Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

Discuss telescope eyepieces.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#1

Post by MistrBadgr »


I am considering some of the shorter focal length ES 52 degree eyepieces for use with my f/5 reflectors. One specific application is with the 3mm eyepiece and f/5 six and eight inch scopes for some study of the Moon during times when it messes up other things I might want to view.

The six inch LX 70 is the heaviest and largest scope I have that I can move around, getting away from various and changing porch light irritations without creating back pain. The 3mm eyepiece is seems to be in a focal range for that scope to successfully see cracks in the bottoms of some craters at a magnification my eyes need and not over stretch the capabilities of the scope.

With the eyepiece being a modern design, I am guessing that its use with a f/5 reflector has been taken into consideration, and at that focal length, lunar observation would be an expected occupation. However, I would be interested to know if anyone has experience with these eyepieces and what they think about them.

Thank you,
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
Refractordude
Interdicted
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:05 am
4
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#2

Post by Refractordude »


User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#3

Post by MistrBadgr »


Thank you for the link! Reading down through the long list of comments in that string, it looks like a good series in general and the 3mm will do a nice job for lunar observing at the level my eyes are capable of handling.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#4

Post by MistrBadgr »


I ordered the 3mm eyepiece Sunday and it is supposed to arrive today....I live a little less than two hours driving time west of Springdale, Arkansas. :) As soon as the weather permits, I will let you know how well it works in my scope, a Meade LX85 6 inch reflector OTA on a LX 70 mount.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
Refractordude
Interdicted
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:05 am
4
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#5

Post by Refractordude »


You will be getting a lot of magnification with a 3mm eyepiece. The math is 750mm divided by 3mm equals 250 magnification as you know. I am thinking on the Moon it should be no problem. I have a 150mm f/8 achromatic and once got 400 magnification on the Moon. However, the weather conditions had to have been perfect. I have not been able to go that high since. Been doing between 160 and 240 mag often.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#6

Post by MistrBadgr »


That falls in line with what I have been thinking. I have a set of Vixen, mostly, LV eyepieces. I was surprised to find the 2.5mm beats all the other eyepieces I have with a Barlow to get them to that magnification. However, I do not think that will be a magnification that I can reasonably count on most of the time...would be nice if I am wrong. The next eyepiece down in that series is the 4mm, which does very well, but the magnification is under 200X in that scope. I am hoping the 3mm ES 52 will fill the bill. At this point, if either Vixen or ES had a comparable eyepiece at 3.5mm, under $100 or so (Vixen would need to be used), I would work to get one of those as well. That would give a 0.5mm march in magnification to really give very logical steps to get maximum information from my views under any useful weather conditions. (Trying to look into craters for details, trying to look at lava domes and see anything other than a fuzzy spot, etc.)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#7

Post by MistrBadgr »


Forgot mentioning your scope. That sounds like a really nice scope. I like f/8 and have a 100mm refractor (DS 2102 OTA modified a lot), and a Polaris 114mm f/8 reflector, and a really old Meade Telstar 127 that is a true f/8 Newtonian. They are very accommodating when it comes to eyepieces. The 127 will almost go where I want to go, just not quite, due to needing a little better primary mirror.
Your six inch f/8 refractor sound like just the thing to have for viewing the Moon! :)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
Refractordude
Interdicted
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:05 am
4
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#8

Post by Refractordude »


MistrBadgr wrote: Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:20 pm Forgot mentioning your scope. That sounds like a really nice scope. I like f/8 and have a 100mm refractor (DS 2102 OTA modified a lot), and a Polaris 114mm f/8 reflector, and a really old Meade Telstar 127 that is a true f/8 Newtonian. They are very accommodating when it comes to eyepieces. The 127 will almost go where I want to go, just not quite, due to needing a little better primary mirror.
Your six inch f/8 refractor sound like just the thing to have for viewing the Moon! :)
Yes it is a great scope for the Moon. It is an achromatic, but the false color is minimal even at high magnifications. I still like to use an aperture mask to eliminate all false color. What is amazing is that even with a 100mm or 90mm mask I can still reach very high magnifications. Thought I would have to buy it new, but was able to get a very good one for $250. I recently ordered a tracker for the eq mount. A steady fixed high mag view aimed at the Moon is going to be lot of fun.
User avatar
Nakedgun United States of America
Pluto Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:03 pm
3
Location: southwest US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#9

Post by Nakedgun »


A steady fixed high mag view aimed at the Moon is going to be lot of fun.

Indeed! But, just wait till you've tried Lunar binoviewing. Indescribable.
"A republic, madam, if you can keep it." - Benjamin Franklin
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#10

Post by MistrBadgr »


Nakedgun wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:57 am A steady fixed high mag view aimed at the Moon is going to be lot of fun.
Indeed! But, just wait till you've tried Lunar binoviewing. Indescribable.

Unfortunately, I will have to forego the binoviewing. I know myself too well for that. The avalanche of eyepiece purchases would put me in the poor house! :)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7550
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#11

Post by Bigzmey »


Any experience with the new EP yet? :)
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#12

Post by MistrBadgr »


The eyepiece had to go through our five day isolation procedure. It is now sitting in the eyepiece caddie of my CG-4 Mount with an LX-85 6 inch reflector OTA on it. I also have my LX-70 8R ready to go.
Weather had not been cooperating very well at the times I could go out. Hopefully, I will be able to do something this week.

