Eyepiece SVBONY??

Discuss telescope eyepieces.
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GONKO
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Eyepiece SVBONY??

#1

Post by GONKO »


So as a Christmas gift from the wife, she is looking to get me some eyepieces. As I wear glasses, some relief would be welcome, but don't want to spend lots of money as I'm only new to the hobby.
Currently I have a 25mm orion that came with my orion dob.
I've the celestron 20mm, 15mm, 6mm and 4mm. The relief on the 6 and 4 is very bad.
I've a 2 and 3x Barlow too.
I'm looking for something with a wider afov and better relief.
I came across svbony on amazon and seem great value.
Has anyone any experience with these.
They also do a 66degree afov range which also get good reviews and are cheaper.
Anyway here is the set I'm looking at. Any advice welcome.
Scope is 8inch dob, 1200mm and f5.9.

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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#2

Post by Richard »


I have used the 66 deg ones and they are not as good as a GSO Plossl so don't get those , but these look quite good , I have been told that they use some plastic in the lenses
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#3

Post by Lady Fraktor »


They look nice but are still the regular 66° AFOV eyepieces which are not very good, even worse in a reflector.
Ones to avoid.

The SvBony 68° is the same eyepiece as the 66° they list just with a fancier barrel.
That is why the 68° are only $3USD more in cost.

The BST Starguider are a decent eyepiece but the Celestron X-Cel LX would be better.
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
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#4

Post by Refractordude »


I own all for of the Svbony 66 degree eyepieces. The 9mm and 6mm have serious blackouts. The 15mm and 20mm are good for their price point. Certainly way better than stock plossls the come with most scopes. The problem is the Svbonys do not work well below f8 focal ratio scopes. A f6 focal ratio scope requires more expensive eyepieces for edge correction etc. The eyepieces I use are very budget minded eyepieces, but I have a f8 refractor. If I owned a f5 reflector scope I would get a few X-Cel LX eyepieces and a barlow.
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#5

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Since you are new and a budget let me suggest an alternative strategy to get more comfortable eye relief: get decent Plossls and a good barlow. The GSOs are good. The Vixen NPLs are quite nice too.

https://www.vixenoptics.com/category-s/158.htm

They are sooo nice, I bought them twice (for binoviewing).

The Celestron X Cel line is good too but will need to raise the budget to reach it.

If can raise the budget a bit more the Vixen SLV line gives 20mm eye relief and a 60 degree AFOV.

You'll still not be spending nearly as much as with TV Delos but you won't be killing your interest in the hobby via Svbony.
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: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#6

Post by GONKO »


Thank you for the replies everyone. I guess I'll give the svbony a pass.
So it seems to be a the celestron xcel lx range as an alternative.
I've heard issues with qc on these though.
I've also had a look at the baader hyperion, although expensive, I could maybe add one ep per month of they were worth the money vs the xcel lx?
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#7

Post by JayTee »


I have the 9, 12, 18 and 25 mm XCel LX EPs. Every one of them is a keeper.

Cheers,
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∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
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∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#8

Post by Refractordude »


GONKO wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 9:24 pm Thank you for the replies everyone. I guess I'll give the svbony a pass.
So it seems to be a the celestron xcel lx range as an alternative.
I've heard issues with qc on these though.
I've also had a look at the baader hyperion, although expensive, I could maybe add one ep per month of they were worth the money vs the xcel lx?
I always check with Amazon and Walmart before buying. Both retailers pay for return shipping. Click the below image.
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#9

Post by Lady Fraktor »


GONKO wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 9:24 pm Thank you for the replies everyone. I guess I'll give the svbony a pass.
So it seems to be a the celestron xcel lx range as an alternative.
I've heard issues with qc on these though.
I've also had a look at the baader hyperion, although expensive, I could maybe add one ep per month of they were worth the money vs the xcel lx?
The Hyperion are pretty good eyepieces. I have not heard of any major issues with the Celestron X-Cel LX, the original X-Cel eyepieces had issues though.
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: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#10

Post by GONKO »


Thank you everyone. I am getting closer to my decision of adding 4 EP's to the collection, or my first few decent EP's.
So I am looking at the:

Hyperion
ES 62degree LER
Meade 5000 HD-60
Antares W70 Widefield Eyepieces

An outsider the the celestron x-cel xl - but the QC issues they have had previously is really off-putting.
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#11

Post by PalomarJack »


I know that this is very loving and sweet, but eyepiece selections are so personal. We all have our desires and needs that govern them. The best way to decide is to try them because just one can cost more than even the the instrument they are to be used with, and then we need several. Sticky situation.

Just be aware that way too often the advertised AF is smaller than what is fact, and that goes for eye relief, too. I would bet the Svbonys are less than 68°, and probably 66°, too. Too bad you can not find the field stop diameter, you can not hide behind an apparent field claim with that. Televue lists it in their web site, for example. From what I gather on another forum that has a lot of "old timers" on it, Cloudy Nights, I would be staying away from Svbonys, They talk a good line, but that's it.

Also, there is only one way to get long eye relief with a short eyepiece and that is with a barlow. The long eye relief short focal length eyepieces all have optimized barlows built in and just one costs more than the entire set of Svbonys. Maybe decide on your #1 desired eyepiece, whether low power wide field, or perfect focal length for high magnification, long eye relief and wide field. Then, build around that. There are good deals out there, but just remember, sometimes it does not apply, but more often it does, "Buy cheap, buy twice".

