391 replies to this topic

[ibase]

Not really, didn't say the whole field of view was visible in the Hyperion zoom @8mm with the glasses on in one setting (it was with 12, 16, 20, 24mm), it did take some eye/head movement to get to the edge at 8mm, but it wasn't any easier to do in the WO zoom even with its higher published ER of 18-20mm.

Best,

[Hrundi]

Anyone got any f/5 scope testimonials for these? How are the views?

[ibase]

Anyone got any f/5 scope testimonials for these? How are the views?

There is mention of the Hyperion zoom's performance in the sub-f/5 scopes in this AstroVox review (which I had to translate using Google Translate, thus some incoherency in various parts), to quote:

"The Hyperion except bigger field has the best anti-reflective coating of the test (Figure 2), with little difference from the more expensive the William Optics. This gives a minimum lead to transparency (= brightness) but I can not say that easily distinguishable in the remark. It appears only with difficulty when looking at the same time through the lens with an evenly illuminated white paper. These features make it ideal for observing faint galaxies and nebulae and the planets at high magnifications as needed and there maximum contrast and brightness. It might be the undisputed winner of the test if there was a significant focal plane curvature (field curvature) from 24 mm to 20 mm in approx. Thus, the lower magnifications the edges of the visual field can not focus while the center and in the last 25% of the radius of the stellar field images gradually blur. The problem is severe enough to f/4.8 which is exacerbated by the problem and the Earl of paravoloeidous mirror but reduced somewhat as we go to the biggest reasons focal f/7.7 and f/10. The lens also shows some geometric distortion (curved lines to the ends of the field) maxilaroeidous type, which is small at 24 mm and increased significantly at 8 mm Panoptic and reminding them Nagler of Tele Vue. This does not particularly bother the stellar fields and is usually a compromise even at very precise lenses to achieve large fields of vision. The focus of the lens remains constant in the entire zoom range and only 8 mm needs a little adjustment of focus. The weight and volume of the lens was the biggest in the quintet and in my opinion over the threshold where they start to be a problem in small telescopes. Overall a delightful older lens with optical fields, leading brightness and contrast, ideal for wandering looking faint objects."

Hope this helps.

Best,

[ebusinesstutor]

One issue I've noticed with the zoom eyepieces is that they all have pretty minimal eye relief. As an eyeglass wearer that's a problem... I may have to settle for one of the other choices presented here. Kinda disappointing but what can you say? At least there are some other good choices!

I wear eyeglasses when I view and I have the Hyperion Click Zoom 8-24 mm and it works fine with my eyeglasses.

Eye relief is good, between 12-15mm, depending on the magnification.

It is often the only eyepiece I take out in my own 80mm ED refractor and in my 8" dob.

It gives me the eqivalent of 17 eyepieces from 8 mm to 24 mm. With a barlow you can take it down to 4 mm so you now have the equivalent of every eyepiece from 4mm to 24mm.

No changing of eyepieces and the refocusing is much easier after I change each setting than swapping eyepieces - and no dropping eyepieces in the dark.

See the Till I Saw Her Face Now I'm A Believer thread here on Cloudy Nights to learn more.

Garland, from your post above from another thread, it's only now that I learned that you wear eyeglasses while using your Hyperion zoom, this is a most welcome development! It will be very useful for those who wear glasses and are considering getting the Hyperion zoom for their scopes. With your glasses on, are you able to see the entire field while at 8mm in the zoom? Thanks.

Best,

Hi Hernando,

As I am a inexperienced user, it is harder for me to judge this. I do use my glasses with the Hyperion Zoom.

Most of my viewing so far is lunar and planetary. I have had the Hyperion Zoom barlowed down to the equivalent of 4mm and I have been able to see well without having to look through a tiny partial circle. I don't touch my eyeglasses to the edge and I keep the eyecup rolled down.

I will try to give a better description when I get out next. We have had clouds here for the last week.

[ibase]

Garland, thanks for your inputs!

Best,

[nightstalker]

By far the most bizzare and repetitive thread I've ever seen on any astronomy website ever ?

No doubt a great eyepiece that does everything you hoped for hernando.. maybe "hyperion zoom" needs some quiet
time in a corner somewheres away from the glare of the cameras

[ibase]

Graham, I hope everyone following the thread shares your sentiments, because it's actually the thread viewers who have driven and made this the unique thread that it is in more ways than one. If no one is interested, this thread would have run out of steam a long time ago, but the reverse seems to be true. Nevertheless your advice is well taken, thanks (you can always not open this thread if it is not to your liking right? ).

