TheSkySearchers

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 5:08 pm The 28mm RKE is a fun eyepiece, I have recommended it quite a few time due to its party trick.
I do like to try different designs to see what they deliver for views.

That "party trick", which in my estimation is due to a few factors, can make it actually very useful for sketching! It's fairly long eye relief is one of the factors that make it have that floating effect, and when you Barlow the eyepiece then the ER extends even further. If you binoview with a pair and use a conventional Barlow under the binoviewer, then this boosts the magnification of the Barlow due to the long glasspath of the binoviewer. The resulting boost in ER from this can make it so that you can sit at the scope with your eyes so far away from the eyepieces in the binoviewer that you can actually just move your eyes from looking at the image above the eyepieces to your lap with sketch pad! This of course makes sketching super easy as it is like looking at an object during the daytime naked eye and sketching. I used this setup when doing this Jupiter sketch and it was the easiest night time sketch at the scope I ever did as I also just kept a light on for the sketch pad and the plaet was bright enough that no issue that a light was on.

John Fitzgerald wrote: ↑Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:50 pm About 23: 4mm,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,22,24,28,30,32,40mm.

You Missed the Panoptic 27 and 35 in there and the Panoptic 42 as well. I have 5 8 9 10 10.5 14 15 17 18 20 25 26 27 35 40 and 42.

I read that the APM/Meade/Celestron UFF 30mm is much better than the Panoptic 27mm. I never looked through a 27mm Panoptic, but I have the Apm UFF 30mm Celestron clone. It is real good. Sharp to the very edge and super contrasty. What say you all?

Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 2:38 am I read that the APM/Meade/Celestron UFF 30mm is much better than the Panoptic 27mm. I never looked through a 27mm Panoptic, but I have the Apm UFF 30mm Celestron clone. It is real good. Sharp to the very edge and super contrasty. What say you all?

I would highly doubt that APM/Meade/Celestron UFF 30mm is much better than the Panoptic 27mm. People may have their brand preferences, but if something is obviously better and cost half as much, it would not take too long to figure it out.

Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 2:38 am I read that the APM/Meade/Celestron UFF 30mm is much better than the Panoptic 27mm. I never looked through a 27mm Panoptic, but I have the Apm UFF 30mm Celestron clone. It is real good. Sharp to the very edge and super contrasty. What say you all?

Having used both, I would not say the 30mm UFF is better.
My point of comparison is a coma-corrected f/5 newtonian, though.
Someone using f/4 or f/5 without a coma corrector might have a different opinion.
The 30mm is wider in true field, less expensive, longer in eye relief, yes, but not better unless those are your choice criteria.
The 27mm Panoptic's field is not as flat, but that doesn't seem to make much difference in the field.
Both eyepieces are quite good.
It depends on the f/ratio and focal length of the scope as to which might be preferred.

As many eyepieces that it takes to cover very low magnification to the highest mag your scope can go. For me that is eleven eyepieces times two. I feel a hobbyist should have a starter set of eyepieces and an equal amount of bench warmers. In fact I just made my last order of bench warmers. I already have two starters. A 30mm Celestron UFF and a Olivon-Astromania 22mm. The next starters will be Baader Morpheus and Tele Vue Delite eyepieces. I have all the Svbony Red Lines, Yellow Lines, Aspheric, GSO, and eBay plossl eyepieces. These third stringers are all in a gallon size zip lock bag.

Refractordude wrote: ↑Tue Jun 29, 2021 11:17 pm As many eyepieces that it takes to cover very low magnification to the highest mag your scope can go. For me that is eleven eyepieces times two. I feel a hobbyist should have a starter set of eyepieces and an equal amount of bench warmers. In fact I just made my last order of bench warmers. I already have two starters. A 30mm Celestron UFF and a Olivon-Astromania 22mm. The next starters will be Baader Morpheus and Tele Vue Delite eyepieces. I have all the Svbony Red Lines, Yellow Lines, Aspheric, GSO, and eBay plossl eyepieces. These third stringers are all in a gallon size zip lock bag.

Well, ya! It does not have to be either/or. When I was replacing my 82 deg set with longer eye relief EPs I could not decide between TV Delites and Pentax XWs. I got one of each for testing and liked them both. After going back and forth it finally occurred to me that I can have both sets. We live once, right? I have also tested Morpheus and TV Delos, but those were not for me.

Buy the way wanted to buy the Baader Morpheus 17.5mm, but could not find any in stock. So I purchased Agena Starguider Duel Ed 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, and an Agena BST UWA Planetary 7mm eyepiece. All for the same price the Baader Morpheus would have cost me. With my zoom eyepiece all bench warmer magnification spots are covered.

