StellaLyra 68° / 80° EPs

[cajen2]

Has anyone had any experience with either of these ranges? They look interesting, though the 80° range is verging on Pentax XW / TV Delite territory.

[Don Pensack]

5 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Has anyone had any experience with either of these ranges? They look interesting, though the 80° range is verging on Pentax XW / TV Delite territory.

You mean Delos, not elite.

Actually, 80° is quite a bit wider than 70-72°, and the feeling of field size is that it is a lot larger.

The 80°,  though it has a long eye relief, needs a replacement of the included eyecup to be usable with glasses.

See reviews of the Orion LHD eyepieces.

Without glasses, they're just fine.

[cajen2]

2 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

You mean Delos, not elite.

Actually, 80° is quite a bit wider than 70-72°, and the feeling of field size is that it is a lot larger.

The 80°,  though it has a long eye relief, needs a replacement of the included eyecup to be usable with glasses.

See reviews of the Orion LHD eyepieces.

Without glasses, they're just fine.

Sorry, I wasn't clear: I meant in price.

[Don Pensack]

18 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Sorry, I wasn't clear: I meant in price.

Ah, yes.  Well, there are fewer focal lengths (8 in XW, 9 in Delite, 5 in StellaLyra 80°)

Will Long Perng introduce more focal lengths?  Unknown.

You can see how the 14mm compares to a 14mm Morpheus here:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/769375-eofb/?p=11103180

and the following post.

[Louis D]

As far as the StellaLyra 68º line goes, the only other branding I've ever seen them marketed under was Levenhuk Ra ER20 WA.  I can't recall anyone ever reporting on them, let alone writing a comprehensive review of them.  Maybe you can turn up something with some deep diving internet searches on the brand name.

I know they're made by Long Perng in Taiwan.  They also make the 80º and 55º LER lines of eyepieces sold under various brand names.  The latter is well regarded in the 12.5mm and shorter focal lengths across many brand names.

You're right, the new price is relatively high and resale value is iffy at best for them.  Caveat emptor.

[cajen2]

Thank you to the two august gentlemen for replying: I'm aware that I know nothing in comparison with you. @Don Pensack, is the EOFB apparent in all the Long Perng EPs that CN members are reporting on? And the 68°?

@Louis D, caveat emptor indeed. Thus the reason for this thread.

Edited March 2, 2022 by cajen2

[FLO]

@Don Pensack is a US retailer. He does not stock StellaLyra eyepieces so has drawn attention to another brand (one he does stock).

@Louis D by his own admission has not used StellaLyra eyepieces and has not seen a review of them. 

17 hours ago, Louis D said:

I know they're made by Long Perng in Taiwan. 

This is good and not a secret. We credit the manufacturer on every product page and here at SGL. 

StellaLyra 68º LER / WA Eyepieces

StellaLyra 80º LER / UWA Eyepieces

They were released in the UK less than a week ago but are all covered by our 30-day return policy so buying one is risk free. No need for "Caveat Emptor". 

HTH, 

Steve 

[cajen2]

Thanks for that, Steve. I had no idea that both ranges were so recently released.

I was of the opinion that made by Long Perng was an advantage!

I might well try a 68° one, you know, I have a few "holes" in my EP selection! 😄 I'd be happy to post a review on here.

BTW, 'caveat emptor' is my normal motto, not just for these!

[cajen2]

There you go, 18mm 68° ordered! 👍

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, FLO said:

They were released in the UK less than a week ago but are all covered by our 30-day return policy so buying one is risk free.

Not if you're overseas.  I wanted to return an eyepiece to Germany once, but we couldn't figure out how to get a refund of my US import duty and avoid German import duty and VAT, so I beggared off doing a return.  Perhaps the retailer I was working with was mistaken and there is a simple process involved.

Too bad you don't have someone like Bill Paolini over there to run your new lines through their paces like he did for the Paradigms when they were introduced.  After that report, they sold like hotcakes under all brandings (a rising tide lifts all boats).  @John used to do a bunch of reviews using eyepieces loaned to him by you, but he retired from doing that some time ago.