Best,

[Fogboundturtle]

You guys are killing me. Because of this thread, I placed an order on an hyperion click-zoom.

[ibase]

You guys are killing me. Because of this thread, I placed an order on an hyperion click-zoom.

Congrats! May you find the Hyperion zoom to your liking, I'm thinkin you will, with that C8 of yours, it's a terrific match. Then with your EOS T-ring, mate it with a HTA54/T2 Hyperion T-Adapter:



After assembly, just plug in your Canon 40D, and it's zoomtography time!

Best,

[ibase]

Here's a posting with a bit of history about zoom EP's:

While there are those who are not in favor of zoom eyepieces, for one reason or another, there are also adherents to it (like me) and nobody is right or wrong here because eyepieces are a very personal and subjective choice, what works for one may not work for the other and you have to decide for yourself if it is for you. Just as a backgrounder, the zooms of yesteryears were really terrible and were usually associated with cheap scopes with blurred vision, its reputation was so bad so much so that any self-respecting amateur astronomer worth his salt won't be caught dead with a zoom in hand, lest they become the butt of jokes of everyone else around. Zooms just weren't the EP of choice when it comes to serious observing and anyone using them might just as well be a rank rookie who was hoodwinked into getting one of these cheapies which promised heaven and earth to the unsuspecting buyer. This was the old archaic notion about zooms and it is probably where you got the idea that zooms do not perform as well as fixed focal length eyepieces.

But a strange thing happened when the Baader Hyperion zoom arrived in the scene, people began taking notice and welcomed its great performance which is comparable to good brand single focal length eyepieces. If you will look at my signature line, you will note that I have a lot of eyepieces in my collection (includes some Naglers and not all is listed down) but I can say with no hesitation that the Hyperion zoom is my #1 favorite eyepiece. It gives me sharp, clear, bright, contrasty views which is full-eye porthole wide at 8mm but the field of view does narrow down quite a bit at 24mm. At 20mm, the view is about the same as my Televue 20mm plossl (a standard quality EP) so it's not bad at all.

To give you an idea of what other 8"/10" Dob owners are saying, here's just one of numerous threads that I've come across endorsing the Hyperion zoom:

Love my new Hyperion Zoom!

..You will hear comments that the Hyperion zoom is being hyped up - that would not be good if it did not live up to expectations, but new owners more often than not are very happy with their Hyperion zooms as you probably have already read in the big thread about it which was referred to earlier here.

Best,

[ibase]

..Then with your EOS T-ring, mate it with a HTA54/T2 Hyperion T-Adapter:

Want to dabble in astrophotography (or terrestrials)? Here's the Hyperion zoom mated to a DSLR camera ready for action:



Why choose a Canon brand DSLR? (shown in pic is the Rebel XS/1000D, the cheapest model with the "live view" function - great help for focusing). Here's a straightforward, no beating-around-the-bush recommendation from the authors of the Backyard Astronomer's Guide 3rd Ed.©2008 book shown above - Terence Dickinson (renowned author of famous "NightWatch" book) & Alan Dyer, to quote (Digital Astrophotography chapter, p. 275):

"We'll be blunt. If you are thinking about purchasing a DSLR camera for astrophotography, buy a Canon. Yes, we know you've collected a suite of Nikon or Pentax lenses. No Matter. Buy Canon. Quite simply, no other camera manufacturer has matched Canon for image quality during long time exposures. Canon cameras consistently offer lower noise and freedom from image artifacts (..<snip>..) that plague other brands.."

Best,

[t.r.]

Anyone successfully binoviewing with these???

[mewmartigan]

To my calculation the drift test indicates
8mm = 72 degree AFOV
12mm = 56 degree AFOV
16mm = 54 degree AFOV
20mm = 50 degree AFOV
24mm = 44 degree AFOV

All seem about right except for 12mm and 16mm settings! Seems to me a little more AFOV!

I received my Hyperion Zoom in the mail today and can't wait to try it out. The new gear curse has it raining all day for the next few days.

