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StellaLyra 80° 20mm 2" eyepiece - first light report.


cajen2

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On 14/03/2022 at 07:59, cajen2 said:

Amazing. Just start a thread on here entitled "Vixen. Any good?" and watch the fur fly. Not everyone's cup of tea ( or in your case, coffee 😄) but there are many dedicated followers.

What me? Start a furball?  Not a chance.  I think I will just sit here and enjoy a cup of Earl Grey

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On 19/03/2022 at 07:09, cajen2 said:

I know you (, @Mike Qinterested in buying one and assures me that the Orion brand one (USA) is identical. I hope you're right as I'd hate for someone to be disappointed.

I will get around to it eventually.  I may buy 2 as there is a 14 and a 20.  That would fill the gap between the 12.5mm 1.25s and the 28mm 2 inch.  It would be interesting to see a review of the 1.25s that are out there.  Maybe @FLO could loan you the set for another proper review.

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That would be great, as I'm interested in the 9mm 80° 1.25" one myself.

Tell @FLO, not me! Mind you, they haven't said much about my review, so maybe they hate me now! 😝

Edited by cajen2
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3 hours ago, Mike Q said:

The 1.25s would have to be really special for me to pay that kind of coin for them.  I hope @FLO gets them out there to be reviewed

Only the cost of a couple of tanks of petrol here (sorry, gas!). 😛

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2 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Only the cost of a couple of tanks of petrol here (sorry, gas!). 😛

The way things are going, that line might soon be used to excuse all manner of kit purchasing "sins".

 

 

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6 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Tell @FLO, not me! Mind you, they haven't said much about my review, so maybe they hate me now! 😝

Not at all. We are pleased to see you sharing your thoughts 🙂 

It is only we are a retailer. We don't think retailers should be posting in or influencing product reviews or eyepiece discussions (unless we see something that is clearly wrong or biased). 

A number of people have asked if we will make more StellaLyra eyepieces available for review. We can but there is no hurry. Consider they are manufactured by Long Perng. Long Perng are one of a small number of manufacturers making eyepieces for other more expensive brands. This is why they perform so well and why we must expect some resistance from retailers and owners of more expensive brands. With this in mind we think it best StellaLyra eyepieces quietly and incrementally make a name for themselves, organically, over time. 

For those wanting to see more reviews, consider all eyepieces purchased at FLO are covered by our 30-day return policy. So if you buy one and are not 100% pleased you can return it. No need for concern. 

HTH,

Steve 

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15 minutes ago, FLO said:

Not at all. We are pleased to see you sharing your thoughts 🙂 

It is only we are a retailer. I don't think retailers should be posting in or influencing product reviews or eyepiece discussions (unless we see something that is clearly wrong or biased). 

A number of people have asked if we will make more StellaLyra eyepieces available for review. We can but there is no hurry. Consider they are manufactured by Long Perng. Long Perng is one of a small number of manufacturers making eyepieces for other more expensive brands. This is why they perform so well and why we must expect some resistance from retailers and owners of more expensive brands. With this in mind we think it best StellaLyra eyepieces quietly and incrementally make a name for themselves, organically, over time. 

For those wanting to see more reviews, consider all eyepieces purchased at FLO are covered by our 30-day return policy. So if you buy one and are not 100% pleased you can return it. No need for concern. 

HTH,

Steve 

I quite understand and agree with your policy of not commenting on reviews. I was, in fact, joking.

I just have the feeling that you have a vicious circle. From what I've read on here, some people view lesser-known labels like StellaLyra and StellaMira as budget brands, not worthy of the same consideration as the likes of Televue, Pentax and Explore Scientific. While word of mouth could eventually overcome this, it can take years for products to acquire a good reputation. Disinterested reviews can accelerate this process, although there's always a risk that the review will be negative. I'd have thought, with your knowledge and experience, you could select some outstanding products that you've tried yourself, Steve, and put them out for review. 😉 Not necessarily by me, I hasten to add! 😄

Edited by cajen2
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2 hours ago, FLO said:

Not at all. We are pleased to see you sharing your thoughts 🙂 

It is only we are a retailer. We don't think retailers should be posting in or influencing product reviews or eyepiece discussions (unless we see something that is clearly wrong or biased). 

A number of people have asked if we will make more StellaLyra eyepieces available for review. We can but there is no hurry. Consider they are manufactured by Long Perng. Long Perng are one of a small number of manufacturers making eyepieces for other more expensive brands. This is why they perform so well and why we must expect some resistance from retailers and owners of more expensive brands. With this in mind we think it best StellaLyra eyepieces quietly and incrementally make a name for themselves, organically, over time. 

For those wanting to see more reviews, consider all eyepieces purchased at FLO are covered by our 30-day return policy. So if you buy one and are not 100% pleased you can return it. No need for concern. 

