To zoom or not?

[Greenman]

Well it’s a moot point for me, in a way as I have just gone, and ordered a zoom.

Why, well mostly because the zoom I choose has a T-Adapter and to me that sounds useful for DSLR.

As I see it this gives me a form of region of interest capability that I use on the CMOS. Now, given unlimited funds I would have gone the Hyperion direction for the 8-24mm. I don’t have those funds, so it was the Celestron. Now I’m sure I will find the deficiencies of this approach, but that’s part of the fun.

What in general is the feeling about zooms, it is yet another contentious subject.

I open the floor for comment.

[Ylem]

I use mine mostly for quick sessions or travel.
What's odd is the lower the power, the narrower the field and vice versa.
Hard to get use to.

But I am glad I bought it
Enjoy

[notFritzArgelander]

I use mine mostly for quick sessions or travel.
What's odd is the lower the power, the narrower the field and vice versa.
Hard to get use to.

But I am glad I bought it
Enjoy

Yep. It's an odd feature that is forced by optics.

I have the Vixen and the two of the Baader zooms. The pair is for binoviewing. The Vixen is part of the grab and go kit. I like to dial in the optimum magnification with the zoom and then shift to a fixed focal length eyepiece for slightly better performance. The Baader units cost more but they are awfully good.

[messier 111]

i have a lunt and i use it on my travels, i don't have to carry all my eyepieces.
more in solar it is very practical since the conditions change very often.
I find the zoom very practical for these reasons.

[Bigzmey]

Zoom is not in my main case, where I prefer fixed FL EPs. But, like barlows it has it's uses. I appreciate it in particular as a part of my vacation air travel set. 8-24mm zoom and 2x barlow cover whole magnification range I need there.

[Solsearcher]

I agree with messier 111 , a handy tool for solar .

[Star Dad]

I have the celestron - 6-24mm. I use it mainly in my Coronado PST. I don't have any low power 1.25" lenses so it comes in very handy for outreach events. If I detect a flare I can zoom in on it. It may not be the greatest lens ever, but it is sufficient. I've also used it in cheap scopes (aka 60mm TASCOs).

[bobharmony]

Funny that you mention the t-adapter threads. When I bought my 8-24 Celestron zoom, one of the added features was that t-adapter thread on the top. I thought I would use it for eyepiece projection with a DSLR for planetary work. I did give it a try for Saturn a time or two, but found that focusing was a bear. As an eyepiece it was comparable with the C-stron provided set, adequate for my not so serious visual work (haven't had an eyepiece in the scope for a good four year).

Bob

[Greenman]

Funny that you mention the t-adapter threads. When I bought my 8-24 Celestron zoom, one of the added features was that t-adapter thread on the top. I thought I would use it for eyepiece projection with a DSLR for planetary work. I did give it a try for Saturn a time or two, but found that focusing was a bear. As an eyepiece it was comparable with the C-stron provided set, adequate for my not so serious visual work (haven't had an eyepiece in the scope for a good four year).

Bob

Hi Bob, I have limited expectations. I think the main use for me will be visual, and setting expectations for AP work, rather than conducting it. As you say the T-Adapter is tempting to play with. The SvBony, gets good reviews, but no T-Adapter.

Clear skies!

[John Baars]

Zoom can be very usefull.
On planets one can easily vary to adapt the magnification to the most adequate one, given a certain amount of seeing.
On deepsky this adapting of magnification is even more useful. At low magnifications a DSO can be missed, at high magnification too. I have seen DSO's becoming visible and vanishing again while zooming in. Very powerful piece of instrument for searching DSO's !
I have the Leica Zoom eyepiece Vario ASPH 8.9- 18.9

[Jones]

I like zooms, look how small your eyepiece case can be:
Your favorite low power lens, Nikon 7-21mm zoom
a barlow for planetary powers, some accessory tubes
And that's all ! If you get a higher quality zoom it does not have that very narrow field at low power. See my review of this Nikon on eyepieces p. 2.

[Graeme1858]

I used my zoom a lot when I did more visual stuff. The quality is not so good but time and risk of dropping during eyepiece change are saved/reduced. An higher quality, fixed focal length eyepiece can be swapped in once on target. I use mine for a visual set up for polar alignment on long focal length to find the target star and then zoom in to centre it.

Regards

Graeme

[Lady Fraktor]

I do have Vixen zooms which do work well but I to found over time that they ended up relegated to the solar observing eyepiece case.

The one zoom that is in regular use is the Antares 5mm-8mm variable as the FOV stays fairly fixed for all focal lengths.
The TeleVue 2mm-4mm and 3mm-6mm do this as well.

[Greenman]

The one zoom that is in regular use is the Antares 5mm-8mm variable as the FOV stays fairly fixed for all focal lengths.
The TeleVue 2mm-4mm and 3mm-6mm do this as well.

Thanks Gabby,

I expect the small zoom range helps them be par focal? I intend doing some solar work with the SCT with Celestron filter, once the sun hots up

[Greenman]

Zoom can be very usefull.
On planets one can easily vary to adapt the magnification to the most adequate one, given a certain amount of seeing.
On deepsky this adapting of magnification is even more useful. At low magnifications a DSO can be missed, at high magnification too. I have seen DSO's becoming visible and vanishing again while zooming in. Very powerful piece of instrument for searching DSO's !
I have the Leica Zoom eyepiece Vario ASPH 8.9- 18.9

Thanks John, the DSO hunting sounds an interesting idea - thanks

[Greenman]

I used my zoom a lot when I did more visual stuff. The quality is not so good but time and risk of dropping during eyepiece change are saved/reduced. An higher quality, fixed focal length eyepiece can be swapped in once on target. I use mine for a visual set up for polar alignment on long focal length to find the target star and then zoom in to centre it.

Regards

Graeme

Good point about polar alignment, that would also work well on calibration stars, neat!

[Lady Fraktor]

The one zoom that is in regular use is the Antares 5mm-8mm variable as the FOV stays fairly fixed for all focal lengths.
The TeleVue 2mm-4mm and 3mm-6mm do this as well.

Thanks Gabby,

I expect the small zoom range helps them be par focal? I intend doing some solar work with the SCT with Celestron filter, once the sun hots up

The negative lens set does help a bit as well.
The Leica zoom that John mentions is a wonderful eyepiece but unfortunately expensive. They are definitely a treat for the eyes in use though