Vixen LVW EP's

[issdaol (Phil)]

Anyone done a good comparison with Vixen LVW EP's to Tak LE's, Pentax and Teleview ??

I have a full set of Tak LE's and some Teleview and one Pentax. The Pentax disappointed me a bit but I want some more nice wider angle EP's.

Plus in the near future I will be procuring a Baader Mark V binoviewer and need to purchase in sets of 2.

Thanks in Advance :-)

[Kunama]

Hello Phil,

I had the full set of LVWs and foolishly sold them and bought Tele Pano, Nagler and Delos, all of which were fine but not really a big enough difference to warrant the changeover price.

For my eyesight the LVWs are the most comfortable eyepieces I have used in mono viewing mode. I initially sold them because their shape did not suit binoviewing with as they were pressing against my nose too much, something to consider.

I still prefer the 65º AFOV over the wider Naglers etc. The only Pentaxes I have had recently have been the XF 8.5 & 12. I still love the XF8.5 but the 12 displays too much FC for my liking.

[casstony]

I found the LVW to be almost as good as XW/Delos in image quality, perhaps a little behind on contrast, but personally I find the LVW's less comfortable to use due to the stiff rubber eyeguard.

[Profiler (Profiler)]

I am surprised to hear you don't like the 10mm XW as it is often praised as the pick of the bunch in the XW range

[bytor666]

I agree about the stiff rubber eyeguards on the LVW's....not comfy at all!

So, when I had my LVW's, (22mm and a 17mm), I took the stiff rubber eyeguards off and replaced them with the soft folding type. Much better IMO!

As for the original post.....Pentax XW's are a slight cut above the LVW's, don't know much about the Tak LE's, & the Delos are about the same as the XW's.....maybe a bit more "pop" in the Delos...

See attachments.....

Cheers!

[MortonH]

Which folding eye guards did you use?

[issdaol (Phil)]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like it might be best looking at the new wide field taks. Or maybe more investment into Delos.

I don't mind paying reasonable dollars new for good EP's but when you start buying in sets of 2 it ramps up very quickly !!

[bytor666]

Originally Posted by MortonH

Which folding eye guards did you use?

Hi MortonH,

One of then came from a 9mm ES 100 and the other was ordered from Agena Astro.

Hope that helps!

Cheers!

[LewisM]

I don't do visual much, but I do have a FEW EP's.

I had Pentax. I too disliked them a LOT - I found the images less contrasty and dim compared to similar Tak and Vixen EP's. I have since sold them all.

THe Tak LE's I love, but I also LOVE the Vixen LV's and NLV's.

I also have one Masuyama - a 7.5. That particular size is considered the WORST of the Masuyamas.... by God, I would love to see one of the other Masuyama's then, because this 7.5 walks all other similar size EP's I have ever looked through, including Tak Abbe Orthos (and they are reputed to be Masuyama anyway!)

[Wavytone]

Lewis I had a Masuyama 45 and Mental has another, possibly 30 or 35mm.

IMHO they were good for their time but that era has passed - the Vixen LV50 and LVW 42 are both superior to the Masuyama 45 which IMHO wasn't as sharp as either, in side by side tests on my two Mak 180mm scopes.

As for use in an f/4.5 dob... ok yes, but so is an Edmund RKE which has about the same FoV. They're good eyepieces, sure, but nothing magical. I don't see why people pay stupid prices for these - eyepieces are not collectible investments and they don't get better with age.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

If you're disappointed with the Pentax, you'll be wasting time and money on Delos. They're practically inseparable at 10mm. And since I figured how to work the eye cup on the XW, much prefer it over the twist lock on the Delos.

[Don Pensack]

Originally Posted by issdaol

Anyone done a good comparison with Vixen LVW EP's to Tak LE's, Pentax and Teleview ??

I have a full set of Tak LE's and some Teleview and one Pentax. The Pentax disappointed me a bit but I want some more nice wider angle EP's.

Plus in the near future I will be procuring a Baader Mark V binoviewer and need to purchase in sets of 2.

Thanks in Advance :-)

In my scopes, the LVW:
--comfortable
--fairly wide field (65 degrees)
--has some lateral chromatic aberration
--has some edge of field astigmatism at f/5 and f/5.4
--has a "darker" presentation than other more modern widefields (coatings?)
--presents a "warm" image on the Moon, though this would be no disadvantage on Jupiter or Saturn.
I would rank Pentax XW ahead of them, and TeleVue Delos ahead of those. But note: I prefer edge correction to be equal to center of field correction. If you don't care about the edge of the field, or use an f/12 reflector or refractor, then all would work equally for you, more or less.