Eyepiece projection issues

[Elp]

I'm sure a solution is out there, we just need to find it.

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, Mark2022 said:

Louis, I don't "buy it" that, to add half an inch to the inside diameter of the existing designs need to add a factor of 10 to their cost.  You can pick up these eyepiece projection adaptors for a tenner or a bit more.  There is absolutely no need for a significant increase in cost because of making the barrel diameter 10 mm or so greater. I keep finding, with this hobby, that I wish I had some turning machines and a little workshop.  The rip offs are ridiculous.

Going even further in the wrong direction price wise:

VariMax™ Variable Eyepiece Projection Adapter w/ 1.25" Barrel

I had never even heard of these before.  Looks like some pretty decent quality as you would expect for the price.

Paul Van Slyke of Van Slyke Instruments near Colorado Springs, CO, used to make high quality hand made astronomy gear in his home machine shop until a forest fire totaled it about a decade ago.  His stuff wasn't exactly cheap, though.

[Elp]

Would of thought something like this could be adapted the 2 inch one (the 2 inch version is available elsewhere):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astromania-1-25-Extendable-Camera-Adapter/dp/B01J7P0O36?th=1&psc=1

[Mark2022]

43 minutes ago, Elp said:

Would of thought something like this could be adapted the 2 inch one (the 2 inch version is available elsewhere):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astromania-1-25-Extendable-Camera-Adapter/dp/B01J7P0O36?th=1&psc=1

I find these descriptions on Amazon very  difficult to follow. From what I see, with the "2" variable" version, it looks like they have a 1.25" adaptor with it and are suggesting you can use 1.25" and 2" eyepieces as is. It almost looks to be exactly what I'd be looking for. If it's not, it so very easily could  have been. Am I reading it wrong?

[Mark2022]

59 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Going even further in the wrong direction price wise:

VariMax™ Variable Eyepiece Projection Adapter w/ 1.25" Barrel

I had never even heard of these before.  Looks like some pretty decent quality as you would expect for the price.

Paul Van Slyke of Van Slyke Instruments near Colorado Springs, CO, used to make high quality hand made astronomy gear in his home machine shop until a forest fire totaled it about a decade ago.  His stuff wasn't exactly cheap, though.

Lovely looking piece of kit.

[AstroNebulee]

Maybe try Ali express for what you need, much cheaper and good quality too. Shipping may take a bit longer but I ordered guidescope rings for over half price and was even delivered in 2 weeks. Not bad at all. 

 

Lee 

[Elp]

10 hours ago, Mark2022 said:

I find these descriptions on Amazon very  difficult to follow. From what I see, with the "2" variable" version, it looks like they have a 1.25" adaptor with it and are suggesting you can use 1.25" and 2" eyepieces as is. It almost looks to be exactly what I'd be looking for. If it's not, it so very easily could  have been. Am I reading it wrong?

I'd say it does take 1.25 inch eyepieces as the OD at the bottom is 50mm so wouldn't take a 2 inch eyepiece nosepiece, let alone the body of it.

[Mark2022]

On 16/07/2023 at 06:35, AstroNebulee said:

Maybe try Ali express for what you need, much cheaper and good quality too. Shipping may take a bit longer but I ordered guidescope rings for over half price and was even delivered in 2 weeks. Not bad at all. 

 

Lee 

A guy a bought the scope from mentioned Ali Express and I asked  him if he didn't have to pay import taxes or any other tax. He said no. Yet, on the site itself, it says their prices are subject to taxes. Did you pay just their advertised price?

[Mark2022]

On 16/07/2023 at 09:55, Elp said:

I'd say it does take 1.25 inch eyepieces as the OD at the bottom is 50mm so wouldn't take a 2 inch eyepiece nosepiece, let alone the body of it.

I found that SVBony do exactly the same item at £29.99 but with free postage through Retevis on Ebay. I threw them a note to ask about the eyepiece diameter and they've said it can handle up to 46mm which, if so, would handle my LER.

