Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.

[F15Rules]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Sorry Dave - getting a bit "stir crazy" here 🤪

Yep, me too..- ask my wife!!😂😂

[HollyHound]

First time I've posted on this thread... This is my main eyepiece case, which is a deep Geoptik case as I prefer to have them stored vertically:

Top Row: Paracorr II, ES4.7 82, Burgess/TMB 8, Delite 18.2, Panoptic 24, XW 7.

Middle Row: Hyperion x2.25 Zoom, BCO 6, Celestron Ultima 12.5, ES 2x 1.25" Extender,  Delite 13, Delos 14, XW 10.

Bottom Row: WO Binoviewer with Panoptic 15 (x2), WO 1.25" diagonal (to swap with Baader prism), XW 20, XW 30 (with dioptrx).

Plus a lunar filter and UHC filter. A few more eyepieces stored elsewhere that get swapped in/out or used for grab and go.

Some of the eyepieces are being assessed against a few others I have with a few to swapping them out permanently... I still haven't had a chance to test the ES4.7 against a tele-extended XW10, but the Delite 13 is likely to go now, as the Delos 14 is favoured at that focal length (having already beaten the XW14 and Morpheus 14), and the Delite 18.2 is currently being tested against the Morpheus 17.5, but they are both really good in their own way... decisions, decisions🤔🤣

The binoviewer has just now been fitted (pretty much) permanently onto the Mak127 along with two Hyperion Zooms, as I am using this primarily for lunar and much prefer binoviewing for the moon now, so its space may get used for any additional eyepieces 👍

Edited January 9, 2021 by HollyHound

[HollyHound]

On 06/12/2020 at 12:10, SMF said:

Hi All,

For interest I’ve used this company for work and for my astro set up. Decent variety of sizes, fair quality at good prices and spare foam is readily available from them. I got through a few as I grew my set up.

https://www.cases-and-enclosures.co.uk

Hope this helps anyone.

Steve

Love this Pentax XW set 😀

Edited January 9, 2021 by HollyHound

[John]

18 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

First time I've posted on this thread... This is my main eyepiece case, which is a deep Geoptik case as I prefer to have them stored vertically:

Top Row: Paracorr II, ES4.7 82, Burgess/TMB 8, Delite 18.2, Panoptic 24, XW 7.

Middle Row: Hyperion x2.25 Zoom, BCO 6, Celestron Ultima 12.5, ES 2x 1.25" Extender,  Delite 13, Delos 14, XW 10.

Bottom Row: WO Binoviewer with Panoptic 15 (x2), WO 1.25" diagonal (to swap with Baader prism), XW 20, XW 30 (with dioptrx).

Plus a lunar filter and UHC filter. A few more eyepieces stored elsewhere that get swapped in/out or used for grab and go.

Some of the eyepieces are being assessed against a few others I have with a few to swapping them out permanently... I still haven't had a chance to test the ES4.7 against a tele-extended XW10, but the Delite 13 is likely to go now, as the Delos 14 is favoured at that focal length (having already beaten the XW14 and Morpheus 14), and the Delite 18.2 is currently being tested against the Morpheus 17.5, but they are both really good in their own way... decisions, decisions🤔🤣

The binoviewer has just now been fitted (pretty much) permanently onto the Mak127 along with two Hyperion Zooms, as I am using this primarily for lunar and much prefer binoviewing for the moon now, so its space may get used for any additional eyepieces 👍

Nice selection of gear

Sounds like you have your own version of "eyepiece olympics" going on there. May the best ones win !

Actually they are all pretty good - I think it boils down to small things swaying the verdict at that level.

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by John

[HollyHound]

2 minutes ago, John said:

Actually they are all pretty good - I think it boils down to small things swaying the verdict at that level.

Agreed, it's all quite subtle and sometimes comes down to just ergonomics 🤔

[Space Hopper]

@HollyHound how do you like the 15 Panoptics ?  Its quite rare to see two of them together....! Are yours the slim version or the chunkier versions ??

I often thought about sourcing a pair but not only are they few and far between, but they seem to be not that well liked by the fraternity.

Even David Nagler himself told me at Astrofest one year that they wouldn't be reintroducing them, as they weren't that popular.

Seems odd that the 19s and 24s tick all the boxes (I believe the 24mm Panoptic is or has been Televues best selling eyepiece)

while the 15s seem to have not been so well received or liked in comparison.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Space Hopper

[HollyHound]

21 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

@HollyHound how do you like the 15 Panoptics ?  Its quite rare to see two of them together....!

I often thought about sourcing a pair but not only are they few and far between, but they seem to be not that well liked by the fraternity.

Even David Nagler himself told me at Astrofest one year that they wouldn't be reintroducing them, as they weren't that popular.

Seems odd that the 19s and 24s tick all the boxes (I believe the 24mm Panoptic is or has been Televues best selling eyepiece)

while the 15s seem to have not so well received or liked in comparison.

