Orbinar/ Seben Eyepieces

[Renato1]

These eyepieces were pretty cheap on Ebay, so I thought I'd buy a couple to check them out.

I got an Orbinar 17mm Super Wide Angle for $34 including postage. I compared it to my old Meade 18mm SuperWide Angle, which distorts slightly at the edges, and the Orbinar was very similar but did distort slightly more at the edges.

I also got an Orbinar 30mm Plossl for $24 including postage, and compared it to my Meade series 4000 32mm Plossl. Again, there was slightly more distortion at the edges. This 30mm Orbinar is better than a 32mm plossl I paid $95 for at York Optical a decade and a half ago

I notice Seben also sell the 16,19 and 27 mm Orbinar flat field eyepieces that everyone else sells, but often considerably cheaper, and I suspect that their SWA eyepieces are probably the same as those sold by other dealers at dearer prices.

I guess that if it was 20 years ago, when we were paying exorbitant prices for Meade and Celestron eyepieces, something like these Orbinar eyepieces would have been a godsend. But today they are ho hum.

Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Renato

[julianh72]

I suspect the Seben Orbinar eyepieces are probably the same as any number of "own-branded" eyepieces you can buy, such as Bintel's Plossl / SuperView / FMC ranges, but generally at a slightly better price at the Seben on-line store.

I have a couple of Seben Orbinar Plossl eyepieces, and they work fine with my (admittedly modest) telescopes. They're definitely better than the equivalent stock Celestron eyepieces that came with my 130 SLT for example. I would highly recommend them for any beginner wanting to get a cheap upgrade to the standard eyepieces of a budget telescope, or wanting to add a bit of choice to their eyepiece selection. (Or you could pay a little more and get a comparable set from a local supplier such as Bintel.)

I have found Seben to be very prompt with their postage, and I have received my deliveries within 7 - 10 days of placing an order. (Bintel are quicker, though, being local, and I have received my orders from them within about 3 days generally.)

I also have Seben's cheap 7.5 - 22.5 zoom eyepiece, which is an absolute bargain at the asking price of less than AU$30, including postage from Germany. The optics are surprisingly good for such a cheap zoom eyepiece, and the build quality is much better than the price would suggest. This is the eyepiece that now "lives" on my telescope 90% of the time. It needs a little bit of re-focus as you change from wide-angle to full zoom, and the FoV narrows down a bit when zoomed out longer than about 15 mm (50 degrees over 7.5 to 15 mm say, then gradually reducing to about 40 degrees at 22.5 mm), but it's really handy as a general workhorse eyepiece.

[Renato1]

Thanks. Yes, I forgot about the zooms. I too have a Seben zoom, but it's the 8-24mm one, which was certainly much better than a previous 7-21mm zoom I also have.

I must admit to being a bit weird with zoom eyepieces, I don't use them much, but when I eventually put them on a telescope they actually stay there quite a while.

If you are so happy with yours, and I am very happy with mine, I keep wondering what Seben's expensive zoom eyepiece is like (or which other seller's zoom it is the same as, and how much are they charging for the same thing?).
Cheers,
Renato

[julianh72]

Seben have two zooms that I am aware of:


7.5 - 22.5 "SZ1" Beginner Zoom which sells for around $30 (which is the one I have) http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Seben-Zoom-Telescope-Eyepiece-7-5-22-5mm-1-25-31-7mm-SZ1-Astronomy-/380697723760?pt=AU_Cameras_Telescop es_Binoculars&hash=item58a35a4370&_uhb=1
A significantly bigger 8 - 24 mm "Super Zoom FMC" whch sels for about $80 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Super-Zoom-31-7mm-1-25-Telescope-Eyepiece-8-24mm-New-/380285460119?pt=AU_Cameras_Telescop es_Binoculars&hash=item588ac79e97&_uhb=1


I am guessing that you have "the good one".

[Renato1]

They also have the the Orbinar 7.2-21.5 zoom which goes for $120
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Orbinar-HQ-FMC-Zoom-7-2-21-5mm-Eyepiece-1-25-31-7mm-OZ2-/380750178362?pt=AU_Cameras_Telescop es_Binoculars&hash=item58a67aa83a#ht_2606wt_922

There seems to be an Orion 7.2 -21.5mm zoom with 60 degree FOV at 7.2mm, and a Lunt one with 53 degree FOV at 7.2mm. Both are dearer than the Orbinar one.

So while I have the "good one", there is a better one. From memory, I only paid $60 or so dollars for my one.
Cheers,
Renato