Stellalyra Eyepieces experience

[Naughty Neal]

13mm 82 degree Nirvana  is £85 at FLO.

[Naughty Neal]

One can only see a used price of an Apollo only increasing on that of the bought price  as a true collectors ep,

[Louis D]

Just like the Zeiss Abbe Orthos (ZAOs).  I've seen complete sets advertised for $5000.

[Jimmy81]

4 hours ago, Naughty Neal said:

13mm 82 degree Nirvana  is £85 at FLO.

I emailed Steve at FLO when I enquired about returning the 20mm and I suggested I might try the Nirvana as an alternative and his response was ‘you will be disappointed’. 
I have read fairly positive comments regarding the Nirvana eyepieces and figured I could get 2x Nirvana for the price of the 20mm. 
being a novice I do not demand the best of the best, and would be happy as long as the general consensus of an eyepiece is that is good. I just so happens the 20mm and 30mm are pretty exceptional for their price point and beyond. What I hope to end up with is a 3 piece setup consisting of a 30mm / 13mm - 17mm / 5mm - 7mm. I don’t demand edge to edge sharpness, around 80% + would be great but I don’t mind a touch of edge distortion as at the higher mag I find my eye tends to wonder a lot less. But I do enjoy a wider afov as I think it frames things nicely. So 68° or greater. 

[JeremyS]

13 hours ago, Louis D said:

There's also the 11mm Tele Vue Apollo if you can find one used and afford it.  I believe the limited edition production run ran out.

I’m not selling 🤣

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, Jimmy81 said:

I emailed Steve at FLO when I enquired about returning the 20mm and I suggested I might try the Nirvana as an alternative and his response was ‘you will be disappointed’. 
I have read fairly positive comments regarding the Nirvana eyepieces and figured I could get 2x Nirvana for the price of the 20mm. 
being a novice I do not demand the best of the best, and would be happy as long as the general consensus of an eyepiece is that is good. I just so happens the 20mm and 30mm are pretty exceptional for their price point and beyond. What I hope to end up with is a 3 piece setup consisting of a 30mm / 13mm - 17mm / 5mm - 7mm. I don’t demand edge to edge sharpness, around 80% + would be great but I don’t mind a touch of edge distortion as at the higher mag I find my eye tends to wonder a lot less. But I do enjoy a wider afov as I think it frames things nicely. So 68° or greater. 

My personal choice would be a Morpheus 17.5mil, or the 14mm if that suits you more. I have the 17.5 and it's excellent but I'm told the 14 isn't quite as good.

[Coco]

10,  15, 18 & 24 UFF.  would love to see a 13 & 21 added... 

My OCD needs balance.. 

[Saganite]

1 minute ago, Coco said:

10,  15, 18 & 24 UFF.  would love to see a 13 & 21 added... 

My OCD needs balance.. 

You will need the 30mm as well then.....

[Jimmy81]

2 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

My personal choice would be a Morpheus 17.5mil, or the 14mm if that suits you more. I have the 17.5 and it's excellent but I'm told the 14 isn't quite as good.

This is something I have considered as I keep hearing great things about the Morpheus range

[Louis D]

On 21/02/2024 at 10:55, Jimmy81 said:

I think I mentioned before about whether the 20mm might be a bit close to the 30mm in terms of magnification, but all will be revealed. If I find them too similar (40x and 60x in my 8” f6 dob) then I may switch the 20mm for the 14mm LER/UWA.

So, let's say you're set at 40x for your lowest power and largest exit pupil (30/6 = 5mm) with the APM UFF 30mm.  Based on my observing preferences after 25 years, my next step up in power would be 70x to 85x, and a 2mm to 2.5mm exit pupil for general DSO observing.  This would be an eyepiece range from 14mm to 15mm to satisfy both criteria.  I would say to give the 14mm Morpheus a try.  It comes with an eye guard extender if you need back off from the eye lens a bit.

[Don Pensack]

1 hour ago, Jimmy81 said:

This is something I have considered as I keep hearing great things about the Morpheus range

Ironically, though I wear glasses to observe, I find the 17.5mm not as good as the 14mm in my f/5.75 scope, for the following reasons:

1. the 17.5mm has a bit too bright a sky background compared to the 14mm.

2. the 17.5mm has so much eye relief that I find myself drifting too close and getting blackouts.  I have not tried adding the eyecup extender so my glasses can rest on the rubber.  I should do that and try again.

