End of the line for Takahashi LE, Or, Er eyepieces

[JeremyS]

Just picked this up on another Forum. Announcement from Takahashi: https://www.takahashijapan.com/ct-news/topics/22ii16_info_oc-ep.html

 

it will be interesting to see what EP range they launch instead. But we can be sure there will be no undercuts 😊👍🏻

 

Notice of discontinued production of some eyepieces
February 16,

Thank you very much for your continued patronage of our products.

Production of the LE and Abbe series and Erfle28mm eyepieces has been discontinued. As soon as each product runs out of stock, the sale will also end.

Regarding successor products, we are developing them with sincerity based on the opinions and requests received. We are very sorry for everyone who is considering purchasing, but thank you for your understanding so that you can wait for a while.
In addition, we will continue to produce the TOE series, so if you are considering a short-focus eyepiece, we would appreciate it if you could put it on the candidate.

Edited February 16, 2022 by JeremyS

[banjaxed]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

Just picked this up on another Forum. Announcement from Takahashi: https://www.takahashijapan.com/ct-news/topics/22ii16_info_oc-ep.html

I am impressed you could translate that. 😀

 

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by banjaxed

[Louis D]

I have actually been surprised they've kept them in the line up for this long.  I have a feeling they finally ran out of new old stock at corporate warehouses to supply dealers rather than stopping production recently.  I think this was the case as well for Tele Vue's recent product discontinuations like the 12mm and 17mm NT4s.  Once NOS ran out, it was probably determined to be uneconomical to order a new batch to be produced, especially given the 13mm NT6 and 16mm NT5 being so closely spaced with them.  They can just point buyers to the 12mm and 17.3mm Delos if they want long eye relief.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

13 minutes ago, Louis D said:

I have actually been surprised they've kept them in the line up for this long.  I have a feeling they finally ran out of new old stock at corporate warehouses to supply dealers rather than stopping production recently.  I think this was the case as well for Tele Vue's recent product discontinuations like the 12mm and 17mm NT4s.  Once NOS ran out, it was probably determined to be uneconomical to order a new batch to be produced, especially given the 13mm NT6 and 16mm NT5 being so closely spaced with them.  They can just point buyers to the 12mm and 17.3mm Delos if they want long eye relief.

Or the 12 and 17 mm ES 92 deg

 

[JeremyS]

31 minutes ago, banjaxed said:

 

I’ve been learning Japanese so I can talk to the other members of my (Tak) family

🤣

[mikeDnight]

I think they should resurrect the Tolles eyepiece.  Minimal glass with near zero eye relief and a teeny weeny field of view. I'd buy em!

[Louis D]

18 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Or the 12 and 17 mm ES 92 deg

 

Now that I think about it, I retired my 12mm and 17mm NT4s after buying the 12mm and 17mm ES-92s.  Huge improvements in eye relief, usable field of view, and SAEP control going to the latter.  Also, a minor improvement in field flatness with the ES-92s.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

6 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Now that I think about it, I retired my 12mm and 17mm NT4s after buying the 12mm and 17mm ES-92s.  Huge improvements in eye relief, usable field of view, and SAEP control going to the latter.  Also, a minor improvement in field flatness with the ES-92s.

Made the exact same swap

[cajen2]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I’ve been learning Japanese so I can talk to the other members of my (Tak) family

🤣

Demo nihon-go ga hanase masen, sumimasen. 😄

[Louis D]

Domo arigatou misuta roboto is the extent of my Japanese. 😉

The coolest part is I used to design IBM mainframe and super computer processors and systems.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Louis D

[mikeDnight]

I think the LE's had some issues that may have made them unpopular with some. I've owned quite a number over the years, including the Hi LE's. Some had annoying ghosting that was so bad that the Moon could be seen as a ghost even though it was out of the field. Then there was Tak's puzzling decision to set the eye lens on the 30mm deep inside the barrel, reducing the physical eye relief close to zero. By comparison, Celestron's old Ultima series, 5 element pseudo Masuyama, was way more comfortable, and much better corrected towards the edge.

Edited February 19, 2022 by mikeDnight

[JeremyS]

Thought I’d post a pic of my LE set.

Ive got pairs of 18s and 12.5s for binoviewing 

Not tried the 2-inchers in the range: 40 and 50mm

[Don Pensack]

An observation: the 12mm and 17mm ES92s are not free of SAEP either.

A lot of people have noticed this.

[Louis D]

19 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

An observation: the 12mm and 17mm ES92s are not free of SAEP either.

A lot of people have noticed this.

True, but based on my comparative imagery through my 127 Mak and a slow, ultrawide smartphone camera, it's much less than the NT4s:

The 12mm and 17mm NT4s SAEP make it all but impossible for me to take in the entire view once you push in close enough to see the field stop.  They're not as bad as the Meade MWA 26mm which also has some CAEP, but you expect better from Tele Vue.  I felt betrayed by Al.  They were his 3rd released iteration of 82 degree eyepieces.  There was no excuse for leaving SAEP in the design at that time (let alone at that price point).

[Alan White]

On 16/02/2022 at 19:48, JeremyS said:

Thought I’d post a pic of my LE set.

Ive got pairs of 18s and 12.5s for binoviewing 

Not tried the 2-inchers in the range: 40 and 50mm

Please, this is torture Jeremy, I have purchased some LE again and was slowly building a set, perhaps very slowly now.

 

[Sunshine]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Please, this is torture Jeremy, I have purchased some LE again and was slowly building a set, perhaps very slowly now.

 

You're surprised that Jeremy has way too much of everything Tak? 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Sunshine

[Alan White]

2 hours ago, Sunshine said:

You're surprised that Jeremy has way too much of everything Tak? 

Not at all, more surprised that he only has modest sets 😉

[F15Rules]

On 16/02/2022 at 15:53, JeremyS said:

I’ve been learning Japanese so I can talk to the other members of my (Tak) family

🤣

in that case, this is one of the first things you should learn Jeremy..

把手

(handle)..

どういたしまして

(you're welcome)

😊😊

Dave