HTH,

Steve 

We have these exact same eyepieces here in the States and I use them exclusively myself.  They provide great images and good prices and compete well against eyepieces at twice their price point.  Kudos to @FLO for letting a eyepiece out for an unbiased review.   

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  • 1 month later...

Based on this very unbiased review and many others....I just pulled the trigger on the Orion branded version of this eyepiece.  

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On 19/03/2022 at 07:09, cajen2 said:

I know you (, @Mike Qinterested in buying one and assures me that the Orion brand one (USA) is identical. I hope you're right as I'd hate for someone to be disappointed.

This has now been confirmed.  FLO and Orion are selling the same eyepiece just under different branding.  Canjen2 and I made sure that was the case 

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The 14mm and 20mm version seem to get universal praise.  However, one person on CN had stray light control issues with his 9mm Orion version and had to resort to blackening and flocking the interior.  Perhaps @FLO could check their version for scatter while viewing the full moon to see if its endemic only to Orion's version rather than all brandings.

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3 minutes ago, Louis D said:

The 14mm and 20mm version seem to get universal praise.  However, one person on CN had stray light control issues with his 9mm Orion version and had to resort to blackening and flocking the interior.  Perhaps @FLO could check their version for scatter while viewing the full moon to see if its endemic only to Orion's version rather than all brandings.

I looked at the Orion site for reviews.  It gets five stars but no reviews written out.  Seems like I saw a review somewhere on here or on CN on the 9mm.  Not the one you mentioned.  They said the 9s were ok but not the strongest of the line up.  I will dig around and see if I can find it.  On a side note....they are backordered until October 2022.

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On 15/05/2022 at 17:17, Mike Q said:

This has now been confirmed.  FLO and Orion are selling the same eyepiece just under different branding.  Canjen2 and I made sure that was the case 

 

On 15/05/2022 at 17:20, Don Pensack said:

And one reseller in the US is selling these under the manufacturer's name.

The manufacturer is not a secret.

We mentioned it is Long Perng when we announced them here at SGL

We also mention the manufacturer in every product page at our website. 

We do not pretend to be optical designers 😇

Steve 

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Here is another first light report of the same eyepiece under Orion branding.  The conditions last night here in Ohio were not ideal.  25 mph winds, transparency and seeing while not poor, was still below average.  Light pollution was worse then normal due to a security lamp being on that isn't normally on.  

This is definitely not a cheap eyepiece.  It's well made with plenty of heft to it.  It has enough rubber around it so you can get a good grip on it.  The eyecup can be adjusted up and will come off completely if you wanted it to.  The jury is still out on that for me as I am not sure I like it or not yet.  Seems that a good old fashioned rubber eyecup might have been a better option, but that is what I am used to so I won't hold that against it at this time.  

Now onto what we really care about....the image.  Stars are crisp and clear edge to edge top to bottom.  The light transmission is definitely better then my other eyepieces.  The eye relief is good and I think people wearing glasses will be just fine.  

The target was the Hercules Cluster.  I slapped the coma corrector in and got out  my 32mm Q70 to get it found.  I dropped to the 28mm and then finally the new 20mm.  The new eyepiece definitely has better light transmission then the Q70s.  Again edge to edge was clear and sharp and the target appeared brighter.  I used it with and without the GSO coma corrector and decided that it doesn't really need it.  If it was helped by it I didn't notice it.  I added a 2x 4 element barlow to the mix and went back to the cluster.  Again perfect image.  Finally Vega cleared the tree line and I swung over and tracked down the ring nebula.  Again I went from no corrector to a corrector and then a Barlow added.  This is the best I have ever seen the ring here at home.  You can definitely see the blue, instead of I thinking it looks blue.  I found I was able to almost actually look at it instead of having to use adverted viewing, and while I know this shouldn't really be possible for my scope....for a second I thought I could almost make out the remnants of the star in the middle, but that could have just been my brain filling in what I know is supposed to be there.

Anyway.  Here is the summery.  Yes it's a good eyepiece.  It is definitely the best eyepeice I have by miles.  I have yet to compare it to anything other then what I have so I have no choice but to believe what @cajen2 has said as to how it compares to more big name companies.   I would definitely give it a 4 out of 5.  

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  • 1 month later...

The OE eyecup sacrifices a lot of effective eye relief.  I was not able to see the entire view with glasses on.

A conventional eyecup replacement that folds down would allow easy glasses use.

Its position would have to be carefully adjusted though or the glasses wouldn't be protected from the wide aluminum top.

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17 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

The OE eyecup sacrifices a lot of effective eye relief.  I was not able to see the entire view with glasses on.

A conventional eyecup replacement that folds down would allow easy glasses use.

Its position would have to be carefully adjusted though or the glasses wouldn't be protected from the wide aluminum top.

Fortunately for me....I don't need to use my glasses when I observe.  

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