Bino viewer eyepiece pairs

[Ricochet]

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Yes, it's a well know limitation of binoviewing that the moment you swing your eyes to look at the edge, one or both views will black out.  To maintain both exit pupils is a real chore.  I've found that 60 to 65 degree AFOV eyepieces are about the maximum usable.  They also feel much wider than when used in mono mode.  Your Starguiders are right in the sweet spot.  The XWs are probably overkill.  The XL is right at the limit of usable AFOV.

Some people just like the extra field to frame objects without actually ever looking directly at the edge, and that's fine.  It's just not appealing to me.

 

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

Happens to me with binoculars.

Thanks, guys. 

[25585]

3 hours ago, Louis D said:

Yes, it's a well know limitation of binoviewing that the moment you swing your eyes to look at the edge, one or both views will black out.  To maintain both exit pupils is a real chore.  I've found that 60 to 65 degree AFOV eyepieces are about the maximum usable.  They also feel much wider than when used in mono mode.  Your Starguiders are right in the sweet spot.  The XWs are probably overkill.  The XL is right at the limit of usable AFOV.

Some people just like the extra field to frame objects without actually ever looking directly at the edge, and that's fine.  It's just not appealing to me.

I have found older bins with smaller eye lenses & FOV, but decent eye relief, are better when wearing glasses than larger eye lenses strangely. 

For bino viewing thru my now in-recycling Revelation bv, smaller AFOV eps were easier. Thus TV 40mm Plossls worked well, in fact better than their 32s, because due to the formers longer eye relief I could use their greater distance to my advantage and that distance enabled the whole FOV to be visible for each eye. Vixen LVs are good for bino viewing as they share similar properties. 

With the pair of Morpheus 17.5mm eps, their eye relief allows the same to an extent but I don't see all the FOV, but between them a sufficiently large window. Their good eye relief is also needed to help with IPD, having wide eye lenses, I have just enough nose room. Very similar are Vixen LVW 22s in use. 

 

 

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, 25585 said:

Are they all not Masuyama design i.e. super-plossl types?

Which were in turn were most likely based on the 1955 Zeiss Astroplanokular design.  All eyepiece designs have drawn inspiration from those that preceded them.  Just look at the prior art references of any eyepiece patent for proof of that.

[Louis D]

2 hours ago, 25585 said:

Their good eye relief is also needed to help with IPD, having wide eye lenses, I have just enough nose room.

My nose sticks out so much beyond my glasses at the level of my pupils that I have to tip head down and look through the tops of my eyeglasses when using most long eye relief, super wide field, binoviewing eyepiece pairs to get my nose out of the way.  I found this so uncomfortable that I didn't pursue that direction in bino pairs.

[paulastro]

I seldom use my binoviewer for any deep sky viewing, only planetary and lunar.  Hence using wide-field eyepieces is not  important, good eye relief is important as I wear specs for astigmatism.  That's the attraction of orthos for instance, down to 16.8 the ortho's eye relief is fine (smaller focal lengths not really necessary as I use a barlow element with the binoviewer for my refractor and the focal length of my 180mm Mak is 2700mm!!).  Orthos are as good or better than many far more expensive eyepieces for binoviewing when I'd be paying for a larger field that isn't necessary and not better optical quality.

[Ricochet]

Good call on the orthos. I had considered filling the "gap" with some 18mm BCOs but hadn't got any further. For the shorter focal lengths perhaps SLVs or APM ultra flats to allow for use with glasses if I need to in the future. 

[Space Hopper]

Up until last week i used only 3 pairs and i now binoview 100% of the time.

 

My main workhorses and favourite pair are my 24mm Panoptics. IMO the perfect binoviewing pair.

These are used in all my scopes but in particular with my OO VX12 F4 using the Earthwin.

With the refractor and other scopes, i also have a pair of 19mm Panoptics, and if the seeing

is ok and i want some more ummmph i have my 13mm Nagler pair.

3 pairs of eyepieces are all i really need.

 

But....the 16.8 Abbe Orthos have been recommended on here, and as its been 4 years since i purchased any glass,

i treated myself to a pair and they arrived last weekend.

I also have ordered a pair of RKE 28s which i'm awaiting.

Life is too short to not give them a go....!!

 

As a Tele-vue man though, i'm not sure whether i'll like them, but there is only one way to find out.

If i can't get on with them i can always sell them on.

I did try the Baader Mk 4 zooms last year, but they weren't for me and have since been sold.

Another pair i'm keen to try are Tele-vue Delights probably 15mm.

 

My only other eyepiece is my oldest  : a 31mm Nagler, which is sitting pretty much unused in my case.......