12mm planetary eyepiece...?

[Stu]

33 minutes ago, NGC 1502 said:

Just a comment on the Radians, and very definitely not to argue, just for balance for anyone considering used Radians.

I’m a Radian fan. If the eyecup is set too low, that means your eye is inside the 20mm eye relief, and kidney beaning is certain, same as any other long eye relief eyepieces. So setting the adjustable eye guard to suit you is crucial. Get that right and I find they are excellent. Others may possibly find different.   And if you find the eye guard action too slack or too tight, it’s a DIY fix.

Ed.

I would agree with you Ed. I had a number of the shorter focal length Radians and enjoyed using them. The eyeguards on mine towards the top loose end, at the time I did not know you could adjust this. Same as a number of other eyepieces though, if you set the eyeguards in the correct place kidney beaning is not an issue. I certainly never found the colour cast issue to be a problem either, perhaps I was not discerning enough to notice?

[NGC 1502]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

 I certainly never found the colour cast issue to be a problem either, perhaps I was not discerning enough to notice?

 

I would agree. On Cloudy Nights I saw lots of posts about the “coffee tone” colour ( sorry color ? ) they were supposed to have, but comparing with other makes I could never detect that.  Poor old “uncle Al” great guy who’s products sometimes come in for unwarranted criticism.

Ed.

[Louis D]

14 hours ago, NGC 1502 said:

Just a comment on the Radians, and very definitely not to argue, just for balance for anyone considering used Radians.

I’m a Radian fan. If the eyecup is set too low, that means your eye is inside the 20mm eye relief, and kidney beaning is certain, same as any other long eye relief eyepieces. So setting the adjustable eye guard to suit you is crucial. Get that right and I find they are excellent. Others may possibly find different.   And if you find the eye guard action too slack or too tight, it’s a DIY fix.

Ed.

This was done in daylight at an astro shop side by side with Pentax XLs, both eyeguards set to the proper height for my eyeglasses.  The XLs had zero blackout issues while I was continually chasing the classic kidney bean around the field of view of the Radians.  I'm sure at night, except on the moon, it wouldn't have been an issue.  I decided to go with the XLs because of the lack of kidney beaning and slightly wider field while still being just as sharp.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Louis D
typo

[NGC 1502]

No problem Louis, as I mentioned, others may find differently to myself. I think eyepiece choice is a personal one, what suits one person may not suit another.  I do find however that eyepiece usage is quite different by day than at night. During the day, with a dilated pupil, I find my short eye relief eyepieces very uncomfortable to use, but at night they are fine. I have a type 1 Nagler 4.8mm, with a listed 7mm eye relief. By day I find it almost unusable, but at night it’s ok. Longer ER would be better of course. However, with my eye so close to the glass it mists up more easily.

No doubt the Pentax XL range were excellent and highly regarded. I used to have just one, the 10.5mm and I found the 65 degree field noticeably better than the 60 degree Radians. If they had been easily available when I bought the Radians I may have built up a set.

Ed.

Edited September 16, 2018 by NGC 1502

[Ags]

This has become a bit theoretical as I have a Berlebach Castor on loan, and it now looks like all available funds may be diverted to the mount acquisition department. But my current thoughts are as follows:

Widefield: ES 24/68, TS 16/82, SW 9.4/82, ES 6.7/82 (of these I still need to acquire the 16 mm)

Planetary: 12SLV, 9SLV (I also have the ES 6.7 mm for golden nights).

I've figured out my eyepiece case can only hold 8 eyepieces, so that leaves two slots. maybe room for a 15SLV and 6SLV ?

[Louis D]

16 hours ago, Ags said:

I've figured out my eyepiece case can only hold 8 eyepieces, so that leaves two slots. maybe room for a 15SLV and 6SLV ?

No, it just means you need to get another eyepiece case.  I recently added my sixth case.  I had my A-team, B-team, Z-team, binoviewer, and Meade HD-60 cases already, but I needed somewhere to put some largish eyepieces I seldom use yet keep for comparison's sake.

[Ags]

You have twice as many eyepiece cases as I have eyepieces! (Not counting the odd SR4 or Super 25...)

My eyepiece case is quite deep, I was thinking of perhaps having a second layer of less used oculars.

[Ags]

I am still thinking about this. Everything has been on hold for a bit because of uncertainty over our residence in Holland.

I have just about decided on the Pentax XF 12mm, on grounds it has a wider FOV than the SLV and is also smaller and lighter. Also I can pair it with the XF 8.5mm for higher power targets like Saturn and Mars.

[Ags]

Looks like I'm being given a Baader Hyperion Zoom Mk IV as a present, so that's sorted then...