Andrews Communication Eyepieces

[cjmarsh81]

Hello All!

Andrews Communications have a special on their eyepieces. You can choose three eyepieces for $99. They are Andrews series 500 1.25" plossl eyepieces.
You can choose from 4,6.5,10,12.5,15,20,25,30 and 40mm pieces.

I know these are probably cheap eyepieces. Would they be alright for a beginner. I don't think they could be any worse than the eyepieces that came with my Skywatcher scope which I am using now.

What are your opinions on these eyepieces. Will they work ok, or am I just wasting money?

[cjmarsh81]

I am after a 4mm eyepiece. These are the options available from Andrews (or the 3 or $99 deal mentioned below)

4mm Andrews Series 500 1.25" Plossl $39
4mm Guan Sheng 1.25" Plossl $39
3.8mm ED (Extra Low Dispersion) 1.25" $99

I would like to step up to around 300x magnification. Which do you recommend?

[asimov]

What EPs came with your skywatcher? I think if a scope comes with series 500's....that's ok, but to actually buy some...well that's a different matter. I don't reckon you'll get many opinions suggesting you do it! But I could be wrong. I would not if I was in your position, word has it that their not good eyepieces.

[cjmarsh81]

The skywatcher came with a 10mm and 25mm super plossl. Don't know what brand, probably Synta or Skywatcher.

[asimov]

I'd recommend saving up for an LV vixen 4 or 5mm to be honest.

[cjmarsh81]

Yeah that sounds like it might be a better idea. I think the Vixen 4mm is about $185 last time I checked. Might save up for one of those.

Thought it sounded too good, 3 eyepieces for $99.

[Starkler]

If these are the silver bodied ones, they are not half bad for cheap plossls, and alot better than the el-cheapo Andrews ones.

When focal length get much shorter than 10mm, plossls become very hard and uncomfortable to look ( more like squint ) through. Consider getting a barlow lens and using that with your 10mm plossls.

It will be very rare that you can usefully use a 4mm ep in your dob. 90% of my planetary viewing is done at about 200x, and sometimes up to 250x in excellent conditions.

[asimov]

So from what Geoff says, you'd actually be going backwards by buying the 500's.

[asimov]

I was also going to mention that...I have a 5mm LV Vixen & I would only get to use that 40% of observing night in a F5 reflector. 6mm seems to be a good compromise perhaps.

[asimov]

That's a good piece of advice right there from Geoff too. Get a 2X barlow lens. With your existing EP's that will turn your 10mm into a 5mm EP.

[davidpretorius]

i have the 6.5mm series 500 that came free with the scope and it is fine, but having to go back to it after asimovs 5mm, I can definately say, save up and go a vixen or equivalent $ high power eyepiece.

I would go a 6mm to start with and then work your way down. I am going to be buying a 4,5,& 6 lv vixens down the track as i know i will get a good % of time with the 5mm and then the 4mm for great conditions

[janoskiss]

Barlow + 15mm plossl may be be your best bet. An inexpensive but very useful addition. Word of warning with barlows: many 2x barlows end up giving 2.2-2.4x magnifications with some eyepieces, and it may well be that your 10mm barlows to become a 4-4.5mm, which would be really pushing the limits of seeing on many nights. A barlowed 15mm could be used more often in any case.

If you want a native short FL EP with generous eye relief, but don't want to pay vixen LV prices, the ED-2 from AOE for $79 might be a good option. Asimov himself gave the 9.5mm a good overall review (see iis reviews page). Care to comment, Asi?

[cjmarsh81]

I have just been looking at the 6.3mm LV Vixen and like the idea of the 20mm eye relief. Unfortunately, the myastroshop is down at the moment and I cannot check the price. I think it would be around the $185 - $200 price range.

I am considering getting a barlow as well. What brand do you recommend for a good quality barlow. What price do I need to spend to get a good barlow

I don't mind paying the higher price for a vixen as my budget for getting the scope was much higher than I ended up paying for it.

cheers

[asimov]

I have a series 5000 APO 2X barlow that I like a lot! Can't remember what I paid for it though.

