Showdown in snake valley!!!

[davidpretorius]

Hi Ken et al,

whilst in snake valley, surely we can put together a very comprehensive & documented comparison of many scopes, ep's and imaging techniques from guys that will be attending the camp

From just reading about what every one has along with asimovs thought provoking nagler post, we have a great range of equipment and techniques to compare and give the newby something else to think about.

http://www.precons.com/iis/gallery/Showdown!.htm

food for thought :tasdevil:

[ballaratdragons]

Does that mean you are volunteering to do it David? :D

[asimov]

Of COURSE he is Ken! Dave being such a nice guy 'N' all! :D

[ballaratdragons]

After all the preparation for the Camp and John xstream and I running things and organising the talks, day trips and the excursion to the Ballarat observatory, preparing and cooking the Special Spit Feast, overseeing the Buy/Swap/Sell, running raffles, etc. etc, I will be trying to enjoy myself and have a great time just meeting everyone and getting in as much viewing time as possible, but most importantly - having FUN.

If David wants to compile information for reviews and comparisons more power to him. I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate the info.

But I know for sure that I won't be compiling it. I am hoping to fit in some good old fashion 'relaxation time' over the 4 days.

Go for it David :thumbsup: It is a golden opportunity for side-by-side comparisons without owner bias.

[davidpretorius]

i am more than happy to do guys, that is if everyone allows me look in their scopes with different ep's etc and ask rather noobie like questions, ie what is a seagull??

[xstream]

You're more than welcome to view through our scope Dave, so long as I don't have to compile.:D
Like Ken I think I'll just want to relax and have a few laughs.

[davidpretorius]

i will be asking, viewing & compiling on my laptop. you guys are doing such a great job, and it is appreciated. this can be my little project. I may however ask for some technical words from you, so the more experienced guys can get something out of a review as well.

[Starkler]

You left Pentax off your eyepiece register :P

[davidpretorius]

pentax has been added, please feel free to ask for any other combos, i don't know what everyone has that will be attending, but if they have it i hope to look thru it and report on it, and get the owners feelings as well to form a balanced report

[Dave47tuc]

I can see what you’re trying to do here David. ;)

Doing so called shot outs can be fun and you can give good insight from someone relatively new to the hobby. :confuse3:
My suggestion is do away with part of your list, re list makes of eyepieces.
Put it into a focal length of the eyepiece category. :thumbsup:

Low power eyepieces/ 40 mm to 25 mm
Medium power / 24 mm to 10 mm
High power 9mm to say 2 mm.

Low power range maybe 20x to 80x
Medium power range 80x to 150x
High power 150x and up.

Now this will be different in some scopes. :confused:

Example in a 10” F5 scope a 20mm EP will be 62.5x low power category.
Example 2 in a 10” F10 a 20 mm EP will be 125x more in the medium power range.

So just make sure you use the same focal length EP in the same scope, oh yes different brands to get an objective view.

My point is don’t use a 12 mm EP in a Newtonian at F5 the use the same EP in a 10” SCT and then say the EP works better in the SCT saying the image was bigger.
Lot of people get caught out here. :poke:

So you really want to compare for example a Pentax 14 mm XW to a Meade 14 mm UWA. Both then give the same magnification and then you can Name in your list what type of EP you are testing. :thumbsup:

There to many eyepieces out there to have a list as you have. Keeping it into a Magnification and Focal length category will be much easier.

I will be at the camp and I can help you if you like. I have a few things to do over the weekend of the camp but I don’t mind helping if you want it. :help3:

Cheers. :D