Takahashi Abbe Orthoscopic eyepieces

[mikeDnight]

On 24/12/2019 at 15:10, John said:

Is there a market today for an "ultimate" range of planetary / high power eyepieces though with uncompromised performance in exchange for a small field of view, tight eye relief and probably a £400-£500 price tag ?. Don't really know to be honest

I dont have the money, but id soon find it if there was a chance of getting a few ZAO's even though I haven't as yet looked through one.

I have used the AstroPhysics Super Planetaries many years ago on my FS128. The AP eyepieces belonged to a friend, and on one good night when Jupiter was high in the sky, we compared my then TMB Super Monocentric's against the AstroPhysics Super Planetaries. The difference in performance was jaw dropping, with the APSP's soaring ahead in high contrast, high definition performance; and they were noticeably more comfortable to look through. The difference in superior image quality was stunning. I'd find the money for the APSP's too if anyone was insane or desperate enough to sell a set, preferably one at a time.

 

[John]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I dont have the money, but id soon find it if there was a chance of getting a few ZAO's even though I haven't as yet looked through one.

I have used the AstroPhysics Super Planetaries many years ago on my FS128. The AP eyepieces belonged to a friend, and on one good night when Jupiter was high in the sky, we compared my then TMB Super Monocentric's against the AstroPhysics Super Planetaries. The difference in performance was jaw dropping, with the APSP's soaring ahead in high contrast, high definition performance; and they were noticeably more comfortable to look through. The difference in superior image quality was stunning. I'd find the money for the APSP's too if anyone was insane or desperate enough to sell a set, preferably one at a time.

 

Thats interesting Mike

I've read a report somewhere where the opposite result occured from a similar comparison.

I'm sure you and your friend saw what you saw and that the other folks saw what they saw as well.

I've given up swapping around eyepieces now. I have what I have and I'll try and get best out of them as the conditions allow. I think I've come to the conclusion that seeing conditions are a larger determining factor than the eyepiece. Observing experience helps a lot as well.

 

[mikeDnight]

That's probably the best philosophy John. Comparing eyepieces can be a costly pass time.

The comparison between the TMB's & the APSP's was memorable because I had the AP eyepieces on order, but because of my impatience, I cancelled the order and bought the Super Mono's. I'm sure others when comparing them in various scopes, and under various conditions, may get a different result. It was so painfully obvious to me that I'd made a big mistake, I've been kicking myself ever since. May be Roland will read this one day, and kindly give me either the set of AP super planetaries or the set of Zeiss orthoscopics that's in safe keeping at Company Seven. Its such a shame to prevent such jewels from being used and loved by keeping them behind glass. Theye'd be well loved and cared for with me; honest Roland!

[John]

43 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

That's probably the best philosophy John. Comparing eyepieces can be a costly pass time...

 

I also started to find that I was concentrating so much on finding subtle differences between products that I was not enjoying observing as much. That was what prompted me to change tack somewhat.

 

[F15Rules]

5 hours ago, John said:

I also started to find that I was concentrating so much on finding subtle differences between products that I was not enjoying observing as much. That was what prompted me to change tack somewhat.

 

Very much how I felt/feel John. Over the past decade I have bought and sold dozens and dozens of eyepieces. I confess that during that time I sold many really good eyepieces simply because I had read glowing reviews of different ones and therefore had thought "they must be better than mine" - as they had lots of good reviews/likes/appreciative comments. 

In fact, more often than not, the ones I replaced with the "sexy" ones were actually as good as, or sometimes even better than, the raved about eyepieces- this meant that I had sold some perfectly good, effective eyepieces and replaced them, often at a higher cost, with units that to my eyes were no better in UK field conditions.

When I took early retirement 6 months back, I had to sell a lot of nice eyepieces to cut my cloth for my new circumstances. In truth, of all the eps I sold, the only ones I really miss are three: Morpheus 17.5mm, Vixen LVW 22mm and a Vixen HR 3.4mm. I'd like to replace all three eventually. For now, my vintage set of 1980s/90s Japanese Carton 10.5mm, Carton zoom 7-21mm and 28mm (and Hyperion zoom Barlow 2.25x) give me everything I need , and are good enough to show pretty much all my ageing eyes can discern.

Sure, they don't have the latest coatings available today, but they give uber sharp, contrasty and low scatter views which are right up there with my previous Pentax eyepieces, but with a little less wide field. And they are all comfortable to use - and the more comfortable I am when observing, the longer I want to observe for, and the longer I observe for, the more I see.

Simples!😊👍

Dave

 

[Geoff Barnes]

Agree @F15Rules  I'm one of the lucky ones and have avoided taking the long and expensive route.

I don't have very deep pockets and have tended to buy the cheaper, well regarded eyepieces such as my SW Planteary 4mm and 5mm. They have been absolute bargains and have reassuringly held their own against my Vixen SLV 4mm, ES 4.7mm and my TV 3-6mm zoom, both of which I bought purely to compare with my SW's.

My favorites are my Baader Morpheus 6.5mm and Hyperion 8-24mm zoom which I find so comfortable to use, and I won't consider spending more than the  Morpheus range again.

I will sell my ES, TV and Vixen Ep's to recoup some funds, the Morpheus 4.5mm is the only one now that I really covet.