[Starkler]

6.3mm should be a very good useful focal length in your scope, certainly useful more often than the 4mm. The vixen lv line have quite a small fov though.



About $150 will get you an Orion Shorty-PLUS, which is a decent barlow. Please dont be tempted to economise on a cheap barlow or you will be dissapointed.



Just how big is your budget? If you can afford to go higher, many wonderful no-comprimise options open up :)

P.S. moving this to the eyepieces forum

[janoskiss]

Like I tell everyone, my Shorty-plus was very ordinary compared with another similarly priced Japanese barlow. I would not buy it. Does the job, but it's no keeper. I'd give the meade apo or televue a go in the 1.25" formats. Probably televue if you want to be sure it's top notch. But if you're willing to put up with the weight and bulk of a big 2" barlow (which you will be able to use with both 2" & 1.25" EPs) the Uni Optics 2" is simply magnificent, and an absolute bargain for around $160 new.

[cjmarsh81]

I was initially going to spend up to $1500 on my scope, this was only because I was looking at an 8" tripod mounted Skywatcher at that time.

I ended up only spending $750 on my scope, so I have a bit left over for a few eyepieces. I don't want to go overboard though, I have seen some nice televues but do not want that kind of expense.

I was thinking of getting a 6.3mm LV Vixen and maybe a barlow and this should do me for a little while until I figure out what else I am going to need.

[cjmarsh81]

The Unioptics 2" sound alright if I can use it for both 2" and 1.25" and $160 is reasonable as it is going to effectively double my EP collection.

Where would I get one of these? Myastroshop and Andrews both have a limited range when it comes to barlows

[asimov]

Wise decision I reckon! 6.3 LV & a good barlow...way to go! As Geoff says, don't skimp on the barlow though. Not sure on the price of Televue power-mate barlows, but they have definitely got the nod.

[janoskiss]

Frontier Optics (www.frontieroptics.com) sell UO products.

You can buy directly from UO from www.universityoptics.com to save a few bucks perhaps (so I've been told), but Daniel from Frontier Optics has been great with me via email, and his prices are very reasonable. And while you are there you might want to consider getting the 12mm HD ortho eyepiece, which barlows to a 5.5mm in that barlow (in a typical 2-to-1.25" adapter; you get more mag with an extension piece, less with a low profile adapter). The combo makes for a superb high contrast high-mag planetary eyepiece. Eye relief of the 12mm HD is quite good on its own, and even better when barlowed. Televue 15mm Plossl is also superb in that barlow for high contrast mid-high mag planetary viewing.

Dave (47Tuc) did a review on this barlow for the site. Check it out in the Reviews section. This is a big barlow, and it needs to sit a fair way out of the focuser. Have a look at Dave's photos and make sure you're comfortable with the bulk of the thing.

[cjmarsh81]

I just read the review by Dave (47Tuc) on the Unioptics 2x Barlow. It sounds pretty good, but he says it does not come with the 2" - 1.25" adaptor as standard.

[janoskiss]

But your focuser does. Just use that.

[Starkler]

I'll go out on a limb and suggest that Steves experiences with the shorty-plus are in use with complex eyepieces such as his panoptic and stratus eyepieces.
I have both a shorty-plus and the 2 inch Japanese barlows that he mentions and I see absolutely no difference in performance using either with plossls or my Pentax XL's.
The only time I bother with the jap 2" barlow is when I want to barlow my 31mm nagler. Its a big beast of a thing and when swapping and changing eyepieces around I find the smaller 1.25' easier to deal with.

[janoskiss]

Geoff, it would definitely be nicer to use a more compact 1.25" barlow, esp. with tiny orthos and plossls. They look pretty ridiculous in the 2" barlow. Your Celestron Ultima might be a lot better than Orion's version of that barlow.

