2' EP's

[skytry]

hi All,
I have a good selection of 1.25" EP's,

and as my eye's are ageing,
I am upgrading to a selection of 2" EP's,
at present I have 50mm, 32mm, 26mm, 15mm,

the question is, can I get down to a 10mm or 8mm 2" EP,
as I have not seen, I have to ask the question,

regards,
Peter.

[David Niven]

Hi Peter,

Explore Scientifics has a 2 ins barrel, 9mm focal , 100 afov eyepiece.
Check their website on,
http://www.explorescientific.com/eyepieces/

This is probably the shortest focal in a 2" barrel format.

[MattT]

Hi Peter,
What you need is eyepieces with lots of eye relief not necessarily the domain of 2" eyepieces. Some one correct me if I'm wrong please.
Pentax XW, Vixen LVW spring to mind.
Matt

[skytry]

hi All,
thank you David,
researching your link to explorescientific has good advertising,
and a great write up,
it shall be looked at,
Matthew, thank you,
your suggestion shall be investigated as well, a couple of good options too consider, which shall be looked at also,

now comes the research,

regards,
Peter.

[Varangian]

If your looking for a reasonable performer at a cost less than those listed above the Stratus and Hyperion eps offer 20mm of eye relief and can be sourced in 3.5mm (although the Hyperion 3.5mm is now dicontinued but you will find second hand ones), 5mm, 8mm, 10mm etc. focal lengths. These are usually around the $200 mark in Australia (cheaper in the States) but you can pick these up for $160 delivered (Petes Astro or Aus telescopes) or between $90-120 second hand. As Matt said the ES eps are very good, I have a 24mm 68 and it is my most used ep. Cheers.

[mental4astro]

Hi Peter,

Vixen LVW's, Baader Hyperions, Celestron Ultima LX's, Orion Stratus, and various TV's and some others, are dual 2" and 1.25".

HOWEVER, from my recent experiences, not all of these are equally matched to the different telescope optical systems, as with all other eyepieces, 2" or 1.25"

I'll give you an example, the 8mm LVW, 8mm LX and 8mm Hyperion all worked very well in an SCT. But in a fast reflector, the LVW & the LX both performed well, but the Hyperion showed pincushion. While the eyerelief on the Hyperion was the longest (20mm vs 16 on the other two), the LVW and the LX were actually easier on the eye - less eyestrain. I don't quite understand why this is, but "ease of use" is also something that isn't spoken about. This too happens within the various focal lengths of a model: The 8mmLVW is by far the easiest on the eye of all the LVW focal lengths too! and the LVW's are all nice EPs. :shrug: The 13mm Ethos (also dual 2" and 1.25") is also easier on the eye than the 21mm Ethos too.

This isn't hearsay, but my actual experience.

My 5mm Hyperion in my 8" f/4 dob is FANTASTIC! I use it as a 2" EP.

In my search for my "perfect" EP collection, I've been learning this the hard way, $$$. EP manufacturers do not mention the optical matching of thier EPs to different telescope optical systems. Many reviews are also thrwart with a lack of thourgh mixing-it-up with different scopes and f/ratios.

What is the scope/s you have, and how much are you looking to spend?

[skytry]

hi John,
I have been reading with interest you views (re) eyepiece
selection, and thank you for more information,
John, are you saying to stay with the 1.25in, in better quality
eyepieces?, or 2in,
regards,
Peter

[skytry]

hi Alexander,
thank you for your report,
the scopes at home are,
1/ 12 truss tube collapsable Dob Skywatcher,
2/ Meade 10in LX200 2120,
travell scopes are,
1/ Vixen VC200L with goto,
2/ 102mm Skywatcher Black Diamomd Refractor,
the 2 main scopes in operation at home shall be Meade & Vixen,
with a little astrophotography,
regards,
Peter.

[dannat]

Get the 8mm lvw, but yes eye relief is more important than ep size, & as you age your exit pupil starts to diminish but usually isn't a problem for scopes, just binos.

[Varangian]

Hi Peter, as Matt mentioned your problem does not seem to be a product of the dimension of the eyepiece barrel (e.g. 1.25" or 2") it seems to stem from eye relief (your comfort) while looking through the lens (e.g. the diemsions of the lens you look through, the wider the more comfortable, this is called eye relief).

