2 inch eyepiece choice

[The Flinty Fox]

If you had a skywatcher 150p f5 and a William optics 80mm f6.8 which of these two eyepiece would you choose?

OVL 30mm Aero ed SWA or the Vixen NLVW 30mm lanthanum glass 65deg. 

Thinking of summer milky-way grazing. 

Many thanks. 

Paul. 

[Louis D]

I have the 35mm Aero ED, and it is nice and light, pretty decent over 75% of the field, nearly maxes out the TFOV in a 2" eyepiece (44.4mm field stop), but a bit tight on eye relief if you wear eyeglasses to observe at low powers.  It's also relatively inexpensive.

The Vixen is nice, but nothing special given its price.  If I were going to spend ~$200 on a 30mm eyepiece, I'd definitely get the 30mm APM (Altair) UFF.  It is nearly perfect in all respects.

Here's a few comparison images of and through my 29mm to 42mm eyepieces so you can see how they perform center to edge and how their relative sizes compare.

[John]

I have an Aero ED 30. It's a nice eyepiece at F/7.5 and even F/6.5 but is not as well corrected as the 35mm or 40mm in the Aero ED series as scopes get faster.

I've not used the Vixen you mention so I can't comment on that one.

 

 

[The Flinty Fox]

Hi louis, thanks for the reply. 

Very interested comparison images you have there took me a while to work out what I was looking at. Neat idea, you can see the difference between each eyepiece. 

The aeros do seem to get good reviews, as for the Vixen they tend to be mixed. 

The 35mm I think is a bit low power and was thinking more of the 30mm.

Can't say I've heard of the APM but will certainly check it out thanks. 

Hi John and thanks. 

You said that the 35mm and 40mm are better corrected in faster scopes than the 30mm. Now I'm not sure, the 35mm will be fine in the WO but not sure about the 150p, too large an exit pupil. I suppose I could try out both and see. 

I've tried looking for reviews on both and it seems the aeros do get the better reviews and more of then than the Vixen. 

Thanks again. 

Paul 

[Louis D]

Read Don Pensack's recent report on the 30mm APM UFF if you're not convinced already.  He is not easily impressed being a long time observer and straight talking eyepiece dealer.

[Ally8446]

I'll second @Louis D recommendation, after alI, I bought one after reading his thoughts on the APM 30mm UFF. It will not disappoint you. An incredible eyepiece. 

[F15Rules]

I've owned both the Aero 30mm and the Vixen NLVW 30mm.

I'm a big fan of most Vixen EPs, and of the now discontinued LVW range, especially the 22mm, but the NLVW 30mm is NOT like the rest of the LVW range and I was disappointed with it: build quality, ergonomics and optics were all well below usual LVW standards, I felt.

The Aero 30mm was a much nicer performer optically in my F8 Tak, no contest, and ergonomically as well.

I've not looked through the APM ultra flat field 30, but it seems very well regarded indeed, by some very knowledgeable observers. If your budget will cover the cost, the APM would get my vote, or alternatively the Aero rather than the NLVW.

Dave

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On 11/04/2020 at 12:57, The Flinty Fox said:

If you had a skywatcher 150p f5 and a William optics 80mm f6.8 which of these two eyepiece would you choose?

OVL 30mm Aero ed SWA or the Vixen NLVW 30mm lanthanum glass 65deg. 

Thinking of summer milky-way grazing. 

Many thanks. 

Paul. 

I've had both of those eyepieces, used in a Startravel 120 and Skyliner 200p. The Vixen definitely had an edge over the Aero ED, but then the Vixen also costs a lot more.

Using the Vixen I did have trouble reaching focus with the ST120 and I didn't get on with the open style eyepiece so it was replaced with the Aero. The Aero has a twist up rubber cup eyepiece which I prefer.

[The Flinty Fox]

Hi.

Thanks for the review louis D. I also read somewhere that the same man who wrote that review replaced a televue panoptic with that very eyepiece, which does say a lot, so yes I am quite convinced.

Thanks Ally8446 for the recommendation also.

Thanks F15rules for your comments I also read that the Vixen NLVW isn't as good as the rest of the range. I've seen the APM for sale for 199Euro (about £175) which is a little over my budget but seeing as every body seems to be recommending it  I suppose I could stretch a little further. 

Thanks scousespacecadet. Think I also prefer the twist up eye cup also they do help with eye placement but you also say that the Vixen had the edge over the Aero, which is interesting. 

Oh I don't know its so difficult I sometimes think it might be easier to flip a coin though I am tempted by the APM.

Thanks everyone again.

 Paul