doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2627
Loc: SE Louisiana
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This isn't about budget. It's about best, no restrictions. Your opinions? And the smaller (2-4, 3-6) Naglers don't qualify, as what I mean is the wider range type.
Doug
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Doug
The Truckstop Astronomer
Meade 12" Lightbridge/Dob Driver II
Celestron C6 SCT
Celestron C6R/Moonlight focuser
Celestron XLT150
Astro-Tech AT80EDT
TOWA 60/700 (under construction)
Celestron CG5-ASGT, CG-4
Celestron Nexstar SE (large)
Meade SWA 34mm
Televue Panoptic 24mm
Pentax XW 10mm, 7mm
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Astro-Tech AT66ED
Celestron Nexstar SE (small)
Televue Plossl 32mm
Smart Astronomy Solar System 14.5mm
BO/TMB Planetary 9mm, 7mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3.2mm, 2.5mm
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payner
sage
Reged: 03/22/07
Posts: 233
Loc: Bluegrass Region, Kentucky
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I'm not qualified to unconditionally declare one the best, but I will say the Pentax 8-24mm XL is one excellent eyepiece. I doubt anyone would be disappointed with its performance.
Randy
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CGE1400 w/XLT & FT MicroFocuser
Russian-Intes MK 91 Rumak
Takahashi FS-128
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Brooklyn
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/24/08
Posts: 870
Loc: Central New Jersey
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I hear the baader Hyperion click-stop zoom is nice, and its 8-24.
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Meade 8.25"(209.55mm) LX-90 EMC (SCT)
Albert Einstein =>
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
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pel
member
Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 25
Loc: Maryland
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I owned a Nikon 7-21 zoom a while back that was the best of this type I have used (compared to the hyperion and a vixen style which I also owned at one time). I liked the hyperion and it gave pretty sharp views for a zoom and it has the best low power fov, but the weight is a definite drawback. The Nikon was sold as a spotting scope zoom but I was able to get a 1.25 inch screw on adapter to fit it to a diagonal. Very sharp views for a zoom. Kinda sorry I sold it.
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Primum non Nocera
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jdownie
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/24/06
Posts: 737
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Post deleted by csa/montana
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ATM project - a terrible waste of good Pyrex.
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2627
Loc: SE Louisiana
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Now now, be nice. He likely heard that here, and what better source is there?
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Brooklyn
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/24/08
Posts: 870
Loc: Central New Jersey
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Quote:
Quote:
I hear the baader Hyperion click-stop zoom is nice, and its 8-24.
I dont need to use an item to know that its good. I have never used a nagler, does this mean that me saying its a great eyepiece is wrong? of course not.
http://www.alpineastro.com/Hyperion-Eyepieces_com/Images_and_Docs/HyperionandZoomInstructions-Version2.pdf
I am very fond of the baader hyperion fixed focal length eyepieces, and based of using those, i have decided that the click stop baader hyperion zoom is also a good product. I have made this opinion from reading countless other opinions about the piece, most of them all very positive. I do a ton of research in the field of astronomy products, so i think my opinion is well based.
I understand if your opinion isn't the same as mine on this zoom eyepiece, if that is the case why not offer some information about some other zoom EP that you think is better? Oh and please try to not nit pick about others credibility. We are a community and we try to help one another.
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Meade 8.25"(209.55mm) LX-90 EMC (SCT)
Albert Einstein =>
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
Edited by csa/montana (08/09/08 09:26 PM)
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Brooklyn
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/24/08
Posts: 870
Loc: Central New Jersey
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Here is a thread from a little while ago concerning the baader hyperion click stop:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2558020/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1
Oh doug, how sweet of you! 
I appreciate the support, but no need to defend me. I'm sure he realized what he said was wrong after posting it.
In fact, I never saw any poster saying anything negative about another here. Lets try to keep it that way. The internet can be full of disrespectful or ignorant people, and thats the reason i love cloudy nights. The posters here are all extremely intelligent and have huge hearts. When i was in need people went out of their way to help me with my telescopes questions, and likewise i shall work hard trying to help others.
