Pentax XF 6.5 - 19mm Zoom vs Orthoscopics

[Rossco72]

If you're ever in the city, drop me a text and You're welcome to have a closer look...

[Neil English]

Will do Stuart,

Thanks!

Neil.

[A McEwan]

Interesting - I'm not alone!

Ant

[andre2]

Hi, l want to buy a zoom eyepiece for my pst. ( and dond want to use normal eyepieses annymore i have the 9 mm X-CEL)  i cant buy a planetery zoom 7.2-21.5  ( a lunt  zoom clone) for just €135.  But i can also go for the pentax XF zoom €319 .  Do you think the pentax is worth the money for my coronado pst only?  Thanks for the advice!

[johninderby]

13 minutes ago, andre2 said:

Hi, l want to buy a zoom eyepiece for my pst. ( and dond want to use normal eyepieses annymore i have the 9 mm X-CEL)  i cant buy a planetery zoom 7.2-21.5  ( a lunt  zoom clone) for just €135.  But i can also go for the pentax XF zoom €319 .  Do you think the pentax is worth the money for my coronado pst only?  Thanks for the advice!

Lot cheaper from Wex.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/pentax-xf-65-195mm-zoom-eyepiece-1529787/

           John

[andre2]

Hi, i want to buy a good zoom for my coronado pst. Is the pentax xf €319 is worth the money? Or are the lunt clones/ celestron seben clones/ baader mark 4 almost as good? Thanks!!

[johninderby]

The Pentax is noticeablely better than the Lunt zoom and doesn’t cost that much more anyway. Pentax XF zoom is only £189,00 from Wex Photographic.

        John

[John]

There is a discussion on the Pentax XF 6.5-19.5 zoom here:

It seems to be good in solar scopes but has some issues for nighttime viewing that are seen more by some observers than others perhaps ?

The Baader 8mm-24mm zoom is a similar price and gets pretty favourable reports.

[johninderby]

One other factor to consider is the size of the Pentax zoom. It’s very small and light and is a fraction of the size of the Baader  zoom which makes ideal in a small scope such ass the PST.

I found in comparison tests on HA it was a bit better than a Baader Ortho. 

However as mentioned while great for Ha it suffers for regular nighttime observing. Remember it was designed and optimised for daytime nature watching and never intended for astro use. Those characteristics just happen to make it perfect for solar Ha.

        John

 

[YKSE]

12 minutes ago, John said:

There is a discussion on the Pentax XF 6.5-19.5 zoom here:

It seems to be good in solar scopes but has some issues for nighttime viewing that are seen more by some observers than others perhaps ?

The Baader 8mm-24mm zoom is a similar price and gets pretty favourable reports.

In the earlier pages of this thread, both Anthony (OP) and Neil English mentioned the colourful view of XF zoom in night observing.

[Highburymark]

I've tested around 20 eyepieces with my two Lunt scopes. The best three for contrast, brightness and sharpness are the  Pentax XF zoom, Leica ASPH zoom and the TV plossl range 11mm/15mm/20mm. The TeleVues provide (marginally) the best surface detail, but the Pentax XF is only a fraction behind - and with its range of 6.5-19.5mm, a range I use fully for solar, it is without a doubt the best and most flexible overall eyepiece I've used for sungazing. And it's light weight is a bonus. At under £200 it's a real bargain - but as mentioned above, it only shines on solar.

[andre2]

Update. Hi WEX dond ship to holland at this moment. So, maby i Will skip the pentax zoom and go for the cheeper planetery lunt clone or for the cheeper baader zoom (€100 cheeper) or even for the 15 & 11 mm televue plossel eyepiece.... I Will think aboud it.

[andre2]

Hi i believe now that the pentax XF zoom is great for altha-H. for a 60 mm alpha-H scope But the pst has only 40 mm Aperture so, i wonder if iTS also works Well in the 6.5- 9.8 mm range? If so, then iTS a must have. Other wise a 11 mm televue and a 25 mm Sirius super plossl ( for fast full disk) is maby a better  choice.....?  Thanks ! Witch you prefer for THE PST ofcource?

[johninderby]

I’ve used the  XF zoom in a PST and it  works just as well as in a bigger HA scope. 

         John

[John]

I've been rather impressed with a low cost 7.2mm - 21.5mm zoom that I bought for a touch over £50. I reckon it's basically the same as the Lunt, Skywatcher Hyperflex and others. Pretty good at night as well

And I never thought I'd be reporting that on a product with the "Orbinar" name engraved on it !

 

[andre2]

Hi, Will the planetery zoom 7.2-21.5 lunt clones also works Well in the 21.5-14 mm range? I love to view the sun in lower power first. Thanks annyways for all the advice. I think now that all these are good for the pst. I Will choose one of those three; planetery lunt clone- pentax FX  or the baader mark 8-24 mm.

[John]

8 minutes ago, andre2 said:

Hi, Will the planetery zoom 7.2-21.5 lunt clones also works Well in the 21.5-14 mm range? I love to view the sun in lower power first. Thanks.

Yes, the example I have seems sharp and flat across the whole zoom range. The apparent field of view varies between 40 degrees at 21.5 and 53 degrees at 7.2mm.

I ought to add though that this thread is on the Pentax XF zoom so I won't derail it by any further mention of other zooms !

[andre2]

Thanks! The zoom was excellent with the small scope! i can zoom all the way in and out to the proms! i Will order also  a 15 mm eyepiece , and nothing more.