3 hours ago, FLO said:

@Louis D by his own admission has not used StellaLyra eyepieces and has not seen a review of them. 

Do you know of any comprehensive reviews or reports on these Long Perng lines?  Their ED and APO refractors are terrific, so there is great promise for their eyepiece lines.

If these were $60 eyepieces like the BST Starguiders and LP's 55º LERs (such as your StellaLyra version), buyers would be more likely to take the plunge on an unknown, but the 68° and 80° LER lines are much more expensive than that.  Once you get up into the price range of new ES, APM, and Baader eyepieces and used Vixen, Pentax, Nikon, and Tele Vue eyepieces, deep pocketed buyers become much more discriminating.  It would be interesting to see these go head to head with Pentax XW, Baader Morpheus and Hyperions and Omegon Redline eyepieces as well as TV NT4s and the various 100° eyepieces that produce a 70° view when wearing eyeglasses.  That way, buyers would be better informed about where they slot in quality and ergonomics wise to make a balanced decision with their money when buying LER eyepieces.

I wish you luck with these new lines.  Competition is always good to improve the hobby.  I'm sure you had to outlay a bunch of cash to stock these eyepieces, and we all appreciate the risk inherent in that choice.

[FLO]

@Louis D Looking at @cajen2's signature, he lives here in the UK.

We routinely deliver to customers in the US and handle warranty claims without difficulty (we arrange collection and redelivery). But if you simply change your mind then return an item US -> UK, I can imagine reclaiming tax / Duty paid in the US might be difficult. I don't know. 

Regarding reviews, my favourite reviews are written by experienced amateur astronomers. I find reviews and opinions offered by retailers (ourselves included) and magazines are rarely as neutral or objective. 

These are early days but we have chosen carefully so are confident both eyepiece series will be well received, here and abroad. 

Steve 

[cajen2]

38 minutes ago, FLO said:

@Louis D Looking at @cajen2's signature, he lives here in the UK.

We routinely deliver to customers in the US and handle warranty claims without difficulty (we arrange collection and redelivery). But if you simply change your mind then return an item, I can imagine reclaiming tax / Duty paid in the US might be difficult. I don't know. 

Regarding reviews, my favourite reviews are written by experienced amateur astronomers. I find reviews and opinions offered by retailers (ourselves included) and magazines are rarely as neutral or objective. 

These are early days but we have chosen carefully so are are confident both eyepiece series will be well received, here and abroad. 

Steve 

You'll certainly find my review unbiased, if not necessarily well informed! 😛

Edit: it'll be compared with Pentax XWs, a BST Starguider and a Vixen NPL

Edited March 2, 2022 by cajen2
Added info.

[FLO]

45 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

You'll certainly find my review unbiased, if not necessarily well informed! 😛

Looking at your purchase history, I see you have an 8" f6 Dobsonian telescope. That will do nicely 🙂 

45 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

it'll be compared with Pentax XWs ...

Eek! 😁

The Pentax XW series are around £100 more expensive and some of the finest eyepieces money can buy! It will be interesting to hear how the StellaLyra compares. 

Steve 

[Louis D]

43 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

You'll certainly find my review unbiased, if not necessarily well informed! 😛

Edit: it'll be compared with Pentax XWs, a BST Starguider and a Vixen NPL

Sounds good.  The only way to become more experienced is to get outside with your equipment and compare the views with different eyepieces (and telescopes in the future).

[cajen2]

1 minute ago, FLO said:

Looking at your purchase history, I see you have a 8" f6 Dobsonian telescope. That will do nicely 🙂 

Eek! 😁

The Pentax XW series are around £100 more expensive and some of the finest eyepieces money can buy! It will be interesting to hear how the StellaLyra compares. 

Steve 

Indeed, so it'll be compared with a couple of much cheaper EPs and a couple of much more expensive ones. This should give me a good perspective of quality v. price.

