Advice on 30/32mm ep for DSO's

[griff44]

Hi,

I'm after a 30/32mm ep for viewing DSO's - are the following eyepieces the same? I know they are slightly different, one being 30mm and the other 32mm but in terms of optical quality are they similar?

GSO Revelation 2" eyepiece

GSO Revelation 2" eyepieces

Revelation 2" eyepiece

Revelation 30mm Eyepiece 2"

As you can see the later is less expensive

Cheers

Griff

[Cornelius Varley]

I don't see any difference. The focal lengths of both eyepieces are listed as 30mm.

Peter

[griff44]

Yes of course, overlooked that (could of sworn it was a 32mm) - how about the optical quality? are they the same though??

[pbyrne]

Unless you are in desperate need for an eyepiece I would hang on and wait for a Televue 32mm Plossl to come up for sale second hand. Two other eyepieces I would recommend are the Celestron Ultima 30mm, they don't come up too often, or the Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl 32mm, I have used both in the past and they are excellent pieces. All three are 1.25", I'm not sure if you want a purely 2" EP.

[griff44]

Would there be any benefit to a 2" ep opposed to a 1.25"?

[rawhead]

3 1/2 hours left on this...

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Cheers

[griff44]

That's used, worn possibly dropped a few times? who knows - that will go for £75 easy and look you can get for new for £90.........ebay is mad, people thinking they can get a bargain - do they ever look elsewhere (makes you wander)

TeleVue 32mm Plossl Eyepiece 1.25"

[rawhead]

I certainly wouldn't pay £75 for it...

[Hypernova]

I saw an example on AB&S sell a few days ago and the seller was asking £65 including postage. Here is the link but it seems to be sale pending, it is in the second block of text under the eyepiece heading.

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

[LukeSkywatcher]

How about Vixen 30mm NPL

[John]

Would there be any benefit to a 2" ep opposed to a 1.25"?

The 2" format can show quite a lot more more sky (ie: a wider field of view) at the same magnification than an equivalent focal length 1.25" eyepiece.

[LukeSkywatcher]

The 2" format can show quite a lot more more sky (ie: a wider field of view) at the same magnification than an equivalent focal length 1.25" eyepiece.

Ahhhh so 2" really is preferable for DSO hunting.

[griff44]

Thanks John exactly the answer i was looking for, if 2" is a better option in terms of "wider field of view" i.e better for dobsonians without tracking like mine, would you recommend a 2" 30mm like the ones below and if so which one? or are they the same but priced differently?

GSO Revelation 2" eyepiece

GSO Revelation 2" eyepieces

Revelation 2" eyepiece

Revelation 30mm Eyepiece 2"

Thanks

Griff

[John]

They are the same eyepiece as far as I know. I've used a couple and they were OK at F/10 but not so good at F/6 - the stars in the outer 40% of the field of view are astigmatic (distorted). To be honest it's difficult / impossible to find an widefield eyepiece at that price point that does not have this issue in faster scopes to some extent.

Many people use the Skywatcher Panaview eyepieces and are happy with them in scopes like yours - but they are more expensive than the Revelation / GSO ones.

[Dave Smith]

Have you considered the Moonfish 30mm 80deg eyepiece? I have recently bought one and I love it, especially for DSOs.

Dave

[griff44]

Hi Dave, have you a link for the Moonfish 30mm 80deg eyepiece? and if you know, how does it perform compared to the panaview??

[John]

Hi Dave, have you a link for the Moonfish 30mm 80deg eyepiece? and if you know, how does it perform compared to the panaview??

The key question is how does it perform at F/5.9 compared to a Panaview.

I used to have the Japanese version of the Moonfish - or I should say that the Moonfish was copied from the Japanese one which is a Kokusai Kohki Widescan III 30mm. That eyepiece (no longer made, alas) was excellent in F/10 scopes but I found it much less satisfactory in my F/6.5 refractor.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Dave, have you a link for the Moonfish 30mm 80deg eyepiece? and if you know, how does it perform compared to the panaview??

I found a link http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-004H that says they cost about $145. Thats actually pretty sweet for an EP with an 80 degree FOV.

The biggest FOV i have ever experienced is 50 degrees.

*footnote*

I prefer looking for gear on American sites because the Dollar>Euro exchange rate is better then the Pound>Euro. BUT i normally buy from the uk because i hate the wait involved with gear coming from America.

[Dave Smith]

Here is a link to the Moonfish eyepiece.

Moonfish Group® Store

I believe that they are currently out of stock but will have them before Christmas. 99 euros translated to £99 inc p&p.

I'm sorry I don't know how it compares with the panoview but before I purchased mine I tried one and was able to compare it with a similar focal length panoptic and in my f10 SCT could not see any difference except that the panoptic had a smaller FOV. I have since tried it in my f8.8 refractor and enjoyed the view (especially as it enable me to see comet Hartley). I understand that the Moonfish is possibly not so good in faster scopes - unfortunately I haven't been able to try that.

I hope that helps.

Dave

[LukeSkywatcher]

99 euros translated to £99 inc p&p.

Give or take a couple of quid.

My point exactly (see above). $145.00 translates into about 80 euro (i'll have to check the latest rate). Then i guess you you have to factor in P&P...........so its probably even stevens.

*Update*

€99 euro is equal to £86

$145 is equal to 104 euro..........................

So Daves link saves me a fiver.

Shame my scopes all have a 1.25" focuser.

I'm also working on buying a nice collection of Vixen NPL's.

I think the time is near when i stop talking about buying a selection of NPL and just DO IT.

[griff44]

The Panaview sounds the best option then? cheaper than the Moonfish and better at f/6 but how good are they - can anyone confirm they provide good viewing even at the edges of the field of view?

[John]

Here is a review of the 38mm Panaview V's the 40mm Aero ED in a variety of scopes which may prove of interest:

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/100634-38mm-skywatcher-panaview-40mm-skywatcher-aero-comparison-review.html

[griff44]

Hi John, just read the review and appears to be of the same conclusion of the revelation 2"

** in the fast Newtonians, differences began to emerge and this is where the Aero really showed its value. While stars through the PanaView started to become distorted from 60-70% out from the centre the Aero maintained sharp stars for a larger area**

Can we agree that the Panaview's become distorted 60-70% out from the centre of view making them very similar to the Revelations mentioned above?

[John]

I've used Panaviews and Revelations and I found the Revelations performance less satisfactory plus the build quality with the Panaview is much better, in my view.

Unless you are prepared to i) pay more or ii) settle for a narrower field of view, I don't think any widefield eyepiece is going to perform excellently at the edges of the FoV in a fast scope but the Panaview is clearly good enough to satisfy it's many owners.

There are probably happy Revelation owners out there as well - I just didn't think that much of them in fast scopes.

[griff44]

Thanks John for you advice, you've been a great help so far but could you say that for half the cost the revelation is a good buy?? - perhaps 10% less performace from it than the panaview? or would you say more?