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:29 am Buy the way wanted to buy the Baader Morpheus 17.5mm, but could not find any in stock. So I purchased Agena Starguider Duel Ed 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, and an Agena BST UWA Planetary 7mm eyepiece. All for the same price the Baader Morpheus would have cost me. With my zoom eyepiece all bench warmer magnification spots are covered.

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:43 am

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:29 am Buy the way wanted to buy the Baader Morpheus 17.5mm, but could not find any in stock. So I purchased Agena Starguider Duel Ed 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, and an Agena BST UWA Planetary 7mm eyepiece. All for the same price the Baader Morpheus would have cost me. With my zoom eyepiece all bench warmer magnification spots are covered.

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

The 18mm has 18mm of eye relief. The other two have 20mm of eye relief. If there is a problem they will go back.

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:18 am

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:43 am

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:29 am Buy the way wanted to buy the Baader Morpheus 17.5mm, but could not find any in stock. So I purchased Agena Starguider Duel Ed 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, and an Agena BST UWA Planetary 7mm eyepiece. All for the same price the Baader Morpheus would have cost me. With my zoom eyepiece all bench warmer magnification spots are covered.

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

The 18mm has 18mm of eye relief. The other two have 20mm of eye relief. If there is a problem they will go back.

My set of Dual EDs was from Astro-tech and the ER was close to what they list. I was not able to see complete FOV with my glasses on, which means effective ER was below 15mm. Either Agena's Dual EDs are of different design, or they are overly optimistic about ER. Let me know what you discover.

https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... al-ed.html

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:13 pm

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:18 am

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:43 am

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

The 18mm has 18mm of eye relief. The other two have 20mm of eye relief. If there is a problem they will go back.

My set of Dual EDs was from Astro-tech and the ER was close to what they list. I was not able to see complete FOV with my glasses on, which means effective ER was below 15mm. Either Agena's Dual EDs are of different design, or they are overly optimistic about ER. Let me know what you discover.

https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... al-ed.html

It has been my experience that some retailers quote Effective eye relief (from the rubber up) while others quote the manufacturers spec (from the glass up), and that the difference between the two can be anywhere from 2 to over 10mm depending on the eyepiece.
A good example is the APM Ultra Flat Field 24mm, with 29mm of eye relief from the glass, and 18mm from the rubber.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:13 pm

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:18 am

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:43 am

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

The 18mm has 18mm of eye relief. The other two have 20mm of eye relief. If there is a problem they will go back.

My set of Dual EDs was from Astro-tech and the ER was close to what they list. I was not able to see complete FOV with my glasses on, which means effective ER was below 15mm. Either Agena's Dual EDs are of different design, or they are overly optimistic about ER. Let me know what you discover.

https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... al-ed.html

I was once going to ask this very question about the Astrotechs. I will let you know.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 5:04 pm

25585 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 2:56 am The irony was Radians were meant to be better than my 13mm Type 1 Nagler, but were worse & 20° less AFOV! The Nagler was love-hate, and sadly sold, Radians were hate-hate, though I tried to improve them, not had "Radian rage " for any other type.

When trying Delos, they were like 70° Radians, but Delites are not Radian-like apart from AFOV (62°). Delites are like 62° Morpheus for ease of use.

Sorry, this just does not make any sense. Delites come from the same company as Radians, they meant to be Radians' replacement. They have identical bodies and the same feel. Optically, Delites superior to Radians (which you would expect from upgrade) but Radians are good to.

Delos are like Radians? Only that they both EPs and came from the same company.

I found Delos to be like 70° Radians, same awkward uncomfortable eye placement issues, but not Delites. Delites have wonderfully easy eye placement, no pee-coloured tint, and only thing in common with Radians is AFOV. Thankfully TV replaced their instaslip with...some other system... that is more robust.

25585 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:06 pm

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 5:04 pm

25585 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 2:56 am The irony was Radians were meant to be better than my 13mm Type 1 Nagler, but were worse & 20° less AFOV! The Nagler was love-hate, and sadly sold, Radians were hate-hate, though I tried to improve them, not had "Radian rage " for any other type.

When trying Delos, they were like 70° Radians, but Delites are not Radian-like apart from AFOV (62°). Delites are like 62° Morpheus for ease of use.

Sorry, this just does not make any sense. Delites come from the same company as Radians, they meant to be Radians' replacement. They have identical bodies and the same feel. Optically, Delites superior to Radians (which you would expect from upgrade) but Radians are good to.

Delos are like Radians? Only that they both EPs and came from the same company.

I found Delos to be like 70° Radians, same awkward uncomfortable eye placement issues, but not Delites. Delites have wonderfully easy eye placement, no pee-coloured tint, and only thing in common with Radians is AFOV. Thankfully TV replaced their instaslip with...some other system... that is more robust.

