Baader Planetarium 1.25" and 2" 8mm Hyperion Eyepiece

[Varangian]

Hi all,

I am interested in purchasing a Baader Planetarium interchangable 1.25"/2" 8mm Hyperion Eyepiece, does anyone use these and if so could you give me some feedback about them?

The barel size is interchangable so you can use them in 1.25" or 2" focusers. I want to use it for planetary observation (i.e. 1200/8= 150mag) and also for zooming into the DSOs using the same mag I locate with my 2" 30mm GSO SV.

Am I looking in the right direction here?

Many thanks, John.

[mental4astro]

Hi John,

I have 3 Hyperions, 24mm, 13mm & 5mm. I'd LOVE to get my hands on an 8mm!

The Hyperions are amungst the easiest to use eyepieces I've come across. Not only for their 20mm of eye relief (which means you can comfortably see the whole field of view without needing to park your cornea on the eye lens), but so some reason, some eyepieces are easier on the eye to use over an extended time than others.

You are correct with getting 150X with it in your 8" scope. This is also the maximum the atmosphere will typically allow before the image starts to degrade due to thermal currents.

Your approach to locating objects with your 30mm, and then changing EP for the 8mm is best practice too. You'll be looking at a much smaller bit of the sky with all high power eyepieces, which would make centering/locating any small object very difficult.

The 8" diameter of your scope is also capable to giving you higher magnification too (atmospheric conditions allowing). The general rule of thumb for maximum magnification for a given aperture is:

diameter of scope in inches X 50 = max. magnification for that scope.

Your scope should be capable to give you a very good image at anything upto 400X, again, provided that the atmosphere allows it. The max. the atmosphere will allow though is around 250X, and very rarely 300X and over.

I have often used my 5" Schmidt Cassegrain at 250X, no problem. You'll notice a shimmering effect most times due to the thermal currents, but on those occasions when the atmosphere is still, man-oh-man! Oh, and things do move across the field of view faster too the higher in magnification you go, be aware of this.

The Hyperions are great in this respect as objects will be in the field of view for longer than, say, in a Plossl with its typical 52 degrees of aparent field of view. There are still wider aparent fields of view, upto 120 degrees! But these introduce their own set of peculiarities beyond your question.

Yes, you can use them in either a 2" or 1.25" format. Note however, that when you have the eyepiece in the scope, the point of focus is the same - it's one eyepiece. BUT, the position of the 2" ring is higher up the barrel than the 1.25". This means that when you insert the EP in a 2" focuser, you'll need to pull the draw tube of the focuser much further out than in the 1.25" fixture as the eyepiece will sit further into focuser as a 2". If you find you can't extend the focuser out far enough as a 2", just insert you 1.25" adaptor and use the Hyperion as a 1.25" eyepiece. You can also use a 2" extension tube inserted into the 2" focuser (that's how I use them in my 17.5" scope).

I have no hesitation recommending an 8mm Hyperion (Anyone need a new home for theirs, drop me a PM! :D). You may even consider the 5mm too.

[Varangian]

Thanks for such a comprehensive review mental, much appreciated. I will be upping the ante with a 2x 2" barlow which will give me 300x but if I want to be really silly I have the option of the 3x 1.25" barlow as well and I have a 2" extension tube just in case I cannot focus the 8mm with my current application.

I am also interested in the 5mm down the track once the funds free up and I work on the wife for a while, unfortunately you only have one birthday a year so I intend to milk it for all it's worth.

Do you have any issues with the 5mm in terms of comfort?

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

Be aware of the Baader fine tuning rings for these EPs as well, they may influence your choices - page 3 here

http://www.baader-planetarium.com/pdf/hyperion_brief_description_e.pdf

Cheers

[mental4astro]

No issues at all with the 5mm. It is stunning in my 8" f/4 dobbie, 160X. In my 8" SCT and my 17.5" dob, both 2000mm focal length, it gives me 400X, so I rarely use it with these criters. In my 8" dob Eta Carina is WOW. You won't be disappointed with it.

A little note with the extension rings that Geoff mentions, adding extension rings will require further out travel of the draw tube of the focuser. The extension rings may be best suited to use in an SCT or Mak than a typical Newtonian's or refractor's focuser.

Another option is the Orion Stratus range which is essentially the same eyepiece but without the capacity of employing the extension rings or the thread that surrounds the eye lens to do eyepiece projection photography with the Hyperions. The length of the 2" barrel on the Stratus isn't as long as that on the Hyperions either. The link Geoff noted shows all these details with the Hyperions. The Stratus range you can find a little cheaper than the Hyperions, but should perform the same. Though I haven't used a Stratus, all the reviews I've read really can't split them. I wouldn't sneeze at one either if it came past me too, ;) .

Mental.

PS, It was the evil GeoffW1 that put me onto Hyperions. Curse you Geoff! :P

[MattT]

John,
I have the 5 and 8mm with the 28 and 14mm tuning rings. Very nice eyepieces. The 8 goes down to a 6mm with the 28mm ring and the 5 goes to 4mm and 3. something mm with both rings! Versatile in other words and the 20mm eyer relief is the best part. I use mine in a f8 6" refractor which has a 140mm focuser travel so I've not had any focus issues. Highly recommended as are the ES 82 degree series, actually I really like the ES eyepieces.
Matt

[Varangian]

Thanks guys.

Geoff, Mental and Matt I'm reading it like this. If I purchase the 8mm Hyperion and use it in conjunction with, say, a Baader 2" moon and sky glow filter, without any fine tuning rings, I'm looking at 6.9mm?

Thanks.

