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donnie3
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/15/04
Posts: 904
Loc: bartlesville oklahoma
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can someone give me an idea what zoom eyepeice under $250 is the best buy. fov, cotrast, etc, i just wont one for the convenience of not having to change eyepeices all the time when i get lazy. at my age thats getting to be habbit forming. thanks, don.
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charen
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/28/05
Posts: 807
Loc: New Zealand
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Not very helpful this comment, but do not buy the generic '8-24x Chinese Zoom' had one for 2 days - poor fit, extremely narrow F.O.V. and CA.
Have seen thru the 'Televue' click 8-24x and was impressed. Gets good reviews.
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35 binos.
80mm Cat.
WO66ED
SV NH 80mm / EQ3
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12228
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
Not very helpful this comment, but do not buy the generic '8-24x Chinese Zoom' had one for 2 days - poor fit, extremely narrow F.O.V. and CA.
Have seen thru the 'Televue' click 8-24x and was impressed. Gets good reviews.
Of course this is odd, as by all accounts, the Televue is also one of those clones...
Perhaps you had a bad one, which is very possible from lessor companies.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
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NorthCoast
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/04
Posts: 2195
Loc: Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.
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Quote:
can someone give me an idea what zoom eyepeice under $250 is the best buy. fov, cotrast, etc, i just wont one for the convenience of not having to change eyepeices all the time when i get lazy. at my age thats getting to be habbit forming. thanks, don.
Vixen is having a "sale" and the Lanthanum Zoom Eyepiece (LV 8-24mm) can be purchased for $128USD new.
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Mark
Hold the "Alt Key" and type 248 on the number pad for °
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 24572
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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All accounts?
I thought the TV was made by Vixen who also make the Orion Premium zoom. Different eyepiece than the less expensive 8-24 zooms like the Celestron zoom.
Ed Ting wrote a review of these. Aparently the earlier ones weren't as good as the later models or maybe weren't as well QC'd.
http://www.scopereviews.com/page3c.html
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP 100 f/6 achro
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
Edited by square_peg (12/14/06 12:58 AM)
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ErnieM
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/13/04
Posts: 1183
Loc: Phoenix,AZ
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Hi Don.I like you was searching for my first Zoom and decided on the Vixen 8-24x based on reviews here and on other sites.My plans are for using this EP along with one of my SWA or Ultrawide 2" Eps for viewing on nights in which time is restricted.The zoom will not replace my other EPs used for serious viewing because I do not think contrast will be as good and the FOV is somewhat restricted compared to my other EPs.The TV zoom is probably the best but for about $110 less due to the sale Mark refers to, I think the Vixen should do just fine for my use.
Ernie
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Ernie
DSH8/ Crayford focuser
ST80 with 2" focuser on Astroview mount
7XL,10LX,13t6,17LX,22LVW,27 Pan,TV 32,SWA 26 & 38mm,TMBs,UOs,Sratus,and Viven 8x24 Zoom.
9x63 binos
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12228
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
All accounts?
I thought the TV was made by Vixen who also make the Orion Premium zoom. Different eyepiece than the less expensive 8-24 zooms like the Celestron zoom.
Ed Ting wrote a review of these. Aparently the earlier ones weren't as good as the later models or maybe weren't as well QC'd.
http://www.scopereviews.com/page3c.html
Ah, Tom.. You caught me on that one. I was (as you pointed out) refering to the Vixen Clones (TV, Orion, Vixen, etc...). I was really not aware of another 8-24 zoom other than those. 
My fault...
I know there are more Vixen clones out there... Some sell rather cheaply also. I recall seeing one for less than $60. (Burgess?)
Optically, they're all the same (Vixen clones), but each company can (and have) added their own touches to them. Like TV adding the click-stops...
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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eitanaltman
journeyman
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 7
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Quote:
can someone give me an idea what zoom eyepeice under $250 is the best buy. fov, cotrast, etc, i just wont one for the convenience of not having to change eyepeices all the time when i get lazy. at my age thats getting to be habbit forming. thanks, don.
The reviews are just starting to trickle in, but the new Baader Hyperion Zoom is getting some high praise.
It has the same phantom coatings and quality of the fixed Hyperion eypieces, and it's AFOV is much wider than the TV/Vixen, starting at 50* at 24mm and going up to around 70* at 8mm.
Here's a link to a review over at birdforum.net of someone who compared it to the high-end spotting scope zooms from Nikon, Zeiss, and Swarovski:
http://birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=73582
The $189 Baader wins over the others, which cost about twice as much.
