4,5&6mm matching planetary EP's?

[parallaxerr]

Happy to say that I've got back to observing again recently after a few months dealing with baby related sleepless nights 

Given my horizons and the time of year, I've mostly been observing Jupiter and I'm surprised at how I've retained interest over several hour and a half to two hour sessions. Waiting for the moments of good seeing I've found is quite rewarding.

My previous draw down of equipment has left me with a AA102ED-R refractor and a Baader MKIV zoom with X2.25 barlow, so minimal shall we say. Unfortunately the bug is biting again and I'm drawn to investing in a few EP's, specifically planetary ones to begin with. I have found myself observing Jupiter pretty much exclusively at the 12mm setting of the zoom with barlow attached, so 5.3mm giving mag X134, which seems to be about the atmospherical limit at the moment.

Based on this, I think a useful range of EP's would be 4,5&6mm to fine tune for better/worse seeing and my initial thoughts were that EP's with less glass in would be best. Not wanting to fall into the major investment trap again, I was thinking circa £50/EP would be nice. Also my low level OCD means I'd REALLY like them to be in the same range by brand etc.

I considered some circle T/V orthos which are readily available in these FL's but the zoom is giving me ~60° FoV and good eye relief, so the orthos would be less comfortable and my mount is manual alt/az, no tracking.

Also considered Plossls in longer FL's to combine with the X2.25 barlow, but then that defeats the object by adding a triplet group of lenses and still offers less FoV.

Others considered:

TMB/SW Planetary & clones - desired focal lengths but reports of ghosting (this bugged me previously with certain EP's) £

Vixen SLV - Previously owned these, desired focal lengths, good but smaller FoV and some ghosting, £££

AA (Long Perng) LER - Previously owned, thought they were good at the time, 5&6mm only, 3mm probably too short ££

ES52° & 62° - Close enough focal lengths available, (4.5,5.5 & 6.5mm) but in different ranges with the current sweet spot EP in the 52° range ££

I keep coming back to the plossl & barlow combo option for some reason, cost I suspect, but would this really an improvement over the MKIV zoom? I've read so many Baader zoom vs fixed FL reviews now that my brain is mush, it's 50/50 opinion on which is best. Previoulsy I thought fixed FL EP's were better than my then MKIII zoom but I've had some pretty good views so far with the MKIV, which has the same optics...

Are there some magical circa £50/EP gems out there, @4,5&6mm and in the same range, that I just haven't found yet? Or can you convince me to consider another direction?

Cheers all,

Jon

Edited July 17, 2019 by parallaxerr

[Louis D]

There's also the 5mm BST Starguider from FLO, our forum sponsor.  I have the Paradigm version, and it seems quite sharp across the field.  I'll have to spend more time comparing it to some other eyepieces I have in that power range, but initially, it seems quite good.  If you pick up a used one and don't like it, it should be quite easy to sell it along without much of a loss.

[laudropb]

You could consider the Sky Watcher UWA eps. I only have the 4 mm but it performs way above its price tag.

[Geoff Barnes]

I agree with laudropb, the Skywatcher Planetary EP's are superb for very little money. I'm starting to get a collection of them now and am continually surprised by their performance. A few of those at shorter FL"s plus your Baader zoom is all you really need. If you want a longer FL then the SW 32mm Plossl is also very good.

[parallaxerr]

Do either of you experience any ghosting with the SW planetarys? That's the only criticism I've read of the TMB clones, and ghosting bothered me previously when I had it in my SLVs. 

If that's an old issue that's been sorted then they certainly are attractive price wise and they're available in the exact FLs I want.

[laudropb]

I have not noticed any ghosting with the 4 mm.

[vlaiv]

I'm not sure you would want those SW UWA EPs.

I've got one of those, at least I think so, got it in rather dodgy box that says "WA Plossl"

EP says UWA, while box says SWA (but it is 58 degrees, 7mm - FL marking on EP wore off).

I was rather pleased with that eyepiece when I first got it, because I simply did not know better. It is not as sharp (6mm Ortho is noticeably sharper, so is 11mm ES82 with barlow, and without for that matter ), and it has annoying ghosting on bright targets like Jupiter. Otherwise it is ok - eye positioning is easy and there is enough eye relief.

Performance of that EP is what kept me from getting these although they are supposed to be as good as originals and best of TMB clones:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p154_TS-Optics-7-mm-Planetary-HR---1-25--Eyepiece--58---fully-multi-coated.html

 

 

[Geoff Barnes]

Sounds like you might have got a dodgy one there vlaiv. Whilst I haven't used the 7mm version, I have recently done an intense comparison with the SW 4mm and a new Vixen SLV 4mm over 3 hours on Jupiter and Saturn and could not see any difference in the quality of the views whatsoever. The SW matched the Vixen in every aspect of sharpness, detail and colour, though that was on-axis viewing with my go-to Dob in tracking mode.

Like laudropb I haven't noticed any ghosting either, though I have to say I'm not the sort of person to let any minor aberrations bother me so long as my target is looking acceptably sharp and clear.

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, Geoff Barnes said:

Sounds like you might have got a dodgy one there vlaiv. Whilst I haven't used the 7mm version, I have recently done an intense comparison with the SW 4mm and a new Vixen SLV 4mm over 3 hours on Jupiter and Saturn and could not see any difference in the quality of the views whatsoever. The SW matched the Vixen in every aspect of sharpness, detail and colour, though that was on-axis viewing with my go-to Dob in tracking mode.

Like laudropb I haven't noticed any ghosting either, though I have to say I'm not the sort of person to let any minor aberrations bother me so long as my target is looking acceptably sharp and clear.

I see from your signature that you have ES 4.7mm 82. Any idea how that one compares with 4mm SW in terms of sharpness?

[Geoff Barnes]

It's strange isn't it how we must all see things differently, I have used the ES 4.7 82 for a couple of years now and yet, try as I might I just cannot warm to it, the views are sharp enough through it but it just seems to lack the wow factor that I get from my Baader Morpheus and now my SW Planetary EP's. It's hard to explain in words, you just have to look through the eyepiece and see how the view affects you both visually and emotionally, and I'm afraid the ES 4.7mm just leaves me cold. Very odd!