Svbony 8-3 zoom

[LondonNeil]

Cheers.  I'm in no rush,  why when it just keeps raining.... but I'll keep an eye out then perhaps.

[Saganite]

On 13/02/2024 at 20:12, mikeDnight said:

My SvBony Zoom arrived today and there's not a star in the sky. Typical!

After reading some very nice reports about this eyepiece I thought I should order one, which on Amazon was around £139 from what I remember. As it happens, I'm rubbish at remembering passwords and things like that, so I asked one of my lad's if he'd order it for me, which he did. However, he has something going with Amazon and received a welcome discount, and so I ended up paying £115. Even at the advertised £139 I think it's still a bargain price, especially when compared to Televue's 3-6 at over £400. I've observed with the TV 3-6 on several occasions and thought it very nice, though I don't believe it's worth the price, and so if the SvBony is as good as some suggest I should be very happy when the stars come out to play. 😆

Hello Mike,

I paid £110 about six months ago, so you got a good deal I think.  I have previously owned a TV 3-6, quite a long time ago and although I could not fault it, it was a lot of money invested for just occasional use, so it was sold to pay for something else. I could never swear that the Svbony is optically as good as the TV as I don't feel competent to do so, but it runs it very close IMHO with perhaps a slight fall off at 3mm.  I have only used that focal length on tight double stars, and rarely in the excellent seeing conditions required to do that.  However, a few nights ago , alerted by a colleague on this forum as to the seeing in our area  ( he lives about 30 miles away), I used it to observe the Moon at 400X . I am aware that in my ED152, I probably saw no more detail than at 300x but the image scale was so large and still pin sharp it was breathtaking !

I use this zoom all the time now for double star splitting, I am so impressed with it.

For what it cost the Svbony  is an absolute bargain I think , and I will look forward to your thoughts when you have used yours.

Edited February 23 by Saganite

[Ratlet]

Best deals on the eyepiece will usually be found (as mentioned) on AliExpress, although I don't see any in their store right now (The aliexpress search function is janky though).  If you are looking be sure to search on the main page as SVBONY has 2 stores, one of which only sells items under Aliexpress's Choice discount.

Sometimes you can find a good deal on the svbony site itself, although that can vary quite a bit.

Happy Hunting!

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, LondonNeil said:

Cheapest I can see for this currently os amazon and £130. Haven't people had it at about half that?

I pre-ordered before release and paid £127 direct from Svbony.
When the word got around about how good it was, I expected the price to firm up a bit, but in fact there have been some sporadic discounts from that level. Worth watching for a bit before buying.

[Naughty Neal]

None on AliExp at the mo nor the cheaper microscope store ,  on the official SVbony website they are currently offered for £110.

The ep has only 10mm eye relief so specs wearers will likely not get on with it.

[Stu1smartcookie]

This EP has been around for some time and generally gets rave reviews , i owned one briefly but , even though i dont wear specs small top lens was a bit prohibitive . 

I did like the "click stop" though and it seemed really well constructed . Compared to the cost of the TV its a no brainer buy as our sky in the UK doesnt have the best clarity for the majority of time ( no matter how good your optics are , the atmosphere is a bit of a  leveller) . 

At 3mm though through my 180Mak with a Focal length of 2700 ( x900 mag) its shall we say a bit of a no go . 🤣

But SVBony do make great gear and i reckon its a real winner . 

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Saganite said:

Hello Mike,

I paid £110 about six months ago, so you got a good deal I think.  I have previously owned a TV 3-6, quite a long time ago and although I could not fault it, it was a lot of money invested for just occasional use, so it was sold to pay for something else. I could never swear that the Svbony is optically as good as the TV as I don't feel competent to do so, but it runs it very close IMHO with perhaps a slight fall off at 3mm.  I have only used that focal length on tight double stars, and rarely in the excellent seeing conditions required to do that.  However, a few nights ago , alerted by a colleague on this forum as to the seeing in our area  ( he lives about 30 miles away), I used it to observe the Moon at 400X . I am aware that in my ED152, I probably saw no more detail than at 300x but the image scale was so large and still pin sharp it was breathtaking !

I use this zoom all the time now for double star splitting, I am so impressed with it.

For what it cost the Svbony  is an absolute bargain I think , and I will look forward to your thoughts when you have used yours.