Here's a user review from the SV Yahoo group:
http://tinyurl.com/y2phhq
And here's a review from the forums at Amart:
"Just got the Hyperion zoom on sunday and had a hour sunday night before the clouds rolled in to check it out. First off, I've owned in the past Vixen,TV,Pentax 8 to 24mm zooms and I must say this one is a winner. At 24mm and 50 degree fov is has excellent contrast,very sharp even in my 12 f5 dob I was pleased. At 20mm it really struts its stuff and advancing right down to 12mm fov,contrast and detail was outstanding. Even going down to 8mm evrything was there. The only zoom that is almost as good is the Pentax but the Hypetion has a wider fov. It compared well to the 17mm Hyperion I have and even the nagler T6 13 and 9mm I have except in FOV, clearly these ep's have a small edge but in fov but detail,contrast was right on par with these ep's on planets ,dso's and even on splitting doubles. Flatness of field was right on the money when placed in my Orion ED80 and for the most part the same on my Antares 12" dob but the dob does have a little bit of coma at the last 10% of the fov but that is seen even on the best ep's at the lower power ranges anyway. The targets I used were M42 in Orion, the moon and saturn. Hyperion has a real winner and I must thank Alpine astro for getting this ep to me so fast, I will not part with this zoom for a long time to come."
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12228
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
The $189 Baader wins over the others, which cost about twice as much.
$124 for the Vixen 8-24.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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eitanaltman
journeyman
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 7
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Quote:
$124 for the Vixen 8-24.
Cheaper isn't always better. In several reviews I've read (including two reports here on CN) the Leica/Nikon/Zeiss class of high-end zooms is regarded as quite superior to the TV/Vixen 8-24 series, and if the Hyperion Zoom is truly better than the Zeiss zoom I'd rather spend $189 on that than $128 on the Vixen.
The original question was the best value zoom under $250. If the Baader truly provides a superior quality view to the Vixen, some would argue it's a better buy. Frankly, even if they were precisely equal in quality, having a 50*-70* AFOV vs. 40*-60* might be enough to justify the extra $60.
CAVEAT - I have not personally compared these two zooms, just relating what I've read in my recent research on zooms. So take my comments with that big grain o' salt.
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NorthCoast
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/04
Posts: 2195
Loc: Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.
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I would love to compare the Baader to my TV 8-24 click stop.
If the Vixen is identical to the TV then $128 is a good buy.
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Mark
Hold the "Alt Key" and type 248 on the number pad for °
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12228
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
Quote:
$124 for the Vixen 8-24.
Cheaper isn't always better. In several reviews I've read (including two reports here on CN) the Leica/Nikon/Zeiss class of high-end zooms is regarded as quite superior to the TV/Vixen 8-24 series, and if the Hyperion Zoom is truly better than the Zeiss zoom I'd rather spend $189 on that than $128 on the Vixen.
The original question was the best value zoom under $250. If the Baader truly provides a superior quality view to the Vixen, some would argue it's a better buy. Frankly, even if they were precisely equal in quality, having a 50*-70* AFOV vs. 40*-60* might be enough to justify the extra $60.
CAVEAT - I have not personally compared these two zooms, just relating what I've read in my recent research on zooms. So take my comments with that big grain o' salt.
Not doubting it. Just pointed out the current (sale) price. And the Vixen was the original of the "current" clones out there.
Also, as for the AFoV, some people here have mentioned that it seems larger than advertised. I can't remember who (Tom T?) just got one and was going to do a report on it.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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Scott Beith
SRF
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 34377
Loc: Gulfport, MS
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The Vixen LV 8-24 is a really nice EP in my Nighthawk.
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  Scott (Kilt Boy)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
"The measure of a man’s greatness is not determined by what he accomplishes for himself, but by what he accomplishes for others.” -- Some Bald Guy
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Matt Harmston
Graduate: Confused State University
Reged: 12/28/05
Posts: 2128
Loc: Iowa, USA
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Quote:
The Vixen LV 8-24 is a really nice EP in my Nighthawk.
And, it is on sale at vixen.
Good luck!
-Matt
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1-16" Custom Dob Under Construction
1-150mm Celestron Refractor
1-4.5" f/4 Starblast
34mm Siebert Observatory
22mm Orion Lanthenum Superwide
12mm Televue T4
7mm Siebert Ultra
2x Televue Barlow
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