Low mag, wide-field EP recommendations please

[cajen2]

Hi all. I'm after the above kind of EP so the I can have a wider field than my current Vixen NPL 30 mm and StellaLyra 80° 20mm (which give an almost identical FOV). A well-corrected FOV sharp across would be important.

I don't want to spend silly money, so around the £200 - £250 mark is max, if that's possible.

I was thinking of the APM UFF 30mm (or the Celestron Ultra Edge, which I'm told is the same). Any other recommendations?

Edited October 14, 2022 by cajen2

[Zermelo]

I forget which scopes you have.

This recent discussion mentions the UFF and some alternatives for a fast Dob.

[Alan White]

APM UFF 30mm is a reall peach, I have had my one for some time and works well in many scopes fast and slow,
but take that as f4.8 slow not slower.  This is staying in my case, it replaced a Panoptic 27mm by the way.

Plays nicely with Pentax XW and Morpheus as well.

[Louis D]

If you want to stay low cost for maximum TFOV, the Lacerta ED 40mm is nearly as well corrected as the Pentax XW 40mm for a lot less money and weight.  I enjoy using it in my f/6 ED and f/6.6 APO refractors.  It also does well at f/6 in my Dob.

 

[cajen2]

Thanks all. Sorry, I should have given my scopes' details: 

StellaLyra 8" dob F/6.

Heritage Flextube 150p F/5.

The Lacerta sounds interesting but I'd prefer the wider field and higher mag of the Celestron et al, in other words a 30mil wide field trumps a 40mil narrower one for me.

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, Zermelo said:

I forget which scopes you have.

This recent discussion mentions the UFF and some alternatives for a fast Dob.

Thanks for the link, Z - interesting thread.

Can anyone confirm that the APM and Celestron Ultima Edge are the same EP?

Edited October 14, 2022 by cajen2

[Ricochet]

I've got a 28mm Nirvana as my low power for my 8" dob. It's not perfect to the edge but it's good enough that I haven't bought a 31 Nagler. The new version has a redesigned eyecup but as far as I know it is only currently available from the TS brand. 

[Zermelo]

There is a second hand ES 30mm 82 degree for sale at the moment, I've no experience of them:

 

 

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

only currently available from the TS brand

Is that this one? https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2757_TS-Optics-2----28-mm-Ultraweitwinkel-Okular---82--Feld.htmlMark

Also mentioned here: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/391054-do-i-need-a-nagler-31mm-or-similar

and more discussion here: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/810970-astrotech-28mm-uwa/

 

 

 

[Don Pensack]

20 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Thanks for the link, Z - interesting thread.

Can anyone confirm that the APM and Celestron Ultima Edge are the same EP?

These are the same:

APM UFF 30

Celestron Ultima Edge 30

Meade UHD 30

Altair Astro UF 30

Tecnosky UFF 30

The APM has a smooth insertion barrel--no undercuts.

The Altair has the Morpheus-style kerfs.

2023 will see more brand names for the same eyepiece.  I know of 2 more coming.

 

[Don Pensack]

5 hours ago, Ricochet said:

I've got a 28mm Nirvana as my low power for my 8" dob. It's not perfect to the edge but it's good enough that I haven't bought a 31 Nagler. The new version has a redesigned eyecup but as far as I know it is only currently available from the TS brand. 

Also sold as Astrotech UWA, and Stellarvue UW in the US.  And Meade PWA 28mm.

You're right--it's better than its price implies.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Don Pensack

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, Zermelo said:

There is a second hand ES 30mm 82 degree for sale at the moment, I've no experience of them:

 

 

The original mushroom top version is just usable with eyeglasses.  It was also sold as the Celestron Axiom LX 31mm and Meade 5000 UWA 30mm.

The conical top version is the same optically, but has a recessed eye lens making it impossible to use with eyeglasses and a bit more difficult without.

It's not as sharp in the center as a 27mm Panoptic or 30m APM UFF.  Stars remain a bit bloated at best focus in comparison.  Without a reference eyepiece, it might go unnoticed.

It is absolutely flat of field as far as I can tell.  The edge has pronounced chromatic aberration of the exit pupil (CAEP) leading to an orange ring of fire inside the field stop on bright objects like the moon or during daytime use.  I've noticed that planets split into red and blue copies of themselves near the edge slightly separated from each other.

I only keep mine for the immersiveness of the view where I only look on-axis and the edge issues are strictly in peripheral vision.  It's not so good for tracking objects drifting from edge to edge on an undriven alt-az mount for the above reasons.

[Ricochet]

4 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Is that this one? https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2757_TS-Optics-2----28-mm-Ultraweitwinkel-Okular---82--Feld.htmlMark

Also mentioned here: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/391054-do-i-need-a-nagler-31mm-or-similar

and more discussion here: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/810970-astrotech-28mm-uwa/

 

 

 

Yes, that's the one.