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Meade 8.25"(209.55mm) LX-90 EMC (SCT)
Albert Einstein =>
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2627
Loc: SE Louisiana
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Well, technically it wasn't so much a defense of you as me being offended by the tone, as that approach was unneccessary and helped not at all, and of course, did nothing to answer the question posed by this thread. I "am always amazed" at how thoughtless and rude some can be in their comments, when there is no call for it. This ain't politics!
Doug
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jdownie
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/24/06
Posts: 737
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Hard to see how I was rude. I merely expressed amazement.
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ATM project - a terrible waste of good Pyrex.
Edited by csa/montana (08/09/08 08:36 PM)
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2627
Loc: SE Louisiana
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Yes, but it did nothing to answer the question, and was seen as unneccessarily antagonistic. In a word, rude. You could have just recommended one, or said nothing at all. Still, if I have you pegged wrong, my apologies. But a little care in your phrasing in the future could go a long way toward not having a repeat of this. Cool?
Doug
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7634
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Jdownie,what's your first name?
I do agree with your post in principal. Others may construe your responce as rather abrupt. For the benefit of our less experienced members,I believe they mean well. As Doug has pointed out,we do have to play nice. Time for all of us to take time out,count to 10 and breath deep. I believe everybody has made their point. Let's us police our own thread and keep the Mods out of this one.
He has eliminated the "best" 2 zooms IMO. That makes it tougher.
What might you recommend?
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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andydj5xp
sage
Reged: 05/27/04
Posts: 384
Loc: 52.269 N/10.571 E
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Quote:
Yes, but it did nothing to answer the question, and was seen as unneccessarily antagonistic. In a word, rude. You could have just recommended one, or said nothing at all. Still, if I have you pegged wrong, my apologies. But a little care in your phrasing in the future could go a long way toward not having a repeat of this. Cool?
Doug
Doug,
to answer your initial question directly: although I'm of the opinion that there is no "best" zoom eyepiece I can tell you that my Leica zoom 22mm-7.3mm is a fantastic value. I've compared it over the last 6 years (stand alone or barlowed) with many other high quality fixed focal length eyepieces (Pentax XW, TAK Orthos, TAK LE, Nagler T6, Nagler zoom, Zeiss zoom, Hyperion zoom, TMB Planetary) and have found only the Pentax XW and the Nagler 3-6 zoom to be really tough contenders.
Now I'm about - hopefully within the next 4 weeks - to get the new Leica 18mm-9mm zoom with AFOVs from about 60° to 80° and - most likely - the same quality as my old Leica zoom. I'll report here on CN as soon as possible.
But allow me to add a general remark (hopefully not to choose the wrong wording since English is not my first language). I'm also reading almost all discussion posts and test reports due to my now unlimited time as having retired from work and mainly due to my also unlimited curiosity as a scientifically orientated electrical engineer. That said, I'm quite often amazed when within the first answers to a specific question fellow astronomers give their advice from "...having heard or read ...". Not that one can't get quite a knowledge from thorough reading (most of my understanding results from there) but I'd prefer answers gained by real experience or at least links towards threads where the topic has been covered before.
As you Americans would say: YMMV.
Andreas
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TEC140 (#216)
Leica 22...7.3mm zoom, barlowed 1.75x (12.6...4.2mm)
Zeiss AbbeII set with Barlow 2x
WO UWAN16, also barlowed 1.78x (9mm)
WO UWAN28
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Wehkoja
sage
Reged: 05/06/07
Posts: 222
Loc: Finland
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I am planning to sell my hyperion set to get a good Zoom eyepiece! I not fan of changing the eyepiece in freezing temps, while it´s so dark you cant even see where the scope is 
So instead of buying ZAO II´s and selling Hyperions!
Now needing 2 best Zoom Eyepieces out there today!
There are lot to choose from:
- Antares Zoom
- Tele Vue
- Hyperion
- Zeiss
- Pentax
- Vixen
- Orion
etc etc etc...
I´m thinking about TeleVue or Pentax! those two should belong to the Top 5 ???
