Baader hyperion zoom eyepiece

[KeithP22]

I have a skywatcher 200p dobsonian which ive had for about 5 weeks  now. I was looking at buying a baader zoom eyepiece. Would this work with my scope. It still has the original focusing device, would i need an adaptor or would this ep just slot in the same as my other ep's. Thanks in advance. 

[Pixies]

Yep it'll fit. You can use either 1.25" or 2" barrel sizes, as it has both. Your focuser can take either

[KeithP22]

Thanks pixies. Have you ever used this ep. What scope do you have. 

[Pixies]

 

2 hours ago, KeithP22 said:

Thanks pixies. Have you ever used this ep. What scope do you have. 

Yep - I have one. I use it in my 8" Bresser dob. Not had it long though. I also have the matching barlow - got them both 'nearly new'.

 

[KeithP22]

7 hours ago, Pixies said:

 

Yep - I have one. I use it in my 8" Bresser dob. Not had it long though. I also have the matching barlow - got them both 'nearly new'.

 

Is it a good eyepiece and would you recommend it. I have a barlow would that not work with the baader zoom ep.

[Pixies]

It is. There have been various threads recently about cheaper ones of apparent equivalent quality - but I managed to buy this secondhand.

You will be able to barlow it using the 1.25" barrel (unless you have a 2" barlow). I can't say how well it would work though - it would depend on your barlow.

The one issue I have with it is that you need to refocus it as you change magnification, which I find a little inconvenient. I'm not sure if other makes are different. Otherwise, I think it's a very good EP. Be aware that the FOV decreases as you increase the focal length - so it's no good as a wide-field EP.

[NGC 1502]

1 hour ago, Pixies said:The one issue I have with it is that you need to refocus it as you change magnification, which I find a little inconvenient. I'm not sure if other makes are different. Otherwise, I think it's a very good EP. Be aware that the FOV decreases as you increase the focal length - so it's no good as a wide-field EP.

Indeed it would be great if you didn’t need to refocus after zooming.  But doing that is still a lot quicker than swapping eyepieces 🙂

Also many parfocal eyepieces, all from the exact same type of eyepiece range, do need a focus tweak after swapping.

Ed.

[John]

The only downside with the 8-24 zoom, as with the majority of zooms, is that the field of view at the 24mm end is rather narrow - around 44 degrees. It widens to 60+ degrees at the 8mm end though. More minor issues are that the field stop that defines the edge of the field can be fuzzy at certain points in the zoom range and that the eyepiece is not entirely par-focal throughout it's range so it needs a focus adjustment after changing the focal length.

The limited field of view at 24mm means that I've found that you really need to complement the zoom with a longer focal length fixed focal length eyepiece for low power / wide views - something like a 30/32mm plossl or 24mm wide field.

The ability to adjust the magnification almost instantly is very useful though.

If you use a decent barlow practically all your observing needs can be served with these 3 items: low power eyepiece + zoom + barlow.

 

 

[KeithP22]

Thanks guys. I have a BST barlow would this be decent enough. Would a 25mm BST have a wide FOV.

[Pixies]

16 minutes ago, KeithP22 said:

Thanks guys. I have a BST barlow would this be decent enough. Would a 25mm BST have a wide FOV.

Haven't used that Barlow, so can't comment. 

As for the 25mm BST. These are 60deg, so not exactly a huge wide-angle. You can go a lot wider with an 8" reflector.

I have an 8" dob (Bresser) and use an OVL Aero 30mm wide-angle (2"). It's very good for its cost, around £100 new. There is one going on the classifieds page just now. That will be very good value and perfect for your scope. It'll fit the double-cluster in the field of view.

[wookie1965]

I find the 25mm BST quite good I bought a 32mm GSO Plossl but that only has a 52° FOV

[Colossal Plossl]

I had the baader mkiv Hyperion zoom and barlow.

I didn't like it at all.  Too narrow fov.  The clicks are very subtle.  Have to refocus a lot between focal lengths.  Image appeared too dim compared to BST and Vixen NPL ep's.

