APM Superzoom eyepiece

[gregbradley]

Finally after something like 8 months my APM Superzoom has shipped to me and I should have it late next week.

Hopefully I can get some clear nights to check it out.

I'll do a mini review here when I do.

Greg.

[m11]

That is great news. :thumbsup:

Will be interesting to see how it goes. :D

[Rainmaker]

Keen to hear your thoughts on this eyepiece Greg, it has been a long genesis since its first mention by Markus, especially with regard to the AFoV.

[gregbradley]

The SuperZoom arrived today. Very well made and the various focal lengths for the zoom have a nice click as you zoom.

Also nice caps which are a softish rubber same as their other eyepieces. Much nicer than the usual clearish hard plastic caps.

Now the wait for the rainy weather to clear up and I'll put it through its paces.

Greg.

[AG Hybrid]

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo. We're waiting!

[AG Hybrid]

I'd like a minimalist grab and go setup. Hoping this zoom can replace my BHZ. Probably use it with a 22LVW or 24ES68.

[gregbradley]

I managed to set up my rig last night and do some preliminary viewing.
I couldn’t get my mount to connect so it was a bit rough handling the scope manually.But I was able to form an opinion on it.

Scope was an AP130GT.
The APM zoom came to focus but took almost all of the infocus travel.
Eye relief is quite confortable.
Centre was very sharp and much the same as a fixed focal length eyepiece.
Field of view seemed about the same as a Panoptic eyepiece.
Slight darkening in the last 10%. Didn’t bother me.
Zoom has some nice click stops at different focal lengths.
I zoomed in on the Jewel Box.
Not 100% parfocal but close and way better than cheaper zooms.
Overall I really like the zoom and can see it will be very handy not having to change eyepieces all the time. No real kidney beaming either.
Greg

[gregbradley]

I might also add that the FOV did not noticeably change when I zoomed in although because I was handling the scope
manually the view was bouncing around a lot so a bit hard to tell.
I can confirm that once I get my mount sorted.


Usually zooms shrink the FOV a lot when you zoom in. They also go out of focus dramatically depending on the zoom.

Greg

[FlashDrive]

Sounds like a good one Greg.

Col....

[gregbradley]

Yes its a keeper.

Is it perfect? For my use yes but others more discerning will notice slight imperfections but its the best zoom I have used so far including a Nagler 3-6mm.

Greg.

[Rainmaker]

Sounds like a good investment Greg, I think some of the guys on Cloudy Evenings did tests and found the AFOV was around 66 to 68 degrees.

I had intended to buy one but then went with a Leica Asph Zoom. So nice to not have to change eyepieces when trying to eek out detail in changing seeing.
A pair of the APMs would be nice for binoviewer use…..

[MortonH]

The AFOV usually increases as you zoom in. The actual FOV will shrink but that's just the same as swapping to a shorter FL eyepiece.

[gregbradley]

Right.

I have some other cheap zooms and they are super non parfocal and the FOV varies enormously when you zoom in. So this zoom has done a good job of overcoming that.

Greg.

[gregbradley]

I just read a review on the Leica ASPH zoom. Wow, sounds like a masterpiece. Pricey though at around $900. The APM zoom is around 360 euro = about AUD$500.

Greg

[gaseous]

Greg, have you used a Baader 8-24mm zoom, and if so, what sort of comparisons would you make between it and the APM? Cheers.

[gregbradley]

No sorry I haven't. I think there was someone who has both commented on that over at Cloudynights in the eyepiece forum. One thing I remember was no glow from bright stars that he complained the Baader would do but the APM did not.

Greg.

[gaseous]

Thanks Greg.

[Don Pensack]

1) the eyepiece uses a lot less in travel used as a 2" eyepiece but be careful if the eyepiece is used in a star diagonal.
2) The edge of field vignetting is largely gone when you dial down to 14mm and shorter. It is an issue with 14-15.4mm, though.
3) Much of the lack of parfocality is in the last two mm on the large end.

It might not be quite as wide as we were originally hoping, but a good widefield zoom is pretty unusual.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Don.

Overall I am happy with it especially compared to other zooms I have or have had.

The Leica Asph is AUD$900 here.

Greg.

[gregbradley]

I used it again last night. Mount fixed and a nice clear night although thin high cloud came in after a while.

Its very sharp and not that different from the very very sharp APM 12.5mm Hi FW eyepiece. Small stars were tiny pinpoints. Scope was an AP130GT F6.3 on a PME mount.

Cruising around I can't say I particularly noticed distortions. It seemed pretty normal there.

It definitely is not parfocal though as zooming in it goes a little bit out of focus- not a lot but you need to refocus.

I put it on a 2X barlow and looked at Saturn. Seeing was not so great but a good view. It was a slightly better view with the Hi FW and barlow though.

I think this eyepiece would be very handy if you just wanted to use one eyepiece and not constantly change eyepieces with caps everywhere. You'd do more viewing.

Eye relief is very comfortable. I don't wear glasses.

I am quite happy with this eyepiece.

Greg.