BST vs Baader

[YogSothoth]

OK, so I’m after a 12mm eyepiece for my 200p. Now a BST is £49, whereas something like a Baader Morpheus is £188, so my question is, what difference would I actually see between the two? Many thanks.

[Dave scutt]

A bigger hole in your pocket 

[YogSothoth]

17 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

A bigger hole in your pocket 

Well there is that 😂

[Franklin]

I used to have a 12mm BST and it was my most used eyepiece at the time. Can't fault it for the money. Never used a Morpheus but from what I've read it will probably be in another league, hence the price difference.

[johninderby]

Morpheus eyepieces are considered the budget alternatives by Televue and Pentax owners. 😁

The differences will really show up in faster scopes though. In a slow scope such as a Mak or SCT the difference wouldn’t be quite so noticeable. Wider fov and sharper more contrasty image with less edge distortion .

[Zermelo]

There's been a long thread discussing the Morpheus range in the last few months, with some occasional mentions of BSTs on the way, as follows:

https://stargazerslounge.com/search/?q=BST&quick=1&type=forums_topic&item=375475

 

[YogSothoth]

Thanks for the replies and I’ll have a look at that thread @Zermelo

[Don Pensack]

As of this month, US prices are:

TeleVue Delos $387

Baader Morpheus $299.99

Pentax XW $269

Looks like the budget one is Pentax.

 

[johninderby]

In the UK

Mprpheous - £188.00

Pentax XW - £249 to £359.00

Edited November 1, 2021 by johninderby

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, YogSothoth said:

what difference would I actually see between the two?

To refocus the thread back to your question, you'll see a 76 (or slightly more) degree apparent field of view (AFOV) in the Morpheus versus a 60 degree AFOV in the BST Starguider.  The usable eye relief of the Baader is about 18mm to 20mm while the BST has only about 12mm.  Thus, if you wear eyeglasses due to astigmatism, you'll see even less than 60 degrees in the BST, but should be able to see all 76+ degrees of the Morpheus.

The Morpheus will probably be sharper out the edge than the BST in faster scopes and may also have better contrast and stray light control preventing ghost images better.

The Morpheus is significantly larger and may pose a problem for binoviewing with a pair as compared to a BST pair.

[Louis D]

7 minutes ago, johninderby said:

In the ZuK

Mprpheous - £188.00

Pentax XW - £249 to £359.00

Sounds like cross importing the Pentax XWs from the US might save some serious money, although I think your prices include VAT which Don's do not.

[johninderby]

UK prices do include tax.

Add about 25% to US prices to cover UK taxes, duties and handling fees.

Edited November 1, 2021 by johninderby

[Louis D]

In that case, it's cheaper to just buy them locally in the UK for £249.

I'm still seeing quite a few places selling Morphs over here for $259.

[johninderby]

Better get your crystal ball polished up to see what’s going to happen to eyepiece prices. 😁

[Louis D]

Just now, johninderby said:

Better get your crystal ball polished up to see what’s going to happen to eyepiece prices. 😁

I'm no soothsayer, but I'd guess "go up" over the next 12 months.

[Don Pensack]

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

In that case, it's cheaper to just buy them locally in the UK for £249.

I'm still seeing quite a few places selling Morphs over here for $259.

Technically, $259 till midnight, then $299.

[Alan White]

On 01/11/2021 at 21:27, Louis D said:

I'm no soothsayer, but I'd guess "go up" over the next 12 months.

 

On 01/11/2021 at 23:11, Don Pensack said:

Technically, $259 till midnight, then $299.

How right you were in your Soothsaying Louis!