I'm sure if you increased the eye relief (to say 15-20mm) of your high mag eyepieces (your 6mm-10mm focal length eyepieces) your eyes would be more comfortable and you wouldn't have to squint into a small 6-8mm hole. I have issues with my eyes as well (I got some metal shards stuck in my eye in my former life as a foundry worker) and I cannot keep my eyes open for long periods of time, so that's why I purchased an eyepiece with a large eyerelief (Orion Startus/ES 68s/Hyperions). The Hyperions and the Startus' come in all focal lengths as I stated in my previous post and every single eyepiece has 20mm of eye relief, a nice easy to use window into the universe. As stated the ES eyepieces are also highly recommended. I have no experience with the Vixens but have looked through a heap of Pentax and Tele Vue eyepieces and if you have the coin...

The useful things about Hyperons is that they unscrew and you can use them as 1.25 or 2" eyepieces. They are not top shelf eyepieces but they are very good performers at reasonable cost, something I personally had to weigh up.

Alex actually put me onto them, curse you Alex...

All my knowledge about eyepieces was guided by very helpful people like Matt and Alex, I hope my experience with eyepiece selection helps:thumbsup:

[MattT]

Hi Peter,
Suppose I should have asked..Do you need long eye relief on eyepieces? Or do you want to stick to 2" barrels so there is no mucking around in the dark with adaptors?
Do you wear glasses? Do you need glasses at the eyepiece? You could use barlows to get down to shorter FL, but that involves mucking around in the dark :lol:
Its a long journey....The Movie 'The Life of Brian' sums it up in the scene when Brian tells the crowd..."you have to work it out for yourself." ....with a bit of encouragement from the side lines.
Matt

[skytry]

hi All,
thank you for all your good advice,
it shall be taken on board after further reading & absorbing,

yes Matthew, I do wear glasses, life is destined that way,
that is why I'm trying too get the good oil, as the saying goes,

I like the idea of 2in, then again, may stay with 1.25in,
it appears eye relief is most important, be it 1.25in or 2in
eyepiece

there is a lot of research to be done, without rushing into things,
from the reports you all have given, I do appreciate,

can you inform where to purchase Hyperons or at least look,

regards,
Peter.

[Varangian]

Peter, please look at Australian Telescopes prices or go to Astro Pete's webpage, these are the two cheapest suppliers in the country (around $160 and I don't work for either company just had good dealings with both, although Australian Telescopes are slow to deliver) or keep looking at IIS classifieds. Cloudy Nights forum classifieds is a great source as well. I picked up a used 13mm Orion Stratus for $80 delivered to Australia. I think there is a 5mm Hyperion in the IIS classifieds that you might be able to haggle for:D

http://www.australiatelescopes.com.au/accessories/eyepieces.html

http://www.astropetes.com.au/accessories.html

[skytry]

hi All,
thanks John,
regards,
Peter

[Varangian]

You're welcome, these are just my opinions and preferences, there are other options available in that price range (ES for example) and if you want to jump up in price...

[Tom Hancock]

Hi Peter,

I will stay in the 1.25 ins barrel format as these eps are cheaper then the 2 ins type.
And I will suggest the ES 6.7mm 82 Deg afov or their 8.8mm.
These are darn good waterproof ep and are available for just $150 or less from VTI Optics.

[skytry]

hi All,
Tom,
thanks for your advice,
just had a look, quality and prices good,

I am very gratefull for the advice I have received from
all,
I am reading and learning, now the research begins,

regards,
Peter.

[Suzy]

I echo what Mental said about the Hyperions performing poorly in fast scopes. I bought a 5mm for my 10" dob and it showed bad vignetting. It was quite distracting and rendered the field of view far smaller than the 65 deg. (or is 68, I forget). So back it went.
Being a 5mm, I was happy to try them as I didn't want to spend lots of dollars for a focal length that would get little use. So now it's back to spending the big dollars to add another Pentax XW5mm to my collection. Adorama in the U.S. have got them on special for only $279 (+ about $50 shipping) at the moment- that's the cheapest I've seen them todate. Opt are still selling them at $360 plus shipping!
The Vixen LVW and Pentax XW's are fantastic eyepieces- 20mm eye relief, large field of view and very very comfortable! They perform beautifully in fast scopes both in edge performance, sharpness and contrast. There's nothing not to like and worth every single penny!
I've avoided the Explore Scientifics purely because of the lack of eye relief which is important to me, otherwise I hear great things about them.

[Richard Gamble]

Hello Peter,

The XW is indeed a very good eyepiece, if you have a deep pocket and willing to shelve out $330 plus for one!
The Explore S are also very good performers but without the premium price. I do recall they have sufficient eye relief of 14mm.
The information on the Explore website confirms that,

http://www.explorescientific.com/eyepieces/82_degree_series.html

[skytry]

hi All,
Suzy & Richard,
I have been looking at the
Explore website, and the eyepieces advertised,
the prices involved seem to be an acceptable cost,

still doing a little more research, as I am a cautious buyer,
with limited funds, SKI money,

I have been reading the other reports RE eyepieces for scopes,
on other sites here, others have contributed, it has been good,

I do not fully understand all your message details, will study till I get it together, then make a decision,
by the way, I do enjoy reading all the interesting reports here, I am grateful,

and as it shall be used in a 102mm refractor & vixen VC200L,
thes are travel scopes, for dark places, one expense is good,

regards,
Peter.

