For those who are interested, looks like a new masuyama eyepiece is about to be released in the 1.25" format.
A small form 10mm eyepiece in the 85deg series.
Eye relief is a bit tight though at 6.5mm (similar to a 9mm nagler) but has a smooth barrel and weighing only 100gms.
To be released mid December.
I have the 16mm 85deg eyepiece one of my favourites.
Very sharp and contrasty suited to a longer focal ratio scope though.
Fit and finish on these are terrific.
Getting to the hard to get item status!!$
I was reading a thread on CN and a guy had 2 full sets of them.
It would be interesting to observe using the older Masuyama 52deg series to the newer Tak le's of today and how they compare considering the similar 5 element 3 group lenses with newer coatings.
Yes John, 52° AFOV. Simply superb EP in refractors (didn't like it in the Mak that much).
I checked Astromart for some recently, and couldn't believe the current second hand price for them...$300 to $400 US - and they sell.
Hi Lewis,
I suspected as much. I have used the 52 deg AFOV ones down to F5 in Newtonians and they work very well. Due to the optical design limitations with 5 lens elements, it's not possible to get the 85 deg AFOV versions to perform well in fast telescopes. They will be excellent performers in slower scopes. They may or may not work well in SCT's which notwithstanding their F10 overall F-Ratio, generally have primary F-Ratios of F2 to F2.5, as some aberrations like field curvature are related to the F-ratio of the primary optic and not the F-ratio of the telescope.
Indeed it is the name Ken but they sure do perform too- so regularly copied there is a whole market of pseudo-Masuyamas. My Pseudo-Masu Parks Gold Series 25mm is my EP of choice on most nights.
I tried the Masu 20 in a Mewlon 300 once. Woeful! They assuredly like refractors (and Newts as John has said)
Picked up the lovely little Masu 10mm today!
Gave it a quick go with my Borg scope, as to be expected they all preform great for terrestrial use also.
Thanks to Lewis 👍 have my own little collection now.
Interesting to see how this one performs off axis under the stars though.
I've sold my Masuyama set (5, 7.5, 10 and 15) to an eyepiece collector in US and never really looked back. Yes, they are decent, but not really magic (contrary to what many people try to make them into).
The only regret I have is not keeping them a bit longer, I could have made even more money