Planetary Eyepiece - Vixen v ES

[209herschel]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to buy either the ES 6.7mm or the Vixen SLV 5mm for planetary viewing. From my readings, people say the 82 degrees of the ES is amazing but others say the Vixen has a sharper view with the narrower field of 50 degrees. On another issue, is the Vixen NLV (45 degrees FOV) the same quality as SLV?

I'm also looking at the Baaders, Pentax XF 8.5 (using a barlow for higher magnification and anything else in the planetary mid range class. Unfortunately, I think Televue is out of my reach.

Any other ideas would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Profiler]

The SLV is essentially the same optic design as the NLV and original LV. What has changed over time is simply the housing design. Additionally, both the LV and NLV were both made in Japan whereas the SLV is made in China but QC'd in Japan.

I recently purchased an NLV and in terms of simple optical performance on Jupiter was extremely impressed with it. I have also compared the NLV with numerous other EPs (all at 5mm) at my disposal and would rank them as follows.

It should be noted that I found the Pentax to be the clear first/best but thereafter the difference between 2-4 were marginal (basically all almost as good as one another) and thereafter 5-7 werent as good but likewise almost as good as each other.

1) Pentax XW (A)
2) Vixen NLV (B)
3) Televue Zoom (B)
4) Televue Radian (B)
5) Televue Nagler (T6) (B/C)
6) Explore Scientific (C)
7) TMB planetary (C)

[209herschel]

Thanks very much. I'd love to get the Pentax but that's out of my price range. I'd definitely get the NLV because they're said to be really clear with great contrast. I'm just worried that with a push to dob, the 45 degrees might become an issue. I've read the 82 degrees of the ES can almost fit the whole moon in the eye piece!

Thanks for the ranking. It looks as if I can get the 5mm NLV for slightly less than the ES 82 degrees so that might make up my mind. Thanks again.

[dannat]

add the astrotech paradigm (bst explorer out of US) to your list, I don't like the viewing comfort of the ES line -the paradigm is more comfortable with a 60deg fov
available from telescopes & astronomy in SA (the bst explorer is)
now I have a nagler 4.8mm the 50deg ep's mean viewing time is limited...is you scope driven?

[209herschel]

My scope is undriven. That's actually why I was aiming for something with a wider FOV. I was thinking I'd want a minimum of 60 degrees with a magnification of 5-6mm (I'd buy the ES 6.7 also) but for something like the Vixen brand, beyond the 60 degrees really pushes the price up.

I've read that the ES pieces can have glare and they're not as sharp to the edge which seems to kind of defeat the purpose of the 82 degrees if it's not sharp at the edges.

I'll check out the paradigm now. Thanks very much.

[MortonH]

The glare issue with the ES eyepieces only appears on the moon, which I don't tend to observe unless there's an occultation or something. I find the 6.7mm and 4.7mm sharp enough at the edges. My scopes are also undriven so I've acquired a few 82° eyepieces for planetary observing. I also have the William optics 4mm UWAN.

Note that William Optics also makes a 7mm UWAN model that doesn't have the glare issue. Might be an alternative to the ES 6.7mm.

[Profiler]

Folks - with respect to my previous post please keep in mind that my ranking is based purely on the single criteria of optical clarity when observing Jupiter.

So there are a host of other variables you might wish to consider which might tip your preference towards one eyepiece as opposed to another (in contrast to my own estimate).

For example, cost may make the Pentax/Televues unviable and the TMB or ES a better option. Alternatively, size of the EP may be another criteria wherein the Pentax is a big piece of equipment in comparions to a Nagler zoom.

So, basically, please keep in mind courses for horses.

With the exception of fov I would say the Vixen NLV (in terms of optics, size, cost, ER) is one of the best EPs going.

[Kunama]

I agree Richard, although my experience is with the LVs rather than the N or SLVs. I found the Lvs very nice indeed. The narrow angle of view is of little consequence when viewing planets, in fact I really prefer the narrow AFOV due to the small image size of planets.

[MortonH]

Even with my undriven scope I am tempted to try out the Vixen NLV or SLV eyepieces. The ES and WO 82° eyepieces I have are good but they definitely have more light scatter when compared to my Pentax XW 10mm. In fact the 10mm XW with 2.5x Powermate was better than the 4mm UWAN, but obviously a heavier and somewhat unwieldy combination in some scopes.

