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Hi Graeme,
Getting back to your original post, the Vixen LVW’s are an excellent eyepiece, although there may be others to chose from.
Whilst the Baader Hyperion and Orion Stratus are cheaper alternatives, as Alex said, are apparently not the same design, and the Stratus’s I looked at in my f/5 TV scopes (pretty demanding f/ ratio) were clearly outclassed by my 13mm LVW and certainly not in the league of the TV and Pentax in my (small) collection. Thus, my experience reflects (no pun intended) Alex’s comments - it seems the Hyperions/Stratus’s (apart form the 5mm) are better suited for Maks and SCT’s…
Having said that, two of my close friends, who are beginners in astronomy, love their Skywatcher ED80 refractors and Orion Stratus EP’s that I recommended. IMHO the Stratus’s do the job they are intended for: 65 deg FOV, 20mm ER, comfortable to use, for a fair price.
I had no idea about the Orion Lanthanum Superwides, never seen one, very curious indeed…
Other alternatives might be the Explore Scientific 65 deg FOV range of EPs, although I wonder how suited they are with f/6 Newts. Also, I guess the TV Delos and XW Pentax’s come to mind if you are able to afford something at that level.
Wavy raises a very important point: the LVW’s, Delos and Pentax are quite heavy for a Newt configuration. Something that does not bother the refractor or SCT visual user.
Graeme, have you priced what new LVW’s are going for these days, out of interest, how much?
Cheers
Fox
Last edited by Fox; 06-09-2014 at 07:50 AM.
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