Well since the SVBony arrived, it has been cloudy. But over the last two nights I've been able to compare it with three other amazing high power eyepieces. I was hoping to do a write-up soon. I just need to get my thoughts together! It won't be a review as such, just my experiences with these eyepieces and how I felt they compared on two less than perfect nights. I'll get round to it soon, but not giving anything away at this point! 😊

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Naughty Neal said:

The ep has only 10mm eye relief so specs wearers will likely not get on with it.

On planets and other small objects, I find it doesn't matter much because I can still see enough of the field of view while wearing eyeglasses to see what I want to see.  On the moon, I'll agree, it doesn't work very well unless I'm just focusing in on a single feature to study.  On my undriven alt-az mount, I just tilt my head to follow objects as they drift through the FOV from edge to edge.

[bosun21]

I have previously owned two of them and sold them on due to the relatively small eye lens and shorter than what I am used to eye relief. Now on reflection and after reading so many recommendations from members I think I may have been a tad hasty in giving up with them. Not that I will ever confess to buying a (cough, cough) third one 🙄.

[Stu1smartcookie]

1 minute ago, bosun21 said:

Now on reflection and after reading so many recommendations from members I think I may have been a tad hasty in giving up with them.

I dont think you were a tad hasty , Ian ... you outlined perfectly why the EP didnt work for you mate . I second what you have written . What do we say " horses for courses" ?

 

[Ratlet]

7 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

I have previously owned two of them and sold them on due to the relatively small eye lens and shorter than what I am used to eye relief. Now on reflection and after reading so many recommendations from members I think I may have been a tad hasty in giving up with them. Not that I will ever confess to buying a (cough, cough) third one 🙄.

If you were to get a third (not that you are 😉) it's good to reassess.  I remember the first scope I got was a mak127 which I quickly sold because I couldn't see the attraction of planetary.  Fast forward about 3 months and I got the right eyepiece (coincidentally the svbony 3-8mm) and filter and was blown away by Jupiter.  Just about over the regret of selling the mak.

[Stu]

11 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

I have previously owned two of them and sold them on due to the relatively small eye lens and shorter than what I am used to eye relief. Now on reflection and after reading so many recommendations from members I think I may have been a tad hasty in giving up with them. Not that I will ever confess to buying a (cough, cough) third one 🙄.

No shame in that, I’ve had three TV Genesis’, three 120EDs and three OO 12” dobs….. utter madness. Strangely only one TV Genesis remains in my possession.

Back to the SvBony, I’ve found it excellent with a very good range. Eye relief feels a bit tighter than the Nag zooms despite being the same, probably due to the eye cup design. When folded down it is perfectly useable without glasses.

I’ve not had really good seeing conditions yet, but haven’t seen a difference to the Nag Zooms in quality. I do still think the BGOs give a fraction more sharpness though; I’ve found the F star in the Trap stands out better in an Ortho than any of the short zooms. I have 2 to 4 and 3 to 6mm Nag Zooms so really should do some direct comparisons with the scope on a tracking mount to see if I can separate them at equal focal lengths. That would require this awful weather to clear off though!!

[bosun21]

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

No shame in that, I’ve had three TV Genesis’, three 120EDs and three OO 12” dobs….. utter madness. Strangely only one TV Genesis remains in my possession.

Back to the SvBony, I’ve found it excellent with a very good range. Eye relief feels a bit tighter than the Nag zooms despite being the same, probably due to the eye cup design. When folded down it is perfectly useable without glasses.

I’ve not had really good seeing conditions yet, but haven’t seen a difference to the Nag Zooms in quality. I do still think the BGOs give a fraction more sharpness though; I’ve found the F star in the Trap stands out better in an Ortho than any of the short zooms. I have 2 to 4 and 3 to 6mm Nag Zooms so really should do some direct comparisons with the scope on a tracking mount to see if I can separate them at equal focal lengths. That would require this awful weather to clear off though!!

Your post has made me feel a little bit better regarding a (possible 😉) third purchase of the Svbony 3-8mm zoom. Funny enough the small eye lens and shorter eye relief doesn't seem to stop me from using and lauding over the 10mm BCO on the planets. I would love to hear your assessment and comparison to the TV zoom under good conditions on a tracked mount. No disrespect to others but an experienced observer such as yourself would pick up on small points perhaps missed by others. Perhaps if the UK weather improves you may actually have the clear sky time in order to carry the assessment out.

[Mark at Beaufort]

I bought mine at the end of November 2023 from Amazon and it cost me £110.49 and the postage was free. I got the zoom because of the positive remarks on SGL so with the cost being reasonable I thought it was good to try it out.

