What causes eyepiece fever? Is there a cure?

[AEAJR]

Eyepiece Fever, here is where it often starts.

You have a new scope. It came with two eyepieces. You splurged and got a nice of additional Plossl eyepieces, 25, 18, 12.5, 10, 8, 6 and a 2X barlow. You are loving life and the universe is yours. :thumbsup:


Then you make the mistake of coming to a place like Ice in Space. And you read that Tele Vue is the only eyepiece worth owning. But the price is so high you are able to resist, but you keep reading and wondering. :question: It costs 5X as much, is it 5X better?

Many people tell you that if you don't have at least 60 degrees you are missing out. Well there are some that are not too expensive so you add some 60s and they are nice, so you retire a Plossl or 2.:)

Then ES 82s go on sale and, well, people are going out of their minds to get them before they run out. They are saying that their life has been changed because they got these ES 82s. So you buy a couple and you like them so you retire a Plossl or two. :D

But the 100 degree people are telling you that 60 degree are crap and 82 is just so constraining. Unless you have 100 degree you are not getting that "immersive" experience. And you start to lust for 100s. :help:

Then a zoom guy comes along and says that single FL eyepieces are fine but you don't have EVERY MAGNIFICATION BETWEEN X AND Y so you really don't know if you are getting the best view with your eyepiece set. :confused2: Well, the Celestron zoom is not expensive so you get one, "just try it out". Turns out you like it. Soon you start reading threads on the Baader Hyperion Zoom and the Pentax zoom and the Tele Vue zoom and the fever rises again.

Oh, and have you tried night vision eyepieces? Blows away Hubble and will transport you to the stars, literally.


And we wonder why we have eyepiece fever. :D


The cure for eyepiece fever is to never come to Ice in Space again. This is like a den of drug dealers where the drug is made of glass and someone is always encouraging you to "give this a try".

Or you join a club and someone says, "I just got this new 120 degree. Just take a look." :jawdrop: And now you are craving new glass.

We need to start Eyepiece Anonymous.


You get a chip for every year you don't buy an eyepiece.
You are forbidden to hang out with people who have nicer eyepieces than yours.
Eyepiece sellers, ebay and other sources of temptation are blocked on your browser
You must always observe alone lest someone invite you over to their scope and you take a look and their new eyepiece.
You have a sponsor you can call who tells you that eyepieces over 60 degrees are gateway eyepieces to financial ruin. :(


Hi, I'm Ed and I haven't purchased an eyepiece is 3 months, but it is getting hard to resist. :prey:

Hey buddy, did you hear that Meade has 82s are on sale? :wink2:


Is that how eyepiece fever got you?

[RB]

Yep, AP.

:lol:

[skysurfer]

But that induces another fever. Exposure quality fever. Users buy nicer cameras, crispier APOs, such as a Tak FSQ-106.

[AEAJR]

Well, yes I suppose that would do it. Like starting heroine to help you kick your drinking problem. :eyepop:

Considering the cost of AP, I think I will stay with the addiction I know. ;)

[glend]

There is a cure, it's called imaging, but it way more expensive.

[RB]

Yes, there's no cure guys.
I know, I've tried both.

:lol:

[ZeroID]

Hello, my name is ZeroID, .... and I have imaging addiction... nice to meet you all. My addiction started ..... ( rambles on ) :P

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Great post and thanks for writing what we all know is true as it is a n addiction to be sure .

Over the many years I started with the horrible .965 H12.5 , Sr4 types and they were really , really bad but after a few years Plossl,s became available in NZ , even in 1 1\4 inch size :eyepop: Woaw ! And like you got a full set 6-40 mm so was set for life ( hell no :mad2: ).

Fast forward 25 years and Naglers , Panoptic , Radians , Meade Series 5000-6000 , ES 68-84* sets , Orthoscopics , and every thing in between now most sold yes , man its like a drug , bad .

Then. 2 years ago I grabbed a 32mm TV plossl and liked it so much I now have a set 8-40mm and find that these get most use .

Less is more and I am happy :question: ( for now )

Brian.

[Merlin66]

I upgraded from UO orthos back in the 80’s.
Ended up with a collection of TV Plossl’s.
Been using them ever since.
No need to replace them now - my eyes are going.
They will outlast me......

[Wavytone]

Well...

... the Vixen Affliction seems relatively rare these days.
Some have succumbed to Takahashiitis which is incurable.
Masayumas Malady generally passes after a year or two, while
Many suffer from Naglers Disease which in its chronic form becomes Ethoiitis.