I just wanted to point out that this seems to be a GREAT eyepiece for those new to telescopes. I am not new to them but I am new to eyepieces because I am the guy that went from an ETX-90 with stock eyepeices to astrophotography. I have had my LX200 for almost a year now and never had anything but a camera attached to it! I now have the Orion XX12 to get into the observing side of things

So anyway, the point of my post is that as others have said, this eyepiece gives you a great range to play with and see the differences in magnification and FOV. In messing around with the zoom in my house I was able to see the change in the FOV while moving up in magnification. All I can say is that if the 8mm is about 72 degrees AFOV then I would absolutely love to look through an Ethos or ES100 (or even an 82 degree) because the 72 degrees FOV was expansive. I might get vertigo looking through the eyepiece in my telescope
I can really see this eyepiece as being a keeper and using the experience I gain from it to acquire a select few eyepieces for the ranges it doesn't cover.

[Fogboundturtle]

..Then with your EOS T-ring, mate it with a HTA54/T2 Hyperion T-Adapter:

Want to dabble in astrophotography (or terrestrials)? Here's the Hyperion zoom mated to a DSLR camera ready for action:



Why choose a Canon brand DSLR? (shown in pic is the Rebel XS/1000D, the cheapest model with the "live view" function - great help for focusing). Here's a straightforward, no beating-around-the-bush recommendation from the authors of the Backyard Astronomer's Guide 3rd Ed.©2008 book shown above - Terence Dickinson (renowned author of famous "NightWatch" book) & Alan Dyer, to quote (Digital Astrophotography chapter, p. 275):

"We'll be blunt. If you are thinking about purchasing a DSLR camera for astrophotography, buy a Canon. Yes, we know you've collected a suite of Nikon or Pentax lenses. No Matter. Buy Canon. Quite simply, no other camera manufacturer has matched Canon for image quality during long time exposures. Canon cameras consistently offer lower noise and freedom from image artifacts (..<snip>..) that plague other brands.."

Best,

You got enough back travel to focus ? I wasn't able to reach focus on my 40D without a 2inch tube.

[ibase]

Anyone successfully binoviewing with these???

Tim, no less than Mr. Mike Swanson himself (Nexstar Users Guide author), who has two Hyperion zooms for his binoviewer, answered the question for us here, see p. 16 of this thread, scroll down to the bottom.

Best,

[ibase]

I received my Hyperion Zoom in the mail today and can't wait to try it out. The new gear curse has it raining all day for the next few days.

I just wanted to point out that this seems to be a GREAT eyepiece for those new to telescopes. I am not new to them but I am new to eyepieces because I am the guy that went from an ETX-90 with stock eyepeices to astrophotography. I have had my LX200 for almost a year now and never had anything but a camera attached to it! I now have the Orion XX12 to get into the observing side of things

So anyway, the point of my post is that as others have said, this eyepiece gives you a great range to play with and see the differences in magnification and FOV. In messing around with the zoom in my house I was able to see the change in the FOV while moving up in magnification. All I can say is that if the 8mm is about 72 degrees AFOV then I would absolutely love to look through an Ethos or ES100 (or even an 82 degree) because the 72 degrees FOV was expansive. I might get vertigo looking through the eyepiece in my telescope
I can really see this eyepiece as being a keeper and using the experience I gain from it to acquire a select few eyepieces for the ranges it doesn't cover.

Marcus, thanks for letting us know your very inspiring initial impressions on the Hyperion zoom; I do hope the weather there improves soon so you can put the zoom to good use. Clear skies!

Best,

[ibase]

You got enough back travel to focus ? I wasn't able to reach focus on my 40D without a 2inch tube.

Yes, not only enough but plenty to spare, at both back/forward travel. Also tried it with both the 1-1/4" and 2" diagonals. Here's a Canon Rebel XS/1000D shot of the billboard ad at 20mm setting in the Hyperion zoom using the C8 scope:



Best,

[ebusinesstutor]

Most of my viewing with Hyperion Click Zoom had been in my C80ED refractor looking at the moon and Jupiter, so I was using it with a barlow which allowed me to pump up the magnification to about 150x. I loved how, on the moon, I could quickly zoom in to 150x or zoom out to enjoy a wider view of the moon.

Last night, I tried the Hyperion Click Zoom in my 8" dob and was viewing Jupiter. With the barlow, this gives me a maximum magnification of 300x.

The seeing were I live wasn't clear enough to take 300x on Jupiter last night, but the Hyperion Zoom made it very simple for me to just back off the magnification until the image was sharper and the sweet spot seemed to be around 150 to 200x for most of the evening and some time at 240x.

