What would the “best of each range” set be?

[globular]

11 minutes ago, IB20 said:

One range I’m very fond on is the Ultima and its iterations. I have the 12.5mm Celestron and the 7.5mm Orion Ultrascopic. Find them exceptional glass, any consensus on the “best” of the range? Read great things about the 30mm!

I have pairs of the 24mm and 18mm for my binoviewer (Altair versions, not Celestron).  Really very nice in the MBII.
But I MUCH prefer my Nagler 22 T4 and XW16.5 for cyclops viewing around those focal lengths. 
By all accounts, including already earlier in this thread, the 30mm is the pick of the UFF crop.

[IB20]

I’d forgotten about the BSTs. Most of us have tried those, I still have the whole set and they’ll be passed on to my kids (like it or not) for when they show an interest. IMO the 15mm is a cracker, followed by the 5mm. Excellent low cost eyepieces with a very XW feel and eye relief mechanism. 👍🏻

[John]

27 minutes ago, IB20 said:

One range I’m very fond on is the Ultima and its iterations. I have the 12.5mm Celestron and the 7.5mm Orion Ultrascopic. Find them exceptional glass, any consensus on the “best” of the range? Read great things about the 30mm!

I have owned the 5mm, 7.5mm 30mm and 35mm Ultimas and an Orion 10mm Ultrascopic (the Japanese made ranges). This was a long time ago now (20+ years) but I do recall thinking that they were very good and liking the 30mm best of all. The 35mm was excellent and quite spectacular with all that glass in a 1.25 inch eyepiece but it's focal plane position meant that I could not bring it to focus in some of my scopes, which lost it some "brownie points" mostly out of frustration !

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by John

[John]

1 minute ago, John said:

I have owned the 5mm, 7.5mm 30mm and 35mm Ultimas and an Orion 10mm Ultrascopic (the Japanese made ranges). This was a long time ago now (20+ years) but I do recall thinking that they were very good and liking the 30mm best of all. The 35mm was excellent and quite spectacular with all that glass in a 1.25 inch eyepiece but it's focal plane position meant that I could not bring it to focus in some of my scopes, which lost it some "brownie points" mostly out of frustration !

 

The ones I'm talking about look like this:

[globular]

I'm sure you're right John.
I was replying based on the ones that look like these...

... mainly because the OP said "currently available".

Edited September 9, 2023 by globular

[IB20]

Just now, globular said:

I'm sure you're right John.
I was replying based on the ones that look like these...

... mainly because the OP said "currently available".

I did mean the older Japanese made ones but if you have had good experiences with the Edges then nothing wrong with that! I still see the older lines pop up in the 2nd hand market from time to time. Not seen a 30mm though…

[Zermelo]

2 hours ago, John said:

We are going to end up with a set that will drive folks with a touch of OCD nuts 😉

I can think of one or two who might, based on previous posts about sets.

In spite of having too many EPs, I don't have a set as yet.  I was that sad kid you knew, who spent all his pocket money on football stickers, but never managed an entire team before the end of season.

Actually, I'm going to contradict myself and claim a complete set of Sky-Watcher modified achromat stock EPs.  The best is, if course, the 25mm.

[Zermelo]

2 hours ago, John said:

I believe they are the same.

... plus several more.

I have the Altair version, which is optically the same, but made with steel, weighing a lot more.

[Zermelo]

7 minutes ago, globular said:

I'm sure you're right John.
I was replying based on the ones that look like these...

... mainly because the OP said "currently available".

I think these ones are Celestron's badging of the UFFs?

I have the 10mm, and it's very sharp.

[globular]

1 minute ago, Zermelo said:

I think these ones are Celestron's badging of the UFFs?

I have the 10mm, and it's very sharp.

Indeed.  
So you have the 10, 24 and 30 in that range - closer to a full set than you first thought 😄

[IB20]

31 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

Not much to add above what has already been posted but I own a number of Delos among many EPs and have tried others I do not own, and the 10mm has been the stand out in that range. It is why I have never considered the 10mm Ethos.

Again the Delos range, seem to have more fans on the other side of the pond than here but seem like they’d be outstanding EPs. Perhaps it’s just that us Japanese glass fans make the most noise?!

[John]

12 minutes ago, globular said:

... mainly because the OP said "currently available".

