Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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Has anyone had any experience or thoughts about this line of ep's? I haven't seen any reviews of these anywhere.
Thanks, Tim
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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Feidb
super member
Reged: 10/09/09
Posts: 127
Loc: Nevada
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I'm in the same boat. I started a thread a few weeks ago and got a few responses, but nobody had any comments on the 2" 19mm which I was interested in. You can find it on the previous page, I think...
Oops! That was the Axiom LX. Sorry!
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Present gear:
16" Meade LightBridge
Meade 50mm straight through-finder
Lumicon green laser pointer
Orion Q-70 26mm, 32mm, and 38mm
Parks 2X 2" Barlow
Hyperion 17mm, 8mm
1 1/4" 18mm Russell Optics Bertele
1 1/4" 12.5mm and 6mm Coulter Optical Orthoscopics
1 1/4" X 2" 32mm Edmund Scientific war surplus Erfle
Tirion star atlas (white stars, black background) hand-laminated
Megastar
And a partridge in a pear tree
To nudge or not to nudge, that is the question
Edited by Feidb (10/28/09 06:12 PM)
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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That's ok. Well, I ordered a 13MM Ultima LX, so I'll check it out soon and maybe give a short report. I'm hoping to have better weather when it arrives(yea,right), because it's snowing here now.
Tim
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
Edited by Heitman (10/28/09 06:25 PM)
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RAKing
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/28/07
Posts: 2092
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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Tim,
I like mine and still use them for public outreach sessions. They are economically easy on the wallet and ergonomically nice. That big fat rubber grip looks strange to some, but the eyepiece is easier to hang on to when you are wearing gloves in the winter.
Performance? They cost more than the Hyperion, but I think they also work better. YMMV. 
Ron
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Time spent looking at the stars is added to your life.
Tak FS-128, C925-CF, C6SE, other stray cats and refractors.
A-P Mach1 GTO
Zeiss orthos to Ethos - and some stuff in between.
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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Thanks, Ron. Had a 13mm Hyperion, but I didn't like it as much as the 17mm Hyperion. I will test it soon.
Tim
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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eklf
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/12/07
Posts: 721
Loc: Carrboro, NC
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I justa\ recieved an Ultima LX 22mm. It is an awesome eyepeice..super performance, great eye relief. It has a really big lens that gives more immersive feel than a pan 22 that i tested side-by-side on my F5 8 inch dob. Performance is fully on par with the pan. It might be my imagination but i got the feeling that the ultima had a touch better contrast than the pan. Highly recommended.
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Clear Skies/Kumar
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Davinchi
newbie
Reged: 05/25/09
Posts: 3
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I have a 32mm Ultima Lx, and I think it´s fantastic, I´ll only change it for a Pentax XW 40mm for my C11.
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John Noble
super member
Reged: 05/07/08
Posts: 179
Loc: Sandy Eggo, California
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Celestron has positioned the Ultimas strangely, I think. The 5-17mm Ultima LXs are only $30 less than the 7-15mm Axiom LXs. The Ultimas have a little more (specified, but is it real?) eye relief, but the Axioms have 12+ degrees greater AFOV. From the sparse postings on them, both are reportedly fine eyepiece series. I know I like my 10mm Axiom--but I also like my Celestron Omni Plossls (née GSO, apparently), so what do I know?
Unless there's something I'm missing here, I'd have a hard time justifying an Ultima vs. an Axiom in the shorter focal lengths. Others may be doing the same math, but reviews of both series are very hard to find so it's anyone's guess.
Maybe this thread can answer some questions about the Ultimas...
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"We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened."
--Huckleberry Finn
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eklf
professor emeritus
Reged: 05/12/07
Posts: 721
Loc: Carrboro, NC
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One possible explanations is the way the ultima/axiom lines sit among the competition. The 10mm axiom i used seemed very similar in optically and cosmetically to the 8.8 meade 5k UWA (the fl difference withstanding). On the other hand the ultima lx is quite different than 5k SWA - better eyerelief, bigger lens, different eye cup design and different cosmetic design. Raw performance-wise I would say they are equal (comparing the 22mm ultima and 24 swa), but the views seem very different (due to to the large lens).
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Clear Skies/Kumar
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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The extra eye relief is important to me, plus I find that 70* is about right for me to use comfortably. I've looked through wider field ep's, but I felt like I was fighting the ep to see whole field easily. I need long eye relief, so the wider the field, the more difficult it is for me to use.
Tim
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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NerfMonkey
sage
Reged: 06/12/08
Posts: 482
Loc: NE Ohio
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John, I believe the main reason someone would choose an Ultima over an Axiom is the eye relief. And because some people prefer superwides over ultrawides (though I'm not one of them).
Tim, please do share your thoughts on the 13mm Ultima when you get it because I'm interested in trying one out.
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Mike
Zhumell 12", Oberwerk 15x70s
107 Messiers, 247 total DSOs, 6 planets, 1 comet
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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I should have it next week, so if the weather is ok, I'll check it out.
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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Just got my 13mm Ultima LX today, and the weather is actually nice today, so I'll probably go out tonight and check out the moon and Jupiter. Too bright to see much else.
Tim
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 620
Loc: Northern Arizona
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Quote:
Just got my 13mm Ultima LX today, and the weather is actually nice today, so I'll probably go out tonight and check out the moon and Jupiter. Too bright to see much else.
Tim
Don't forget about Mars & M44 Tim ! 
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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Yes, that's true. I'll check those out, too, and anything else that isn't too washed out.
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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I just took the Ultima LX out for a little test drive and I was pleasantly surprised. First, this ep is big! It weighs 21 oz and is 5" long. I looked at the moon, Jupiter, and M57. The air did calm down for a while, so I had some good views of Jupiter. I could see the GRS easily, and the view was very clean. I saw no ghosting or flairing, even with a nearly full moon. Eye relief was also very good.
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
Edited by Heitman (11/01/09 08:46 PM)
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John Noble
super member
Reged: 05/07/08
Posts: 179
Loc: Sandy Eggo, California
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Quote:
First, this ep is big! It weighs 21 oz and is 5" long.
This is the 13mm????
How big/heavy is the 22mm?
Gee, I thought the Axioms were big. Well, they are, but sheesh...
Thanks for the report!
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"We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened."
--Huckleberry Finn
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ErnieM
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/13/04
Posts: 1251
Loc: Phoenix,AZ
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In my case my Ultima LX 17mm is twice the size and weight of my Axiom LX 10mm.
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Ernie
DSH8/ Crayford focuser
ST80 with 2" focuser on Astroview mount and iOptron cube
7XL,10LX,13t6,17LX,22LVW,27 Pan,TV 32,SWA 26 & 38mm,TMBs,UOs,Sratus,and Viven 8x24 Zoom.
Sears 7x35,Upclose 20x50, Meade 9x63 and Celestron Skymaster 8x56 binos
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Heitman
member
Reged: 01/26/07
Posts: 78
Loc: Colorado Springs
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The 22mm is lighter than the 13mm. The 22mm is a 2" ep, but has fewer elements, so maybe that's why it's lighter. The eye relief is listed as 16mm for the Ultima LX line, and I was able to see the entire field with my glasses on. I had to push my glasses in some, but not bad. I'll do more testing this week, as the weather does look good. I am pleased with the performance so far.
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PST
10"f/6 dob
C8
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