Vixen ends HR production

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, Deadlake said:

Certain people on this site rate the optics of the Tak above the SD103S,  my interest in the AX103S was due to future use for astro, also hard to justify having more then one 100 mm scope, so have the a premium one. 😀

There's a lot of playful banter between observers that really shouldn't be taken too seriously. When it comes to refractors having such high end optics as Tak and Vixen etc, the real world difference is largely academic, and probably difficult to distinguish under anything but laboratory conditions.  Tone is probably the most obvious difference, but when it comes to the level of actual detail delivered at the eyepiece in scopes of roughly equal aperture you'd be splitting hairs. Perhaps the quality of the final image is much more due to the quality of the eyepiece and diagonal than it is from any difference between these amazing objectives.

[iPeace]

The Vixen HR eyepiece.

• Beautiful (assuming you find this important). Understated, classic, modern-yet-vintage-retro look. The black and chrome. The engraved, serif-less font harks back, then points to the future we were hoping for back then.
• Solid. Very well built, the quality and care taken is self-evident.
• Lightweight and compact.
• The combination of the previous two is amazing at first encounter; you immediately feel how nice it is, but wait, how can it be so light? There can't possibly be enough glass in there...
• Comfortable; the rubber eye guard blocks stray light and gives perfect position; somehow the eye relief feels like more than specified.

And then, in actual use...

 

...it just disappears. 😮

 

In a simplistic way, it makes sense: if there's hardly any glass in there, then there's not much to look through. But this is like there's none at all. And yet, the image is duly, effortlessly magnified, all is there to be seen, with nothing that is not. How does it do this?

Personally, I will never (really) know, nor do I find it really important to know. Just very happy to have owned and used them. It is absolutely everything I like in an eyepiece...

...except...

...the field of view 🙄

...which would not be an issue, if I used a driven mount which kept the target in view for me. Indeed, if there was no more FOV than this to be had, then that would be it. I could almost convince myself that at these focal lengths, all others are to be ignored (surely Galileo and Sir Patrick Moore would have made due)...but for me, other considerations prevailed. Ah. Nostalgia.

The design doesn't scale up to greater focal lengths, they say. Oh well. (I don't doubt it.)

So now, so shortly after their introduction (no, at the time, I didn't notice the initial fanfare either - was there any?), it seems decided that the market is saturated, absolutely swamped with them and it's no use making any more. And so, true to form...

...they just disappear.

 

It's not an entirely gloomy prospect; they are out there being used and will be for a long time to come. Perhaps this is how you go about creating a legend. I couldn't script it better.

[F15Rules]

What a poetic epitaph for this great range Mike😏.

I still plan to re-acquire a 3.4mm at some point..

Dave

[Deadlake]

13 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

What a poetic epitaph for this great range Mike😏.

I still plan to re-acquire a 3.4mm at some point..

Dave

Rother Valley Optic's might be able to source some, if you are quick...

[F15Rules]

Thanks for that, sadly I will need to wait a year or two and hope for a used one..🙂

Dave

[fate187]

I quickly ordered the 1.6 and 2.4 last week from local vendor. I am missing the 2.0 and after some calls got it back ordered for delivery later this week or early next week. Fingers pressed this works out.

I used the eyepieces last night in my Tak100. The 3.4 and 2.4 are almost something "common" when it comes to Jupiter or Saturn. Especially Saturn can take so much magnification. I used the 1.6mm on a beautiful star test, and will use it in the future for double stars.

edit: I woke up at 4 a.m. and observed Mars with the 3.4 and 2.4....😋 Seeing was not the best despite meteoblue predicting best 5/5 conditions 🧐

CS

Edited August 17, 2020 by fate187

[jetstream]

2 hours ago, fate187 said:

I quickly ordered the 1.6 and 2.4 last week from local vendor. I am missing the 2.0 and after some calls got it back ordered for delivery later this week or early next week. Fingers pressed this works out.

I used the eyepieces last night in my Tak100. The 3.4 and 2.4 are almost something "common" when it comes to Jupiter or Saturn. Especially Saturn can take so much magnification. I used the 1.6mm on a beautiful star test, and will use it in the future for double stars.

edit: I woke up at 4 a.m. and observed Mars with the 3.4 and 2.4....😋 Seeing was not the best despite meteoblue predicting best 5/5 conditions 🧐

CS

You have some seriously good telescopes!

[Deadlake]

Look new special edition Vixen HR 3.4 mm released you can buy new. Unfortunately only joking, managed to find this last example in an online shop.

Fresh from the box.

 

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, Deadlake said:

Look new special edition Vixen HR 3.4 mm released you can buy new. Unfortunately only joking, managed to find this last example in an online shop.

Fresh from the box.

 

Nice find! Great eyepiece. Will be interested in how you find it in use

[Alan White]

Nice find, I truly am in love with my 3.4 HR.