[Elp]

26 minutes ago, Mark2022 said:

A guy a bought the scope from mentioned Ali Express and I asked  him if he didn't have to pay import taxes or any other tax. He said no. Yet, on the site itself, it says their prices are subject to taxes. Did you pay just their advertised price?

You pay UK VAT 20pc at checkout. Currently you can import any common items up to £135 from anywhere in the world which includes the item price AND shipping to get to that total without incurring any additional charges like import duty. VAT used to be charged once the item entered the UK, after Brexit companies are more likely to charge the VAT at checkout.

I've also bought from Retevis a few times.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Elp

[AstroNebulee]

34 minutes ago, Elp said:

You pay UK VAT 20pc at checkout. Currently you can import any common items up to £135 from anywhere in the world which includes the item price AND shipping to get to that total without incurring any additional charges like import duty. VAT used to be charged once the item entered the UK, after Brexit companies are more likely to charge the VAT at checkout.

I've also bought from Retevis a few times.

@Mark2022 as Elp says here ☝️😊

[Mark2022]

Looks like this is the same item. I'd guess all the same dimensions but I'll contact them to check (once AliExpress allows me to sign in. There seems to be an issue at the moment). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001023424979.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.5b354cbbrHE0sC&algo_pvid=e373a76e-e230-4f41-9585-314a702c3a8d&algo_exp_id=e373a76e-e230-4f41-9585-314a702c3a8d-0&pdp_npi=3%40dis!GBP!16.92!9.81!!!21.50!!%402145288516895935482701254d0746!10000013561983522!sea!GB!0&curPageLogUid=RFdvc9Viq5di

Huge price difference!

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, Mark2022 said:

Looks like this is the same item. I'd guess all the same dimensions but I'll contact them to check (once AliExpress allows me to sign in. There seems to be an issue at the moment). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001023424979.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.5b354cbbrHE0sC&algo_pvid=e373a76e-e230-4f41-9585-314a702c3a8d&algo_exp_id=e373a76e-e230-4f41-9585-314a702c3a8d-0&pdp_npi=3%40dis!GBP!16.92!9.81!!!21.50!!%402145288516895935482701254d0746!10000013561983522!sea!GB!0&curPageLogUid=RFdvc9Viq5di

Huge price difference!

Keep checking as some offer free postage too but maybe a bit more so works out the same. Swings and roundabouts. Hopefully you can sign in soon. 

Lee 

Edited July 17, 2023 by AstroNebulee

[Mark2022]

On 17/07/2023 at 14:20, AstroNebulee said:

Keep checking as some offer free postage too but maybe a bit more so works out the same. Swings and roundabouts. Hopefully you can sign in soon. 

Lee 

Haven't been able to sign in to AliExpress for days now. Even if I set up a new email address for it.

[AstroNebulee]

42 minutes ago, Mark2022 said:

Haven't been able to sign in to AliExpress for days now. Even if I set up a new email address for it.

Are you logging via phone or laptop? If phone try uninstall the app and reinstall and clear cache and data. Maybe worth emailing Ali express if possible. Seems strange. 

 

Lee

[Mark2022]

On 19/07/2023 at 20:41, AstroNebulee said:

Are you logging via phone or laptop? If phone try uninstall the app and reinstall and clear cache and data. Maybe worth emailing Ali express if possible. Seems strange. 

 

Lee

Yesterday, all of a sudden, AliExpress seemed to change its page format and  I can log in. However,  trying  to find stuff is difficult. You  type into search "Eyepiece  extension" or variations  thereof and  you  get  all  sorts  of garbage.

[Elp]

Its search engine isn't brilliant, well it's not even good. I find most of what I'm after by searching for it, clicking on what might be a similar product and lo and behold it's there under similar recommendations on the product page. Whoever did their programming needs a good talking to.

