Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

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OzEclipse Australia
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Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#1

Post by OzEclipse »


There are a couple of interesting threads, reviews and comments about eyepieces on Ice in Space, an Australian forum. Some of the comments are coming from very experienced observers including Alex Massey, former contributor to astronomy forum and Greg Bradley a similarly experienced observer. Don Pensack is a California based retailer but always seems to chip in with sage advice.

TMB budget eyepieces
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/show ... p?t=189190

Premium and mid-range eyepieces
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/show ... p?t=189357

Baader Morpheus Eyepieces
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/show ... p?t=188622

Joe
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#2

Post by notFritzArgelander »


i skimmed a little and will come back for more reading later..... It looks useful. Thanks!
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#3

Post by Lady Fraktor »


I love my Edmund 28mm RKE. :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Thefatkitty Canada
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#4

Post by Thefatkitty »


I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this topic...

Joe, thanks for the info; I read it all. And read some of it again. So, two hundred and a bit CAD$ later, I am now waiting on the TMB Planetary II 8 & 9mm. For $38 CDN and free shipping, I'd be crazy not to try them. As well I bought the 28mm EFL Mounted RKE Precision Eyepiece, thanks to the comments on the Ice in Space forum as well as Gabby's post....

I've spent a little over $800 CDN on eyepieces in the past, thanks to recommendations from Gabrielle, nFA, Bryan... Well, you just made that "they made me do it" list, Joe. And I say that in a good way :)

Hopefully they will be a nice addition to my beloved Kokusai Kohki HD Orthos (25mm, 2 X 18mm's, 12.5 and 9mm) and my two ES 68*'s (16 & 20mm). At least I've guaranteed myself some clouds.

Now for the maybe-not-so-fun part. I am going to go and tell my wife what I have just done. If I survive that encounter, I'll let you know how all that worked out for me... "but Hon, it was the forum that made me do it!!!" :lol:

All the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#5

Post by OzEclipse »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:28 pm I love my Edmund 28mm RKE. :)
Thefatkitty wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:29 am I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this topic...

Joe, thanks for the info; I read it all. And read some of it again. So, two hundred and a bit CAD$ later, I am now waiting on the TMB Planetary II 8 & 9mm. For $38 CDN and free shipping, I'd be crazy not to try them. As well I bought the 28mm EFL Mounted RKE Precision Eyepiece, thanks to the comments on the Ice in Space forum as well as Gabby's post....

I've spent a little over $800 CDN on eyepieces in the past, thanks to recommendations from Gabrielle, nFA, Bryan... Well, you just made that "they made me do it" list, Joe. And I say that in a good way :)
Mark, Gabi,

When I was a teenager(1970's) I admit I used to look endlessly at Edmund's adverts in S&T for RKE's. I ended up purchasing 25mm and 12mm Meade Orthoscopics via a bulk purchase that was made by our astro club because the price was excellent and my budget very limited. I also bought a 2nd hand 40mm Unitron Kellner which, apart from the narrow FOV, has always been an excellent eyepiece in my 6"f7 reflector yielding 6.5mm exit pupil 26X magnification and a 1.5 deg true field of view. I have 31mm and 17mm Naglers so there isn't much more than curiosity that would make me want to buy an RKE. I am still looking for a really good 5mm eyepiece. When the financial haemorrhaging from the house purchase & set up slows down, there may be a Pentax XW 5 in my future. I have a Baader Hyperion 5mm and in my 6" f7 newt I don't like it at all. I compared it to a friends XW5 and it was like looking through a dark ND filter. Light transmission is really poor compared to the Pentax.

Those Meade eyepieces and the Unitron Kellner were purchased back in the late 1970's. I picked up a few 10-25mm plossls that came with some small refractors.

About 6 years ago, I decided to upgrade to some premium eyepieces. Generally, I have patiently waited and bought all of them as good value 2nd hand purchases on the Ice in Space classifieds forum. Most members are from Australia so no international shipping to negotiate.

My purchase rules are
I look for eyepieces being sold by members with a long track record on the forum
Member resides in Australia, not NZ or other countries.
Eyepieces optically listed in good to excellent condition ( I don't care if there are cosmetic marks on the barrel)
Price needs to be less than 60-65% of new retail

Cosmetic marks devalue an eyepiece but don't change the performance. I use my eyepieces at night in the dark, I don't sit and admire them during the day in the light.

Read reviews in context or try someone else's eyepiece first in my scopes. Eyepieces are not universally good or bad. An eyepiece well suited to a fast newt may not be suited to an f8 refractor or f10 SCT due to differences in the focal plane. If someone is reviewing the eyepiece in a very different scope to yours, read what they say with care. Try to find a review with a similar scope to your own. Comparative reviews, comparing between eyepieces by experienced observers are the best. Reviews by a purchaser who has just bought their first eyepiece and thinks it's the best are almost worthless. They are probably trying to convince themselves that they have spent wisely but have no baseline. Good reviews on seller sites can be cherrypicked, bad reviews deleted so I look for independent forums, or websites not tied to a retailer.

