StellaMira Owners Thread

[RobertI]

3 hours ago, Andrew_B said:

Which model of binoviewer do you have that's suitable for use with smaller scopes?

I have the William Optics binoviewers - they work really well in all my scopes. To get the magnification required for planetary I use the Baader 2.25x barlow* which actually results in roughly 5x when used with the binoviewers, so gives around 100x in the 66mm and 175x in the 102ED. Another advantage of binoviewers is that the image seems so much bigger - it's an illusion created by the brain, but a huge difference to the observing experience. Also reduces effects of floaters in the eye. Can't recommend them enough.  

*You will need to unscrew the lens of the barlow and screw it directly into the nosepiece of the binoviewers to get best results. I have it permanently attached.

[scotty38]

I use WO binoviewers with my ED80 and a Takahashi prism but still need the 1.6x to reach focus but it is close. I keep hanging my nose over the baader prism and 2" nosepiece thinking it "might" get me to focus without the 1.6x.....

[Andrew_B]

3 hours ago, RobertI said:

I have the William Optics binoviewers - they work really well in all my scopes. To get the magnification required for planetary I use the Baader 2.25x barlow* which actually results in roughly 5x when used with the binoviewers, so gives around 100x in the 66mm and 175x in the 102ED. Another advantage of binoviewers is that the image seems so much bigger - it's an illusion created by the brain, but a huge difference to the observing experience. Also reduces effects of floaters in the eye. Can't recommend them enough.  

*You will need to unscrew the lens of the barlow and screw it directly into the nosepiece of the binoviewers to get best results. I have it permanently attached.

That looks like a pretty decent setup for the money. Do you use the 20mm eyepieces or are other focal lengths better for planetary observing? 

[RobertI]

9 hours ago, Andrew_B said:

That looks like a pretty decent setup for the money. Do you use the 20mm eyepieces or are other focal lengths better for planetary observing? 

I’ve not tried shorter FL  eyepieces to be honest - I happened to have the barlow already and it worked perfectly and gives just the right magnification in the 100ED. I imagine that the eye relief is better than using short FL eyepieces too. It’s possible I’m missing out I guess! 

[Andrew_B]

8 hours ago, RobertI said:

I’ve not tried shorter FL  eyepieces to be honest - I happened to have the barlow already and it worked perfectly and gives just the right magnification in the 100ED. I imagine that the eye relief is better than using short FL eyepieces too. It’s possible I’m missing out I guess! 

If you're already getting up to 175x magnification then you're probably not missing much by not having shorter FL eyepieces except on nights of very good seeing.