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TMB Megrez 80/480
Ethos 13mm
Powermate 2" 2x
Powermate 4x
Heq5pro
WO 2" Dielectric (Carbon)
TV 2" Dielectric Everbrite
Nikon Monarch 8.5x56
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2627
Loc: SE Louisiana
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OK, first, point taken on advising when knowledge is first hand or not. I can make a judgement on this myself, knowing that intrinsically this type of recommendation is pretty empty, as it carries no direct knowledge of the subject. However, it is a response by someone trying to be helpful, and I take it that way, and it cost no effort or expense to be nice. In other words, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.
The Televue Zooms were eliminated because I'm looking for a wide range zoom, which they are not, although no doubt they might well be the best. My thinking was in the 8-24mm range, or something close to it, for use in my travel scope. Then I could make someone happy by selling my BO/TMB Planetaries. Personally I am a real fan of Pentax, but I don't know if their zoom is better enough to justify the cost, but if it were that's likely what I would get.
This was posted to get ideas, and not to start a discussion on manners or lack of knowledge or anything but get recommendations on zoom eyepieces, that's it. Let's keep it civil.
Doug 
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28619
Loc: montana
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Quote:
This was posted to get ideas, and not to start a discussion on manners or lack of knowledge or anything but get recommendations on zoom eyepieces, that's it. Let's keep it civil.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
7mm Pentax XL, 10mm Pentax XW
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
22mm Pan, 35mm Pan
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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Joe Ogiba
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/14/02
Posts: 3361
Loc: NJ USA
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I use the 8-24mm Pentax XL zoom that came with my Pentax PF-80ED on my other scopes and it is very sharp to the fieldstop. It has 60°-38° AFOV.
photo with 80mm F6 APO
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Pentax PF-80ED
Meade 102ED APO
Orion EON 72
120ST
Apex 127
C6 XLT
CR150
C9.25
XT10
Zeiss 7x42 FL
Canon 10x42L IS WP
15x50 IS
12x36 IS II
Garrett Optical 28x110 HD-WP Signature Series
Oberwerk BT-80 45
Apogee RA-88-SA
Denk II Power x Switch binoviewer w/13mm Ethos, 20mm Pentax XW's, 20mm Widescan III's.
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CESDewar
GorillAstronomer
Reged: 01/16/05
Posts: 1811
Loc: Morganton, GA, USA
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I had the Televue 8-24mm zoom (actually two of them) as well as the Hyperion zoom for a couple of years.
Optically, the Hyperion zoom won by a healthy margin, mainly because of the AFOV. The Hyperion zoom at 24mm has a somewhat fuzzy fieldstop at what I estimated to be around 47° at best (50° is definitely optimistic), but at 20mm, the field stop is crisp and the FOV continues to expand as you zoom in, until at 8mm you are close to a 70° AFOV with excellent center sharpness, and a very acceptable edge. The Penalty is size and weight - the Hyperion zoom is substantially heavier and larger than the TV zoom, but for me this was an accpeptable tradeoff as the Hyperion zoom is not humungous - just bigger. I ended up selling both TV zooms with no regrets.
These are not to be compared with fixed FL ep's - most likely if you do, you will inevitably be a bit disappointed... but the convenience is huge, and the compromise is not nearly as big as you might think...
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Alleline
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/07/06
Posts: 583
Loc: Farmington, New Mexico
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CESD, did yo ufind the long eye relief of the Hyperion zoom distracting? I did, and despite sacrificing the wide field somewhat, I now use a Pentax XF 6-19.5mm zoom.
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Tom
Meade DS-16 (F4.5), C-8, Synta 120mm F8.3 refractor.
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pennyandchris
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 505
Loc: Horsham, England
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I had a Pentax 8-24 which was great quality, but way too big and heavy for my smaller 'scopes. The TV 8-24 is ok, but with a narrow fov at 24mm. It stays in the case with my Ranger nearly all the time.
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Orion UK OMC140 Mak Cass
TeleVue Ranger
Coronado Ha and CaK PSTs
Meade LXD75 mount
Ambermile alt-az mount on wooden surveyors tripod
Manfrotto 074 photo tripod with 501 head
+ various binocs
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