Antares 8-24mm eyepiece advice

[heath 66]

Hello everyone just been browsing the net and saw a Antares 8-24mm zoom eyepiece for sale at scope and skies for £53.99, seems a good idea in not having to change the eye set just twist instead, was wondering has anyone used this zoom type, and if so are they any good, also are antares good quality or are they netto material, many thanks and happy new year to all the members:hello2:

[acey]

Sorry, haven't used the Antares, but I use the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm and can comment on the pros and cons of zooms in general. Yes it's very nice not to be switching eyepieces. But zooms are almost invariably judged to give poorer views than fixed-focal-length EPs. I do notice greater internal reflections in the Baader compared with TV plossls and wouldn't want to use it for planetary viewing, nor would I replace my whole eyepiece set with a zoom, except perhaps for travelling with a small scope.

The real advantage of a zoom, to my mind, is in deep-sky viewing. Many faint DSOs will only come into view once you magnify them to an appropriate size. I was aware of this from the plossls I used with my 8" and 12" scopes but had it vividly demonstrated when I began using a little 100mm spotting scope which had a built-in zoom. I could get myself to the right field, then zoom in and out of portions until the sought-after object popped magically into view as I hit the necessary magnification.

I now take this approach with my 12", using the Baader zoom. Once I find the object I go to a higher-power fixed focal-length EP, which still tends to give a better view. The Baader zoom has many fans though the field gives an impression of smallness at lowest power (it widens with higher power). It costs about 3x as much as the Antares.

My advice would be to think what you want to use a zoom for. Swapping an eyepiece during planetary viewing is no great chore; but with faint DSOs you can find yourself losing the object in the time it takes to change EP, and the zoom approach has a real advantage there. As to the quality of the Antares, I'm, afraid I can't offer any comment, except to say they're not "Netto material", but nor would I expect their zoom to be a match for the Baader.

[russ]

The Antares 8-24 is identical (rebranded) to the Celestron and Skywatcher 8-24, so certainly not 'Netto' quality.

I've had both the Skywatcher and Celestron, and have to say i was quite impressed. They have a very narrow field of view at the low 24mm end, feels like a port hole view. And goes a bit soft at the high 8mm end. But in between it's a nice eyepiece. Great in the PST and great in the ST80 as a take on holiday setup.

Antares are a good brand. As i said at the begininning, most of their bits are sourced from the same factories as most other brands. They have their own highly regarded eyepiece range called the Speers-Waler and not so highly regarded but still okay, W70 range.

[heath 66]

Thanks for the advice in the replies, i can see some small advantages in having a zoom lense in the tray, see what the new year brings regards heath

[LukeSkywatcher]

I've heard good things and bad things about zoom EP. Atares are regarded as the best make. If i remember correctly they dont come cheap, so £53.99 sounds like a good punt.

I wasnt aware that the view becomes "port hole" like at the low end. That really is annoying. I have a 30mm EP that has a FOV of only 43 degrees. Its not a nice viewing experience. But like most things i guess we can get used to this.

I think for £53.99 i would probably try the EP.........just to experience using one. It can always be sold off at a later date if you dont like it.

[twotter]

I received one of these zooms for Christmas, though haven't yet had the chance to use it. It feels well built, with a smooth twisting action. Sizewise, it's as tall as my 13mm Hyperion but slimmer and a good bit lighter. It has 24/18/12/8 mm markings on the twist barrel.

The AFOV is 45-60 degrees according to Pulsar's website, which is a bit worse than my current plossls at the 24mm end, but better at the 8mm end. Just looking through in daylight the view is noticeably more 'familiar' from 18mm to 12mm.

It's not meant to replace my existing EPs, instead I'm looking forward to zooming in and out on double stars

If I find I like using it then I may look to upgrade for a Baader zoom in the future.

Though I will still be looking to add to my fixed EP collection