Radian vs Pentax XW in 5mm

[Lee]

I'm looking to complete (for now!) our EP collection. We currently have TV Plossls in 32mm and 20mm and a Pentax XW-10.
I want a 5mm EP with good eye relief - and am alternating between the Radian and Pentax.
I've never used a Radian - but are VERY impressed with the 20mm TV - it hardly leaves the focuser now. The 5mm EP would mainly be used in the ED80 over the Dob, I guess mainly due to likelihood of seeing supporting 240x in the Dob

Any pro's/con's of either or personal "shoot-out" reports to share to aid my decision??

Cheers.... in advance

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

I believe the XW will be the better EP, but the Radian is a very nice EP also. I have used the 5mm Radian and 7 and 10mm XW but never XW and Radian of the same FL. I tried to compare barlowed XW-10 to Radian 5mm but I could not pick a winner as seeing was not good enough. One thing I can say for sure is that Radian has more of a yellowish tint than the XW. This is a slight advantage on some targets, disadvantage on others.

The Radian is a very different EP from the Plossl, so your impressions of the 20mm plossl won't be any indication on the performance of the Radian.

The XW-10 in a good 2x barlow (Televue, or maybe the Orion Deluxe 1.25") is a good option costing a lot less than either EP.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

I did a shoot out between the Radian 5 mm and the Vixen LVW 5 mm, and decided to keep the LVW, which surprised me. Both were extremely close, but I found just a tad of CA in the Radian and a touch more detail in the Vixen. Steve is right about the colour, too, but of itself that doesn't trouble me.

I have a 10 mm Pentax XW, too, and probably what I will do it sell both the Radian and the LVW and get a Pentax 7 mm.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Over on CN some are prefering the Burgess/TMB planetary to the radian even

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Hi,

The 5mm Pentax XW is outstanding. It doesn't get any better in terms of a short focal length widefield eyepiece. The 5mm TV Radian is a nice eyepiece as is the 5mm Vixen LVW. You would be happy with any one of the 3 but the 5mm Pentax XW is clearly the pick.

CS-John B

[Fox]

I'll put my 2 cents in. I have a 6mm Radian, the wide flat field, generous eye relief and large eye lens are fantastic, although some ghosting is noticeable with my eyes. I believe my 6mm Clave delivers slightly brighter images than the Radian, but then again looking through the Clave is like trying to observe through a straw - it's really uncomfortable compared to the Radian. From posts above, it seem the Pentax may even be better again. Cheers, Fox.