I returned mine 

[Nyctimene]

I fully agree with John's statements mentioned above. For more than ten years, I'm using the Baader Hyperion Mk III with all my scopes, and, combined with a widefield 25 - 30 mmf eyepiece and a Barlow (in my case, the Zeiss Abbe 2x Barlow), it fulfills all the needs for observing the vast majority of celestial targets. Very sharp, neutral colour, good build quality, reasonable eye relief. Refocusing (only minor adjustments) isn't an issue. For very detailed views, I always rely on good Orthos.

Stephan

Edited September 3, 2020 by Nyctimene

[Jiggy 67]

A great zoom eyepiece, use mine a lot especially on double stars where it makes a huge difference in not having to change eyepieces as you zoom in to split the stars 

[KeithP22]

Has anyone used a 2X bst barlow with the baader zoom eyepiece. 

[KeithP22]

11 hours ago, John said:

The limited field of view at 24mm means that I've found that you really need to complement the zoom with a longer focal length fixed focal length eyepiece for low power / wide views - something like a 30/32mm plossl or 24mm wide field.

Any recommendations John 

[Jiggy 67]

24 minutes ago, KeithP22 said:

Has anyone used a 2X bst barlow with the baader zoom eyepiece. 

I haven’t but barlows are pretty simple pieces of equipment so any would work just fine, obviously if you go premium you might get a better result but I don’t think there would be much in it. The eyepiece is the important thing and if you’re gonna go for a zoom (which IMO every ep case should have) then the Baader would be my recommendation. An expert on barlows may disagree and I use the Baader 2.25X but I don’t think it’s a mistake to go for the BST

Edited September 3, 2020 by Jiggy 67

[KeithP22]

6 minutes ago, Jiggy 67 said:

I haven’t but barlows are pretty simple pieces of equipment so any would work just fine, obviously if you go premium you might get a better result but I don’t think there would be much in it. The eyepiece is the important thing and if you’re gonna go for a zoom (which IMO every ep case should have) then the Baader would be my recommendation. An expert on barlows may disagree and I use the Baader 2.25X but I don’t think it’s a mistake to go for the BST

I bought a few BST ep's and thought that the BST barlow would compliment them, this is a new learning curve for me and i'm really enjoying it.

[John]

13 minutes ago, KeithP22 said:

Any recommendations John 

I think the Aero ED30mm is a decent low power / wide angle eyepiece. It is a 2 inch format though.

In the 1.25" format I think the 30mm Vixen NPL is a good performer for it's cost.

If you can run to an Explore Scientific 24mm 68 degree that's better again.

 

 

 

 

[KeithP22]

22 minutes ago, John said:

I think the Aero ED30mm is a decent low power / wide angle eyepiece. It is a 2 inch format though.

In the 1.25" format I think the 30mm Vixen NPL is a good performer for it's cost.

If you can run to an Explore Scientific 24mm 68 degree that's better again.

 

 

 

 

Thanks John 

[baggywrinkle]

An excellent eye piece. I use mine a lot and it has never disssapointed.

[KeithP22]

On 03/09/2020 at 10:22, John said:

The only downside with the 8-24 zoom, as with the majority of zooms, is that the field of view at the 24mm end is rather narrow - around 44 degrees. It widens to 60+ degrees at the 8mm end though. More minor issues are that the field stop that defines the edge of the field can be fuzzy at certain points in the zoom range and that the eyepiece is not entirely par-focal throughout it's range so it needs a focus adjustment after changing the focal length.

The limited field of view at 24mm means that I've found that you really need to complement the zoom with a longer focal length fixed focal length eyepiece for low power / wide views - something like a 30/32mm plossl or 24mm wide field.

The ability to adjust the magnification almost instantly is very useful though.

If you use a decent barlow practically all your observing needs can be served with these 3 items: low power eyepiece + zoom + barlow.

 

 

John can you use filters in the zoom eyepiece. 

[Conor Casey]

49 minutes ago, KeithP22 said:

John can you use filters in the zoom eyepiece. 

Hi, I have the Hyperion zoom and you can indeed use filters with it.

[John]

50 minutes ago, KeithP22 said:

John can you use filters in the zoom eyepiece. 

Yes. Either 1.25" or 2" filters, depending on which of the zoom's barrels you are using.

 

[Pixies]

3 hours ago, John said:

Yes. Either 1.25" or 2" filters, depending on which of the zoom's barrels you are using.

 

If you are using the Hyperion Zoom Barlow, it's a 1.25" filter, as the Barlow extends below the 2" barrel.