Meade Series 5000 EP's

[leon]

Hi All,

I was considering purchasing the three EP set and carry case offer from Bintel as my first 2" experience.

Would you people with much more knowledge than i consider this a reasonable deal.

The set consists of , a 16mm, 24mm, and 34mm Meade Series 5000 , SWA EP's and a protective case as well, for $959.00 the lot.

Do you consider the Meade Series 5000 EP's a fairly good EP.

Thanks

Leon

[acropolite]

From what I have read the S5000 EP's don't perform all that well in fast scopes. I have a Meade S5000 14mm plossle and it is quite a good EP, but for a lot less money than the Meade SWA's you could get Orion Stratus EP's (Bintel can get them for under $200 each, 68 degree FOV) which perform nicely in fast scopes.

[leon]

Thanks Phil,

That's the sort of feed back i need to hear, so that i can make an informed choice when i do make the purchase.

Leon

[RAJAH235]

Leon. If you can find the older, Meade series 4000 E/Pcs, they appear to be a little better quality, being 'made in Japan'. Your t'scope is f7 is it not?
The E/Pcs you've selected should be more than adequate for it.
HTH. :D L.

[leon]

Hi RAJAH235

Thank you for that, yes my scope is an f7, i'm sure i'll be able to find some 4000 series EP's somewhere, thanks again

Leon

[Starkler]

To expand on what Rajah said, there are two flavours of s4000 plossls, the Japanese and the Chinese made. The Japanese ones are much superior eyepieces whilst the chinese ones are just ordinary rebranded chinese plossls of mediocre quality.

[GHarper]

I have 3 - 5000 series Ultrawide. 6.7mm, 14mm, & 18mm. I use them for getting the clearest view. I had to give up a Pentax 10mm XW because I couldn't see any better than any of the Meade's.
The last one I want is the 8.8mm Ultrawide, but perhaps someday I'll spend for the 24mm, though I have other good pieces that are close enough to the 24mm.
Meade's are a good quality in my opinion.
Clear, dark, skies,
G

[Dobman]

Leon, I dont own any s5000 SW's but i do own the 8.8 s5000 UW and i love it. Im no expert on EP's but i cant find too many faults with this EP. But whether the SW's are of similar quality I dont know
Just thought I'd throw my 2 bob's worth in
Also try b4 you buy if you can:)

[casstony]

One important personal preference to figure out before buying these expensive eyepieces is how much eye relief you like. I don't like short eye relief on a wide angle eyepiece - having to squeeze up close to the glass to see the larger field is not comfortable for me. I sold an 8.8mm s4000 UW for that reason.

Tony

[ausastronomer]

Hi,

I am not trying to be nasty at all here, I am trying to help you. If you couldn't pick the difference between a Pentax XW and those Meade series 5000 eyepieces then 1 of two things is going on:

1) You may be a very inexperienced observer. If this is so then that's fine and the Meade 5000 eyepieces will keep you happy for at least the next couple of years. It takes several years to develop your observing skills to their maximum. An inexperienced observer may not notice obvious differences in performance between a "fair" eyepiece and an "excellent" eyepiece. When used in a high quality telescope, the differences between those eyepieces are blatantly obvious to an experienced observer.


2) There is something seriously wrong with your telescope or telescopes. This could be poor collimation, or bad optics.

What scope(s) were you using the eyepieces in to draw those conclusions ?

CS-John B

[ausastronomer]

Just to expand on what Geoff has mentioned regarding the Meade series 4000 plossls. It is somewhat complicated and treacherous ground for the uninitiated or poorly informed :)

There are actually 6 variants of the Meade S4000 Plossls not 2. Meade liked to call these "super" plossls. The 1st 2 variants being 5 element Masuyama design, could rightfully be called "super" plossls. Everything else was nothing more than a standard 4 element plossl.

The 1st variant is a 5 element masuyama design, made in Japan. The Masuyama design is basically a 4 element plossl with a 5th element added as a field flattener. The Takahashi LE's and Celestron Ultimas also use the same Masuyama design. They are all outstanding eyepieces, including the Meade's. This eyepiece is smoothsided with no eyecup. This is a great eyepiece and equivalent to the top grade orthos and plossls.

The 2nd variant is the same eyepiece except it has a rubber grip and eyecup. It is also of the same outstanding quality as the 1st variant.

The 3rd variant is a 4 element "standard" plossl made in Japan. These have a silver barrrel with "Japan" engraved on the barrel. This is also an excellent eyepiece but not quite as sharp as the original 5 element version.

The 4th variant is a 4 element plossl made in Taiwan. It is stamped "Taiwan". This is a fair eyepiece and in keeping with the best quality Chinese/Taiwanese plossls. (Read a lot better than what comes supplied standard with your Chinese/Taiwanese scope). It is certainly not in the class of the Japanese made eyepieces or eyepieces like the University Optics orthos or Televue plossls.

The 5th variant is a 4 element plossl made in China. A pretty average performer.

The 6th variant is the DS series 4000 also made in China. It has a plastic body. It is also a very average performer.

So there you have the history of the Meade series 4000 plossls. As you can see you need to be careful buying these eyepieces 2nd hand. As invariably they are advertised as "a Meade Series 4000 plossl". You need to clearly identify which version you are buying as the early 5 element version is outstanding, the more recent versions are pretty poor performers.

CS-John B

[Striker]

You have to go for the Meade series 5000 plossls....they come in the best looking felt linned box out of all the eyepieces...who cares what there like to look through, I'm just happy looking at the felt linned box they come in....lol

Actualy I might get more for the box then the eyepiece itself.

[Starkler]

Thanks John !

[ColHut]

So how do you tell them apart before you buy - sight unseen?

I ask only because I was sup[rised to see it was made in china, and my GSO plossel was made in Taiwan , and to be honest, seemed to have a better finish, especially as the blacking seemed better in the GSO, and the threads for the filter were not well cut. The Meade was 3 times the price of the GSO. They were different f length so I could not compare them optically (and I am not sure I could tell anyway!). Maybe I should get an equivalent GSO the same as my meade and check them out.