[FLO]

13 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Indeed, so it'll be compared with a couple of much cheaper EPs and a couple of much more expensive ones. This should give me a good perspective of quality v. price.

I see you purchased the StellaLyra 18mm 1.25" 68º eyepiece.

If you are willing then we will happily loan you a StellaLyra 20mm 2" 80º for comparison. I am interested to hear how they compare in your Dobsonian telescope. 

Take your time, we'll contact you in a month or two to see how things are progressing then will send a courier to collect the eyepiece when you are finished. No pressure 🙂 

Steve

 

[Louis D]

God I'd feel so pressured to give a good review if I was loaned eyepieces by y'all.  After all, if I ripped them, I'd probably be cutoff from getting any more shiny new playthings without cost. 😆  Thankfully, I'm on the other side of the pond, so I don't have to worry about such things.

Since I'm an equipment hoarder, I don't have to worry about destroying resale value with my unbiased reviews.  For instance, I pretty much trashed the 26mm Meade MWA (along with Ernest), so I can pretty much forget about recouping my sunk costs on it.

[FLO]

26 minutes ago, Louis D said:

God I'd feel so pressured to give a good review if I was loaned eyepieces by y'all.  

You have been posting here long enough to know that isn't how we do things at FLO 🙂 

[cajen2]

2 hours ago, FLO said:

I see you purchased the StellaLyra 18mm 1.25" 68º eyepiece.

If you are willing then we will happily loan you a StellaLyra 20mm 2" 80º for comparison. I am interested to hear how they compare in your Dobsonian telescope. 

Take your time, we'll contact you in a month or two to see how things are progressing then will send a courier to collect the eyepiece when you are finished. No pressure 🙂 

Steve

 

You must be telepathic! I was considering an 80° for the other hole in my collection (except it'd be a 4mm). No danger of Louis' worries....anyone who knows me understands that if I think something is awful, I'll say so!

So I'll gladly accept your offer.👍

 

[FLO]

21 hours ago, cajen2 said:

You must be telepathic! I was considering an 80° for the other hole in my collection (except it'd be a 4mm). 

I don't think 4mm would be a good choice for your 8" f6 Dobsonian because it would result in 300x magnification (0.68 mm exit pupil). 

Your telescope will support 300x but our UK skies normally limit useful magnification to around 150-200x max. Occasionally (on a cold winter night when seeing is especially good) you might usefully use 300x magnification when observing the lunar surface or some other high contrast target, like Saturn. But nights like this are few and far between. If looking for a high magnification eyepiece consider instead a 6mm LER or similar. 

21 hours ago, cajen2 said:

So I'll gladly accept your offer.👍

Excellent. I will arrange you receive a 20mm 2" 80º eyepiece. 

I have prepared a FOV chart using our Astronomy Tools website showing the 18mm 1.25" 68º and 20mm 2" 80º. 

HTH, 

Steve

 

[cajen2]

Ah, good spot, Steve. What I really need is a 4.5mil! That would give 267x mag for, as you say, planet / lunar imaging on good nights. However, this isn't substantially much different from the 240x I get from my  Pentax XW 5mil and would still give me a rather small exit pupil of 0.75mm.

[FLO]

If you click the FOV photo it will take you to Astronomy Tools where you can add more eyepieces for comparison. 

I will bow out of this conversation now, before I sound like a salesman 🙂 

Steve 

[cajen2]

The other 'hole' in my collection might well be filled by a 9mm 80°.

[cajen2]

One more question, Steve. Will the 2" 80° be ok with or without the 35mm extension? The 2" supplied Superview needs pulling out slightly to achieve focus.

[FLO]

51 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

One more question, Steve. Will the 2" 80° be ok with or without the 35mm extension? The 2" supplied Superview needs pulling out slightly to achieve focus.

I don't know, I haven't tried it. Most long focal length 2" eyepieces need your telescopes supplied extender to reach focus. This is normal. 

HTH