But... a trip to the Docter will numb the nip-pocket nerve for a few months, and a dose of Plossl salts should restore some sanity.

[Merlin66]

Hmmmm
I had a full set of Masuyama eyepieces.......

[ab1963]

Must admit i have had more eyepieces than you can poke a stick at from the amazing Docter 12.5mm and at the other end of the scale Gso plossl's then i bought Lvw's 8,13,17,22mm and a handful of Fujiyama orthos and i am very happy with them and no way would i sell them , No Green writing whatsoever,best for someone else is not always best for you,just have to keep the ones that do it for you because as i have found out the grass is not always greener on the other side you usually just get more grass

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: yes Ken there is something about Plossl's when you get a little older that just ,,,, well :question: Gel's ? or something , yes the TV Plossl's are great eyepieces that do it all very easily .
For me :) .

Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:thanx: Doc , did for me , $1000's later :shrug: .

This one little case ( $4 from the local markets ) with these eyepieces all got 2nd hand from IIS's classifieds over a year or two seem's to have done the trick . ;) .

Brian.

ps. sometimes the grass is greener over the other side .

[Kunama]

It has been three days now since I last bought an eyepiece, I feel fitter, healthier, I can now walk to the letterbox and back without being out of breath...

My eyepiece collection faced the axe recently,
Televues 38 out of 42 went away, only two Panoptic 24s, one Delos and one Nagler survived the cull.
Pentax were not so lucky, they were all retrenched
Takahashi were the survivors, 8 out of 8 are still here
Vixen also all toast....

Sacrifices had to be made in order to have a nice pair of binoculars..:shrug:

[brian nordstrom]

:question: Naglers ? as good as they are I found they fuelled my addiction something terrible , you know ? putting out fire with gasoline :screwy: especially the T4-6's ( all gone ) great small and powerful eyepieces :D but $$$$$ 's lots of $$$'s .

On that I did have enough sanity to save 4 , 3x T1's the 9mm , 13mm ( THE ORIGONAL portal into SPACE ! eyepiece that's never been bested and I will never sell but at 870 gm's she's a beast ! ) and 16mm and one T2 the awesome 20mm , 1kg of glass and metal :thumbsup: and if your mount/focuser can take it it's one of the best eyepieces ever made but these don't get the use the Plossls get but when they come out ,,, :eyepop: look OUT ! .

Just look at the shadows these monsters cast it reminds me of Steven King's ' The Dark Tower ' in his awesome novels by the same name .

All 4 are now becoming super collectable , especially in the USA .

Brian.

[Merlin66]

Brian,
I had a Type 1 13mm Nagler for the 18" Dobbie...great eyepiece.
But when you sell the other scopes, you find it's not a great fit with those left...
Yeah, I miss it, but not enough to buy a replacement..........

[brian nordstrom]

:lol: Hear you Brother , but , and its a BIG :shrug: BUT ,,, if you can find one .
As you say not many scope/focuser/mount combos will take this ' Dark Tower ' of an eyepiece . An 18 inch Dobsonion will take one in its stride for sure as my C9.25 on CI700 does .

Sweet view's tho that really don't help our addiction any ? :face:

Brian.

[m11]

Hi Ed,

I am guilty as charged. :help:

I went hard on the eyepieces and I still have an issue with trying to collect as many as I can :rofl::rofl::rofl:

I even ended getting extra scopes as i like the accessories they came with it :P

M11

[Wavytone]

Ah yes, the Docters bill hitting the hip-pocket nerve should dull the itch, for a while.

[AG Hybrid]

I found a cure for my eyepiece fever. It's when I bought one of these (http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/ToolPro-Safe-Case-1135-x-420-x-155mm/372888)to store them all in at once.

After I put it all together as glorious as it was, I took a step back and said "This is ridiculous! The f*** am I doing with my life?"























"There's a space in that corner... what eyepiece should I buy to fill it?

[Steffen]

Spending more time on astronomy forums than at the telescope tends to induce eyepiece fever.

[bigjoe]

Hi Adrian.
Nice case and price BTW.

I just like collections of Tv and Orthos ..just tried TS dual eds ; very good as my B eps
bigjoe

[Varangian]

Age. **** eyepieces are better than my eyes.

[GrahamL]

I once bought a few orthos and later sold them because I didn't like the tight eye relief,, a few years later i bought a few orthos and later sold them because i didn't like the tight eye relief,, i do regret selling the zeiss 06 though .