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, Mark2022 said:

Yesterday, all of a sudden, AliExpress seemed to change its page format and  I can log in. However,  trying  to find stuff is difficult. You  type into search "Eyepiece  extension" or variations  thereof and  you  get  all  sorts  of garbage.

Hi

I typed in eyepiece projection adapter on Ali and hopefully somethings of use may be there to you. 

Lee 

[Mark2022]

21 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

Hi

I typed in eyepiece projection adapter on Ali and hopefully somethings of use may be there to you. 

Lee 

Well that's odd because when I type the same in, nothing comes up except garbage totally unrelated.  Anyhow, I've found what I'm looking for BUT at a cost. It is a Bresser and accommodates up to 55mm body diameters. £55 though. So for anyone looking for similar,  here it is... https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/product/bresser-variable-camera-adapter-1-25-inch-4940130/

[johnturley]

4 hours ago, Mark2022 said:

Well that's odd because when I type the same in, nothing comes up except garbage totally unrelated.  Anyhow, I've found what I'm looking for BUT at a cost. It is a Bresser and accommodates up to 55mm body diameters. £55 though. So for anyone looking for similar,  here it is... https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/product/bresser-variable-camera-adapter-1-25-inch-4940130/

Maybe cheaper overall to buy a cheapish 10-15 mm Plossl, such as from the Astro Essentials range available from FLO, that should fit in a more traditional sized (and cheaper) eyepiece projection tube such as the one listed below.

Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece | First Light Optics

Tele-Camera Adaptor for Eyepiece Projection Astrophotography | First Light Optics

John 

Edited July 29, 2023 by johnturley

[Mark2022]

12 hours ago, johnturley said:

Maybe cheaper overall to buy a cheapish 10-15 mm Plossl, such as from the Astro Essentials range available from FLO, that should fit in a more traditional sized (and cheaper) eyepiece projection tube such as the one listed below.

Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece | First Light Optics

Tele-Camera Adaptor for Eyepiece Projection Astrophotography | First Light Optics

John 

The thing is John, I would really like to have the ability to slip whichever eyepiece I wish to use into an adaptor. I have a Meade 9mm and 15mm plossl as well as 20, 25/6, 32 and 40 and even the 4mm, however only the 4, 9, 15 and 20 will fit the eyepiece adaptor I already have. I bought the Altair LER 5mm for the significantly increased eye relief at high power and I also thought this would provide a far brighter image on the camera.  I  have yet to  find out.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Mark2022 said:

I bought the Altair LER 5mm for the significantly increased eye relief at high power and I also thought this would provide a far brighter image on the camera.

Nope.  Brightness of the projected image is entirely based on the exit pupil of the eyepiece/scope combination.  Any 5mm will yield the same image brightness in the same scope.  The long eye relief will make it easier to match the eyepiece exit pupil to the camera's entry pupil for afocal projection.  I'm not sure it makes any difference for regular eyepiece projection that you're attempting.

Be aware that most eyepieces not specifically designed for eyepiece projection will project a curved focal plane.  You may find it impossible to get the center and edge in focus at the same time on a flat imaging sensor.  This focal plane curvature is not an issue for afocal projection due to the taking lens's depth of focus.

[johnturley]

9 hours ago, Mark2022 said:

The thing is John, I would really like to have the ability to slip whichever eyepiece I wish to use into an adaptor. I have a Meade 9mm and 15mm plossl as well as 20, 25/6, 32 and 40 and even the 4mm, however only the 4, 9, 15 and 20 will fit the eyepiece adaptor I already have. I bought the Altair LER 5mm for the significantly increased eye relief at high power and I also thought this would provide a far brighter image on the camera.  I  have yet to  find out.

Mark

I think that you will find that the 5mm eyepiece will give too large and dim and image with a digital SLR having an APS-C sized sensor, making it difficult to achieve correct focus, and tracking will also be more difficult. I think that your 9 or 15mm Plossls will yield better results.

John