We are finally getting somewhere. We both agree that Delos have uncomfortable eye placement issues and Delites are delight to use.

I can't believe that so many people love Morpheus, while I can't even look through it without headache, and not sure why you want to burn Radians on the spot, while I find them perfectly usable (except badly designed eyeguards). Hey, at least they tried! Morpheus on the other hand... I will just stop there.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:13 pm

Refractordude wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:18 am

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:43 am

I know you like long eye relief, so you may find Duel ED a bit tight (I did ), other than that they are quite usable.

The 18mm has 18mm of eye relief. The other two have 20mm of eye relief. If there is a problem they will go back.

My set of Dual EDs was from Astro-tech and the ER was close to what they list. I was not able to see complete FOV with my glasses on, which means effective ER was below 15mm. Either Agena's Dual EDs are of different design, or they are overly optimistic about ER. Let me know what you discover.

https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... al-ed.html

Just got in from my dark site. Luckily the Starguiders were sitting on the porch when I got back from an appointment yesterday afternoon. All three have great eye relief. Great eye relief is when I can take in the entire FOV with out my eye lashes touching the lens, and no blackouts. Tested all three on a few globular clusters and the Trifid nebula. The 18mm, 15mm, and 12mm are all keepers.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:50 pm

25585 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:06 pm

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 5:04 pm

Sorry, this just does not make any sense. Delites come from the same company as Radians, they meant to be Radians' replacement. They have identical bodies and the same feel. Optically, Delites superior to Radians (which you would expect from upgrade) but Radians are good too.

Delos are like Radians? Only that they both EPs and came from the same company.

I found Delos to be like 70° Radians, same awkward uncomfortable eye placement issues, but not Delites. Delites have wonderfully easy eye placement, no pee-coloured tint, and only thing in common with Radians is AFOV. Thankfully TV replaced their instaslip with...some other system... that is more robust.

We are finally getting somewhere. We both agree that Delos have uncomfortable eye placement issues and Delites are delight to use.

I can't believe that so many people love Morpheus, while I can't even look through it without headache, and not sure why you want to burn Radians on the spot, while I find them perfectly usable (except badly designed eyeguards). Hey, at least they tried! Morpheus on the other hand... I will just stop there.

Odd you say that about the Morpheus eyepieces. I wear glasses and find them comfortable, sharp, and with good contrast. I have no issues with pupil placement, but perhaps that is because I am at the exit pupil with glasses pressed against the rubber.

Don Pensack wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:19 pm

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 9:50 pm
I can't believe that so many people love Morpheus, while I can't even look through it without headache, and not sure why you want to burn Radians on the spot, while I find them perfectly usable (except badly designed eyeguards). Hey, at least they tried! Morpheus on the other hand... I will just stop there.

Odd you say that about the Morpheus eyepieces. I wear glasses and find them comfortable, sharp, and with good contrast. I have no issues with pupil placement, but perhaps that is because I am at the exit pupil with glasses pressed against the rubber.

I agree....I also find the Morpheus comfortable, sharp, and with good contrast.

Seeker wrote: ↑Tue Jun 01, 2021 8:09 pm I am interested to know what others think on this subject. My personal opinion is it's OK to own as many as we prefer to afford. ... bit like owning gold. They are part of your astronomy portfolio.

Well... I have settled on "three plus one" for now. . I got rid of the Celestron 20mm and 10mm that originally came with the Celestron EQ-130 Newtonian that I first received in 2014 when earlier this year I donated the telescope to the Goodwill. But when I started then, I also bought the Celestron Lens and Filter kit. From that, I have my "three plus one" favorites.

Your telescope cannot be much better than your skies and I live in the city. So, my Astro-Tech ED APO 115 mm has never been outside.I also bought a Nagler 7mm and a Meade 82-degee 14 mm but I have not used them yet. I got the Nagler and Meade to use with that. I am waiting for a night out at a local Dark Skies site when the local club re-opens the star parties.

So, right now, I pretty much use just a 32 mm Ploessl, a 17 mm Ploessl, and an 8mm Ploessl. ( I packed the 6mm away with some other gear that I do not use.) The "plus one" is a 2X Barlow. But I have to confess an affinity for Scrooge McDuck and in the "gold vault" are a 40mm from Svbony and a 5X focal extender.

I've come to believe there is one eyepiece, binoviewer with two eyepieces, or one combination of diagonal, spacing and glass that will be the best for a model telescope. Someone more extreme might say not model, that telescope. Nothing else will come close when you find it.

I'm still open to looking but I think I found them!







So that might be all as needed.

Conversely,