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah the Powermate is a monster :eyepop:

However, the Baader Hyperion Zoom Barlow (the Barlow part not the Hyperion zoom itself) is also very good but tiny by comparison. If the OP has a 14-16mm he likes I'd recommend giving it a go :)

[Profiler]

Hi Matt

To my understanding the optic components are identical only design of the housing differs. If you liked the LV then you will like the NLV SLV etc. Having said this the NLV does have a 'plastic' feel to it but this a very minor point pertaining to the eyeguard construction over the hard rubber used in the original LVs. Ironically, this is one of the differences in SLV which are meant to made out of metal but then this adds to the weight

[SkyWatch]

I have the 6mm LV, and it is very nice. In my 12" f5 scope I wouldn't rate it quite as sharp as the Nagler 3-6 zoom (just compared them both on Saturn: 250x), but that is splitting hairs. I find that it imparts a slightly yellow tint to the view.

[Profiler]

As I mentioned in my original post the differences between the eyepieces in broad categories were very difficult to perceive albeit arguably perhaps non-perceptible - hence why I grouped them into rough equal categories of 'A', 'B', and 'C'

The Nagler zoom and Vixen NLV I would rate as both within the group B category thus pretty much of par with each other. Televue planetary eyepieces are reknowned for giving a slight yellowish/coffee hue.

[David Niven]

I would opt for the Pentax XF8.5 or the ES 6.7
They are very good eps and are among my favourite and most used.
As for the XW, they are pricey.

[Profiler]

I agreed the Pentax XF's are easily one of the best eyepieces around - period (taking into all factors of cost, ER, FOV, optics etc).

The infuriating aspect about them is that there are only two sizes a 8.5 and 12.

The moment they make a 3mm, 4mm or 5mm Pentax XF I will buy 3 of each:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Camelopardalis]

And we'll see oinking birds :lol:

The 8.5 and 12 slot neatly into their XW range...so I don't believe it's entirely by coincidence that there's only two of them.

[Tropo-Bob]

I love my Televue Radians, but looking at Saturn recently with my Celestron C8Edge, I found that my Televue 10.5 and 15mm plossls clearly outperformed my 10,14 & 18mm Radians, which was not really what I wished to find. However, I still perfered the Radians when looking at globulars etc.
I was wondering how others find the Televue plossls in comparsion to Pentax EPs? (In terms of critical image detail on planets and double stars and ignoring nice features such as field width, eyerelief etc.)
However, that said, I am giving consideration to purchasing a Tak LE7.5 EP, which would fill a tiny void in the range of my EPs. Anybody have knowledge on how these compare on critical image details?

[Profiler]

The Televue plossls are superb but the problem is ER and magnification. Whilst they are fantastic with a C8 for example with long FL (2000) a 10mm or 15mm plossl aren't useful when using a short FL APO refractor where you need something around the 5mm fl

[SkyWatch]

Actually, I meant that for me the Vixen LV has the yellowish tint, not the Televue...

[Don Pensack]

The SLVs, which have a 50 degree field, did not appear tinted at all in either my refractor or my dob.
But, 50 degrees can be difficult at high power in an undriven dob.
I prefer 100 degree fields, and my highest power has a 110 degree field, which leaves the image drifting a long time before I have to nudge.
A 5mm 50 degree eyepiece would have a true field of only 8' in my dob. If I wanted to keep the planet in the central 50% of the field, I'd end up moving the scope every 16 seconds.
The point is, in an undriven scope, the higher the power, the easier the justification for a wider apparent field.

[Wavytone]

... is NOT ideal for high powered views of ANYTHING.

OP, you must firstly have a scope that tracks at sidereal rate, for starters, and know how to align it well enough.

Second, you have a tradeoff to make : image quality at high power vs field of view.

Those serious about high power views of smallish objects opt for image quality over ultra wide apparent fields of view and in this respect eyepieces with fewer elements (3 elements or less) for maximum sharpness on-axis, minimum scattered light, no ghost images. Smallish fields (50 degrees or less) are an accepted compromise that goes with this.

[MortonH]

Agree an undriven scope is not IDEAL but it's far from useless. My alt-az mounted Newt (200mm f/5) gave me some very nice views of Mars and Saturn using 82º eyepieces (Explore scientific 4.7mm, William Optics 4mm) plus, on a couple of good nights, a 3.5mm LVW.

Jupiter, on the other hand, is trickier due to low contrast features, and I find myself wanting a non-existent 82º Ortho!

[bytor666]

Best views of Jupiter were using a 9mm T1 Nagler in a 12.5" F/4.8 reflector, (1995-1996),then after that was with a Pentax XW and finally the Delos in my later years.

I've used anywhere from 200x-260x without tracking and I have no problems nudging along and also sketching details.

IMO, if you want a widish FOV and clariy along with comfort, look no further than the Pentax XL's, Pentax XW's and Televue Delos eyepieces.

Cheers,