4stargazers
member
Reged: 07/13/08
Posts: 32
Loc: colorado
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I'm looking for some uwa eps for my xt 8 i have a very limited budget, any recommendations?
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meade 4.5'' reflector
etx 60
orion XT8'' dobs
Sirius 40 mm plossl
Sirius 26 mm plossl
Sirius 10 mm plossl
Orion Ultrascopic 2x FMC
3-Element Barlow Lens
Telrad with dewshield plus
and the pulsing light
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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According to fellow CN'er Starman1,his recommendation is the Antares Speers Waler II eyepieces. I have no experience with them but trust and value his opinion. At F/6 your telescope will perform fairly well with UW or 70º designs and a number of different vendors sell these Taiwanese wide angles for well under a hundred dollars apiece new.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
Edited by KWB (09/30/08 12:29 AM)
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eklf
sage
Reged: 05/12/07
Posts: 439
Loc: Carrboro, NC
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Depending on your budget and specif definition of "UWA" - a stratus or hyperions would serve as a very good options. The views are decent, FOV is 68*, very good eyerelief at 20mm and a very comfortable eyepiece.
ALso, I want to make a pitch in favor of meade UWAs. You can pick them in the used market for abt $150 (depending on the FL). I recently acquired a used series 4000 meade 8.8mm UWA, and I am shocked at how comfortable it is to look through. THis is just one case where the specifications (10mm eyerelief and older coatings) dont do justice to the ease of use and quality of views.
Just my thoughts and experiences.
CS/Kumar
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7X35,10X50,12X60,20X80
8” Dob
Binoviewer, mirror mount,P-mount
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helpwanted
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 1759
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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i just got an Axiom 10mm for the same scope... 120x is a nice sweet spot!
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Can the Axiom really be considered an "economy eyepiece"? Not a rhetorical question as I would like to hear what others think. I have no experience with them or knowledge of what they cost.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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GlennLeDrew
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 630
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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For true UWA fields of 80 deg., look into the VERY inexpensive Knight Owls at OwlAstronomy dot com.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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helpwanted
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 1759
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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the Axiom is cheaper than a Nagler, and it is a UWA
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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I just did a little research. I have no experience with the Axiom and it indeed may have wonderful optics but IMO it had better as I don't consider $300.00 an economy eyepiece. Others might. 23mm Axiom
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Those Owl 80º eyepieces give some pretty rough performance concerning off/axis astigmatism with an F/6 Dob,at least mine. Others may not be as bothered as I.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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helpwanted
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 1759
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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okay, so the 23mm is $300, but the 10mm is $179, and you didn't say you were looking for a 23mm... my personal sweet spots for my 8" is at 63x and 120x (19mm Pano and 10mm Ax)
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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I'm not looking for any Axiom. Danny,the OP is looking for eyepieces in general. Who is to say what focal length eyepieces he's looking for. To be perfectly fair,you left out the 31mm Axiom which I have heard very good things about. It's price is $400.00 retail. Sound fair?
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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sixela
Postmaster
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 9499
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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Quote:
Who is to say what focal length eyepieces he's looking for.
He is. He should also tell us what he calls "budget" and what he calls "UWA".
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400mm f/4.46 David Lukehurst truss Dobsonian on Tom Osypowski equatorial platform
Orion Starblast (114mm f/4 reflector, Alt/Az)
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Quote:
Quote:
Who is to say what focal length eyepieces he's looking for.
He is. He should also tell us what he calls "budget" and what he calls "UWA".
Fair point. I'd like to hear his opinions on both as both you and I know neither.