A small detail that I had conveniently overlooked 🙄

 

[globular]

Just now, John said:

A small detail that I had conveniently overlooked 🙄

 

You were correct though - I got the wrong ones.  
I blame Celestron for naming completely different stuff "Ultima" all the time 🤪

[IB20]

5 minutes ago, John said:

A small detail that I had conveniently overlooked 🙄

 

I think they appear on the 2nd hand market often enough to be warranted a shout. Vixen LVs the same. Something like the ZAOs, Monos, XOs and BGOs not so much though; those ortho fans are real hoarders. 😅

Edited September 9, 2023 by IB20

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, John said:

In lieu of a reply from Don, the optical design and performance diagrams below for the Pentax XW range show quite a variation in optics and performance characteristics across the range of focal lengths (the latest 85 degree ones are not included). Some of the focal lengths do better with certain scope types and some will appeal more to the observer depending on their preferences. It's quite complex  

Other brands / ranges have similar variations. Some ranges use what is known as a "scaled" design which is basically the same for each eyepiece in the range but with smaller modifications, lens spacing, etc, etc to deliver the range of focal lengths. With these scaled designs I guess it's quite possible that one or two focal lengths are optimal for the design and the manufacturer accepts minor  compromises in other focal lengths in return for manufacturing simplification.

 

Of course, we're using the manufacturers' naming to define "range" here.

As you say, some ranges consist of members that share the same qualitative design, differing only quantitatively to achieve the differing focal lengths. Other ranges show quite a bit of variation in design, begging the question as to whether they really are a family. I think I recall a schematic of the UFF series that showed quite a bit of design variation. There is presumably also a prize to be awarded for "eyepiece most out of line with the rest of its range". 😊

 

[Second Time Around]

9 hours ago, IB20 said:

Is the 22lvw 1.25”?

Dual fit 1.25/2 inch - without an adapter.

I'm not parting with mine!

Edited September 9, 2023 by Second Time Around

[John]

2 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

....There is presumably also a prize to be awarded for "eyepiece most out of line with the rest of its range". 😊

 

Which is most divergent ?

Hmmm ...... I'll have a think about that. This thread is TOO addictive. My other half has reminded me that it's my turn to make supper - I'll have to catch up later 🙂

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, IB20 said:

I’d forgotten about the BSTs. Most of us have tried those, I still have the whole set and they’ll be passed on to my kids (like it or not) for when they show an interest. IMO the 15mm is a cracker, followed by the 5mm. Excellent low cost eyepieces with a very XW feel and eye relief mechanism. 👍🏻

15mm is the best My goto eyepiece I love my 10mm vixen silver top as well the BST 5mm I never got on with I sold that and got a 4.5mm TMB. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by wookie1965

[IB20]

Not seeing any love for the stock 10mm that comes with SW scopes. 😅😅

That’s one for the “Dog eyepieces of our time” thread that I must start.

[mikeDnight]

The first time I looked at the Orion nebula using my 16mm Masuyama I was struck by two things, 1) just how sharp the on axis star images were, and 2) just how black the black nebulosity was. To my eye the star images on axis had a noticeable, though subtly sharper appearance compared to my 17.5mm Morpheus which itself is a wonderful eyepiece. And the contrast was exceptional. The only drawback is that it's a five element eyepiece with an 85° field, and so the edge of field sufferers in lower F ratio scopes. Distortion aside, the 16mm Masuyama is a great eyepiece if on axis performance is important.

My favourite low power Televue eyepiece has to be the 35mm Panoptic. In my 101mm SDF my 31mm Nagler gave a full 5° field, but the outer field was not sharp. In contrast, the 35mm Panoptic gave a 4.5° field that was sharp right to the edge. The 35mm is considerably lighter, and to me at least somewhat more comfortable to observe with. The wider field of the 31mm Nagler was rendered pointless due to the distortion and I eventually sold the 31mm in favour of the 35mm.

I love Pentax XW's, especially all from 10mm to 3.5mm. Didn't care for the 14mm much, though the 20mm was pretty nice on deep sky. Having said that, i think the 17.5mm and 12.5mm Morpheus are up there with the best. The mom Morpheus is a great eyepiece too!

My favourite high power eyepieces are the Vixen High Resolution's. These are not only optically,  but mechanically outstanding, and very comfortable to use. Even the 1.6mm is awesome when conditions allow for it.

 

 

[JeremyS]

5 hours ago, John said:

We are going to end up with a set that will drive folks with a touch of OCD nuts 😉

Help. I need therapy after reading this thread 😳

[John]

27 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Help. I need therapy after reading this thread 😳

Does this help ? 

The full set of this range and therefore the best one in it 😁

[IB20]

Did the astronauts on Apollo 11 have undercuts?

[John]

2 minutes ago, IB20 said:

Did the astronauts on Apollo 11 have undercuts?

Are we going down the "no undercuts" path then ? 

 

[IB20]

2 minutes ago, John said:

Are we going down the "no undercuts" path then ? 

 

Haha, nah I’ve grown to work with them. For some reason no Televue eyepieces focus with my scopes unless I pull them out further than the undercut, so they no longer bother me. 😁