The Best 5mm EP under $200.

[astro744]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

Actually you should consider using what Questar chose to mate with what is arguably the finest planetary telescope - Brandon eyepieces, from Vernonscope. You can buy these without buying a Questar.

The Vixen LV's in the range 4-25 mm have a 45 degree field of view.

HOWEVER, FoV is not really the issue here - for a fine planetary eyepiece - as Suzy correctly indicated - the priorities are CONTRAST and lack of COLOUR, and to that I'll add SHARPNESS on-axis. A huge field of field of view is not a high priority.

Secondly the attributes that make a fine planetary eyepiece effectively eliminate everything from Televue - Plossls, Naglers, Ethoi and Radians included.

The point is to have as few elements as possible, as few glass-air surfaces as possible, and preferably MgF coatings.

Brandons have just 4 air-glass surfaces, and have MgF coatings, and this is one of the reasons why Questar use them - over all others.

Likewise the TMB SMC's have just 2 air-glass surfaces, and MgF coatings, for half the price of the Brandons, and a better range to match Suzy's scope (the shortest Brandon is 8mm).

Suzy also indicated good eye relief and over 50deg field.

I believe Brandon now make a 6mm but the eye relief is very short and AFOV not greater than 50deg. Clave used to make a 5mm true Plossl with 48deg AFOV and would be a superb choice if you could find one secondhand, (eye relief too is short).

For pure viewing comfort a 20mm eye relief eyepiece such as the Radian should not be underestimated and viewing comfort can greatly assist in seeing finer detail as can good tracking. The image in a Radian does not distort as the images drifts from centre to edge if used in a non-tracking telescope. The Nagler zoom too has only 5 glass elements and gives remarkable performance on planets and is a joy to use simply for its zoom ability.

Note. Brandons are $235 USD. Another option is the Takahashi LE 5mm which has long eye relief. Not sure of the cost.

[Suzy]

I want the dark side... I only have to sell a limb, a couple of organs and my next unborn child to afford the equipment... Seriously worries me how serious I want to cross over after seeing your pics Rob!

[Suzy]

I have read a good review on the Brandons. I'll investigate that one further.

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

Yet another vote for the TMB Planetary or Vixen LVW.

[Steffen]

The Tak LE 5mm is superb but has only 10mm eye relief. It also costs more than $200 new (more like $250+).

Next time I've got $450 to spare I'd like to try the Nikon NAV 5mm, as well…

Cheers
Steffen.

[astronut (John)]

Suzy,
I've used the Siebert e/p's with great success for 4 years.
They are made in 1 1/4" and 2" barrel sizes.
You buy them direct from the manufacturer in the U.S
They don't have a 5mm, but do have a 7mm.
With postage it should bring it in to around $200.
They have 20mm eye relief and a 70* A.field of view.

[Suzy]

John, I will look them up on line now. Thanks.

[Suzy]

John, I had a look at the Siebert and it looks impressive. They don't have the 5mm as you mentioned. I wouldn't be interested in the 7mm. However, i would be interested in the 9mm provided once i put an ED Barlow on it, i don't loose too much quality i.e. contrast.

Have you got a 9mm that you Barlow? How much quality does it lose?

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Answering a "best" eyepiece question is always difficult because different folks will have different ideas of what best is...

I've got several of the TMB Planetaries and think they are good value for money. Nice eye relief and reasonable FOV...some folks have had some problems with light scatter on some of them and with fast scopes they can be a little soft off axis.

Not sure about their current price in Australia but usually around NEAF in the USA there are bargains to be had on them (much less than USD$100). At that price level they are a bargain especially in a "slower" scope.

Cheers,

[GrahamL]

So you want a good planetary performer for around $200 and your
10 mm will need to be replaced also .. keeping that $200 budget in mind for that one to ..xw 10 mm and use your barlow... I could easily convince me I'm still playing by the rules doing that

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

You'd much prefer the comfort of the XW than trying to smash your eye into a low fl Brandon or the like.

[Suzy]

What is an XW? Is it Vixen?

[koputai (Jason)]

I had a Seibert Ultra 15mm for a while, and found it to be one of the poorest backyard-job eyepieces I've ever used. It was brimming full with flares and reflections. Seriously, a $29 GSO is a better eyepiece. The build quality was also shocking.

TMB planetaries are ok for their price. They are average performers at an average price. I had a 5mm for a year or so and found it quite good. Not great, but quite good. I have a pair of the 6mm now, but haven't tried them.

I'll second the vote for a TV Radian, but will also throw in the idea of a University Wide Scan 10mm with a barlow. Anyone used a barlow on the Widescans?

Performance, eye relief, cheap price. Pick any two.

Cheers,
Jason.

[GrahamL]

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1353

I don't own one but from what I've read it will work well.. it is double your budget , but again is going to cover two jobs ..what you wanted
in an eyepiece from your first post is definately covered by this one , just not the price .

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

What is an XW? Is it Vixen?

Hi Suzy,

No, the XW series is Pentax. I own an 8.5mm XF eyepiece which is my favourite for planetary viewing. Beautifully constructed and a pleasure to look through.

Cheers

Chris

[Suzy]

Okay so I'm getting a lot of good feedback regarding the Pentax and have investigated it further, reviews etc and they all are exceptionally favourable. If it's a great quality ep, I hope Barlowing it (10mm) will still give me good quality (contrast, detail). Has anyone Barlowed this ep? Is there much difference?

I have searched on line for prices and the cheapest I can come across is $330 converted from Astronomica in the States. Shipping on top of that. Way way beyond my budget, but I'll have a serious think on that one.

I'm wondering why no one has mentioned any views on the Orion Stratus? Its comes in between $175 & $200.

[Steffen]

Originally Posted by Suzy

I have searched on line for [Pentax] prices and the cheapest I can come across is $330 converted from Astronomica in the States. Shipping on top of that.

That's not a bad price, do you have a link? The cheapest I've seen so far was from Barry Gooley: http://www.kkohki.com/English/kkohki...ml#Pentax%20XW

Cheers
Steffen.

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Suzy,

I bought my Pentax XF 8.5mm from Frontier Optics for $229. Here is my thread about me waffling on how good it is. Excellent service.

Cheers

Chris

[PhilW]

If you can find one secondhand, the Pentax 5.2mm XL is a great eyepiece. It has a 65-degree FOV and lots of eye relief (around 20mm from memory). Also, I think you would struggle to see much if any difference between this and a more specialist planetary eyepiece. And the extra comfort & eye relief will compensate for it. I bought mine via Astromart in the US for around US $200.

The later model (5mm XW) is even better and has a 70-degree FOV, but they are around $70-$80 more expensive.

The idea of getting a 10mm XW and barlowing it is also a good one. It just might be slightly cumbersome in your focuser, since the XW is a fairly long eyepiece to begin with. You'd find the XW 10 very useful for general observing without the barlow too. It is a classic.

Phil

[Steffen]

Taks, Nikons, Pentaxes…, or you could take a look at this one:

https://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx...919-1580-14886


This seems like a reasonable deal for a reasonable quality planetary.

Cheers
Steffen.