My New Siebert Lenses

[astronut (John)]

Having bought my 12"LB earlier this year, and using the 2" Meade supplied e/p I decided it was time to convert everything over to 2".
Where do I go? I didn't want to have to part with a kidney to be able to afford good quality optics.
Trolling through the forums I came across quite a few positive comments on Siebert Optics.
About 18 months ago a member in my club showed me through his 1 1/4" Siebert e/p, the views were very contrast and almost coma free right to the edge. I already had a full complement of 1 1/4" e/p so I didn't take it any further.
I paid a visit to the Siebert site recently, Harry has different level of affordability with his gear like many other manufacturers.
I decided on the Ultra Series, this is Sieberts Premium Level.
I've started off with a 17mm, all Ultra series have 70AFOV and 20mm eye relief.
I also bought the Ultra 2X Barlow, this is constructed in a similar way to the Televue Powermates.
So how did they perform? you ask.
Well I normally like to view with the 26mm (58x) instead I used only the 17mm (90x) the views were pin sharp almost all the way to the edge (95%) and lovely and contrasty, the view was very 3D.
Installing the barlow didn't negatively affect the image, just magnified it!!!
47Tuc, Eta Carinae, NGC253, Orion Nebula etc, just jumped out at you, better than I've ever seen.
The barlow has large field lenses which are particularly important when using a fast scope, this allows the optical path to use the entire light cone, so keeping your objects bright.
The E/P + barlow cost $468AUS del from Seibert's in the U,S. GREAT VALUE!!
Harry also gives you a 30 day money back guarantee.
These optics are available for 1 1/4" as well.
If you're after new e/p's or any other optics I would recommend Siebert's as a stop along your way. www.siebertoptics.com

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

Great news about the EP, I have the 3x 1 1/4" Barlow which does a fantastic job. Might end up buying more in the future.

[ving (David)]

i want to try that EP of yours next time we are out together... um, if you let me


sounds like a ripper. did you mention how light they are?

[astronut (John)]

David, Of course you can try it out.
I did forget to mention that they only weigh 230grams ( 8oz ) each, the barrels are made of aircraft style aluminium, strong and light.
This means I don't have to fiddle with the counter weights on the scope.
The e/p and barlow together weigh only a little more than the Meade QX 4000 e/p I have.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

I can attest to John's delight in his purchase. I had a squizz through it the other night too, as he had it pointed at Tarantula in the LMC. It really did jump out (damn thing almost bit me!), and with an O-III it would be a real killer I imagine. Great buy John

[matt]

Hmmmmm.

Interesting. Very interesting

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

John, how do you like the 26mm Meade 2" EP? Is the Ultra better ito off-axis sharpness?

[astronut (John)]

Steve, I can understand some peoples criticism of the Meade 26mm, personally I don't have a problem with it.
The views are crisp and sharp out to about 80% of the field, which is pretty good for an e/p working with a fast scope.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Thanks John, I still haven't looked through any of the cheaper Meade super wides. In the Sieberts, I've only tried the 24mm Ultra, which left me most unimpressed (at any f-ratio). But the 24mm is a very different EP from the other Ultras though, with only 3 lens elements.

[astronut (John)]

Steve, if you check with Harry you'll see that F7 is the quickest ratio he recommends for this e/p.