Andrews 80 deg Ultra Wide EPs/GSO Barlows

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Another "does anyone have experience with..." thread I'm afraid

1. Andrews 80 degree UW Ep's have caught my eye on his website.

There are 30,20,15 and 11mm FL's and they're cheap-ish!!
Poor man's Nagler???

Does anyone own the 20,15 or 11 as I've read the favourable review on this site of the 30mm model?

2. Any thoughts on the 2" 2x and 1.25" 3x ED GSO barlows too?

Let me pick your brains!!

Cheers
Doug

[davidpretorius]

30mm is nice, i have one, poor mans nagler no, but a great starting eyepiece wide view. They are great for finding galaxies and nebulas.

I reckon for the price, they are worth it.

Can't remember where i read it, but the 15mm is no good. Moonman has a 2" barlow 2x and with the 30mm in it, it is very nice!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I remember seeing one at Snake Valley and a quick look had me thinking it was better than the 30mm superview. ie the seaguls were there but no worse and then the UWA has a wider field. So yes I would definately take one over the SV.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

I have both the 30 and the 15 mm Andrews UWA. Everyone is impressed by the 30, and rightly so. $149, you can't go wrong. Certainly much better than one-seventh the equivalent $1000 Nagler, but of course it isn't perfect. The main thing with both these EPs is that there is unacceptable amount of debris (paint flakes?) inside. I will disassemble and clean one day when I've feeling brave, but in reality it only matters on bright stuff, like the moon.

This forum does not allow language foul enough to describe the 15 mm. DO NOT GET IT!!!! I bought it thinking that someone had better be the guinea pig. Well, I was filleted on this one. Lee should ditch this EP from his range. I will sell it only so that someone else can satisfy a perverted curiosity and experience exactly how truly dreadful an eyepiece can be. It is the only eyepiece I have ever used that has negative eye relief. The build quality is not a patch on the 30. And there are seagulls from the very middle of the field. Make me an offer.

Get the 30, you won't regret it. But avoid the 15 like the plague.

Cheers,

Brian.

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Thanks guys.
The silence is deafening review-wise on the shorter fl ep's in this range.
I suppose that speaks volumes about them!?
Thanks for the help.
The 15 sounds like a real dog!!
Cheers
Doug

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Yep and although many people search and want it, there is no such thing as a poor mans nagler !

Its like calling a Skoda a poor mans Ferrari. The price is a fraction of the real deal, but so is the performance.

[davidpretorius]

yes that's right, i did not read bad reviews, i heard brian's shouts of fury from over 200km away!!

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

...no such thing as a poor mans nagler !

Its like calling a Skoda a poor mans Ferrari.


So...the Nagler will get me chicks,right?
(no comments on my looks please - I'm sensitive!!)

[ving (David)]

theres a review of the 30mm in the reviews sectoin of this site

[Gargoyle_Steve (Steve)]

Ok I'm a newbie, and I'm on a tightish budget, take these into account with the rest of my comments here.

I bought the 30mm recently, based on the review here in the forums too.
Yes, it has seagulls, in my particular case I'm seeing them in about the outer 25-30% of the field, this is in my 10" f5 Dob. This was a larger area of aberration than I expected from the review, yet I am very satisfied with this eyepiece, I think it has instantly become my present favourite. It's an eyepiece for searching, and for displaying clusters in perspective to the "emptier" space around them, etc, it has a great big field of view and yes it's great at the price..

I have looked through a similar speced but much more expensive eyepiece (ie 30mm 2" barrel 80 degree fov, can't quote brand sorry) courtesy of Bill (ArgoNavis) and his ep showed no seagulls at all in my f5 scope, and may have displayed more contrast (as I tried his under clear dark skies, and mine so far only at home I'll know more after this weekend when I use mine under the same sort of conditions - fingers crossed). He also said his cost around $350 if I remember correctly. My budget presently doesn't allow $350 eyepieces, but sub-$150 yes definitely.

Re price: the review says they are $149, the website shows $149, but when I got mine recently they were on special or something - at $99 an even better bargain!

(read your May magazines).

Steve

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the comments and information.
Seems at this price point there are always going to be abberations in f5 scopes.
Was Bill's EP the Widescan III?
I'm still keen to hear anyone's experience with the 11mm EP in this range.
Cheers
Doug