Good luck and cheers.
I'm here to do two things, build something and dump some light down it.

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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#12

Post by Bigzmey »


GONKO wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:50 pm Thank you everyone. I am getting closer to my decision of adding 4 EP's to the collection, or my first few decent EP's.
So I am looking at the:

Hyperion
ES 62degree LER
Meade 5000 HD-60
Antares W70 Widefield Eyepieces

An outsider the the celestron x-cel xl - but the QC issues they have had previously is really off-putting.
All mass produced EPs have QC issue on occasion. Over the years, I had a couple of sets of Celestron X-Cel LX, and none had QC issues. Maybe I got lucky. :)

Anyway, from the selection above I would go with Meade 5000 HD-60. They are well respected EPs and have a good performance to price ratio.

Generally ES EPs have good sharpness, contrast and light transmission. However, ES62 is a scalable design and eye relief is pretty tight in shorter focal lengths.

Baader Hyperion and Antares W70 are older Erfle based designs, and as such have soft focus at high powers. In my tests they also had noticeably more light scatter compared to Meade and ES EPs. On top of that some of W70 had much narrower FOV than 70 and suffer from bad contrast. Erfle design also not a good match to fast DOB optics.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
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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.

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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#13

Post by Lady Fraktor »


GONKO wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:50 pm Thank you everyone. I am getting closer to my decision of adding 4 EP's to the collection, or my first few decent EP's.
So I am looking at the:

Hyperion
ES 62degree LER
Meade 5000 HD-60
Antares W70 Widefield Eyepieces

An outsider the the celestron x-cel xl - but the QC issues they have had previously is really off-putting.
You may be confusing the original X-Cel with the X-Cel LX which is a different eyepiece and has not had issues.
The X-Cel was discontinued because it was not good.

The Antares W70 are not the best eyepiece for a Newtonian unless it is slower than f/8, they work great in refractors though.
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: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#14

Post by GONKO »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 10:55 pm
GONKO wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:50 pm Thank you everyone. I am getting closer to my decision of adding 4 EP's to the collection, or my first few decent EP's.
So I am looking at the:

Hyperion
ES 62degree LER
Meade 5000 HD-60
Antares W70 Widefield Eyepieces

An outsider the the celestron x-cel xl - but the QC issues they have had previously is really off-putting.
You may be confusing the original X-Cel with the X-Cel LX which is a different eyepiece and has not had issues.
The X-Cel was discontinued because it was not good.

The Antares W70 are not the best eyepiece for a Newtonian unless it is slower than f/8, they work great in refractors though.
Thank you for that, I was not aware that they were different.
And just when I think I have made up my mind.....I had been leaning towards the Hyperion. But the X-Cel LX also looks like a good option considering the advertised relief on them.
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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#15

Post by notFritzArgelander »


GONKO wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 10:04 am
Lady Fraktor wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 10:55 pm
GONKO wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:50 pm Thank you everyone. I am getting closer to my decision of adding 4 EP's to the collection, or my first few decent EP's.
So I am looking at the:

Hyperion
ES 62degree LER
Meade 5000 HD-60
Antares W70 Widefield Eyepieces

An outsider the the celestron x-cel xl - but the QC issues they have had previously is really off-putting.
You may be confusing the original X-Cel with the X-Cel LX which is a different eyepiece and has not had issues.
The X-Cel was discontinued because it was not good.

The Antares W70 are not the best eyepiece for a Newtonian unless it is slower than f/8, they work great in refractors though.
Thank you for that, I was not aware that they were different.
And just when I think I have made up my mind.....I had been leaning towards the Hyperion. But the X-Cel LX also looks like a good option considering the advertised relief on them.
The Hyperions are fine at f10 but not at f5. I tried them in my Z12 and settled on Panoptics and Delos. I've used the Meade HD60s happily at f5. Since they are optically the same as X-Cel LX (same manufacturer, different branding) they are worth trying.
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: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#16

Post by Kurbs »


I have several SVBONY pieces as well as some of their cameras.

I have the 62, 68, and 81 degree eyepieces. They do well in longer FL scopes. They are certainly better than any included OEM piece. Very clear, solid, and I have no issues. Some of the 4-6mm pieces are not as good but I 'think" it is because they have a built in focal reducer. I would say from 10mm up they work well. Mine range mostly in the 14-20's ranges.

I have no complaints. The 80 degree 16mm are really decent for 30 bucks. I was quite surprised at the quality, 6 element 2 group. The others I use much more than my OE eyepieces.

Are they ES or Panoptic quality? Nope. Not meant to be. But for starters and even intermediate they do quite well in most of my scopes and barlow nicely. Pretty hard to beat for the cost. And if they break...or you drop them...you are not out much money!
Engineer. Plays with astronomy to teach the grand kids and neighbor kids.

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Re: Eyepiece SVBONY??

#17

Post by Jones »


In an f6 scope you should cross off the hyperions, 1/3rd of the outer field will be out of focus. The celestrons work very well in shorter focus scopes. Had most of the series until could afford televue.
Arizona- where the sky's are not cloudy all night.

Triple lensed fracs are so yummy when looking at planets.
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