3. the magnification of the 17.5mm isn't low enough to be a good low power eyepiece, nor high enough to get into the right territory for observing DSOs, so it gets passed over most of the time.

4. contrary to the reports of many, I see slightly less sharp stars in the 17.5mm compared to the 14mm Morpheus.  I thought it was my glasses correction, except my 22mm and 30mm have super sharp stars across the field, and they have larger exit pupils.

5. the 17.5mm won't come to focus in the Paracorr as a 1.25" using the Paracorr adapter.  I have to use it as a 2" with a quasi-permanently-attached ultra-low adapter to get it to focus in the Paracorr adjustment range.

     Thus, it is more like my 22mm and 30mm--a 2" eyepiece.  That's fine, but see my point 3.

6. all the Morpheus eyepieces are 78-79° in apparent field, except the 17.5mm (actually, a 17.2mm) is only 72°, and the slightly smaller field is noticeable compared to the other focal lengths of Morpheus.

 

Perhaps if I had a scope where 17-17.5mm was a great magnification... 

[Coco]

1 hour ago, Saganite said:

You will need the 30mm as well then.....

Only if the bring out a 7!!! 😂

[Jimmy81]

2 hours ago, cajen2 said:

My personal choice would be a Morpheus 17.5mil, or the 14mm if that suits you more. I have the 17.5 and it's excellent but I'm told the 14 isn't quite as good.

I think I read somewhere on here that you had reviewed the SL 14.5mm 68°. This is something I was looking at as an alternative, what was your overall impression? I think you said it kinda got put back on the shelf when you got the 20mm but I’d be interested to hear how it compares optically. I have the cost of the 20mm (£179) to spend on a different eyepiece and I just can’t stretch to the Morpheus at £229. The 14.5 is £149 and the SL 14mm 80° is £179 but I’m going to have the same issue with the eyecup (unless I can find a cheap workaround)

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, Jimmy81 said:

I think I read somewhere on here that you had reviewed the SL 14.5mm 68°. This is something I was looking at as an alternative, what was your overall impression? I think you said it kinda got put back on the shelf when you got the 20mm but I’d be interested to hear how it compares optically. I have the cost of the 20mm (£179) to spend on a different eyepiece and I just can’t stretch to the Morpheus at £229. The 14.5 is £149 and the SL 14mm 80° is £179 but I’m going to have the same issue with the eyecup (unless I can find a cheap workaround)

The SL 68° is a perfectly good EP, as good as some better-known names but it isn't outstanding. The 14mm 80° one is much better (I haven't got one but a friend of mine has), as good as the 20mil. I don't quite understand the eyecup problem but there again, I have the eye cups rolled down on virtually all my EPs as I hover my eye over the EP when viewing. I suggest finding your ideal cup height and then putting a tiny bit of Sellotape to stop it rotating.

There's something about both SL 80° EPs which they share with the Morpheus range: they give almost a 3D effect - very satisfying.

 

[cajen2]

Oh, and if you decide on a SL, also check out the Founder Optics range, which I believe are the same EPs but significantly cheaper:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/founder-marvel-ultra-wide-eyepieces.html

I have the SL 4mm  but wouldn't recommend it unreservedly: it has a notably softer image than my Morpheus 4.5 mil. It seems there are few EP ranges where every F/l is excellent.

Edited February 28 by cajen2

[Louis D]

For the £10 difference, I would definitely go for the Founder Marvel Ultra Wide 14mm over the StellaLyra 14.5mm 1.25" 68º LER / WA.  It will have a wider field, better correction, and similar eye relief with the eye cup screwed down.  Definitely worth trying Don's rubber band (O-ring) trick if you need the cup up higher to avoid blackouts.

You could also make an adjustable eye cup by wrapping black crafting foam around the outside of the eyepiece, cutting to circumference, and then gluing the ends together.  It could be slid up and down for adjustment.

Another option would be to stack a 43mm to 49mm step-up ring on a 49mm to 50mm step-up ring onto the eye cup thread if it is indeed 50mm x 0.75mm threaded.  You could then thread a 43mm Morpheus eye cup onto the 43mm step ring thread.

