TMB Planetary II Eyepiece

[OzStarGazer]

Hello,

I was just going to buy a TMB Planetary II 7.5mm from a very reliable seller when I found this thread:
http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/124445-fake-eyepieces/
And this:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4951717/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1/vc/1
And even worse this:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,3,4,5,8/Number/4974412/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1/vc/1
And this: http://barrideoptics.en.alibaba.com/product/1262012602-212602292/SWA_58_5_WA_Plossl_1_25_58_degree_T MB_planetary_telescope_eyepiece.htm l And unfortunately the box looks exactly the same... :(

I also checked the TMB website and indeed they have no 7.5mm eyepieces...
http://www.tmboptical.com/itemsGrid.asp?cat_id=62

So I guess they are really fakes?? :( :( I really wanted it...

[OzStarGazer]

What do you think of the 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED "Starguider" as an alternative? They sell very well, so I guess it is a good product?
OR this from Ozscope?
http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-7-5mm-1-25-super-plossl-eyepiece.html
Another possibility is this eyepiece: http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-7mm-1-25-ultra-wide-angle-eyepiece.html/ but I am not sure it will work well with a Barlow lens (the magnification might be a bit too high).

My preferred choice is the 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED "Starguider" right now. It seems to be popular and has good specs.

[Allan]

The only comment I will make is I don't like short focal length Plossls and Orthos. The 7.5mm Plossl will have an eye relief of 6mm which in my mind is a nightmare. I find it much easier to observe for long periods with long ER eyepieces, and I end up seeing more with them.

[OzStarGazer]

Thanks, Allan.
I decided to buy the 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED (it has an EF of 13mm, so that's not bad)... It has excellent reviews everywhere.

[Camelopardalis]

These are the same as the Astrotech Paradigm, I'm not sure of these are sold locally.

It'll be interesting to see how you get on with it with your scope so please report back :D

[OzStarGazer]

I don't think Astrotech products are sold locally, at least I haven't found anything.
I will let you know my impression. It comes from the UK, so it will take awhile and then I can only hope that there will be no clouds. Apparently it performs very well with a f/5 telescope from what I have read.
I am curious what I can see of Mars in opposition. Probably not much anyway, but I will try.
Speaking of opposition, I have found this today http://www.iceinspace.com.au/planetopp.html and ah, now I know why the VERY FIRST time I tried to take pics of Jupiter it was so difficult... I chose the worst day, the 5th of January.... when my new compact camera arrived... :sadeyes:

[SkyWatch]

Hi, just reading your comment about imaging Jupiter.
Just to clarify for you: the 5th of January was the best day (in terms of apparent size of Jupiter) in the worst year for observing Jupiter!
It was at opposition on the 5th, so there was a straight line from the Sun through the Earth to Jupiter. Jupiter was then as big as it will get this time around- but the problem is that for us in the Southern hemisphere it is very low at present (max. altitude this year is only 33 degrees), so this year we are looking through too much atmosphere to get a good image generally, except on nights of exceptional viewing.
In a few years time at opposition it will be roughly the same apparent size, but a lot higher when viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, and therefore a lot better to see and image. (The Northerners won't have it so good then!). This is all because the plane of the solar system (the "ecliptic") is tilted relative to the Earth's equatorial plane.
Once it gets about 50 degrees and higher at opposition (from 2016) it will be a lot better to image. All us Southerners will have to wait for a while!
All the best with the new eyepiece and camera.

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah Jupiter is poorly located from here this year. While Mars isn't going to be large, it's going to be high which hopefully pulls it out the mucky low atmosphere we've been trying to see Jupiter through :D

Much of what we see is determined by the seeing...in good seeing you can pick out good detail with a modest scope.

Btw, if you live in one of Australia's bigger cities you might be lucky and get it from the UK in 3-5 days.

[OzStarGazer]

Thanks, I went back to that page and see what you mean. :)
I guess I will have to wait until 2019-2020...
Jupiter does look nice when it is small, but yes, with magnification that mucky low atmosphere Dunk mentions is not so nice.

PS: It usually takes 6-7 working days from the UK. So no Saturn occultation this time, but there is another one at night on the 14th of May if I remember correctly.

[dannat]

The bst explorer / astrotech paradigm are good ep's, sold locally by matt at telescopesandastronpmy in SA

[OzStarGazer]

So... I go my 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED, and it looks good (the lens is much wider than in my standard 10mm eyepiece), but of course the cloud cover is 300% right now.... So I will have to wait to test it. :(

[David Niven]

You can still get the genuine TMB6 and 5.
Most are clones and astronomics has stop selling them.
It seem the TMB planetary is end of line and production has ceased!

[Varangian]

I've owned both the original 'mm' and the fake 'MM' versions and to be honest I have never known the difference. I still have a fake 6MM which is a good medium quality eyepiece (competes with Orions / Hyperions etc.) for a fraction of the cost. The fake TMBs were made with the same specs on a different conveyor belt is what I heard from an American colleague.

[David Niven]

The TMB are good to start with, for beginner.
For the money you pay for them, you don't need to skip your lunch!

[OzStarGazer]

Well, the BST Explorer series eyepieces are just a little bit more expensive. I mean, they are not as expensive as the TeleVue...

[OzStarGazer]

I could view Mars relatively well with my BST Explorer last night (well, a few hours ago...) It was really nice. However, I found it more difficult to take pics (more difficult than with the cheap standard eyepieces I have). Does it have to do with the dual lens?