Founder Optics Marvel UW EPs

[cajen2]

Anything known about this range? I imagine they're available under other names...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/founder-optics/founder-marvel-ultra-wide-eyepieces.html

[Don Pensack]

There haven't been many reviews because they haven't been in circulation long enough to have that many of them out there.

I used the 14mm and was disappointed that the eyecup ate up 8mm of the 20mm of eye relief, making it impossible to use with glasses.

If you are looking at these because you wear glasses, then you will need to look into changing the eyecups, and the 50mm inner diameter of the 

eyecup makes finding traditional rubber eyecups nearly impossible.

They are from Long Perng in Taiwan, and available under these labels:

Founder Optics	Marvel
Long Perng	80° Series LER
Orion (US)	LHD
Stella Lyra (FLO)	80° LER UWA

[cajen2]

Interesting. They undercut the SL LER/UWA range by about £50. 

The eyecup doesn't worry me: I don't wear my glasses while observing, plus I find eye relief on my SL 20mil just fine. 

I might one day invest in the 4mm - it's relatively cheap!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

Interesting. They undercut the SL LER/UWA range by about £50. 

The eyecup doesn't worry me: I don't wear my glasses while observing, plus I find eye relief on my SL 20mil just fine. 

I might one day invest in the 4mm - it's relatively cheap!

Not only did they undercut the price, it looks like they added undercuts. 

[Louis D]

2 hours ago, cajen2 said:

I might one day invest in the 4mm - it's relatively cheap!

The 14mm and 20mm seem to receive universal praise.  There's very little known about the 4/6/9mm versions.  There's are recent CN thread asking for information on them, but little has come to light.  One learning from one post is that they may suffer from SAEP (kidney-beaning).  It's not even clear how severe it might be.  Jump in and get one and let the world know what you think of it.

[Don Pensack]

I didn't see any noticeable SAEP in the 14mm (unlike the 14mm Vixen SSW, which had it in abundance), but I did notice EOFB (edge of field brightening).

Otherwise, it was quite sharp.  I had to change the eyecup to use it with glasses.

[cajen2]

12 hours ago, Louis D said:

The 14mm and 20mm seem to receive universal praise.  There's very little known about the 4/6/9mm versions.  There's are recent CN thread asking for information on them, but little has come to light.  One learning from one post is that they may suffer from SAEP (kidney-beaning).  It's not even clear how severe it might be.  Jump in and get one and let the world know what you think of it.

Oh, it'd have to wait till I actually jump in and buy a frac. I'm covered at most EP focal lengths except for very short ones for observing planets with a frac. It'd be a toss-up between getting a 4mil and using my ES Focal Extender on my Morpheus 9mm.

I'm certainly very happy with the SL 20mm from the same range.

Edited March 16, 2023 by cajen2

[Louis D]

13 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

I didn't see any noticeable SAEP in the 14mm (unlike the 14mm Vixen SSW, which had it in abundance), but I did notice EOFB (edge of field brightening).

Right, but I was referring to the 9mm and below focal lengths.  It wouldn't be unprecendented for the shorter focal lengths to diverge in quality from the longer ones.  The Redline 70 degree eyepieces are supposed to be pretty bad at 8mm and below despite the 22mm being excellent and the 17mm pretty good.

[John]

£159 seems outstanding value for a 20mm 2 inch 80 degree AFoV eyepiece 👍

[Louis D]

Or $175 shipped to the US (no additional taxes for us).  If I didn't already have a 22mm NT4, I'd probably order one.

[cajen2]

9 hours ago, John said:

£159 seems outstanding value for a 20mm 2 inch 80 degree AFoV eyepiece 👍

And if it IS the same EP as the StellaLyra 20mm LER/UWA, it'd be in the same league as Pentax XWs and Morpheus - at least mine is.