My Shorty-plus did poorly with all my EPs: panoptic, nagler, Stratus, GS & TV plossls and UO HDs. It was worst with the wide FOV EPs and the TV plossl. There was a yellow discolouration around the edge of the field, in the last 4-5 degrees (so about 8-10 degrees total). This did not occur with the HD orthos, which have the narrowest FOV, 45 degrees.

Excessive light scatter was evident with all EPs, as was internal reflections on bright objects. Actually, this was the case early on when I only had GS plossls. Then the good people of iis were saying it's my crummy EPs: "Put good EPs in the barlow and it will perform well." Then I got the Nagler & the Pan, but I found the same problems when using these EPs. I only found the performance acceptable with the HD orthos. But I'd still get better contrast and no false colour with the UO 2". BTW, the Shorty plus is meant to be an apo, but I'd still get false colour off planets when not centred in the FOV.

[Starkler]

It really sounds like something was wrong with your particular sample Steve.
There are multitudes of experienced observers who have high praise for this barlow.

[janoskiss]

You're probably right, Geoff, that I got a dud. I should have sent it back to Bintel, but I was too inexperienced to appreciate the problem. Based on many comments I read here, I just thought this level of performance is as good as barlows can manage and you need to pay big $ for a powermate to get any better. Until I got the 2" barlow which was a revelation.

I guess should have taken it back to Bintel and get Roger to have a look at it before selling it so cheap. Ah well, another $100 down the drain.

[BerzerkerNerd]

Hey Jano was really surprised to here your shorty plus was a dud.. what a shame. Mine works nicely especially with ortho's so maybe i got lucky.

Steve M

[matt]

FWIW

I have the Celestron Ultima 1.25" 2x barlow and it's an absolute beauty!!!!

I paid $180 for it and consider that money very well spent for the performance it delivers.

[ving]

short eps, barlows... it all so confusing!

I tend not to barlow at all (well cept for doubles) but thats because my only barlow is a GS 1.25 and its pretty crapy.

i'd go the ultima , uo, or shorty if at all but that of little help to you :)
if you want a planetary ep, get something arounf 6-7mm it'll be rare that you can go above that :)

[cjmarsh81]

Thankyou all for your varied opinions.

At this stage the plan is to get a 6.3mm LV Vixen. Also a Unioptics 1.25" barlow (maybe later not sure yet). Also another purchase coming up is an orion laser collimator.

[janoskiss]

Sorry for the confusion (but that's the way it is with equipment). It's the UO 2" I was referring to. I would not bother with a laser collimator, unless it's one of the specialised units. I have what Orion sell as their "Deluxe" laser, but I'd say it's for quick rough checks only. Long Cheshire/sighttube or whatever they are called (long tube pinholes one end cross-hairs the other, 45 degree reflective surface in between) is my collimation tool of choice. The "autocollimator" tool might be worth checking out though. I saw it in action once and was very impressed.

[mickoking]

From my own experience any plossl e/p below 7.5mm is going to have short eye relief and be a bit inconvenient to use. I would be tempted to buy Vixen LV's as they maintain decent eye relief as they have a 'barlow group' within the eyepiece.

[mickoking]

If you are going to purchase a Vixen LV it is probably pointless to purchase a barlow as well cos the LV's have a 'barlow group' with in it's optics. In effect a LV coupled with a barlow is a hell of a lot of glass (8-9 elements I think). I also have a laser collimator and I never use it, a cheshire does the same thing, cheaper.

[Starkler]

A set of 10, 12.5 and 15mm plossls coupled with a barlow makes a nice range of planetary magnifications whilst having reasonable eye relief and also wider fov than the vixen lv.

[janoskiss]

At the price, I would not buy a Vixen LV without having tried it out myself along with the other options. From what I've read on CN, the LVs seem to be regarded as okay but not exactly the best value EPs.

I agree with Geoff's comments: good set of plossls in the 9-15mm range + good barlow make for a nice planetary set. If you don't mind a 45deg FOV then orthos + barlow will do very well too. I'm very happy with the orthos, plossls + barlow I own at the moment, as per my signature.

