[Fox]

OK, 15mm 65-70 deg EP suggestions... take Two...

To recap, I sold my Pentax XW 14, and I am glad to report that its new owner is extremely happy using the EP in his Vixen VMC scope. His main EP's up 'til now were $40 GSO's, so the Pentax was giant step up in quality. In my brief experience with the Pentax, its transmission, contrast and sharpness were far above my TV WideField; the whole image just opened up with a very black background. In the Genesis, however, I did find the field curvature distracting enough to bother me, a pity considering its other outstanding qualities.

Having said that, I am now the owner of a new Vixen LVW 13mm! Just had first light tonight, and very happy to report that I love this EP, it has much flatter behaviour in my Genesis compared to the Pentax. I am very impressed at the beautiful finish on this EP, like the Pentax, the LVW is one very serious piece of glass. Coatings on the eye lens seem incredibly deep (to my non-expert eye).

Full moon glow was horrid (!), making Octans through my LXD75 PAS invisible. I had to guess the azimuth position of the SCP, but alignment stars Sirius and Aldebaran were spot on - this LXD75/Autostar is one forgiving system! Under these conditions, I could only really test the LVW using a few bright clusters eg. M41, Pleiades etc. The Vixen performed superbly, very sharp and detailed, much less distortion at the edge compared to the Pentax (in my Genesis). Eye placement in the LVW though, seems a bit more fussy compared with the Pentax XW 14; from what I remember of the Pentax, eye position and the screw eyecup are very comfortable.

The LVW just leaves my old TV 15mm Widefield in the dust, any stars vaguely off-centre in the Widefield really begin to start sprouting wings; the whole image in the the WF has this 'fishbowl' thing happening, with little eye relief (I am brushing my eyelashes up to the eye lens in the Widefield). Not so with the LVW, it's much more comfortable, flatter and well behaved off-axis; Pleiades in my 27mm Pano and 13mm LVW give extraordinary pretty frames. I guess the WF to LVW comparison is rather unfair; a 20 year difference in design and materials...

Cheers
Fox