The eyepiece itself looks well made as I expect from ES. If this one works out, I am thinking about picking up the 4.5, 6.5, and 10mm, over time, and put them with the three 68 degree eyepieces I have (16, 20, and 24mm) to make a nice set of ES eyepieces.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7550
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#13

Post by Bigzmey »


MistrBadgr wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:55 am The eyepiece had to go through our five day isolation procedure. It is now sitting in the eyepiece caddie of my CG-4 Mount with an LX-85 6 inch reflector OTA on it. I also have my LX-70 8R ready to go.
Weather had not been cooperating very well at the times I could go out. Hopefully, I will be able to do something this week.

The eyepiece itself looks well made as I expect from ES. If this one works out, I am thinking about picking up the 4.5, 6.5, and 10mm, over time, and put them with the three 68 degree eyepieces I have (16, 20, and 24mm) to make a nice set of ES eyepieces.
Sounds like a good plan. I never tried ES 52 or 62, but had good experience with ES 68 and 82 lines.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
OrigamiBat
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2021 1:57 am
3
Location: Texas, USA
Status:
Offline

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#14

Post by OrigamiBat »


I thought about buying it for my 80ED/560 but decided on the 3.2mm Agena Dual ED since I have most of the series and I am happy with them.

Keep us posted when you try it!!
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#15

Post by MistrBadgr »


I did not think about those. Since I do not have anything shaped like that, if I bought one, I would probably end up buying the whole series. (I know my weakness!) With this new ES eyepiece looking similar to the 68 degree eyepieces I have had for years, I am hoping I will be able to stop at 10mm. :)
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#16

Post by MistrBadgr »


Still playing games with the weather! :(
I did get my CG-4 mount fixed up with a drive unit. I already had one for the LX-70, just no batteries. Ordered in a couple six volt power supplies.
The LX-70 came with two of the little clutch and gear gizmos, one for each drive. The CG-4 has a flexible coupling for the RA. The LX unit has spoiled me. I would rather have two clutches on the CG-4 system. If I ever find one of the clutches for sale, I will probably buy one and try to make an adaptation. With the little flex coupling, if the RA drive goes down in the dark, to get a slow motion control functional, the flex coupling set screw has to be undone by feel. In my case, the set screw would probably end up in the grass, in the dark, etc.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#17

Post by MistrBadgr »


I sent Explore Scientific an email to see if they had any idea how long I should wait to check back on 52 degree, 4.5, 6.5, and 10mm eyepieces. I explained that I was thinking about putting them with my three 68 degree 1.25 inch eyepieces and making a set. Should I check back in a month, three months, etc?

The answer I received was to check back in three months. Right now they do not have a date for a shipment at all.

Considering that they have sold out of those three focal lengths, none are available on line, or on ebay, except for the 3mm, generally at scalpers prices looking for a sucker, I am thinking the experience with them must be pretty good.

I had mine out just once, looking at Orion, with a really grucky sky. Could only see a little circle around the trapezium that was lit up. The sky was that bad. Moving stars around the field, there did not seem to be any field curvature. The discernment in the grey tones was nice, which is important for me. I could see a lot of the turmoil in the nebulosity, even with the bad sky. I will not be able to tell anything about resolution until I can get a good sky and preferably with the Moon. The Moon is the only place I think this eyepiece will be serviceable with my scopes and eyeballs.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7550
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#18

Post by Bigzmey »


Looks like a lot of astro stuff is on back order, which also affects availability on the used market.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#19

Post by MistrBadgr »


I had a short window of opportunity last night...reasonably clear and still sky. I had read an article about finding Sirius B and was a bit curious. I set out the six inch f/5 reflector (Christmas present this year) with ES 68-24 and 16mm, Meade 5000 9 and 5.5mm Plossls (predecessors to the ES 62 deg eyepieces by maybe two generations) and the ES 52 3mm eyepiece.
I did not expect much in the way of a view with the scope not having any upgrades, like flocking, in it yet, old age membranes across the retinas in my eyes, and the brightness of Sirius A. But, I was curious and thought it was worth a try.
Working from the 24mm to the 3mm, then turning off the drive motors for a little bit to see for sure which way was west, I settled down with the drive motors back on to see what would happen. Sirius stayed in the middle of the field and I let my eye roam around, but keeping my attention on the general area the magazine article said Sirius B would be. I did have quite a bit of light trash, but I think Sirius B did wink at me five or six times over a ten to fifteen minute period. These were all quick blips when my eye was resting on a spot on the opposite side of Sirius A, therefore I am not positive the blips were Sirius B or an artifact of stray light and my eye.
I went on to the open cluster below Sirius, using the ES 68 24mm, for a while and enjoyed watching grey patches slowly start showing very tiny, dim dots of light in them. The sky then skimmed over with a thin cloud layer very quickly. I put things up and went in.
It looks like the 3mm eyepiece will work in the six inch reflector for some double star work, but I need to do some things to the scope to get rid of trash light. So far, I have not seen any faults in the eyepiece and think any deficiencies in the view were with the scope or my eye.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
User avatar
MistrBadgr United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 748
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:27 pm
4
Location: Broken Arrow, Okla, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Any ES 52 deg Eyepiece Experience Yet?

#20

Post by MistrBadgr »


Just wanted to let anyone that has been keeping an eye on this activity that I have not forgotten it. No letup with the clouds at night. Weather forecast looks pretty dire for the next ten days to two weeks. I do not expect any kind of a break good enough to give the eyepiece a fair trial on the Moon. Will post any information when I get a chance to find out anything.
Bill Steen
Many small scopes, plus a Lightbridge 12, LX 70-8R,6R,6M
Many eyepieces, just not really expensive ones.
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Eyepieces”