379 replies to this topic

[Terra Nova]

Here’s my older gold letter Unitrons (H25, K18, K12.5, Symm 9, Symm 7, O5, and O4, and the big 40):

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Terra Nova]

Newer Unitrons and Celestron Circle Ts (25mm, 18mm, and 12.5mm Kellners and Vixens (6mm and 5mm orthos):

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

Edited by terraclarke, 02 November 2018 - 06:50 PM.

[tony_spina]

Terra,

What a collection!

 

Besides the Jena Ziess, what would you say are next in terms of optical quality?

[Terra Nova]

And a few more Celestron circle Ts (40mm Kellner and 5mm and 4mm Orthos):

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Terra Nova]

Thanks Tony. They are all quite good, the orthos are the best tho.

Edited by terraclarke, 02 November 2018 - 06:52 PM.

[tony_spina]

And a few more Celestron circle Ts (40mm Kellner and 5mm and 4mm Orthos):

Hmm... a 4mm Celestron ortho. Maybe something to try. Would be good for lunar and splitting doubles 

[Terra Nova]

I really enjoy using my 0.965” eyepieces with my classic scopes and the CZJ Orthos are my favorites with my two Takahashi fluorite scopes.

[tony_spina]

Side question related to the 0.965" eyepieces.  Do any of you that use 0.965" eyepieces also use them along with a 0.965" barlow?

 

I have a couple of the 0.965" barlows that came with my classic scopes but I have not really used them other than to see if it works because they are too long. Have not done any critical viewing to determine quality 

[Jim Curry]

What's in the pretty box???

 

Who cares about the ep's, where dja get the box???

[Jim Curry]

Between my Zeiss and Pentax .965's", my 1.25" ep's barely get any use for high power observing.  Here's my Zeiss ep family, forgive the OTA's and 2" ep's but I wasn't going to reshoot this.

 

Ortho's to the left, Huygens to the right and Wide in the middle.  The O's and W get regular use, the H's not so much.

 

 

Jim

 

[sdedalus83]

Side question related to the 0.965" eyepieces.  Do any of you that use 0.965" eyepieces also use them along with a 0.965" barlow?

 

I have a couple of the 0.965" barlows that came with my classic scopes but I have not really used them other than to see if it works because they are too long. Have not done any critical viewing to determine quality 

The Meade 134 that Telescope Warehouse sells is really good.  I can't reach focus with the barlow after the diagonal and it's about 2.6x before the diagonal. It works great with the 60mm f7 and 12.5mm Tani ortho. Too much magnification with the 5mm Orion. Next time out I'll try it with a recently acquired 9mm Criterion AR.

[roscoe]

Terra,

I don't think I have ever seen a compression ring 0.965" diagonal.   Who makes them? 

I'm not Terra, but.... Swift diagonals have compression rings.....and nice prisms, too.  A little hard to find, though....

[roscoe]

Who cares about the ep's, where dja get the box???

I'm an ex-carpenter who grew up to be a furnituremaker. I always set aside particularly nice pieces of wood for 'keeper' projects, like EP cases.

[tony_spina]

I'm not Terra, but.... Swift diagonals have compression rings.....and nice prisms, too.  A little hard to find, though....

Thanks roscoe. Will keep an eye out for them

[Jaimo!]

I have been using these over the summer for the great planetary parade...

 

 

[tony_spina]

Jaimo!,

lovely looking set of eyepieces. What the one in the middle front row?

[Juha]

Here is all my 0.965 stuff

 

 

 

 

Edited by Juha, 03 November 2018 - 01:34 AM.

[Astrojensen]

Terra,

I don't think I have ever seen a compression ring 0.965" diagonal.   Who makes them? 

Takahashi used to make one. Good luck finding one, though. 

 

If you can stomach the cost, you could make yourself a really high-end 0.965" diagonal (or really a 0.965"/1.25" diagonal) from Baader parts, plus a 0.965"/T2 adapter from Aliexpress. It'll be bigger than a common 0.965" diagonal, though. 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[Jaimo!]

Jaimo!,

lovely looking set of eyepieces. What the one in the middle front row?

Pentax XP-8, it was designed for a camera projection.  But still works nice, but the eye relief is a little tight.

 

Jaimo!

[tony_spina]

Takahashi used to make one. Good luck finding one, though. 

 

If you can stomach the cost, you could make yourself a really high-end 0.965" diagonal (or really a 0.965"/1.25" diagonal) from Baader parts, plus a 0.965"/T2 adapter from Aliexpress. It'll be bigger than a common 0.965" diagonal, though. 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

I think a cheaper route is to get a celestron 1.25" prism diagonals and then put an 0.965 to 1.25 adapter in the nose and then put a 1.25 to 0.965 compression adapter on top. May be a little heavy.

[Astrojensen]

I think a cheaper route is to get a celestron 1.25" prism diagonals and then put an 0.965 to 1.25 adapter in the nose and then put a 1.25 to 0.965 compression adapter on top. May be a little heavy.

Cheaper, yes, but also requires much more back focus. 

 

 

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

[Terra Nova]

Takahashi used to make one. Good luck finding one, though. 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

Here’s my Takahashi twist-lock 0.965” prism diagonal on my FC60:

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Edited by terraclarke, 03 November 2018 - 10:58 AM.

[tony_spina]

Thanks Terra for posting a picture. Will keep an eye out for it if it ever comes up in the classifieds 

[Terra Nova]

Almost no one made 8mm 0.965" eyepieces in modern times. On top of my hat I can think of only four: Carton (8mm plössl), Vixen (huygenian-mittenzwey), Spectros and Zeiss (both orthos). The 8mm Zeiss ortho is made in only one batch and in very small numbers and sells for outrageous amounts of money (+$1k) among collectors, who now own almost all of them. 

 

There's probably others as well, but compared to the number of other focal lengths that are easily available, 8mm is a rare bird and not easily found. 

 

 

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark 

Thomas, this is an 8mm worth looking for. Nothing is stamped or labeled, maker or focal length. The body is delrin with a rubber eyeshield that has micro-focusing via diopter adjust. It is very light weight due to the construction materials. The camouflage pattern and diopter adjustment leads me to think that they were made for a spotting scope. The glass and coatings are very nice and the images are very sharp to the edge. I believe the design is a König, but I am not certain. The field is wider and sharper than a typical Kellner. This one was given to me several years ago but I believe Bill Vorce of Telescope Warehouse used to sell them. It is my only 0.965” 8mm eyepiece. My Carton 8mm Plossl is my only 1.25” 8mm.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[wfj]

It's a former binoculars eyepiece (pocket compact binos). Konig. Have one I got from him.