Still waiting for Asimov to comment on his review about the ED-2 planetary eyepiece :poke: (which is supposed to be some sort of clone of the LV but has a wider field of view). Asi, you seem to be for the LV. What's your opinion of the ED-2 now, after having befriended the LV?

[cjmarsh81]

Yes definately something to think about. So many eyepiece combinations. Why don't they just have a zoom eyepiece? lol

[davidpretorius]

guess what???

televue do make one and there is a review on cloudy nights!!!!:)

[asimov]

My opinion on the ED-2 9mm still stands as written in my review, although I'm more critical on the build quality now. I actually owned the Vixen LV a long time before the ED-2.

I can only give my opinion on the 9mm ED-2 of course. Not familiar with shorter FL's in the same range. They are reputed to perform better than the 9mm & above though. Not so prone to black outs apparently. Unfortunately I can't 'compare' the ED-2 9mm & the LV 5mm I own for obvious reasons.

The only thing I have against the ED-2 9mm is the cheap look & feel about it.

If I had the LV & the ED-2 side by side now & I could only choose one, I'd have to go the LV over the ED, just for the fact it looks & feels more like quality. (& the reason below)

Optically the LV is superior to the ED as well....& I would expect it to be looking at the difference in price between the two.

If one was on a REALLY tight budget, the ED-2 is tempting. Try before you buy if possible! Been there done that: Bought an eyepiece based on a review, but didn't like the eyepiece in some way. It's a very personal thing choosing an eyepiece.

See my review in the review section. It's best you read the F8 review before the F5 one.

[janoskiss]

Pentax have a couple of very attractive looking zoom EPs too!
Pentax :fight: Televue

[BerzerkerNerd]

Yes and keep on buying those scratchy tickets or look to the ground for lost money.

[ving]

time to check under the cusions on the lounge for loose change... ;)

if its gunna take for ever to save up for a premiun EP, for a beginner a GSO will do you fine as long as you dont mine the tight ER... its only $40 so dont be turned off it for a short term EP :)

[Darkplague]

Now you tell me its a dud! :mad2:

[Starkler]

Whoa! we are only speculating here, and Steve certainly wasnt aware that the barlow was abnormal for its type, and to his credit sold it for much less than he paid for it. Maybe theres still hope Bintel could help ?

[Darkplague]

I wasnt having a go at him. Just a little dig thats all. Although it did look that way I suppose.

I should have used this: :help3:
Instead of this: :mad2:

Mark

[janoskiss]

Darkplague, I openly stated when I was selling the barlow that I just got the UO 2" and next to it the Shorty-Plus felt like a cheap unit to me and that this was the reason I was selling it cheap. At that time I still thought it was just the way the barlow performs. Maybe it is, but maybe there is something wrong with that particular barlow (but even as it is it was well worth the $50 you paid for it!). But maybe it's just me, or something peculiar about my scope & EPs. Gazz (cahullian) also has a Shorty-Plus and at Star Camp last year he said he does not like it. But like me, he had not tried anything else either.

I was actually getting around to asking you for some feedback on what you think of this barlow and how it performs with your EPs... I would actually be happy to get to the bottom of this and find out what was going on with the barlow that everyone was telling me should work so well. I should still have the receipt around somewhere, and if we are all friends I might be able to dig it up for you and then you could get an exchange from Bintel, if there is really something wrong with the barlow. But first judge for yourself, and tell us what you think.

[Darkplague]

I'll repeat again, I wasnt having a go at you, It was meant to be sarcasm. In hindsight, reading my post back it sounded like I was bitter. :(

Anyway, I havnt had much chance to use it, as Ive been busy modifying my dob base, but it seems ok.

I used to own a GSO 2" barlow, and have to say that it is on par or slightly better than that one.

The weather looks good over the next couple days so I will give it a good workout and keep you updated!

Mark