Instead of looking for different eyepieces, removing the caps, swapping the old one out and capping it and putting in the new one all I had to do with the Click Zoom is to turn the eyepiece and do minor refocusing.

Gives me a lot more time viewing and less time swapping eyepieces and worrying about dropping them in the dark.

[ibase]

..The seeing were I live wasn't clear enough to take 300x on Jupiter last night, but the Hyperion Zoom made it very simple for me to just back off the magnification until the image was sharper and the sweet spot seemed to be around 150 to 200x for most of the evening and some time at 240x.

Instead of looking for different eyepieces, removing the caps, swapping the old one out and capping it and putting in the new one all I had to do with the Click Zoom is to turn the eyepiece and do minor refocusing..

Thanks for sharing your Hyperion zoom viewing experiences!
In relation to this, there's another great post by Daren which expounds on the advantage of using the zoom function specifically when applied to observing planets, to quote:

"Planetary observers often are trying to pull out all the detail they can with their scopes. To this end they often will have alot of eyepieces that are very close to the same focal length. If you look at planetary eyepiece sets they sell in 1mm or 2mm increments. Many people will buy 2.5mm, 3.2mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm eyepieces because some times the atmosphere allows higher magnification and other times it does not. This is really where the zoom can shine. Because it is such a good eyepiece, it allows you to use the one eyepiece for all these magnification ranges. You also are not limited by a 2x barlow, you can get a 3x barlow. This would give you the non-barlowed hyperion zoom 8-24mm and the barlowed equivalent of a 2.6-8mm zoom. Yes, it sounds like alot of magnifications that are very close, but for planetary observers it is what many want. Some planetary observers will object to the amount of glass that is in the zoom plus barlow but for those who do not want to use a large number of tiny field of view eyepieces it's a fair trade off."

Best,

[cycledogg]

Since I was the first to reply to this thread, I thought I would share my Baader Hyperion Modular EP collection. Which, by chance, brought me to my purchase of the Click-stop zoom piece. Even though I am still relative new to this hobby, I am quite happy with this line of EP. When I had first started to acquire some quality eyepieces for my Zhumell 8" DOB, I had asked for the help from Jim Barnett. I read from previous posts that he has a lot of experience from using various EPs and have regarded his comments and opinions as accurate and honest. At that time, I had got the Hyperion 17mm from what was said by others as a "Best Bang for the Buck" EP. After several sessions using this EP, I then thought it to be a good investment to "collect" all the Badder Hyperion Modular line. The last one to enter this collection was the Zoom. For two reasons, first it was the most expensive and second, at the time, most folks still had less than good comments to say about zoom eps. Well, as any dedicated collector would do, you have to get all of the pieces to have a complete collection of any thing. Comic books, baseball cards, whatever. So, I finally saved the money and bought the last of the eps needed to complete my Badder set. At that time, it was readily available and I had no idea it would become so popular. I have had the zoom since May of 09 and have enjoyed every session of use. Yes, I would recommend this EP. Thanks Jim!
Cheers,
Rick in Tennessee

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[Jeebs]

I finally received my Hyperion zoom and I am very satisfied. I seen more detail on Jupiter with the zoom at 8mm/70x than I have with my 6mm/93x. Granted my 6mm is a low end eyepiece but it still functions. I was able to find M57 and zoom in on it with great ease.

One very minor complaint is that it doesn't seem to be as parfocal as everyone touts it to be. Maybe mine is malfunctioning because I have to tweak it a little on every click. If I go from 24 and zoom to 8 I have to give the focus knob nearly a full 1/2 turn to regain focus. That could be normal for this eyepiece though and like I said, it is a very minor complaint.

Because of time constraints, my viewing sessions usually last 1/2 hour to 45 min., so I can see right now that this eypiece is going to get used quite often because of its convenience. I have a very humble eyepiece collection so it is easy to make that claim.

