Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.

[DRT]

I won't be selling the 31mm in a hurry. I am hoping for some nice clear skies at SGL XI to let me 16" Dob do its stuff and he 31mm would definitely be part of that test. The 27mm and 35mm Pans are definitely next on my wish list, probably in that order as I have a big jump from the E21 to the N31. I bought a P24mm a few months ago for my Lunt 50Ha and didn't get on with it so passed it on to Shane. I might ask to give that a go in my Dob to see whether or not I need to look out for another one.

[Moonshane]

Personally I think the 24mm Pan is one of the best eyepieces ever made. Certainly one of the best I have ever used. My 26mm Nagler gives a wider view but I feel the 24mm Pan provides a sharper view. Of course you can borrow it for a while mate.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Derek the 35mm Panoptic is a fantastic eyepiece and it was wonderful in my 4" and 6" frac I had at the time. In the end I did a straight swop with a 26mm Nagler but I do regret not having it.

Look forward to seeing you again at SGLX1 especially with all your new equipment. I looked 'finger on the button' at Chris Lock's 60mm Skylight f16.7 Frac but I am glad its gone to a good home. Are you bringing that to the star party or is it too much to bring.

 

[DRT]

2 hours ago, Moonshane said:

Personally I think the 24mm Pan is one of the best eyepieces ever made. Certainly one of the best I have ever used. My 26mm Nagler gives a wider view but I feel the 24mm Pan provides a sharper view. Of course you can borrow it for a while mate.

Thanks, mate

2 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Derek the 35mm Panoptic is a fantastic eyepiece and it was wonderful in my 4" and 6" frac I had at the time. In the end I did a straight swop with a 26mm Nagler but I do regret not having it.

Look forward to seeing you again at SGLX1 especially with all your new equipment. I looked 'finger on the button' at Chris Lock's 60mm Skylight f16.7 Frac but I am glad its gone to a good home. Are you bringing that to the star party or is it too much to bring.

 

It will all be there, Mark

[John]

I wondered if I would keep both the N31 and the E21 when I got the latter. There is no doubt in my mind now though that the N31 does things a little differently from the E21 and I would miss it if I didn't have it, even though the big Nagler only gets out occasionally.

I definitely don't need anything in between the two though and likewise between the E21 and the E13. I had the E17 for a short while and it was great but it would not have seen much use in my scopes.

This is all about personal preferences though, isn't it ?. None of the eyepieces under discussion is anything less than superb, it's just how it sits in the existing set, with the scopes folks have, their typical seeing conditions, field of view preferences etc, etc.

I've had a few chances to compare the ESX4.7 with the XW 5 now and, apart from the FoV and the eye relief, I can't see any differences in the quality of the images at all. I can see myself keeping them both through indecision !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stu]

Here's my latest iteration, very much along the minimalist theme I'm currently following. I'm a little limited on true wide fields of view but apart from that most bases are covered. Great for the sort of grab and go observing I'm doing at the moment.

First case has a full set of BGOs, a Zeiss 25mm Ortho, 24mm Panoptic, 3 to 6 Nagler Zoom, x2.5 PowerMate and a Zeiss Abbé Barlow with T2 quick changer. The 25mm is very sharp and Barlows very well.

The second case has my Leica 8.9 to 17.8mm ASPH Zoom, Docter 12.5mm 84 degree afov, Baader Microguide illuminated 12.5mm, extension tube for the Zeiss Barlow plus filters. Oh, and there's another 25mm Zeiss Ortho in there too! At some point I'll do a proper side by side and keep the best one.

Lumicon 2" OIII and UHC, plus 1.25" Hb

DGM NPB (x2, long story, only paid for one!)

TV Mars and Planetary

Most of my observing is done with a Baader Zeiss T2 prism which I really rate. So, minimal but most things covered which suits me for the moment.

[Moonshane]

Talk about slumming it.

[Kef9]

2 hours ago, John said:

I wondered if I would keep both the N31 and the E21 when I got the latter. There is no doubt in my mind now though that the N31 does things a little differently from the E21 and I would miss it if I didn't have it, even though the big Nagler only gets out occasionally.

I definitely don't need anything in between the two though and likewise between the E21 and the E13. I had the E17 for a short while and it was great but it would not have seen much use in my scopes.

I agree with this but I use my Nagler 31 more than the Ethos 21. I think I just prefer the wider field of view it offers but it's definitely worth owning both.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Kef9
quote box size

[Stu]

Just now, Kef9 said:

I agree with this but I use my Nagler 31 more than the Ethos 21. I think I just prefer the wider field of view it offers but it's definitely worth owning both.

I agree too! Although I've sold both now, I would certain have them again and they both have their merits.

[DRT]

1 hour ago, Moonshane said:

Talk about slumming it.

I was thinking exactly the same as I read Stu's post, Shane

Very nice set, Stu and some real gems in there that don't come up often. I am sure you can replace the stuff you sold easily enough if you ever decide to but you would wait months or years for some of that kit to come along unless you were prepared to buy it all new. Looks like you have made some very sound decisions on what to keep

[alan potts]

18 hours ago, DRT said:

I won't be selling the 31mm in a hurry. I am hoping for some nice clear skies at SGL XI to let me 16" Dob do its stuff and he 31mm would definitely be part of that test. The 27mm and 35mm Pans are definitely next on my wish list, probably in that order as I have a big jump from the E21 to the N31. I bought a P24mm a few months ago for my Lunt 50Ha and didn't get on with it so passed it on to Shane. I might ask to give that a go in my Dob to see whether or not I need to look out for another one.

Derek,

As much as I agree with with Shane about the 24mm I sort of know what you mean about the 24mm and I think it is not big enough. For the Dob and the SC I like big eyepieces, I like to get my hands on them, like the 21mm E and 31mm N. I use the 24mm in the topscope on the SC and rarely move it anywhere else, though I have been trying it of late with the elusive Horse. I don't really find the jump from 21mm to 31mm is too much, then of course like you I have the 41mm for those wider fields in the SC.

I do though find the 35mm, for some reason I can't nail down, preferred weapon in the M/N 190mm and the widefield in the 180mm Mak. I always wanted a 27mm and was on the verge of getting one when I tried you one week diet where my eyepiece cases lost weight and bank account gained it. The other thing with the 27mm Pan it gives about the biggest field in the SC when used with the .63 reducer, though it has been a while since I played games with it. I was going to use the 26mm Nagler for this but it vignettes badly, something the 24mm Meade UWA does not, wish I never parted with that one in the SC it was almost as good as a TeleVue. I know Shane loves his 26mm N, this was the one in the TV's I couldn't get on with, I guess we are all different.

 

Alan

[DRT]

That was one of the reasons I didn't fall in love with the P24mm, Alan, it just felt too small. I know that is a silly reason not to like an eyepiece as it should be all about what you can see through it but the aesthetics are a big part of it for me and like you I prefer my beautiful things to be big and to look in proportion to one another. As you might have picked up from other threads my money is running down a different drain at the moment so the Pans will have to wait.

[Highburymark]

Derek, I agree that the Pan 24 is not at home in the Lunt 50 - it's the only time I've been disappointed in its performance. One of the things I love about it though is the size means it's incredibly useful for travel - hopefully going to Morocco in April, and the only EPs I'll take will be the Leica zoom, VIP Barlow, and Pan 24.

[Paul73]

Interesting stuff re size. Me and my Dob like big eyepieces. My little 80mm Frac does not. As the scope's principal night time job is wide field, this is an issue.

The scope / mount is balanced for a 450g eyepiece. The 27mm Panoptic seems to fill this gap nicely. As does the ES 28mm 68°.... The idea being that my travel setup is; SW ED80, Baader 8-24 Zoom & Barlow, a 27/28mm 68° And a Lunt Wedge. This will all go in the single scope case.

Then my eyepiece collection will be complete (until the next time I have some spare cash).

Paul

[Kef9]

I have the 24mm panoptic and here are the reasons I think make it a worthwhile eyepiece to own.

1) comfortable to use with long eye relief although I can live with virtually zero eye relief

2) Biggest possible field in a 1.25" format. Hence good for binoviewers, small maks or travelscopes limited to the format.

3) nice and compact so again relating to the point above it's good for travel.

On a completely separate note I just like the way it feels although thats just personal opinion

Edited January 30, 2016 by Kef9

[Mak the Night]

New home for a pair of orphaned SWANs as their original home had been invaded by some orthoscopics with attitude.

And ... my foam fitting OCD finally cuts in ...

Edited January 30, 2016 by Mak the Night

[DRT]

I have been reliably informed that my astro cases are taking up too much room in the lounge

 

 

I could argue that the dog's toy box sticks out further than my cases but I am not sure that will help my cause

 

[Kef9]

20 minutes ago, DRT said:

I have been reliably informed that my astro cases are taking up too much room in the lounge

I could argue that the dog's toy box sticks out further than my cases but I am not sure that will help my cause

 

Wow! What have you got in all of those. I manage with 1 case!

[Mr Fiery Jack]

Here is my modest little collection.

 

[Moonshane]

Small but perfectly formed

[Mak the Night]

40 minutes ago, DRT said:

I have been reliably informed that my astro cases are taking up too much room in the lounge

 

 

I could argue that the dog's toy box sticks out further than my cases but I am not sure that will help my cause

 

There's still room for more vertically stacked cases yet! 

[DRT]

16 minutes ago, Kef9 said:

Wow! What have you got in all of those. I manage with 1 case!

The bottom one is my EP case, pictured a few posts above in this thread. The next one is full of diagonals, a feathertouch focuser for my CPC1100 and bits and bobs. Next is my TV Pronto followed by my Solar case that is pictured in another thread. The darker case near the top is a DSLR and various lenses and the top one is an Altair Starwave 72 ED.

But seriously, have you seen how much room that dog toy box is taking up!!!!

[John]

If they are not all full of eyepieces Derek, you are not yet a true "occularholic"

 

 

 

 

[DRT]

10 minutes ago, John said:

If they are not all full of eyepieces Derek, you are not yet a true "occularholic"

{hanging my head in shame}

[DRT]

In recent weeks I have acquired a set of TV Plossls (8mm to 32mm) to use with my Skylight F16.7 refractor and Daystar Quark. These have now been crammed into the bottom right corner of the case. I am not happy with the layout but can't do much about it without a bigger case, or splitting my EPs into two cases. The latter option opens up possibilities that I dare not think about

 

I must replace the dust cap on the 15mm Plossl - it just looks wrong.