Well I have used it several times in my StellarMira 125mm frac and I have been very pleased with the views. I don't use it that often at the 3mm position but 4-6mm is pretty good. On the Moon and Jupiter I tend to use the 6mm Ethos and then for close up I switch to the zoom. I have a 4mm Nirvana but prefer the view through the zoom.

So at the moment I would highly recommended this zoom.

[JTEC]

As @Mark at Beaufort, I bought one of these because it was getting consistently very enthusiastic reviews and was relatively inexpensive. The build quality was instantly very impressive and it was convenient to use - the only handling issue was that the movement, while very smooth, was also fairly firm to the point where twisting it could tug on other bits of the train.  But I attributed this to quality fit, and you’d expect it to loosen up with use. In my refractors it gave good images and performed best in the middle of the range.  It was not as sharp as fixed focal length eyepieces falling within its range - Tak orthos and a Tak TOE - but that was hardly a fair contest. In my view, it’s not equal in terms of performance to eyepieces like these but, if you like zooms for their intrinsic qualities, I think this is a heck of a bargain. 

[Mr Spock]

I use 4mm, 3.3mm and 2.5mm TOEs in that range, so it would be of no use to me really. I can understand the convenience, but, I've gone to great expense to maximise the image quality in every part of the optical train; I've noted a few reports which say it becomes softer towards the 3mm setting and that's where you want your maximum sharpness.

[Highburymark]

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I use 4mm, 3.3mm and 2.5mm TOEs in that range, so it would be of no use to me really. I can understand the convenience, but, I've gone to great expense to maximise the image quality in every part of the optical train; I've noted a few reports which say it becomes softer towards the 3mm setting and that's where you want your maximum sharpness.

My thoughts exactly. But it sounds like a great eyepiece, and in particular perfect for a compact travel kit.

[Louis D]

When using the 3-8mm zoom last night, it dawned on me where I had heard that same mechanical sound at each detent.  It is the sound of my optometrist's phoropter as it changes lenses.  Since I consider those to be precision optical equipment, I think that's a pretty good achievement for the zoom to sound the same.  They certainly did not cheap out on the mechanical side of things.

Edited February 25 by Louis D

[Mumia]

In recent days, after positive opinions about this eyepiece, I managed to buy it. In the coming days I will see how it compares to Tele Vue 3-6. There's going to be a duel between a first-league team and a second-league . We'll see what comes out of this comparison.

[Louis D]

Could there be a promotion/relegation in the works?

[John]

I've compared the 3mm and 4mm settings of my Nagler 2-4mm zoom with the Svbony zoom quite a few times now. With the exception of the slightly wider AFoV of the Svbony, I've seen little difference in optical performance so far. The Nagler zoom has more refined "click" detents and in .5mm steps, which can be useful. I don't think the Svbony quite gets to 3mm focal length - 3.4mm at the shortest, maybe ?

I was looking for a 3-6mm Nagler zoom (which would be my 3rd 🙄) but I've put that on hold for the time being as the Svbony generally seems to be holding it's own.  

[Ratlet]

At this rate the forum will need renamed the svbony 3-8mm zoom gazers lounge

[Mumia]

7 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

At this rate the forum will need renamed the svbony 3-8mm zoom gazers lounge

With such exponential growth of Chinese optics companies, I am more concerned about our local European manufacturers

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

1 hour ago, John said:

I've compared the 3mm and 4mm settings of my Nagler 2-4mm zoom with the Svbony zoom quite a few times now. With the exception of the slightly wider AFoV of the Svbony, I've seen little difference in optical performance so far. The Nagler zoom has more refined "click" detents and in .5mm steps, which can be useful. I don't think the Svbony quite gets to 3mm focal length - 3.4mm at the shortest, maybe ?

I was looking for a 3-6mm Nagler zoom (which would be my 3rd 🙄) but I've put that on hold for the time being as the Svbony generally seems to be holding it's own.  

I sometimes wonder if at this very high magnification range the atmosphere isn't the limiting factor, certainly in the centre of the FOV. You will need near perfect atmospheric conditions for differences in optics to show up. I am not knocking the Svbony EP in any way, it is just that as optics have improved, other limiting factors come into play.

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, Mumia said:

With such exponential growth of Chinese optics companies, I am more concerned about our local European manufacturers

I don't know about European optical companies, but US ones will always have DoD contracts to fulfill for the US military.  That's what keeps Vernonscope afloat.