relief, the BST Starguider, Meade HD-60, and Celestron XCel LX lines are all quite nice at 60 degrees with 16mm or more eye relief.  There are the various rebrandings of the 70 degree line with long eye relief.  I have the Astro Tech AF70 which is the same as the Omegon Redline SW line.  It was marketed as the Celestron Ultima LX in the past.  Currently, the Olivon 70 and Skywatcher SWA-70 have the same optics.  Both lines are somewhat better corrected than the Baader Hyperion lines.

The ES-68 and ES-82 lines are quite nice.  They compete in quality with the Nagler and Panoptic lines from TeleVue.  Their prices have been creeping up as their fame grows.  Most don't have enough eye relief for eyeglass wearers, though.

There is a line of 82 degree UWA eyepieces out there under various brands that are quite nice and affordable such as SkyWatcher Nirvana UWA.  Again, eye relief issues.

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@icebergahed, this is a topic which is ‘meat and veg’ for SGL. ?? It ranks alongside - or even ahead of - ‘which scope?’ threads. I hope this helps:

When I was researching which EPs I should buy as replacements for the stock couple delivered with my scope I was bewildered by the brands. I had then to (try to) learn about coma; fast or slow scopes; max and min magnification; more glass or less glass in the train, and a host of other things which left me only a little wiser(?) regarding what I should choose. In the end I decided I should buy the best I could afford - or, more correctly, what I would allow myself to afford. I’ve always believed in the adage which states that if you buy top quality you only cry once.

That said, I now believe that when you get into the high-end optics there are only very slight improvements possible. And I also believe that I, for one, would need a lot more time and experience at the eyepiece in order to be able to discern those minuscule differences. The EPs I have are peer-approved and suit me well. I don’t have to wonder if there would be a world of difference if I ‘upgraded’.

In short, buy the best your budget will allow. And it’s a lifetime hobby so you can take your time and add EPs gradually. As is often quoted, the renowned Al Nagler said you really need only three EPs to give full coverage, low, mid and high power.

Have fun with your research but try not to overthink it, perhaps. ???

 

 

 

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21 minutes ago, Floater said:

@icebergahed, this is a topic which is ‘meat and veg’ for SGL. ?? It ranks alongside - or even ahead of - ‘which scope?’ threads. I hope this helps:

When I was researching which EPs I should buy as replacements for the stock couple delivered with my scope I was bewildered by the brands. I had then to (try to) learn about coma; fast or slow scopes; max and min magnification; more glass or less glass in the train, and a host of other things which left me only a little wiser(?) regarding what I should choose. In the end I decided I should buy the best I could afford - or, more correctly, what I would allow myself to afford. I’ve always believed in the adage which states that if you buy top quality you only cry once.

In short, buy the best your budget will allow. And it’s a lifetime hobby so you can take your time and add EPs gradually. As is often quoted, the renowned Al Nagler said you really need only three EPs to give full coverage, low, mid and high power.

Have fun with your research but try not to overthink it, perhaps. ???

Good points there.

Dont rush in unless you have to. As said above learn about the terms and differences of the different eyepieces.

Do consider second hand (30% less than new price is worth having)

Do keep all the packaging and boxes in case you sell them on in the future

Do post your top 1 or 2 choices and ask others opinions of which to go for before you buy.

Do decide a budget and stick to it!

As said above 3 or 4 eyepieces is all you need for one scope. Do also consider if you are planning to keep the scope or move on to another. The eyepieces are unlikely to be the same needed for the next scope :( 

Think for the long term, do you really have to have all of them now?

See buying eyepieces as an accumulation and add one every now and again as a treat or special occasion.

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