I just saw this interesting thread, and thanks Bill for your excellent review that started it all. The DeLites certainly look like a great alternative- just a pity that the exchange rate has blown their price here up so much! If purchased in Aust they are currently $100+ more than the LE's...
Reviews are by nature subjective, and even if you are using scientific measurements on an optical bench, I believe the true test is how the equipment performs in the real world. In this case direct comparison of several eyepieces in the same telescopes (3 in fact) can give a pretty good idea of real-world performance, and is I believe a very valid way of reviewing.
However, because we are all different, we like some things better than others. I remember a number of years ago trying the 19mm Panoptic after various reviews rated it as one of the best eyepieces ever made: but for me it gave poor, distorted views and I ended up swapping it for a 18mm Radian. Likewise, I much prefer a 60-70° view than a 100° where I have to move my head around to see the edges and jam my eye onto the eyepieces, whereas some of my colleagues love the 100's...
So, a review by someone else is a guide, and can be a very good one- especially if that person has no axe to grind for a particular manufacturer.
Having said that, can I make a plea for polite, well-considered responses? I don't think it is
ever appropriate in a forum like this to make denigrating comments about someone else's efforts. We can disagree without impolite put-downs.
Thanks again Bill for taking the time and effort to help the rest of us make better informed decisions about a not-inexpensive piece of equipment.
- Dean