Morpheus eyepieces.

[Mamba]

I'm not sure if this type of post is acceptable or not so administrators please delete if not.
I have just received a 9 and 12.5 mm Morpheus eyepieces, they were ordered on the 10th of December and received this morning, 23rd.
They were purchased from Green Witch Telescope and Binoculars in the UK.
The cost of two eyepieces was £278.33 and airmail postage was £18 making a total of £296.33, at today's exchange rate of £1= Aus$2.05 the total came to Aus$607 for two eyepieces.
I note that OPT are quoting US$239 and at an exchange rate of US$1=Aus$1.38 that would equate to Aus$659, a clear win for the Poms.
Is there anything I have forgotten, oh, postage from the USA to be added to OPT price.
As these items are not yet on sale in Australia I don't think I am treading on any bodies toes.
Mamba
No I don't work for Green Witch, it just seems a good deal which deserves sharing

[MortonH]

That's a good price. I'd expect them to cost around $400 each when they become available locally.

Edit. Their website shows them as GBP 167 each. How did you get both for GBP 278?

[MortonH]

I see if you add it to the cart the website must remove VAT to reduce the price to GBP 139 but it then says it won't ship to Australia :shrug:

[Mamba]

When an overseas customer buys something in the UK if they are taking it out of the country they can reclaim the VAT as they exit the country. Similarly, if someone purchases overseas they do not have to pay the VAT in the first place so the listed price is price of item plus 17.5%.
Suggest you go to the website, go through their buying procedure and obtain the cost to you when you provide an Australian address.
Mamba

[MortonH]

It won't let me select Australia as the delivery destination.

[Mamba]

Yes, that's what I got as well, it seemed that they were only shipping within Europe. I phoned up, spoke to Lee and received the following response by e-mail

"Hi David

We can supply these to Australia - its difficult to put prices for shipping for items to outside EU countries as the final weight and volumetric weight depends on the items and the final packing box.

We could ship these airmail and it would cost about £18 for post and packing.

We have them in stock so if you want to order them if you call me on the number below on Thursday morning [out of office now till end of day and closed on Wed] we can get them sent to you."


> I was attempting to buy a 9mm and12.5mm Morpheus eyepieces but found that
> you do not supply Australia.
> Would it make any difference if I could pay by debit card with the
> Natwest, although I now live in Oz I stil have an account in the UK.
> Hopefully,
> Dave Cooke

As it happens I did pay with my UK card but during my conversation with Lee I did say that at his price there could be people in Australia who might be interested and the reply was that there would be no problem using Australian currency
Hope this answers your questions
Mamba

[MortonH]

Aha, cool.

Of course they're now closed until January!

[Mamba]

Sod's law.
Give him a call in the New Year, hope you can understand his Yorkshire accent.
Mamba

[GrampianStars]

Thanks David 4 heads up :thumbsup:
I'm in for one in the newyear

[MortonH]

Hope he can understand my Scottish one!

[Don Pensack]

With the exchange rate at $1US = $1.38, these eyepieces should be (without local taxes), in Australia, about $331.19 each.
If shipping is $30 each, that's $361.19 AUD before taxes.
The US has a no-tariff arrangement with Australia.
139 pounds apiece in England is an great price, which should be AUD ~285.
Most European dealers are charging 245 Euros for the Morpheus, which is AUD 371 each
No question, you got a bargain.

[AstroApprentice]

Hi David,
Just wondering how you rate your new Morhpheus EPs?
I'm interested in a quality high mag EP with the M43 thread for my DSLR/F7.5 Refractor and I'm tossing up between a Morpheus 6.5 mm from the UK or a Pentax XW 7 mm from Kokusai Kohki.
Regards, J.

[bigjoe]

Yes, let us all known David if you can do a good summary ; otherwise I'll be sticking to

Deloi/Nagler/delites/Orthos.

Cheers bigjoe.

[bigjoe]

Hi all .

Just saw this on cloudy nights :http://www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/user-reviews/the-baader-planetarium-morpheus-r3003

Almost ; but not quite a Delos/ Pentax xw ?

bigjoe.

[bytor666]

There are quite a few flaws in this review. See if you can spot them :)

[bigjoe]

I certainly wouldn't want to negate Bill's excellent review, but I

would have had at least 1 delos esp 14mm , as the 14mm pentax

is noted for having lots of field curvature in most scopes and a lot

of Eps would beat it in this regard.

[bytor666]

Yes, the review was good, but some parts are simply just not correct. He goes on to say "Better than XW's", etc, but there are some shortcomings that disprove that comment and more from other reviews I have read. Not saying they are "bad" eyepieces, as I am interested in a few myself.

[WilliamPaolini]

Not sure where you are referring to in the review. What I did say in the review where I characterized "better" was this: "Comparing the off-axis performance of the Morpheus to the Pentax XWs, the Morpheus performed as well in all corresponding focal lengths using the XT10 with Paracorr, the SCT, and the refractors, except for the 14mm focal length where the Morpheus did a better job than the XW"

My own personal opinion as to "better" in the Morpheus vs XW is that for all but the 4.5mm which has that pesky EOFB, overall the optical performance of the Morpheus is on-par to slightly better than what I see in my XWs. And the larger AFOV is more engaging. Build feels a little more refined/traditional on the XWs though. In the end though, "better" is always a personal choice.

[bytor666]

That was WITH a paracorr....what about without one?

[bigjoe]

I think Bill stated clearly, that the field in the 4.5mm Morpheus "was entirely acceptable without paracorr" in the fast dob.

I myself would NEVER even think of using even my Deloi ,Naglers, Orthos etc without a paracorr/ coma corrector in a fast dob as some of them are left wanting without one; this is what I think Bill is implying here; that you are going to use a coma corrector like just about everyone else in this situation.

Bill, as has Don Pensack, have given what I believe from personal experience, to be correct and honest reviews, with no brand pushing, and as he states it's a "personal " thing.

bigjoe.:)

[bytor666]

A Paracorr is not needed once you get to higher powers.....especially for the ones I have picked. In fact, I have wisely chosen my eyepieces, so that one isn't needed. Yes, I am aware what a Paracorr / Coma Corrector does, and I have used both before myself.....But I choose NOT to use one, as I don't want extra glass to fiddle with.

22mm LVW
10mm Pentax XW
7mm Pentax XW
5mm Pentax XW

I also had a 34mm Meade 5000 SWA which was fine without a Paracorr, but I am also aware that a paracorr does clean up coma which comes from the mirror, especially in longer FL eyepieces. I've been studying and practicing Astronomy for over 30 years.



These comments ABOVE mentioned a Paracorr....not without, which I just wanted to ask about.

And what is THIS below all about?????

.

WRONG.

"Everybody" does not use a CC as you try to imply here. Sorry.

[bigjoe]

WRONG!!!

"Like JUST ABOUT everyone else" .

NOT IMPLIED-STATED!!

PS: Have no further interest in this discussion


Cheers bigjoe.

[bytor666]

Not implied - stated?

Yes, it is stated ONLY because you said so.....not because there is PROOF that everybody uses a CC / paracorr. Everybody does NOT use one with a short FL scope.

END OF.

[skies2clear]

I have a Paracorr, but don't use it that often. I'm treading on thin ice saying this, but despite what the Paracorr does well, I still see some negative aspects because of the "extra glass". But that's me.

I know there are lots who leave it permanently in their focusser and that's good by me too :)