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To those who have one or more, what do you think of the Delites vs other eyepieces?
I have recently acquired a 5mm Delite, and plan to do a comparison of views with my 5mm Pentax XW when it clears and warms enough. I use the 5mm primarily to observe double stars with my 6" f/8 apo.
I've been using a 7mm Delite for several months and it has been great on doubles at the magnification of 173x that it gives. If the 5 Delite is as good as the 5mm Pentax XW, it will be used more, as it is parfocal with the 7mm.
Double and multiple star observer. Over 3,500 unique pairs logged.
I have Delite and XW sets. Like you I started by getting one of each. The idea was to compare and decide which I like better and build a set around. There was no clear-cut winner, I liked them both and at the end decided to acquire both sets.
Both lines are top quality EPs. After using them side by side for a few month I feel that XWs have a slight edge over Delites on faint DSOs, which together with wider FOV makes XWs my preferred DSO set. I also like the eyeguard design better on XWs and feel that XWs are better (more evenly) spaced as a set. On the other hand eye caps on XWs I quite bad, they don't stay put and I am always looking for them in the dark, or afraid to scratch top lens with loose eye cap.
From my testing I also felt that Delites have a slight edge over XWs on Moon, planets and doubles. They had a bit more contrast, and a ted better light scatter control. I also like the form factor better and lighter weight of Delites. They are easier to balance in my smaller scopes on light duty mounts. Eye cap design could have been better to. The older design feels a bit too tight and the new a bit too loose. At least there is no danger of scratching the top lens. Sliding eye guards are functional and lock ring is a nice touch compared to Radians. Still, I prefer rotating design of XWs with one hand operation.
Overall, we are talking about slight differences in performance and mild preferences, both lines are excellent all around performers. If I could not afford both I would be happy with either as my main set. Don't ask me which, because I am still undecided.
In the past I had ES68s and ES82s, TV Delos and Radian, Baader Morpheus and Hyperion, Meade UWA 82 deg and SWA 68 deg, and I prefer XWs and Delites over all other mentioned lines.
Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:54 am
I recently snipped a Delite vs Pentax, and Delos comparison.
Agree on planets, Moon and doubles. If you don't mind tight eye relief, good quality Orthos are still the best. On average night however (which are 90% of the time) I don't bother with Orthos and grab Delite or Pentax XF.
On faint DSOs however XWs are king supremes. For several years BCOs and old TV Plossl smoothies were my last resort for extra faint stuff. Now I don't even bother, because XWs have bested both on a few ocasions.
Last edited by Bigzmey on Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:11 am
Well and good but my BCOs and KK Fujiyama Abbe Orthoscopics beat out Delos on planetary views. If you have to have long eye relief Delos is just fine.
Don't tell anyone but I am not that impressed with Delos and will take Delite or XWs over them any time.
notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:11 am
Well and good but my BCOs and KK Fujiyama Abbe Orthoscopics beat out Delos on planetary views. If you have to have long eye relief Delos is just fine.
Don't tell anyone but I am not that impressed with Delos and will take Delite or XWs over them any time.
Mileage varies.
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
notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:11 am
Well and good but my BCOs and KK Fujiyama Abbe Orthoscopics beat out Delos on planetary views. If you have to have long eye relief Delos is just fine.
Don't tell anyone but I am not that impressed with Delos and will take Delite or XWs over them any time.
Mileage varies.
Which makes it more fun and keeps multiple EP manufacturers in business.
Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:54 am
I recently snipped a Delite vs Pentax, and Delos comparison.
Agree on planets, Moon and doubles. If you don't mind tight eye relief, good quality Orthos are still the best. On average night however (which are 90% of the time) I don't bother with Orthos and grab Delite or Pentax XF.
On faint DSOs however XWs are king supremes. For several years BCOs and old TV Plossl smoothies were my last resort for extra faint stuff. Now I don't even bother, because XWs have bested both on a few ocasions.
You agree that the Delites are better on planets, the Moon, and doubles. Why does that not apply on faint DSO? Thanks
Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:54 am
I recently snipped a Delite vs Pentax, and Delos comparison.
Agree on planets, Moon and doubles. If you don't mind tight eye relief, good quality Orthos are still the best. On average night however (which are 90% of the time) I don't bother with Orthos and grab Delite or Pentax XF.
On faint DSOs however XWs are king supremes. For several years BCOs and old TV Plossl smoothies were my last resort for extra faint stuff. Now I don't even bother, because XWs have bested both on a few ocasions.
