Another request for help in choosing an EP

[daz]

In a similar vein to @vlaiv's post, I am also looking for advice on an eyepiece - but really have next to knowledge of them....

The objective is to use when conditions are not ideal for imaging, and will be used on my f/5.5 Esprit 100 and f/5.8 ED72. In the future, there will be a dobsonian in the family - f/4 to f/6 I would think. Casual wide-ish field observing is most likely to be the immediate plan rather than high-powered details - but of course, if the bug bites, then that would change.

I have a budget of around £230, but could push it - so it does not need to be one piece..

Options I have looked at:

• Tele-vue Panoptice 19mm: Consumes all the budget, but I guess there's a reason for that!
• Pentax XW 20mm: Again, consumes the whole budget, slightly wider AFOV at 70d than then Panoptic
• Vixen SLV's: After reading comments in Vlaiv's post, these could be a good option. 25mm & 10mm ?. 50d APOV
• Baader Hyperion: I had one of these in the past (years!) and seem to remember they were good. Is this still the case?  68d APOV

Are these sensible, would you recommend any others?

Thanks for any input/advice!

 

 

[Ags]

Explore Scientific 24/68 and 16/68 together should fit in your budget. I have the 24 and it works very well in various F5 scopes - the 24mm Hyperion it replaced was terrible in both an ST80 and 6" F5 Newt.

[vlaiv]

I've been very happy with my ES68 28mm. It might be a bit too much focal length for you but there are other focal lengths in that range.

I also have 16mm of that line, but not have used it extensively, so can't give recommendation for that one yet. It's a bit tight on ER, which is not the case with above mentioned 28mm.

On the list you mentioned, I could comment following:

SLVs should be considered for motorized / tracking scopes and planetary. I would not recommend them for general observing as AFOV is too small. Although it is said to be 50 degrees it is closer to 45 degrees by numerous accounts.

Baader Hyperion: this is something that I've read about - no direct experience, but you want to avoid these in faster scopes. They suffer astigmatism on fast scopes and outer part of the field is not quite usable.

In general I think that for general wide-ish field observing you need two EPs - one wide field general overview EP - something like above mentioned ES68 28mm (which is 2" EP), so something in 25-30mm territory, and one shorter FL EP that will be your main DSO observing EP - this should be in 15-18mm range.

In this range, there are several really good EPs, for example:

- Baader Morpheus 17.5 is very very good EP (quite expensive)

- APM UFF 18mm (65deg) is another very good EP (much more affordable)

[daz]

Thanks both!

I do like the look of the ES ones... and I could stretch to the 28 and 16....

 

[vlaiv]

Thing with ES68 16mm is that it has somewhat shorter eye relief - quoted at 11.6mm

Not sure if that is important to you or not. Otherwise, it is very good EP (from my limited time with it, so I state that with some reservations).

For better eye relief and similar AFOV in 15mm or 18mm, do have a look at APM UFF series - it is similarly priced to ES68 16mm one.

[Ruud]

The Morpheus 17.5 is amazing. I use it at f/5. (£189 at FLO. Of the Morpheus, the best are 17.5, 12.5, 9, and 6.5mm.)

ES68 and Panoptics are very close to each other quality-wise. The shorter FLs have short eye relief. I'm very fond of my 20, 24, 28 and 34mm Maxvisions, which have the same optics as ES68. Crisp views at f/5.

[Louis D]

@daz It's not clear from your initial post if you're open to 2" eyepieces.  It's also not clear if you suffer from severe astigmatism in your observing eye.  If you're restricted to 1.25" eyepieces as your list of possible eyepieces suggests, then that severely limits your maximum true field of view.  I'd invest part of my funds in a decent 2" diagonal in that case.  If you have severe astigmatism and need to wear eyeglasses when using low power eyepieces, then that also plays into the suggestion equation.

My personal recommendation would be a 30mm APM UFF if you can use 2" eyepieces.  I much prefer it to my 27mm Panoptic, 30mm ES-82, and 30mm Widescan III clone for wide field scanning when wearing eyeglasses.

[daz]

HI @Louis D

No, I don't suffer from any astigmatism, so open to 2" eyepieces - I already have a 2" diagonal, so no issues there.

I do wear glasses, but remove them when I do observe.

I will have a look at APMs as well - many thanks!

 

[JTEC]

Just to add an opinion in support of some others expressed above: I’ve found the 17.5 Morpheus to be excellent and also continue to be pleased with the ES68 24mm.  

I bought a pair of 24mm Hyperions for binoviewing a while back but didn’t keep them long. Granted sig diff in fl, so exact comparison difficult, but, to my eye at least, the Morpheus feels to be in a different league optically over the Hyperions.

[John]

I had the Explore Scientific 24mm 68 degree before I moved to my 24mm Panoptic. The ES was pretty good I thought - the extra £'s for the Panoptic didn't buy much apart from a more compact eyepiece and perhaps slightly sharper edge performance in my F/5.3 dob.

The Vixen LVW 22mm was another very nice 1.25" format eyepiece that I used to own. Out of production now though so you will need to look to the used market for one of those.

I don't think the Hyperions will be that great at the edges at F/5.5 and F/5.8 and less so if you eventually get anything faster.

 

[daz]

Thank you @John and @JTEC!

[Ags]

12 hours ago, John said:

I don't think the Hyperions will be that great at the edges at F/5.5 and F/5.8 and less so if you eventually get anything faster.

I can confirm that. Hyperions and fast scopes don't mix.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Ags
typo

[rwilkey]

Your first two options are good, though I would pick the XW.  As others have said, cross out Baader Hyperion from your list!

[Paul73]

Why not go for the ES 82° 24mm??? It is bang on budget and works very well at the f ratios you mention. I went for this over the Panoptic due to the flatter wider field (I do really rate the Panoptic though).

Paul

[Mark at Beaufort]

Daz if your main choice in the long term is using a Dob in a manual system you need a wide FOV as you indicated. I have both the 24mm and 16mm ES68 and they are great EPs. However, when I go searching for DSOs my choice goes to the 100 degree EPs - in this respect 20mm and 13mm. The new Nirvana 16mm 82 degree appears good value and I can state that I have the 7mm Nirvana which I use in my 12" f/5 Dob for observing the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. You could purchase this 16mm EP and as Paul73 stated above maybe the 24mm ES82.

It depends on when you are thinking of buying these EPs. If you can wait to the star party in early November you can try out my ES68 range. If you coming before then - give me a call and I will come over.

 

[daz]

Thank you all for your input and recommendations - and I thought imaging was confusing!!

So, I have plumped for the 28mm and 16mm ES68's for now. You have all given me food for thought as and when I expand and acquire the dob. I think in the coming season I will make a nuisance of myself at the SPs and start taking more of an interest in the eyepieces being used!

 

I'll report back on how I get on with them, but really, thanks everyone!

 

[Ruud]

5 minutes ago, daz said:

Problem? email me HERE

 

Good luck with the eyepieces, Daz. I quite like the 28 myself. Please tell me: how do I get an email address like that? Or do I have one already? 

[vlaiv]

11 minutes ago, Ruud said:

Please tell me: how do I get an email address like that? Or do I have one already? 

I think it might be related to "blue lettering"

[daz]

13 hours ago, Ruud said:

Please tell me: how do I get an email address like that? Or do I have one already? 

As Vlaiv says, it's Admin only  - at least for the immediate future....