I'm now very happy with my collection below acquired over the past 5 years and not looking to expand greatly. The percentages are % of retail price that I paid for the eyepiece.

Nagler eyepieces 31mm(50%), 17mm(56%), 12mm(Type I, no price reference but only cost me about USD120), 7mm(55%)
Denkmeier eyepieces 21mm(25%), 14mm(50%)
My total spend on all of the above eyepieces is around USD 1200.

Also have a GSO Superview 42mm that I use occasionally when I want a bigger exit pupil. The Nagler 31 gives me a wider true field of view. My 18 inch scope is f5.5 so anything much longer than about 40mm wastes light due to oversize exit pupil.

None have been duds, the 12mm type I Nagler is not as good as the more modern TIV or the 13mm Type VI. The ES 11 is not as good as the Nagler 12 and the Denk 14 leaves both for dead. The D21 is a stunning eyepiece and I happened to be viewing the forum minutes after it was listed. At the price the seller was asking, 25% of full retail I just couldn't say no. :lol:

Joe
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#6

Post by Lady Fraktor »


OzEclipse wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:04 am An eyepiece well suited to a fast newt may not be suited to an f8 refractor or f10 SCT due to differences in the focal plane.

If someone is reviewing the eyepiece in a very different scope to yours, read what they say with care.

Try to find a review with a similar scope to your own.

Comparative reviews, comparing between eyepieces by experienced observers are the best.

Reviews by a purchaser who has just bought their first eyepiece and thinks it's the best are almost worthless. They are probably trying to convince themselves that they have spent wisely but have no baseline. Good reviews on seller sites can be cherry picked, bad reviews deleted so I look for independent forums, or websites not tied to a retailer.
This is what I have been recommending for a long time, especially the last one as most people that write them have no real idea of a good or bad one.

Great information Joe :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#7

Post by Bigzmey »


Thefatkitty wrote: Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:29 am I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this topic...

Joe, thanks for the info; I read it all. And read some of it again. So, two hundred and a bit CAD$ later, I am now waiting on the TMB Planetary II 8 & 9mm. For $38 CDN and free shipping, I'd be crazy not to try them. As well I bought the 28mm EFL Mounted RKE Precision Eyepiece, thanks to the comments on the Ice in Space forum as well as Gabby's post....

I've spent a little over $800 CDN on eyepieces in the past, thanks to recommendations from Gabrielle, nFA, Bryan... Well, you just made that "they made me do it" list, Joe. And I say that in a good way :)

Hopefully they will be a nice addition to my beloved Kokusai Kohki HD Orthos (25mm, 2 X 18mm's, 12.5 and 9mm) and my two ES 68*'s (16 & 20mm). At least I've guaranteed myself some clouds.

Now for the maybe-not-so-fun part. I am going to go and tell my wife what I have just done. If I survive that encounter, I'll let you know how all that worked out for me... "but Hon, it was the forum that made me do it!!!" :lol:

All the best,
Value of TMB II is hard to beat. The only annoyance I can report is occasional flares on bight targets. Otherwise they are sharp and comfortable to use. You will appreciate wider FOV and longer eye relief compared to run of the mill Plossls.

Good luck with your better half Mark! I believe most of my equipment purchases I can blame on AF, TSS or CN. Astronomics is smart paying to keep CN alive. :)
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
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#8

Post by Thefatkitty »


Hi again Joe, and I'm with Gabby on what you said; thank you for the sage advice. My 2 ES's were second hand; almost 1/2 price and no tax :D The KK's I bought new from Agena Astro, whom seem to be sold out again on a few of them.

As for my wife, she was actually happy when I explained it wasn't breaking the budget. She said good for you, after everything you've been through you deserve it. And then she says, "Did you get a recommendation about them on the forum??"

See? she knows me so well; and I don't even have to say the forum or so and so on the forum convinced me. Now she just knows :lol:

I'm hoping by the time they get here it's a little warmer out!

All the best and thanks again Joe :D
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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Re: Interesting read, reviews and comments about budget eyepieces

#9

Post by Lady Fraktor »


The Edmunds 28mm RKE is an enjoyable eyepiece but at short focal lengths such as f/5 or f/6 you will see some abberations along the edge, the center 50% or so will still be usable and sharp.
At f/7 or longer the view is very nice and the eyepieces party trick is that when viewing, the eyepiece seems to disappear and the view is floating above the diagonal.
Some people see it best with the eye guard removed, others see it either way. With a immersive star field the view seems larger than its actual 45° AFOV.
Some people really enjoy using this as a sketching eyepiece as well.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
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