[Varangian]

Interesting, I have a 4.7 10" Dob and Hyperions/Stratus' and I just don't see this issue to the extent that is a problem. Maybe my standards are much lower:lol:or I haven't looked through sufficient premium eps:question:

[Chooka03]

Since this post is on 2" EP's, I'll ask my question here....

I'd like to get just 1 2" eyepiece. What would be the best size to get if you only wanted to own 1 2" EP ? A general all rounder.

For me personally, I'd probably use it for open clusters not planets or single stars. I'm guessing people will suggest 20 - 32mm??

I currently own a 1.25" 20mm ep and a 10mm ep.

Thanks for the feedback! :):thumbsup:

[Gem]

If you are only getting one 2" EP - I would get something that has a FOV that is impossible in a 1.25". For example, the max FOV for a 1.25" is a 24mm Panoptic or a 32mm Plossl. So get something that is larger than that....

[Wavytone]

Long eye-relief eyepieces listed below.

If you wear specs the Vixen LV and LVW series both have lot of eye-relief across the whole range and also have a nice soft rubber eyecup that won't scratch spec's (if you wear them to observe, as I do). Some of the others listed below don't, so if this matters to you it is advisable to check.

1. The original Vixen LV series had 20mm eye relief, focal lengths from 2.5 to 25mm were in 1.25" barrels, then two very big ones - 30mm and 50mm both in 2" barrels. These went out of production long ago and very hard to find secondhand but see NLV below. Excellent eyepieces though outgunned by the ultra-wides that seem to be more popular.

Vixen also made a very nice zoom eyepiece based on the LV design in a 1.25" barrel with similar long eye relief, a bargain if you find one.

2. The Vixen LVW series have 20mm eye relief, and are still available; from 5mm to 22mm in dual 2"/1.25" barrel; then 30mm and 42 mm in 2" barrels.

3. Vixens NLV series, 1.25" barrels, optically the same as the LV series upto 25mm focal length in a different barrel style with a hard plastic eyecup, and currently available. The downside is the big fat fugly eyecups.

3. Televue Radian - 20mm eyerelief.

4. Televue Panoptic - eye relief ranges from a useable 13mm to 27mm depending on the eyepiece focal length. The 19mm and 24mm are in 1.25" barrels, the rest 2".

5. Televue Delos - 20mm eyerelief (all). 3.5-17mm focal lengths, all in 1.25" barrels.

6. Pentax XF - 18mm eyerelief, 1.25" barrels.

7. Pentax XW - 20mm eyerelief, dual 2"/1.25" barrels.

Note the Pentax XO series have very short eye relief.

8. Baader Hyperion range. A somewhat inferior copy of the Vixen LVW series, which doesn't perform so well in fast scopes.

9. The Edmund RKE 21mm and 28mm deserve a mention; both with long eye relief though the 21mm has a raised metal ring around the eye lens that basically defeats the whole point of eye relief, and is a menace if you wear specs (they will get scratched).

There are some other obsolete ones too, notably Vixen LV's rebadged by Celestron and others. Then there are the cheap chinese clones... I don't have consistent specifications for these, though i am sure some will be reasonably OK as budget eyepieces.

[skytry]

hi Wavytone,
thank you,
your entry has enlightened, as too the different eyepieces available, and their ID for eye relief,
I shall be in the near future take on board your advice,

regards,
Peter.

[ZeroID]

I got a 32mm Kellner mainly because it was on sale and I wanted to see what difference it made. Gives lovely widefeild views, almost TV screen like and great for scanning around but quite heavy and the FOV is only the same as my GSO 20mm SV's which was about the same price. The 10" scope limit on 2" is 34 mm from what I researched.

[MortonH]

What scope are you planning to use it with?

[Wavytone]

Easy - I'd buy something that gives you a field of view that you CANNOT buy in a 1.25" eyepiece, in order to take advantage of the extra field of view available in a bigger barrel.

What that means is look for eyepieces with a field stop larger than about 22 mm, and means focal lengths longer than 20mm depending on the focal length.

Candidates:
ES 100 degree eyepiece, 20mm
ES 82 degree eyepiece, 18/24/30mm