[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Profiler,

I can't comment on the XL Pentax in question as I have neither used one, nor read up on it. So no, I'm not in consensus with the Pentax. I'm only saying to make the best choice, read up on people's experiences with this XL in Newtonians - that's what I should have done more critically when reading up on the Hyperions. What I do agree with is the 8mm is NOT a good match with Newtonians. Very nice in an SCT.

I should also note that I knew a whole lot less about eyepieces when looking into the Hyperions than I do now - Wavytone has helped me a great deal with understanding focal plains of scopes vs eyepiece compatability.

Now, I've quickly looked up the AFOV of the XL's - the same as the Vixen LVW's at 65deg. What I can recommend in the same AFOV range as the XL's and Hyperions is the 8mm LVW. It is not only excellent in Newtonians, it is probably the most comfortable eyepiece I have used with next to no eyestrain noted with extended periods of use. The only other eyepiece I've found to cause as little eye strain is the Celestron Ultima LX 8mm, but this eyepiece is only good in SCTs, not Newtonians. All the LVW's perform really, really well in not just Newt's, but all other scope designs (other than the 30mm, and Vixen notes this by giving the 30mm LVW a totally different appearance) - this is something which very, very, VERY few eyepiece ranges can do.

With respects to the XW's, my direct experience is only with the 10mm. Otherwise it is only what I've read. From this, the XW's may be nice, in the scopes that there is an optical match with, or they are no better than any other cheapie. From what I recall, the 14mm is poor in Newtonians. So are a couple of others, but I can't remember which. If you are keen on Pentax EPs, you do need to find out which are best suited to the scope you use - goes with any EP to find the best optical match.