[ibase]

Since I was the first to reply to this thread, I thought I would share my Baader Hyperion Modular EP collection. Which, by chance, brought me to my purchase of the Click-stop zoom piece. Even though I am still relative new to this hobby, I am quite happy with this line of EP. When I had first started to acquire some quality eyepieces for my Zhumell 8" DOB, I had asked for the help from Jim Barnett. I read from previous posts that he has a lot of experience from using various EPs and have regarded his comments and opinions as accurate and honest. At that time, I had got the Hyperion 17mm from what was said by others as a "Best Bang for the Buck" EP. After several sessions using this EP, I then thought it to be a good investment to "collect" all the Badder Hyperion Modular line. The last one to enter this collection was the Zoom. For two reasons, first it was the most expensive and second, at the time, most folks still had less than good comments to say about zoom eps. Well, as any dedicated collector would do, you have to get all of the pieces to have a complete collection of any thing. Comic books, baseball cards, whatever. So, I finally saved the money and bought the last of the eps needed to complete my Badder set. At that time, it was readily available and I had no idea it would become so popular. I have had the zoom since May of 09 and have enjoyed every session of use. Yes, I would recommend this EP. Thanks Jim!
Cheers,
Rick in Tennessee

Rick, wowww! That's a jaw-dropping, mouth-watering great collection of the Baader Hyperion line, and the HypZoom is the icing on the cake! Congrats are in order for completing the entire line, I can just imagine the sense of wholeness and completeness you have for the Hyperions, I salute you sir!

Yup I remember you were the 1st to respond to this thread, and I was the 2nd! And from then on, it just kept snowballing to where we are now, right at the doorstep of the 10,000th view. Let's keep it alive, Hyperions are great!

Best,

[ibase]

I finally received my Hyperion zoom and I am very satisfied. I seen more detail on Jupiter with the zoom at 8mm/70x than I have with my 6mm/93x. Granted my 6mm is a low end eyepiece but it still functions. I was able to find M57 and zoom in on it with great ease.

One very minor complaint is that it doesn't seem to be as parfocal as everyone touts it to be. Maybe mine is malfunctioning because I have to tweak it a little on every click. If I go from 24 and zoom to 8 I have to give the focus knob nearly a full 1/2 turn to regain focus. That could be normal for this eyepiece though and like I said, it is a very minor complaint.

Because of time constraints, my viewing sessions usually last 1/2 hour to 45 min., so I can see right now that this eypiece is going to get used quite often because of its convenience. I have a very humble eyepiece collection so it is easy to make that claim.

Jeebs, it's good to know that you are seeing more planetary details on the HypZoom and that you see using it often in the future - I too like the convenience it gives coupled with its good performance.

About being parfocal on different focal lengths, different users report varied results but the consensus seems to be that only very slight adjustments are necessary when changing focal lengths, and this is the same experience that I've had. If you have the chance, try someone else's zoom EP to be able to compare with the one you have now, because 1/2 turn of the focusing knob when changing from 24mm to 8mm seems too big an adjustment on a parfocal EP; like in my case when changing from these two FL's, I am able to achieve exact focus with very minor focusing knob adjustments. Hope you'll be able to sort it out, but you did say that it's just a very minor kink and otherwise your HypZoom is fine.

Best,

[ibase]

Came across a post regarding the Hyperion zoom's 8mm (possibly old version) setting being said to be longer, like 8.5mm. I'm not sure how this was derived and had misgivings about the estimate. So to check it out, I did a field test with the HypZoom and a fixed 8mm eyepiece that I had, an Agena wide-angle:



Subject target were the fine letterings on a nearby billboard; the result: magnification appears identical on both EP's. Even if there is an actual minute difference from the published focal length, the effect, I believe, is too subtle for a normal set of eyes to detect, maybe the tester had bionic metric eyes in which case, will defer to the exacting set of eyes.

Best,

[Jeebs]

Jeebs, it's good to know that you are seeing more planetary details on the HypZoom and that you see using it often in the future - I too like the convenience it gives coupled with its good performance.

About being parfocal on different focal lengths, different users report varied results but the consensus seems to be that only very slight adjustments are necessary when changing focal lengths, and this is the same experience that I've had. If you have the chance, try someone else's zoom EP to be able to compare with the one you have now, because 1/2 turn of the focusing knob when changing from 24mm to 8mm seems too big an adjustment on a parfocal EP; like in my case when changing from these two FL's, I am able to achieve exact focus with very minor focusing knob adjustments. Hope you'll be able to sort it out, but you did say that it's just a very minor kink and otherwise your HypZoom is fine.

Just to clarify, I double checked the focus range and did it properly (from 8mm to 24mm) and I only had to make less than a 1/4 turn on the focus knob to regain focus from across the full range. I was clearly mistaken when I stated earlier about the 1/2 turn needed to regain focus.

The OP stated he was blown away by this eyepiece and although I don't have a collection comparable to his I would like to humbly agree with him.