Edited February 29 by Louis D

[Jimmy81]

@cajen2 @Louis D I think you have solved my issue. The Founder 14mm 80° is it. It’s the optics I want but at price I’m willing to pay in compromise for the eyecup issue I had with the 20mm. At that price I’d be willing to try some diy workarounds to get it perfect for me. 
it’s strange that those eyepieces aren’t listed under the ‘eyepiece’ section on FLO website, you have to search under telescopes!! I would have never just stumbled across these so thank you for the link and all the helpful advice. 🙏🏼 

[cajen2]

You're very welcome, Jimmy. I got so much help from here when I was starting out that it's nice to give some back.

I was a little worried that you might look at the lurid green of the FO EPs and go "uuuurgh!" but then I reasoned you wouldn't be able to see it in the dark anyway! 😄

[Jimmy81]

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

You're very welcome, Jimmy. I got so much help from here when I was starting out that it's nice to give some back.

I was a little worried that you might look at the lurid green of the FO EPs and go "uuuurgh!" but then I reasoned you wouldn't be able to see it in the dark anyway! 😄

Don’t get Me wrong, the green is a less than ideal colour (to put it politely) but hey, I can live with that. 

[Mr Spock]

20 hours ago, Jimmy81 said:

I have read fairly positive comments regarding the Nirvana eyepieces and figured I could get 2x Nirvana for the price of the 20mm. 

I have a complete set. The 13mm, 10mm, 7mm (actually measures 8mm) and 4mm are excellent. Very sharp and right to the edge.

The 16mm suffers from field curvature and is only sharp in the centre. I use it as a 'finder' for doubles, so it doesn't matter much. 

[Ratlet]

25 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I have a complete set. The 13mm, 10mm, 7mm (actually measures 8mm) and 4mm are excellent. Very sharp and right to the edge.

The 16mm suffers from field curvature and is only sharp in the centre. I use it as a 'finder' for doubles, so it doesn't matter much. 

When I was looking at eyepieces to fill out my set it felt that the 16-20mm sort of region seemed every hard to get well figured optics at a low cost.  It's why I went for the 17.5mm Morpheus, despite it's cost.  Also to try and understand what something that considered good is like.

[John]

At least that old mantra "low cost / wide field / sharp across the field in fast scopes = pick any two" is to some extent being challenged by some of todays eyepieces. 

Edited February 29 by John

[Louis D]

I find the well figured, ultra wide field, long eye relief 20mm to 26mm region to be rather skimpy at any price.  There's the 20mm SL/FM, 22mm NT4, and 26mm Meade MWA.  The MWA has excessive SAEP (and is discontinued), the NT4 has some SAEP, and I have no idea about the SL/FM and SAEP.  I'm holding out hope that ES expands the ES-92 line upward to 23mm or so.

[Don Pensack]

17 hours ago, Louis D said:

I find the well figured, ultra wide field, long eye relief 20mm to 26mm region to be rather skimpy at any price.  There's the 20mm SL/FM, 22mm NT4, and 26mm Meade MWA.  The MWA has excessive SAEP (and is discontinued), the NT4 has some SAEP, and I have no idea about the SL/FM and SAEP.  I'm holding out hope that ES expands the ES-92 line upward to 23mm or so.

The Stellalyra/Founder Optics (Long Perng) 80° eyepieces are reported as having no SAEP.  I can verify the 14mm had none.

If you don't need more than 12mm of effective eye relief(20mm from the glass), there are also the 23mm and 16.5mm Pentax XW 85°,  The 16.5mm is especially well-corrected in shorter f/ratios.

The 23mm had noticeable edge of field darkening, though whether that was inherent or due to its interface with a Paracorr, I can't say.

Neither of the Pentaxes had any SAEP I could detect, though I didn't take the photos you do.

Edited March 1 by Don Pensack

[Ratlet]

35 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

The Stellalyra/Founder Optics (Long Perng) 80° eyepieces are reported as having no SAEP.  I can verify the 14mm had none.

If you don't need more than 12mm of effective eye relief(20mm from the glass), there are also the 23mm and 16.5mm Pentax XW 85°,  The 16.5mm is especially well-corrected in shorter f/ratios.

The 23mm had noticeable edge of field darkening, though whether that was inherent or due to its interface with a Paracorr, I can't say.

Neither of the Pentaxes had any SAEP I could detect, though I didn't take the photos you do.

Kind of related, but SAEP is kidney beaning?  Which is often confused for the effect you get when you have your eye too close to an eyepiece with a long eyerelief?  One is a design issue, the other a user issue?