[mental4astro]

Hi John,

You are right, but only if you are using the one filter at a time. The ring of the filter acts just like an extension ring, though it is shorter than the 14mm one. Alternatively, you can use other 2" filters instead of the Baader ones, though if the filter ring is of a different "extension" length than the Baader filter it will alter the perscribed focal length, but only marginally and it won't affect the performance of the EP. It will still work. I tried it. The change in magnification really isn't significant in a 1.1mm difference in focal length.

If you're looking at the Moon, the Sky Glow filter is unnecessary. The Moon filter would be the only thing you may need. But in your scope, I wouldn't think it necessary. I don't use a moon filter of any description with the Moon at high magnifications with either of my two 8" scopes. Low magnification is another matter of comfort. But it is a personal choice.

[Varangian]

Thanks mental. One last question, will a 2X 2" Barlow affect the focal length of the hyperion other than doubling the magnification? So a 8mm hyperion with a 2" filter (making it 6.9mm/1200mm = approx 173.9X), with a 2" Barlow = approx 347.8X).

Many thanks I think I'm almost there:thumbsup:

[GrampianStars]

Under $200 delivered :thumbsup:
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=1046-8934

[mental4astro]

Not the Hyperion, but it will upset the balance of your dob. It's a lot of weight you're adding, the Hyperion + the barlow.

In all honesty, John, you won't get many chances to get a good image at 350X. Have it up your sleeve, but it isn't all that practical.

Invest in flowers, do the laundry, cook dinner, do what ever it takes to earn your brownie points. An EP that will take you to 250X is more practical than the barlowed 350X.

Don't forget your TMB's! They are sensational EPs too!

[Varangian]

Thanks mental, I don't have a dob, I'm using a 200mm newt on a eq4 mount, very sturdy with plenty of counter weight so the weight of all that gear will not matter one bit.
I have a TMB, nice piece but I'm just looking at broadening my knowledge with regard to the 2" eps.

Thanks for all your advice.

[mental4astro]

Good find Rob!

[Varangian]

yes good find, thanks. They can also be purchased through Amazon for the same price:thumbsup:

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

Amazon will not ship here for this EP (or does that depend on exactly who is the Amazon vendor?), but it looks like Optcorp will - interesting, as Opt will not ship Celestron items.

Cheers

[MattT]

John I got mine from OPT. Much cheaper than here. Mental is spot on about brownie points.
Matt

[Irish stargazer]

I have the 8, 13 and 21mm hyperions and find them very good but I recently upgraded to a 27 mm panoptic, 16 and 9mm Naglers and have not looked back. I still have the hyperions though which I use on my sct for public viewing. I bought mine from Telescope Service in Munich for 100 euro each. Might be worth checking what their price is now as the Euro is in the gutter at the moment against the $. TS are great to deal with.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p138_Baader-Hyperion-Okular-8mm---1-25----68--Weitwinkel.html

Edit

Just checked. 104 euro each but this includes 19% VAT which you won't have to pay outside of the EU. Give Patrick an email at TS and get a deal. Great company to deal with.

[Varangian]

Depends on the vendor. telescopes.com in the U.S advertises through Amazon and they ship Hyperions to Oz for $139.00 plus postage.

I have settled on the 8mm. It gives me the option of zooming to 150x after I spot up using the SV 30mm and doubling up to 300x with the barlow when conditions are right for planet observation. I was seeking information about magnification in my earlier posts to make sure I din't go overboard with it, I would rather a smaller image at a higher resolution than a distorted larger one.

Matt/mental, I have collated enough brownie points to start asking questions here, I know I'll need more in the future, but for now I'm enjoying the ones I've got to play with now.
Thanks all.

[MattT]

Thanks for the link Irish Stargazer John, to be sure better deal than the US:)

[Varangian]

Hmmm, I wonder if I connect both the 14mm and 28mm finetuning rings and a 2" Baader neutral density filter to my 8mm Hyperion whether I will be looking at a 3.2mm eyepiece? This would be ideal for Lunar viewing, if it worked. Any one know or done this? :shrug:

[sil]

Can it be done? Yes
Will it work? Yes
Will it be usable? Depends.

I've got both fine tuning rings and have tried stacking. But you lose image quality. How much you lose or are willing to lose will depend on seeing conditions and your personal preference. You can do similar "cheap" tricks to extend the capabilities of camera lenses but the trade off is quality.

Optics are built with certain characteristics in mind with each lens element playing a part in reducing distortion and flattening out the image so that the photons entering the front exit the back at the same time in same relative position to each other. So by adding an extension ring you are increasing the gap between elements. So if the existing gap was, for example, 14mm and you add a 14mm extension ring you just doubled the gap. The spread of the photons (distortion) at 14mm might have been in acceptable limits to ensure a certain level of image quality for the assembly. By doubling the distance the photons will spread further, distorting more and the rest of the elements will only be able to counter that partly.

In practice I find the extension rings work best on the wide field eyepieces (above 20mm), where the distortion is so tiny its still un-noticable with the rings. But getting down under 10mm eyepieces the quality loss seems to be more pronounced. So its hard to tell where the practical limits will be. Each eyepiece will have its own characteristics (eg your Hyperions might be a tiny bit better than mine), each scope has its own characteristics, collimation, seeing...all these factors will compound the more you push the optics.

But you won't break anything by giving it a try :)

You could also "ghetto" an extension tube by using an empty toilet paper roll or something similar. Maybe (if its safe enough for you) you can undo the eyepiece (as if you were adding the extension ring), put the bottom part into your scope and carefully hold the remainder above and see for yourself what the distortion is like at different distances.