Edited by KWB (09/30/08 03:57 AM)
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4stargazers
member
Reged: 07/13/08
Posts: 32
Loc: colorado
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Fro me economy is less than $100.00 and as far as focal length I'm looking for one in the 20-30mm range and one in the 8-12mm range. ultra wide angle 80 degrees
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meade 4.5'' reflector
etx 60
orion XT8'' dobs
Sirius 40 mm plossl
Sirius 26 mm plossl
Sirius 10 mm plossl
Orion Ultrascopic 2x FMC
3-Element Barlow Lens
Telrad with dewshield plus
and the pulsing light
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sixela
Postmaster
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 9499
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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A Speers-Walers is about the only thing that comes close and looks good in an f/6 scope (warning: it does require a lot more focuser in-travel, so be prepared to collimate the mirror forward, *and* to get better springs  ).
Apart from that, the first really pleasant UWA I've seen is the Axiom LX, but it's substantially more expensive than $100.
The $100 80° AFOV eyepieces are all clones of the same Chinese design, and *I* personally would rather have one good or even reasonable 70° AFOV eyepiece than two of these.
As they say, in a fast scope, it's "cheap/wide/good: pick two", and for 80° AFOV eyepieces, f/6 is fast.
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400mm f/4.46 David Lukehurst truss Dobsonian on Tom Osypowski equatorial platform
Orion Starblast (114mm f/4 reflector, Alt/Az)
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greenough1
sage
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 204
Loc: Livermore, CA
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If you can give up UWA for SWA (70deg), look at the Agena Astro SWA series. The 20mm is good in an f8 scope, but might not be as good in an f8 and it's 1.25''. In a 2'' EP, there's 26mm, 32mm and 38mm. These are clones of the Orion Q70. I like the 32mm, again in my f8 scope.
Best,
jeff
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Orion XT6i (f/8) w/ COL
Philips SPC900
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helpwanted
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 1759
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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i had a 20mm Agena SWA, at f6 the edges were poor.
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 7635
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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No doubt about that but the astigmatic free zone is greater than the Owl 80º eyepieces IME. To be perfectly frank,to my eye the 17T4 Nagler is poor right at the edge as well but the remaining 90% of the view more than makes up for it.
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Kenny
"When dealing with a mystery,choose the most unlikely of the likely possibilities"-Sherlock Holmes
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Mr. Mike
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/08/05
Posts: 858
Loc: Churchville, NY
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The Meade 5000 UWAs are very good. My 8.8mm has excellent sharpness across the field, although my scope is an F7 refractor. At faster ratios they should still be good though as most reviews have stated.
The catch is that they are not neccessarily "budget" although they do cost less than the mega-high-end brands. For 80 degrees or higher, your options are pretty limited as it is so the Meades are at least a viable choice.
Just a thought...
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Stellarvue NG 80mm ED
Meade 7x50 Binos
Pentax XW 5mm
Meade 5K UWA 8.8mm
Vixen LVW 13mm
Vixen LVW 22mm
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Mike B
Starstruck
Reged: 04/06/05
Posts: 4460
Loc: shake, rattle, & roll, CA
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Danny-
In the 30mm range you're kinda stuck... not much in the way of an "UWA" (normally understood to be 80*) at $100 that'll be sharp to the edges in your F6 scope. However, the TMB Paragon's have recently been on sale (Burgess Optical) at $100, both the 30 & 40mm versions, but those are 68* "SWA" designs- but *most* of their view should be decent at F6. Prior to the sale, they retailed for $250, and are still commonly seen for ~$200 used.
Quote:
*I* personally would rather have one good or even reasonable 70° AFOV eyepiece
Everyone will view that a bit differently, but i'm totally with Sixela on this... if the outer 25% of an EP is mush, i find it distracting, and DEtracting from the REST of the view i'm trying to enjoy!
In the lower range, i'll happily put in a plug for the Speers Waler II's! The 9.4mm is $159 & the 13.4mm is $169 here and their views are quite excellent! Even the 9.4mm will give you a 2/3* TFoV, so should be fairly easy to use for general viewing & scanning.
 mike b
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Just for giggles- Next time when the money comes out the ATM, scream "I Won!, I Won!"
* * 15" F4.55 Starsplitter Dob * *
 Pacheco State Park
 Fremont Peak
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