You agree that the Delites are better on planets, the Moon, and doubles. Why does that not apply on faint DSO? Thanks
I also have an answer. Coatings make a difference. My KK Fujiyama Orthos are my best for planetary detail. My best for internal details of faint fuzzies are the Baader Classic Orthos. Both are based on the optical designs of Abbe Orthoscopics (except for one Plossl in the BCO series). The coatings differ though. That can have quite an effect on detail depending on how much light is transmitted. The differences showed on Jupiter and the Merope reflection nebula where the KKs did better on the planet and the BCOs did better on the nebula. Different object, different coatings, different eyepiece does better.
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
Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:54 am
I recently snipped a Delite vs Pentax, and Delos comparison.
Agree on planets, Moon and doubles. If you don't mind tight eye relief, good quality Orthos are still the best. On average night however (which are 90% of the time) I don't bother with Orthos and grab Delite or Pentax XF.
On faint DSOs however XWs are king supremes. For several years BCOs and old TV Plossl smoothies were my last resort for extra faint stuff. Now I don't even bother, because XWs have bested both on a few ocasions.
You agree that the Delites are better on planets, the Moon, and doubles. Why does that not apply on faint DSO? Thanks
What nFA says, but I would add my two cents. To detect very faint DSOs you need very high light transmittance and good quality uniform coatings. I had a few EPs in the past which had high transmittance but patchy coating, as a result the sky background had slightly uneven brightness making detection of faint targets more difficult. XWs have the best quality high transmittance coating out of all EPs I have tested so far.
TV used to have high light transmittance coatings on older EPs but then switched to darker coatings. It makes the sky look darker, which adds to the esthetics and seems to help with contrast, but blocks some light coming from faint DSOs.
Also, we are talking about small differences, only if you carefully compare them side by side you will notice them. Both EP lines are great all around performers.
Refractordude wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:52 pm
Came across this.
Generally speaking EPs have similar set of requirements for Moon, planets and doubles (good sharpness, contrast and light scatter control). It could be that reviewer just has general preference for Morpheus.
For me ergonomics could make or kill EP, regardless of image quality. I tried Morpheus but found eye position too sensitive to the point that it became panful to use the EP. Delites on the other hand feel natural to me. So for myself I picked Delite over Morpheus.
Refractordude wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:52 pm
Came across this.
I'm reading this and I see a contradiction in this text.
Maybe my English is playing tricks on me.
Personally I think that in all brands of eyepieces, there are always two sides.
Those who like them and those who don't like them.
Your English is not playing tricks. The writer claims that Delites are better than Morpheus on planets and that Morpheus is better than Delites on planets. Methinks he doth gainsay himself. Verily!
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
OzEclipse wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:09 am
I haven't compared Pentax to Morpheus but I did once compare the Pentax XW5 to the Hyperion 5 in a 6"f7 newt.
Even on the Moon, the Hyperion was really dark compared to the Pentax.
Joe
How do you mean, exactly? Was your impression that the Pentax had greater light transmission, or perhaps that the Hyperion produced a darker background, or something else?
"A republic, madam, if you can keep it." - Benjamin Franklin
OzEclipse wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:09 am
I haven't compared Pentax to Morpheus but I did once compare the Pentax XW5 to the Hyperion 5 in a 6"f7 newt.
Even on the Moon, the Hyperion was really dark compared to the Pentax.
Joe
How do you mean, exactly? Was your impression that the Pentax had greater light transmission, or perhaps that the Hyperion produced a darker background, or something else?
The Pentax is much more expensive than the Hyperion. My comment was intended to indicate that you definitely get what you pay for. The Pentax has noticeably higher transmission. My 6" f7 newt has a 1050mm focal length so the 5mm's give 200x. We were also using a Takahashi TOA150 (6"f8), 1200mm focal length and 240x. We were comparing the two scopes. Through the Hyperion, the image was dark and murky. Possibly a whole magnitude difference. We put the Pentax 5mm on and the field was suddenly bright and crystal clear.
We were looking at a 1km wide ridge on the Moon (0.6") Resolved with the Pentax but not with the Hyperion. I don't think my Hyperion is bad, it's just that the Pentax's are superb.
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), The Sky Searchers (moderator)
I have one 7mm that I use with my Dob. Really like it. Really sharp and comfortable to look thru The wider field is handy on a Dob if you don't have a EQ platform.
Scopes: Esprit 100, 12.5" Telekit Dob Camera: 294 MC Pro, 224 mc, 2600mm Guiding: ZWO 290 mini on 120mm guide scope Mounts: EQ6R-Pro, EQ Platform. Filters: Optolong L-Pro & L-Enhance, Chroma 36mm LRGB, 5nm HA, 3nm OIII, 3nm SII. Software: SharpCap, SGP, StarTools 1.7, Photoshop, Pixinsight The Death Star Observatory Astro Photos:https://www.astrobin.com/users/starfield/