Explore Scientific 100 deg 14mm

[Liz]

Woohoo .... good luck with the 14mm Eric!!


Yes, I was naughty a couple of weeks ago and purchased a 9mm 100dg Ep from the UK for $310 (delivered).
Its supposedly the same as the TMB or Zhummel in the US.
No chance to use it yet though.

[casstony]

Originally Posted by erick

Best view I have had of NGC 253 is through a 13mm Ethos. I look forward to the view through the 14mm ES being as good.

Looks like the lens layout is very similar according to these X-Rays:

http://www.svenwienstein.de/HTML/es_...m_English.html

[erick (Eric)]

Well, I have an ES 14mm 100deg eyepiece sitting in a box on my shelf. Looks good and my, my, it is big. And, you guessed it, several days cloud and rain is predicted for Victoria. And then the remnants of TC Yasi will reach us. Looks like a bit of terrestrial testing is all I can do.

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Originally Posted by erick

Well, I have an ES 14mm 100deg eyepiece sihting in a box on my shelf. Looks good and my, my, it is big. And, you guessed it, several days cloud and rain is predicted for Victoria. And then the remnants of TC Yasi will reach us. Looks like a bit of terrestrial testing is all I can do.

Yes I remember my initial impression of the eyepiece when I first grasped it thinking it looked like a small refractor! Look forward to hearing it's first light report, I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.

[erick (Eric)]

First chance tonight. Not a real test since I was using my cheap 4" f5 refractor. Standing on the table, it just absolutely dwarfs my 35mm Panoptic, and I thought the Pan was huge when I first bought it. The ES certainly is a handful. But first impression is good. No problem with finding the eye position to get a clean view. As with a 13mm Ethos I have looked through earlier, I cannot take in the field stop without moving my head around significantly. The view was being heavily limited by the significant limitations of this little refractor - probably will be Snake Valley Camp in early March before I can truly test it in my 12" f5 reflector. So far, feeling very positive. Bang for buck is looking very good!

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Congratulations on your new eyepiece. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it soon.

[erick (Eric)]

Loving it in my 12" f5. It frames Omega Centauri and Carina Nebula beautifully!

And starting to feel comfortable about the 100 deg FOV. I just forget about it and I see nothing but stars.

Very easy to get eye position, with eyeguard up or down.

Tapered barrel is excellent for insertion and removal. The big rubber grip is great.

The only slight downside is the weight.

Bang for buck - huge!

It's a keeper!

[Suzy]

Hi Erick, can you please give some information on its edge performance, and it's resolution ability (eg how much of the core of a glob can you resolve) say compared to your Panoptic. Though I understand that your Panoptic and ES are different f/lengths, I understand within this range they perform pretty much the same.
Just sometime ... when you get the chance?

Also, how noticeable is the weight of the ep on your 12"dob? And barlowed as well?
Thanks.

The performance of their 70 & 85 deg range seems to be a different beast all together according to Cloudy Nights http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2481
Check out the size of it compared to the Panoptic!

[erick (Eric)]

OK Suzy

I'll try to give more details, but I'm no expert on "warmth" and "contrast" etc.

Re weight:-

My scope balanced fine with a 35mm Panoptic (725g).
But the ES 14mm and my 27mm Panoptic/Paracorr both require some counterbalancing at the mirror box.

Barlow:-

I haven't tried the ES 14mm in a barlow. I will try it in my GSO 2x ED barlow at some stage. Must remember to park the car on the edge of the scope when I do that, to stop it tipping over! That will be a heavy top end!

Edge of Field:-

All of the field I can see when looking centrally in the ES 14mm in my 302mm F5 is sharp. Moving my head until I can see the field stop, I can see that the outer edge - perhaps the last 10-15% of the FOV diameter - starts to degrade a little, but nothing distracting.

Resolution:-

As you say, different focal lengths. I can compare the ES 14mm to my Panoptic 19mm at some stage and see what the relative resolutions look like.

Not sure when I can get the scope out again. Might not be until latter in April?

[Suzy]

Thanks so much for that Erick. And anytime when it's convenient for you to do the tests will be fine.
Not many reviews of this ep so far as I guess they are still fairly new on the scene, so your comments will be useful to many I'm sure. I maybe interested in a 4mm one day.

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Not many reviews of this ep so far.......

It has been around since 2009.

Have you seen these two:-

http://cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2023
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2139

And these threads:-

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea.../o/all/fpart/1
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...art=&PHPSESSID=
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea.../o/all/fpart/1

All Cloudy Nights.

[erick (Eric)]

I did get a chance last night to test further. Not ideal conditions - pointing out of garage door with moderate light pollution.

I compared the ES 14mm to a Panoptic 19mm with respect to resolution. I used Omega Centauri (tucked under the top of roller door - less than full aperture in use) and close stars in Centaurus and Crux. Allowing for the difference in magnification, I believe that the ES was slightly better than the Panoptic - nothing dramatic.

I tried the ES 14mm in a GSO 2x ED barlow and it worked just fine. All I did see was that the barlow enhanced the chromatic aberration seen on very bright stars (Mimosa and Hadar) when they are close to the edge of FOV. Note that they show slight CA in the ES 14mm by itself - but it is out in that last 10-15% of the FOV.

The weight of the ES14mm and barlow was considerable. I didn't hear the focusser groan, however, and my counterweight approach balanced the tube.

I tried the ES 14mm in the Paracorr and I thought the view wasn't improved much (f5 scope) at all settings of the Paracorr. I am happy with the ES 14mm by itself.

[Suzy]

Thank you for the test Erick, very much appreciated.