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Two new toys

mikeDnight

By mikeDnight
in Discussions - Eyepieces

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mikeDnight

mikeDnight

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Two new toys arrived this week which I'm itching to play with. A Celestron Ultima SV series shorty barlow which arrived on Wednesday, and a 9mm Baader Genuine Ortho, that I collected from the post office at 7am this morning after missing the postman yesterday. The ortho was advertised as having some scaring around the edge, which it had, and which has now been touched up. It's eye lens needed a thorough clean and it is now looking as good as new. I bet these two will become good friends over the coming months. :icon_biggrin:

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mikeDnight

mikeDnight

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1 hour ago, Alan White said:

In that case, nice deal, was a temptation,
but who needs 3 barlows?
Well most folks here as they have more than that!

 

53 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Depends what powers and uses.

I own 2 Celestron Barlows like above (Japanese made) for bino viewing. Also a single TV 2.5x 1.25 inch & an Antares 1.6x 2 inch.

I don't know how it happened but ive got four of the things (barlows), all X2.However from what ive read, the Ultima SV amplifies by a factor of X2.2 and not X2 as stated, so I'm not crazy after all!

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25585

25585

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To be honest, I don't think any quoted figure is correct. Goes for aperture,  eye relief, focus travel, field of view etc. And in all other marketing using figures.

Sure, there is rounding up or down, lab result of a single item tested etc. Using fractions looks more scientific and precise, so has geek-appeal, but should be taken with a pinch of salt.

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Alan White

Alan White

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3 hours ago, 25585 said:

I own 2 Celestron Barlows like above (Japanese made) for bino viewing.
Also a single TV 2.5x 1.25 inch &
an Antares 1.6x 2 inch.

I am not surprised you do at all, you are the 'Astro Magpie' after all :laugh2:
Think you should get you SGL name changed to it.

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Louis D

Louis D

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8 hours ago, Alan White said:

but who needs 3 barlows?

Nobody, really.  You can't eat them or do anything else particularly life sustaining with them.  I have 5 1.25" barlows and 2 2" barlows.  I pick them up cheap and compare them for strengths and weaknesses when I get bored observing.  I have one duplicate, the Meade 140.  One of the two's optical nosepiece lives on the front of my binoviewer to each focus.  The other remains assembled for normal barlow usage.

@mikeDnight: Looking forward to a detailed report on all of the new eyepieces.

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mikeDnight

mikeDnight

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1 hour ago, Louis D said:

  You can't eat them or do anything else particularly life sustaining with them.  

@mikeDnight: Looking forward to a detailed report on all of the new eyepieces.

You might be able to drink whiskey out of the shorty barlows as they are just about the right size. Down side - They may leak, so you'd have to drink quickly. Upside - the alcohol should keep the optics clean.

I've already had a little play with the 9mm ortho, comparing it in daylight with an 11mm TV Plossl. Looking through double glazing the 9mm was very clean and very comfortable, appearing sharp to the very edge, with the 11mm TV Plossl appearing equally as sharp. With the 9mm and the Ultima SV barlow in my 100mm Tak, I spent some time looking at the intricacies in curtains and windowsill ornaments of houses about a mile away. The 9mm ortho had a narrower field than the 11mm plossl, yet the ortho was significantly more comfortable to look through. Playing around in this way, though in no way scientific, has at least given me a feel for the 9mm's potential. I got the feeling it will fast become one of my favourites! :icon_biggrin:

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mikeDnight

mikeDnight

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I managed a short spell under the stars last night after the clouds unexpectedly vanished, and so got to see the 9mm ortho and Ultima SV in action - not that there was much action! Really I just wanted to get a true feel for where these new acquisitions would fit into my eyepiece collection. The Tak FC100DC was aimed at Castor and the 9mm BGO gave as perfect a view as perfect gets. It was so comfortable to use and the surrounding stars that littered the field were bright and instantly obvious. Adding the X2 Ultima SV to the system did not detract in any way from the eyepieces clean bright image. I decided to examine the same using my 11mm and 7.4mm TV Plossls, and was pleasantly surprised to find both gave very similar performance to that of the 9mm ortho. However, the seeing wasn't particularly good so lots more comparing will be necessary. It's probably true to say the BGO and TV Plossls are very close in performance, though the BGO has a more comfortable feel. I'd be very happy to collect the entire line of BGO's, so I'm working on my speed buying technique! A more detailed consideration of the 9mm and Ultima SV will follow when I've had chance to take them to the Moon and then Mars and back! :icon_biggrin:

Two other eyepieces I used last night were a 20mm LV, which I bought last week, and a 4mm Nirvana that's been in my collection for some time. The LV gave some flaring so I suspect the eye lens needs a clean, but the Nirvana which I've used in the past for observing Saturn was fantastic! I'd put the Nirvana up for sale last week as I hadn't used it for some time, forgetting just how good it is. I've now withdrawn it from AB&S and won't be selling it anytime soon!

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Timebandit

Timebandit

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Being a frac man Mike, I should imagine you will like the BGO very much.

Compared to some modern eyepieces these days ,with extra long eye and very wide fov, they are a bit like going back to the stone age ?

But in my refractor ,apart from the pentax XW, they are my favorite eyepiece. Such a great optically sharp image that suits planetary and lunar viewing very well.

I think you will become a addict to the BGO and will want a full set, and join the rest of the collectionist club for these Orthos ?

 

 

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alan potts

alan potts

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I have a 9mm BGo myself as well as a few of the others, I bought them largely on the back of what John had to say about them. I know he liked the 10mm Baarde Classic that is still on the market but I feel in general terms you have to spend a lot of money to make any improvement to this eyepiece and I do mean lots.  I have never seen a 12.5mm since I got mine which was about 5 years ago maybe the rarest but the 9mm is not so common. Hope you enjoy.

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