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Old 08-04-2021, 02:13 PM
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gregbradley
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How I rank a large number of good eyepieces

Not technical, not scientific but after acquiring quite a few eyepieces andreading endless reviews in the end these are the ones I like the best and rank them.
Scope is an AP130GT:

1. APM XWA 9mm. (100 degree views are just wow. YMMV).
2. APM XWA 20mm.
3. APM 12.5mm Hi FW (close call between this and the 17.5 Morpheus, the APM just picks up faint stars that little bit better).
4. Baader Morpheus 17.5 (20mm eye relief and stable views with very little blackout plus sharp,good contrast and good throughput plus no barrel undercut which I have read endlessly are a pain, makes this series a winner).
5. 6.5, 9 and 12mm Morpheus.
6. Pentax XW 7 and 10mm.
7. Masuyama 10mm 85 degree.
8. Nagler 9 Type 1, Nagler 16 T5.
9. Edmunds Optics 28mm RKE.
10. APM 30mm UFF.
11. TV Delite 18.2mm

For narrower field of view but sharp:

12. TMB Planetary 11 9mm 56 degrees.
13. Fujiyama 18mm ortho
14. Edmunds Optics RKE 15,12mm, 8mm.

Barlows:

13. Baader Q extender
14. Tak 1.6X Q extender
15. Bintel 2 inch ED barlow.
16. Bintel quartx 2 inch diagonal.

What's yours?

Greg.
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Old 08-04-2021, 11:24 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Greg,
My visual scope is a Skywatcher 12” Goto collapsible dob
Here’s my preferences in order
DSO eye pieces
1/ 21mm ethos
2/ 11mm Apollo 11
3/ 17.3mm Delos
4/ 27mm Panoptic
5/ 13mm ethos
6/ 24mm Panoptic

Planetary
1/ 4.7mm ethos
2/ 11mm Apollo 11
3/ 6mm Delos
4/ 4.5mm Delos
5/ 8mm ethos
6/ 10mm Delos

I have a full compliment of Televue Powermates but only use them for Planetary imaging ( not visual )

Martin
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Old 08-04-2021, 11:54 PM
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Are you ranking by preference, performance, usage %, something else?
My eyepieces would all have different rankings depending on which parameter I used for sorting.
The only eyepiece that would come out on top in my 12.5" dob all 3 ways would be the TeleVue Apollo 11.
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Old 11-04-2021, 08:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Startrek View Post
Greg,
My visual scope is a Skywatcher 12” Goto collapsible dob
Here’s my preferences in order
DSO eye pieces
1/ 21mm ethos
2/ 11mm Apollo 11
3/ 17.3mm Delos
4/ 27mm Panoptic
5/ 13mm ethos
6/ 24mm Panoptic

Planetary
1/ 4.7mm ethos
2/ 11mm Apollo 11
3/ 6mm Delos
4/ 4.5mm Delos
5/ 8mm ethos
6/ 10mm Delos

I have a full compliment of Televue Powermates but only use them for Planetary imaging ( not visual )

Martin
You've got a nice set of eyepieces there. All Televue! No Naglers eh?
Generally speaking, I find the Morpheus's a bit better than the equivalent Nagler due to the eye relief comfort factor and they are more resistant to blackouts. But they stop at 17.5. I would get the Nagler 22 T4 though as I had it once and it was spectacular in a Tak FS152.
We've got to tempt you to go to the dark side!

TV Ethos I imagine are slightly better than the corresponding APM XWA but at 3X the price. I did have a 13mm Ethos in the past. Lovely but a lot of money in just one eyepiece. The APM 9mm probably gives a corresponding view to back then with a TEC180FL. Pretty close but hard to say unless side by side. Depends on how important that last little bit is to you.

Greg.
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Old 11-04-2021, 08:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Pensack View Post
Are you ranking by preference, performance, usage %, something else?
My eyepieces would all have different rankings depending on which parameter I used for sorting.
The only eyepiece that would come out on top in my 12.5" dob all 3 ways would be the TeleVue Apollo 11.
For me I am ranking on all 3 of those at the same time. The usage % is a good one as it shows the other 2 items at the same time really. If you are not using an eyepiece then its either its not suitable for your scope or what you want to view or it doesn't present a view you find enjoyable. Or 3rdly, you've simply forgotten about it as you have too many eyepieces!

So usage % would really have to be developed over a longish time period given the infrequency of clear nights, time to do it and a large choice of eyepieces and perhaps scopes to use them on.

Of course my ranking is based on the eyepieces I have. So it doesn't include a lot of the Televue ones or other competitors.

Greg.
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Old 11-04-2021, 11:51 AM
yoda776 (Matt)
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I would have to agree with that. The best eyepieces for me are the ones I use the most because they either provide aspects such as sharpness, contrast, comfort of view, eye relief (starting to become more important as eyesight changes ...), sometimes size (including weight and actual size of the eyepiece) and convenience etc and the scopes you use them with. It tends to be % used and agree it does tend to reflect on the preference and performance of the eyepiece, which is subjective to the perception of the user.

I know a lot of forums I have read people get really stuck into edge of field sharpness versus on axis sharpness as well. Personally I find I stick with on axis as rolling my eyes around tends to affect the vertigo. Again depends on the target being viewed and how much of the field of view you need.

Would love to view through an Apollo 11mm, but being limited edition and quite pricey just did not have the funds and already have a Docter 12.5, Ethos 13mm and Nagler 9mm, 13mm I like the views in. While I have appreciated Ethos I find them cumbersome and the naglers often have a good balance of size, quality and FOV. I still really like the Meade 3000 series and Circle V Celestron / Vixens. I also have the Zeiss Diascope zoom and that is useful and great views in this added to the fact I do not have to keep swapping eyepieces (so convenience factor). I have a LEICA ASPH Zoom as well but tend to favour the Zeiss zoom. In my scopes the Zeiss tends to come to focus a little better. Both are good but feel the Leica can show warmth around the edges - depends on seeing.

I guess that is why comparing eyepieces and having discussions about them can be challenging and quite interesting to read the differing viewpoints.

Like telescopes - the best eyepieces are ones you keep coming back to and using over and over again IMHO.
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Old 12-04-2021, 12:44 PM
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I have one of those new APM zooms with constant 76 degree views on preorder with APM. It may be a wonderful zoom.

Greg.
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Old 13-04-2021, 11:48 AM
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wavelandscott (Scott)
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Will be curious to hear your impressions of the zoom.
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Old 13-04-2021, 02:10 PM
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Will be curious to hear your impressions of the zoom.
I expect it to be very good. APM so far have shown themselves to have very high standards.

Greg.
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