Go Back   IceInSpace > Equipment > Eyepieces, Barlows and Filters
Register FAQ Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread
  #1  
Old 27-06-2016, 07:49 PM
pgc hunter's Avatar
pgc hunter
Registered User

pgc hunter is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Renmark, SA
Posts: 2,993
Vixen HR, new Ultra-High Magnification Eyepieces

Available in 1.6, 2 and 2.4mm focal lengths

http://www.vixenoptics.com/category-s/169.htm

AFOV is only 42* though which would make tracking a hassle in a non-driven scope and price is pretty steep. Still, an interesting development.

Hopefully this begins a new breed of ultra short eyepieces. If it weren't for the small field of view I would making room in the eyepiece case for these.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 27-06-2016, 08:42 PM
Atmos's Avatar
Atmos (Colin)
Ultimate Noob

Atmos is online now
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 7,013
They actually have a half decent eye relief too which is good.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 27-06-2016, 09:12 PM
ab1963 (Andrew)
Refractors-That’s It

ab1963 is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Rangeville, Toowoomba
Posts: 441
10mm er ,3lbs weight and 42 deg fov and the cost , the amount of times seeing would be good enough to use them ? would not be a practical proposition for most IMO but that's just my 10 cents worth
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 30-06-2016, 09:03 PM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
Registered User

brian nordstrom is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth WA
Posts: 4,374
looks like being an awesome planetary eyepiece set , , who is going to be first ?
Brian.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 30-06-2016, 11:55 PM
pgc hunter's Avatar
pgc hunter
Registered User

pgc hunter is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Renmark, SA
Posts: 2,993
Quote:
Originally Posted by brian nordstrom View Post
looks like being an awesome planetary eyepiece set , , who is going to be first ?
Brian.
I'm half tempted to get the 1.6 and a 5x powermate and try it on the moon for schitz n giggles. 4150x in my dob

Someone with a C14 must do this
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-07-2016, 11:08 AM
N1 (Mirko)
Registered User

N1 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Dunners Nu Zulland
Posts: 1,786
Quote:
Originally Posted by brian nordstrom View Post
looks like being an awesome planetary eyepiece set , , who is going to be first ?
Brian.
I got the 2mm.
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (Vixen HR.jpg)
177.1 KB88 views
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-07-2016, 09:09 AM
Don Pensack's Avatar
Don Pensack
Registered User

Don Pensack is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 536
They've gotten decent reviews as well.
I suspect their greatest appeal will be in short refractors of <600mm focal length.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-07-2016, 08:29 PM
Wavytone
Registered User

Wavytone is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Killara, Sydney
Posts: 4,147
You can't get high magnification with fast refractors.

If you are after high magnification wide field of view is not a priority so 40-45 degrees is not an issue.

These eyepieces are for fast newtonians - I had one once - 315mm f/3.7. Coma and image quality of high power eyepieces was a major issue.

My guess is we will see these come up rapidly secondhand after twits try to clean them or worse, disassemble one - they'll never be the same afterwards.

On the positive side they did state they have coma correction, ie negative coma to suit newtonians. Probably designed or f/3 or 3.5.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-07-2016, 03:37 PM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
Registered User

brian nordstrom is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth WA
Posts: 4,374
Nice , the etching looks to be very well done , really looking forward to a review .

Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by N1 View Post
I got the 2mm.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 16-07-2016, 03:57 PM
pgc hunter's Avatar
pgc hunter
Registered User

pgc hunter is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Renmark, SA
Posts: 2,993
There is an interesting user report here http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/54.../#entry7328799

It's whet my appetite but the small fov might be an issue for manually tracking at these powers. Agena has them for USD279, add on the exchange rate and shipping and they are not cheap for something that the seeing will allow 2-3 times a year if that. I'm getting the 3 shortest FL delites and will use them with my 2.5x powermate, that is a better use of my money IMO. There is one magnification gap in that regime which the 2.4 HR would fill nicely though and would find use more often than the 2 and 1.6.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 16-07-2016, 07:46 PM
N1 (Mirko)
Registered User

N1 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Dunners Nu Zulland
Posts: 1,786
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgc hunter View Post
...but the small fov might be an issue for manually tracking at these powers.
I use an XO2.5 in my 8" f/6 dob occasionally, notably on Saturn and for splitting Antares and other doubles. It's beyond highest practical power for that scope, but such theoretical considerations become just that when enjoying what this unit delivers. Saturn takes about 25 seconds to march arcross the Abbe like AFOV of the XO (if I remember correctly), so the 2.4 HR in your 8" would give similar results, except with better eye relief. The XOs are outstanding eyepieces, so I'm confident the HR2.0 will be a keeper for me as well, though will be used even less than anything else, obviously.

So not surprisingly, I haven't been able to test it in the field yet.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 17-07-2016, 02:41 AM
janoskiss's Avatar
janoskiss (Steve H)
Registered User

janoskiss is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Sale, VIC
Posts: 6,033
These are specialist EPs. Splitting doubles is the only application I can think of where going beyond the diffraction limit can pay off. And maybe star testing. In any case, I prefer my barlows and Pentax XF for crazy high powers.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 17-07-2016, 02:57 PM
pgc hunter's Avatar
pgc hunter
Registered User

pgc hunter is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Renmark, SA
Posts: 2,993
279USD is a bit too much to swallow just for double stars!!!! I've had my 8" at 100x/inch on small planetaries with results, but that happened exactly twice in the 3 years I had the scope, so paying that much for the 2 and 1.6 would not make sense. I am getting the 5, 7 and 9mm Delites which I'll use with my powermate, should the rare occasion present itself. I do need something around 2.5mm to fill in a big gap.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 18-07-2016, 01:40 PM
N1 (Mirko)
Registered User

N1 is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Dunners Nu Zulland
Posts: 1,786
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgc hunter View Post
279USD is a bit too much to swallow just for double stars!!!! I've had my 8" at 100x/inch on small planetaries with results, but that happened exactly twice in the 3 years I had the scope, so paying that much for the 2 and 1.6 would not make sense. I am getting the 5, 7 and 9mm Delites which I'll use with my powermate, should the rare occasion present itself. I do need something around 2.5mm to fill in a big gap.
You could consider a 2.5mm TMB Planetary (original if such was ever made, or a clone). The one I had came cheaply via AliExpress and allowed me to decide that an XO2.5 would work.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 28-07-2016, 04:53 AM
Don Pensack's Avatar
Don Pensack
Registered User

Don Pensack is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 536
Quote:
Originally Posted by N1 View Post
You could consider a 2.5mm TMB Planetary (original if such was ever made, or a clone). The one I had came cheaply via AliExpress and allowed me to decide that an XO2.5 would work.
2.5mm in the TMB-II and other private labels are readily available.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 10:54 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement