Vixen HR quality?

[A McEwan]

Just a quick question. Not really aware of the Vixen HR eyepieces, but I see adverts for them occasionally, and am wondering... how good are they? What are their positives and negatives? do people part with them regularly?

Thanks

Ant     

[Timebandit]

 

Hello.

Mostly everything I have read or seen of the HR eyepiece have been positive. They are not cheap but the quality is there. I suppose the best way to think of them is like a modern day ZAO . When top quality viewing of items of planetary and lunar is required. When you put a HR in a top quality refractor then you really are getting top quality views(seeing conditions permitting)

 

 

[John]

I've not used a Vixen HR but the reports I've read have left me with a similar conclusion to Timebandit - top tier planetary performers.

If and when Vixen stop producing them I suspect they will become sought after in the same way that TMB Supermonocentrics, Astro Physic's SPLs and Pentx XOs now are.

 

[Stu]

I've used a couple of these and they are top notch. I have used both the 3.4mm and 2.4mm in a Tak FC100 and Televue Genesis. I sold the 3.4mm, largely just to free up funds, but the 2.4mm in the Genesis gives a smidge over x200 with excellent results. I think one reason people may sell them is that they are very short focal length and may not get regular use, but in shorter focal length scopes they are well worth trying out. Even in the Tak at x308 on doubles the 2.4mm is amazingly sharp.

[JTEC]

Ant, I posted a review of the 3.4 HR on 19th Jan; you can find it via the search with my moniker JTEC attached -  sorry, I don’t know how to send you the link directly.  Wonderful eyepiece!

[iPeace]

Excellent build quality and views, certainly the clearest, sharpest high-power views I've enjoyed. The eye relief somehow seems more than specified, so they're more comfortable in use than you might expect. The only real drawback for me is the FOV, which is important as I only use undriven AZ mounts. So when it came time to thin the herd, I let the HRs go in favour of Nagler Zooms and DeLites; views nearly as nice, with more FOV and/or flexibility in use. If I used a driven mount, it may have been a different story. If orthos are your thing, you'll absolutely love the HRs.

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, iPeace said:

Excellent build quality and views, certainly the clearest, sharpest high-power views I've enjoyed.

Hi Ant,

I bought Mike's 3.4mm in mint condition and agree 100% with his comment above.

Far more comfortable than orthos with good eye relief, mine gave 305x in my FS128. Just superb on doubles with inky black sky background and great scatter control. Sadly I didn't get a chance to use it on the planets before unplanned early retirement came along and I had to let it go along with some other cherished items.

However, I will definitely replace it in the future with another and heartily recommend the HR Series.

PS I use a driven mount so didnt have a problem with the ortho like fov- in fact I prefer the smaller field for studying doubles ☺.

HTH.

Dave

[Louis D]

Here's a review by Bill Paolini of the first three Vixen HRs released.  I apologize if you've already read it.

The Takahashi TOE eyepieces are also considered another good alternative in this space.

[Pig]

I can only Echo the comments made above 😀 I also use it with my TAK 100 DF mainly for splitting very tight doubles (2.4mm), excellent build quality too. The only real negative to all high power eyepieces I can think of is, if you are affected by floaters they can obscure the finer details, such as the contents of craters 👁 

Edited September 4, 2019 by Pig

[Pig]

Oh yes...... keeping your eye /  head steady whilst looking through them can be quite tricky, and believe it or not very exhausting 😀

[Don Pensack]

On 01/09/2019 at 11:51, A McEwan said:

Just a quick question. Not really aware of the Vixen HR eyepieces, but I see adverts for them occasionally, and am wondering... how good are they? What are their positives and negatives? do people part with them regularly?

Thanks

Ant     

They are a modern updated equivalent of an Abbe orthoscopic, that is they are a narrow field (42°) with high resolution, intended for high power views of planets, moon, double stars.

There was a brief production quality-control problem with the 3.4mm, though that is now fixed.  The shorter focal lengths did not experience that.

They are good alternatives to using other eyepieces with, say, a Barlow lens, to achieve ultra high powers in small scopes of short focal length.

 

[mikeDnight]

I think they are amazing. Even the rediculously short 1.6mm giving an equally rediculous 463X on my 100mm refractor is quite amazing and very comfortable to use. Ive never used Zeiss Orthoscopics but quite a few people view them as a modern day Zeiss, so I'm happy to go along with their expert opinions.

I'm determined never to sell my HR's and so I've given them their own little case. Here's the set all tucked up in bed. 

Edited February 15, 2020 by mikeDnight