Baader mark IV hyperion 8mm-24mm zoom worth it?

[Michael131313]

Thinking about this zoom and would like any opinions. Is click stop better than a smooth transition? Is the Barlow package worth it? Thanks very much.

[Bigzmey]

IMO click stop is very useful. It gives you in the dark precise idea what power do you use. BTW the zoom also works between the stops to.
Are you referring to the package with the barlow? In my experience Mark IV works with any good quality barlow. I use Baader Q-barlow which came with BCO kit.

You already have a set of good quality ES EPs. Mark IV will give you image quality approaching those, but with less FOV. For "proper" sessions I use fixed FL EPs. But for for a quick one, or for an outreach, or for travel set I just grab Mark IV and barlow. I have 80ED seating on the photo mount with Mark IV in diagonal. You just grab and go, no EP cases or anything, very liberating.

[Lady Fraktor]

My Vixen 7-21 used a click stop and it was good as you knew what magnification you were at.
I do not have experience with the Baader zoom though I have read many good reviews of it.
Baader typically has a high level of quality control so I expect it would perform quite well.

[Refractordude]

The eye relief is 12mm to 15mm. I need 15mm eye relief as a minimum to be close to comfortable. However, everyone has a different eye relief comfort zone. Just something to consider.

[notFritzArgelander]

My Vixen 7-21 used a click stop and it was good as you knew what magnification you were at.
I do not have experience with the Baader zoom though I have read many good reviews of it.
Baader typically has a high level of quality control so I expect it would perform quite well.

I have both the Vixen LV 8-24mm and the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm zoom eyepieces. Actually I have 2 of the Baader for binoviewing. Optically both are quite good. Both are good enough to be competitive with single fl eyepieces but not quite as good as the best. In terms of optical quality on planetary views the Baader is just a tad more contrasty than the Vixen. Both are WAY better than other zooms I've had.

The Baader is ~$289 and the Vixen is ~$169. The difference in optical quality (maybe a few %) is much smaller than the price difference. I think the older Vixen zooms had a click stop feature IIRC. But the currently available LV 8-24 does not. It zooms very smoothly. The Baader is advertised as a click stop and so it is. If the mechanical advantage of a click stop or the last tiny bit of contrast (did I say it was small? you betcha it's small) is what you value get the Baader. Otherwise the Vixen LV will be a good buy. Both are excellent optically. Click stop is something I find useful.

[DeanD]

Hi Michael,

Just in case you are unaware of it, the AFOV goes from 68°at the 8mm (high power) end down to 48° at the 24mm end. With your current eyepieces If you are used to a 68° or 82° AFOV you might find the low power view in the zoom is bit narrower than you might expect. In fact you will get a smaller FOV at the 24mm end than your current ES 20mm will give you. In your refractor this means you will get a TFOV of approx. 1.74°at 28x for the zoom vs 2.05° at 33x for your 20mm. Most zoom eyepieces do this: it is intrinsic in the zoom design.

All the best,

Dean

[turboscrew]

Funny, I remember seeing that it's good for f-number >5 or >6, but now I didn't see any mention about that anywhere.

[Bigzmey]

The eye relief is 12mm to 15mm. I need 15mm eye relief as a minimum to be close to comfortable. However, everyone has a different eye relief comfort zone. Just something to consider.

Hi RD. I believe you are referring to Mark III. Mark IV ER is 16 to 19mm.

[notFritzArgelander]

Funny, I remember seeing that it's good for f-number >5 or >6, but now I didn't see any mention about that anywhere.

The fact that maximum AFOV happens at minimum focal length? It's an optical feature common to all zooms but usually omitted fro the advertising copy.

[Refractordude]

Might be best to email the manufacturer. Some websites have the eye relief at 12mm to 15mm. Left click the image.

[Bigzmey]

Might be best to email the manufacturer. Some websites have the eye relief at 12mm to 15mm. Left click the image.

Baader on their website says 19mm at 8mm to 16mm at 24mm

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/d ... ark_iv.pdf

For me it is very comfortable to observe with eyeglasses on at 24mm, so 16mm ER at 24mm is about right.

[Refractordude]

Might be best to email the manufacturer. Some websites have the eye relief at 12mm to 15mm. Left click the image.

Baader on their website says 19mm at 8mm to 16mm at 24mm

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/d ... ark_iv.pdf

For me it is very comfortable to observe with eyeglasses on at 24mm, so 16mm ER at 24mm is about right.

I could not find the eye relief at the Baader website. That being the actual eye relief, it is a good buy.

[Michael131313]

Thank you very much everyone for the great info . I appreciate it greatly.

[notFritzArgelander]

Might be best to email the manufacturer. Some websites have the eye relief at 12mm to 15mm. Left click the image.

Baader on their website says 19mm at 8mm to 16mm at 24mm

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/d ... ark_iv.pdf

For me it is very comfortable to observe with eyeglasses on at 24mm, so 16mm ER at 24mm is about right.

I could not find the eye relief at the Baader website. That being the actual eye relief, it is a good buy.

If ups open the link Bigzmey provides, scroll down to the "Technical Data" table and you will find the ER as Bigzmey has indicated. My experience also indicates that the Baader data is correct and the Agena website isn't. I can easily wear glasses with the Baader's. This is essential for outreach purposes. I don't want to refocus for everybody's correction.

[Bigzmey]

I rarely read manuals, but apparently some good can come out of it. While looking for the ER info I have stumbled on the portion of the manual describing 3 different types of eyeguard included. Baader recommends removing twist eyeguards and using rubber set which is slimmer and makes it more binoviewer friendly. I may yet be able to use two Mark IVs with my BV.

[GCoyote]

So after reading all of the replies, I'm thinking the less expensive Agena might still be pretty good for daytime scenery and wildlife where brightness isn't as important. Also spending less money on something a lot of grubby little grade school hands are going to be poking seems like a good plan.