5 zoom eyepiece review

[casstony]

Because I don't prefer the physical dimensions of the Hyperion zoom, I went looking for a review comparing it to the more common 8-24mm zooms to see what I'd be missing out on optically. FOV aside, according to the review below the Hyperion falls behind the Televue/Meade(and therefore Vixen). I'm wondering if that matches the experience of other users here.

http://zoom.green-witch.com/

[dannat (Daniel)]

very interesting the WO took out the prize, i am happy with the WO oculars i have and at just over the $100mark they are very good value imo

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Hi Tony,

Keep in mind that "NO" zoom eyepiece at any setting within its focal length range, will equal the optical performance of a "high quality" fixed focal length eyepiece of the same focal length, as the zoom setting. However, optically the better quality zooms have narrowed the performance gap somewhat in recent years, particularly the shorter focal length zooms.

If you want the convenience of a zoom eyepiece they have a lot of merit. If you want the absolute best in optical quality stick with fixed focal length eyepieces.

Cheers,
John B

[casstony]

My main interest in zooms is for solar viewing. While I have noticed the extra contrast that a Pentax XW can show while viewing a nebula, I haven't noticed an obvious improvement with the Sun, so I keep going back to the convenience. I find I'm usually down around 30x for solar viewing - differences may be more obvious at higher magnifications.

[Tilt (Michael)]

I'm considering a zoom at the moment for visual work through my GSO 10". Thanks for the link.

Michael

[Craig.a.c (Craig)]

Interesting read.
I saw some zoom eyepieces in a UK astronomy mag and wondered what they would be like. Have been thinking about getting one for a while now.

[erick (Eric)]

Neat, convenient. Good for public viewing. Start at 24mm showing Jupiter and Moons in the starfield. Zoom into 10mm or 8mm to get a closer look at Jupiter itself. 24mm to get the Jewel Box in the context of surrounding space, zoom into 8mm to better see some of the nicely coloured stars.

You need to be able to get a tight clamp on the eyepiece barrel so the whole eyepiece doesn't rotate in the focusser as you turn the zoom. My WO zoom is quite "firm" to turn. I actually put a bigger locking screw with better finger grip into the 2"--> 1.25" adapter so I could get a tight enough clamp.

Also think like plossls as far as apparent field of view is concerned. It's 40-60 deg for most. If you have been spending all your time at 70+ deg, you will really notice the small AFOV.