I have not noticed anything about them not to like, although I've only had them a few months and they were purchased as a pair from here. They compare well to the Panoptic 24 I have (single) and I was actually considering getting a 19 to go with them, but have gone down the route of Pentax XW and Delos instead now.

I got them specifically to use in the binoviewer and they work very well indeed. I've heard some say they have limited eye relief, but as I don't wear glasses when using them, that's not an issue. I also have a pair of Meade 3000 16mm and there is very little between them, but I would say the Panoptic's are perhaps a tiny bit sharper and more contrasty, but it's subtle if anything. Big advantage over the Meades, is the increased FoV (68 vs 50) which is nice, but admittedly for binoviewing I'm not a big fan of huge FoV, so either works for me. I did have a pair of Nagler 13mm T6s, amazing eyepieces, but found the 82 degrees FoV too much for me.

Given that I've now switched to Hyperion Zooms for binoviewing and now have Delos 14mm, there is a very good chance that these Panoptic's will be going up for sale sometime quite soon 🤔

Edited January 9, 2021 by HollyHound

[Space Hopper]

Thanks, interesting.

I would have been interested at one time, but i now have a pair of 15mm APM Ultraflats 65º so i'm sorted now for mid / high power.

I've used 13mm Naglers before for high power, but always struggled with the tight eye relief, the poor eyecups and the fact they never 'seated well'

in the bino as they had such long barrels. They performed well for high power planetary but i never really liked them.

They were sold last year, and i'm now using 2 x Docter / Noblex UWA 12.5mm. Way to big and heavy, although they perform very well indeed.

[HollyHound]

4 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Thanks, interesting.

I would have been interested at one time, but i now have a pair of 15mm APM Ultraflats 65º so i'm sorted now for mid / high power.

I've used 13mm Naglers before for high power, but always struggled with the tight eye relief, the poor eyecups and the fact they never 'seated well'

in the bino as they had such long barrels. They performed well for high power planetary but i never really liked them.

They were sold last year, and i'm now using 2 x Docter / Noblex UWA 12.5mm. Way to big and heavy, although they perform very well indeed.

Actually, I'm being a bit slow today... it was me who bought the 2x Nagler 13mm T6s from you earlier last year 🤣

I keep hearing good things about APM eyepieces, so really must try one sometime 🤔

Edited January 9, 2021 by HollyHound

[Hanah]

Happy that I've added 2 Halloweens to the case today, starting to look like a decent set! If anyone is able to help me fill the gaps, please let me know

[stubeeef]

Sorry, I'm new here and posted about my recent EP case under Eyepieces. But here is my first round of making one, did this for my collimation tools. Pelican V100 with a V500 in work for my Ethos-Barlow-Paracorr -misc. I used Kaizen Foam.

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by stubeeef

[Space Hopper]

A new wider Geoptic transport case has been purchased for my bino gear. It was on offer when i brought it late last year, but it seems the price has shot up since ? (internal measurements 80 x 37cm approx)

https://www.astroshop.eu/multi-purpose-cases/geoptik-eph-30b082b-transport-case/p,55630#tab_bar_0_select

Contents :    2x + 4x Powermates,  2x Docter 12.5mm UWA, Max 2 & MkV bino's

                     2x 12mm & 15mm APM Flatfields, 2x 19mm & 24mm Panoptics,  Baader Amici ,  2x Baader 2" prism diagonals

[Littleguy80]

18 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

A new wider Geoptic transport case has been purchased for my bino gear. It was on offer when i brought it late last year, but it seems the price has shot up since ? (internal measurements 80 x 37cm approx)

https://www.astroshop.eu/multi-purpose-cases/geoptik-eph-30b082b-transport-case/p,55630#tab_bar_0_select

Contents :    2x + 4x Powermates,  2x Docter 12.5mm UWA, Max 2 & MkV bino's

                     2x 12mm & 15mm APM Flatfields, 2x 19mm & 24mm Panoptics,  Baader Amici ,  2x Baader 2" prism diagonals

Two Docters!! I considered EBaying one of the kids to buy just one of those. Great setup and case!

[Space Hopper]

1 minute ago, Littleguy80 said:

Two Docters!! I considered EBaying one of the kids to buy just one of those. Great setup and case!

I actually had them for sale on ABS a couple of months ago and had no interest.

They are very nice indeed, but in a pair are rather unwieldy, and heavy, and i much prefer smaller eyepieces for binoviewing.

[Saganite]

28 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

A new wider Geoptic transport case has been purchased for my bino gear. It was on offer when i brought it late last year, but it seems the price has shot up since ? (internal measurements 80 x 37cm approx)

https://www.astroshop.eu/multi-purpose-cases/geoptik-eph-30b082b-transport-case/p,55630#tab_bar_0_select

Contents :    2x + 4x Powermates,  2x Docter 12.5mm UWA, Max 2 & MkV bino's

                     2x 12mm & 15mm APM Flatfields, 2x 19mm & 24mm Panoptics,  Baader Amici ,  2x Baader 2" prism diagonals

Very interesting Rob and very nice.  I had the 15 Pans but sold them to Gary as I was not using them very much. They were good though.  How do you like the 15 mm APM flat fields.  They look similar in size to 24mm Pans, perfect size for a bino ...

[Littleguy80]

31 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

I actually had them for sale on ABS a couple of months ago and had no interest.

They are very nice indeed, but in a pair are rather unwieldy, and heavy, and i much prefer smaller eyepieces for binoviewing.

I must have missed that or you would have most likely have heard from me! I spent a lot of time last year talking myself in and out of buying one. 

[HollyHound]

7 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

A new wider Geoptic transport case has been purchased for my bino gear. It was on offer when i brought it late last year, but it seems the price has shot up since ? (internal measurements 80 x 37cm approx)

I love my Geoptik case and (like you) was lucky to get it on offer last year... very impressive setup there 👍

6 hours ago, Saganite said:

Very interesting Rob and very nice.  I had the 15 Pans but sold them to Gary as I was not using them very much. They were good though.  How do you like the 15 mm APM flat fields.  They look similar in size to 24mm Pans, perfect size for a bino ...

Yes indeed, the Panoptic 15mm pair I bought from you are really very good indeed... however I will possibly be selling them soon too, only because I have settled (rightly or wrongly) on a binoviewing setup using a pair of Hyperion Zooms... it just works for me on my Mak 127. I'm going to try comparison again when using on my 10" dob, but I just like to ergonomics of this zoom setup right now 😀

Edited February 3, 2021 by HollyHound

[Space Hopper]

7 hours ago, Saganite said:

Very interesting Rob and very nice.  I had the 15 Pans but sold them to Gary as I was not using them very much. They were good though.  How do you like the 15 mm APM flat fields.  They look similar in size to 24mm Pans, perfect size for a bino ...

Hi Steve,

The APM 15s are very nice. Comfortable, well produced and are very similar in feel and performance to the 19 Pans.

And for only a third of the price of the price of the Panoptics, they make alot of sense too.

I was impressed enough to try the now discontinued 12mm version as well and managed to source a pair from APM in Germany directly.

Although a slightly smaller FOV than the 15's (60º  -  65º) they performed very well and i really liked the twist up eyecups on the 12's. Dialling in the right eye relief is a nice touch. And these were only a quarter the price of a Tv Panoptic.

[Dantooine]

Well.... after trying so many eyepieces, I’ve lately been finding new homes for all the ones I’ve let go. Hopefully anyone who’s had one/some from me is enjoying them.

My main aim was to get the set to a usable minimum and spend less time changing them in and out of the focuser.

My set is now just 6 eyepieces that work well in both my 4 inch frac and my 8 inch reflector. I think these are all I should ever need 🤞

[Saganite]

That is a classy sight Dale, very nice. I have had the 13 Ethos and the 22 Nagler in the past, both excellent.

[John]

23 minutes ago, Dantooine said:

Well.... after trying so many eyepieces, I’ve lately been finding new homes for all the ones I’ve let go. Hopefully anyone who’s had one/some from me is enjoying them.

My main aim was to get the set to a usable minimum and spend less time changing them in and out of the focuser.

My set is now just 6 eyepieces that work well in both my 4 inch frac and my 8 inch reflector. I think these are all I should ever need 🤞

Superb set Dale

[Dantooine]

1 hour ago, John said:

Superb set Dale

Just went through all of them on Orion Nebula as that’s all the time I could get with clouds heading my way. I wanted to see how things changed as I upped the magnification as I’ve not done this on that target before. 
 

I was amazed how good the 4.7 is on this target, it quite surprised me. it goes really close and personal with the 110 degrees although in the frac it’s only just over 150x. It’s really quite bright with that ep. 
 

(without filters)

Edited February 3, 2021 by Dantooine

[John]

2 hours ago, Dantooine said:

Just went through all of them on Orion Nebula as that’s all the time I could get with clouds heading my way. I wanted to see how things changed as I upped the magnification as I’ve not done this on that target before. 
 

I was amazed how good the 4.7 is on this target, it quite surprised me. it goes really close and personal with the 110 degrees although in the frac it’s only just over 150x. It’s really quite bright with that ep. 
 

(without filters)

I'm so glad that I managed to find another 4.7 Ethos. They are spectacular to use

[Voyager 3]

On 09/01/2021 at 21:09, HollyHound said:

the Delite 18.2 is currently being tested against the Morpheus 17.5, but they are both really good in their own way... decisions, decisions🤔🤣

 

Arch rivals.... Who came out victorious ? 

[Cleetus]

Cheap box, expensive foam and enough space for new addition.