[Tropo-Bob]

Happiness is a new eyepiece, and I have had a lot of happiness in my life! :)

Maybe I should cull a few that I do not use these days, but otherwise ... I don't see a problem.

The real problem is collecting telescopes, as they takeup a lot more space.

[bigjoe]

Same Bob ..Just recently sold 10" Meade SCT, 7 MAKSUTOV, 5"MAKSUTOV, 6" MEADE SCT, 90mm Mak etc .. some dozen TV eps etc ..and still have more..Bad habit I guess.
PS: Now I just need a large APO ..Hmm.
bigjoe.

[m11]

100% agree Bob.

Collecting telescope is also more obvious to the lovely wife.

:rofl:

[StuTodd]

Shift work and having 5 clear nights in 6 months has deffo cleared my EP fever! To be honest, it is rapidly curing my astro fever too :(

[gaseous]

The cure? Let your significant other view the receipts - it'll put a stop to quite a few enjoyable things.

[Boozlefoot]

I am a sufferer. If I buy one, I can't possibly let it go. I am looking at more room in the domicile for EP's and acc's. (no SWIMBO) It's not the brand name or the angle or ER. Some are just so damn PRETTY you've got to have it! It's more like collecting religious artifacts than anything else..........

[AEAJR]

I was at the telescope store one evening, after dark, just admiring some new scope. I wan't going to buy it, but it was so pretty and I KNOW this one would change my life. It was $$$$, so I was ale to resist.

As I was walking out the door this guy calls to me. He has a telescope set-up by the store.


Pssst! Hey buddy, come here! :gday:

Look, this little honey is the ultimate eyepiece. This one eyepiece will replace all of your other eyepieces. All off 'em!

Hey, stop! Don't walk away. Don't walk away, I'm talking to you. Come here. Come take a look. :astron:

Now look through the eyepiece at Jupiter. Looks good, right?

Now, twist the barrel and watch Jupiter get bigger and more beautiful and no swapping eye pieces.

Don't be afraid, it won't hurt you. Turn it!. Nice huh? It's called a ZOOM! Don't you want to be able to Z O O O M to the Moon?

Not only will this give you wonderful views, it will cure you of eyepiece fever because once you get your hands on this one, you won't need any others.



It is a cure? Really? :question: I could really use a cure. My wife would be so pleased. I'll take it! :thanx:




That's good. You's love it.


I am walking away feeling so good about myself. I am cured! But as I walk away he calls me again.




Hey buddy, before you go, have you tried binoviewers? ;) They will blow your mind! Well sure you will need two matching eyepieces but just look at this view!

WOW! :help: That is fantastic, but I don't have matching pairs of my eyepieces.


Not to worry! I have a second ZOOM eyepiece right here, just for you.




Honest honey, the guy at the store said that this bino viewer and these two zoom eyepieces will cure my eyepiece fever and I KNEW how pleased you would be if that happened. So I did this for you! :love:


:mad2:

[AEAJR]

Well,

I have to say that the Baader Hyperion 8-24 zoom + a barlow has pretty much cured my eyepiece fever. Not looking and not shopping anymore. And my other eyepieces, shorter than 20 mm, now stay in the eyepiece case most of the time. In my Orion XT8i, from about 67X to 300X, the zoom or zoom + barlow is all I use.

So the guy was right! (Never did buy a binoviewer)


I AM CURED! :clap: :D :lol2:

[Wavytone]

Ed that's just a temporary respite.

There is no real cure, it comes and goes. Just wait till you get a bad dose of Ethoitis, leading to eyepieces the size of coke bottles... then there's the dreaded "mine's bigger than yours" syndrome which is only placated by the ES 30mm with 3" barrel.

You might need a new scope to go with that :D

[AEAJR]

Nope, you can't trip me up there. I have a Meade 5000 SWA 20 mm 82 degree that is huge! Close to a Kilogram.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/355524-REG/Meade_07665_Series_5000_Super_Wide. html

That is big and wide enough for me. ;)

[WilliamPaolini]

...buy more eyepieces! :party2:

[AEAJR]

In the USA the North East Astronomy Forum, NEAF, is being held Saturday and the vendors are all running sales. I know that Explore Scientific, Meade and Baader have eyepieces on sale.

Do these sales carry over to Australia? If so, you might be able to scratch that itch that is eyepiece fever. Maybe get 4 for the price of 3. :thumbsup: