92 replies to this topic

[jrazz]

That 7mm would be absolutely fine for planetary views. Save your money and use what you have.

 

Those 10mm Pentax's are waaaaay more important, useful and amazing than all the rest. Save up for those first! Heck, I sold my OB 14mm since I use the 10mm Pentax almost all the time.

[jrazz]

Soooo....Ya'll know what I think about the BST Planetary 4mm, right?

I like them because they're small and light and have decent sharpness. They also have significant internal reflections which can be really annoying when viewing bright objects, like, I dunno, planets.

 

So I finally bought a second Pentax SMC XW 5mm eyepiece to use as my "high mag" eyepiece. Yesterday I got to try them out on Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon.

 

Skip Saturn and the Mooon. Looked fine, etc...

Jupiter blew my mind. At first I thought I had made a mistake buying the 5mm. It doesn't magnify as much as the BST and initially I had thought the image quality to be rather poor. However, once I tried the BST again I found that it wasn't the EPs fault. The seeing was terrible. Still, the 5mm easily pulled out cloud bands from Jupiter. The sharpness was only slightly better than the BST but the contrast was simply at another league! I could not believe how much detail was available.

 

This was also significantly better than my 10" dob. Now the 10" is and Orion Skyquest. Not terrible but certainly not top of the line. It usually fares better for dimmer things but I was surprised to see how much it struggled compared to the 100XL/5mm combo. The equivalent magnification for the Dob is with a 10mm EP. So even with the Pentax 10mm which is by far my favorite EP the 100XL STILL CAME OUT ON TOP for detail. Crazy!

 

So weird review, I know but at least now I understand why I love the Pentax EPs so much. It's the contrast dummy!

[Fiske]

Thanks for the mini-review, Jordan. 

 

I'm glad you like the Pentax 5mm XWs. 

[sonny.barile]

Mine is 61-62... So probably marginal 

 

 

 

Anyone have experience with Oberwerk's offering? (22mm, 14mm, 7mm) 

I do…….however these are probably the best quality EP’s I have possessed…..so I don’t have much experience to compare them that would be helpful for you. I can offer that my particular samples don’t require any mechanical fussing in my OB 100 SD…..I do like the range in this set…..

[richardmeadeiii]

Soooo....Ya'll know what I think about the BST Planetary 4mm, right?

I like them because they're small and light and have decent sharpness. They also have significant internal reflections which can be really annoying when viewing bright objects, like, I dunno, planets.

 

So I finally bought a second Pentax SMC XW 5mm eyepiece to use as my "high mag" eyepiece. Yesterday I got to try them out on Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon.

 

Skip Saturn and the Mooon. Looked fine, etc...

Jupiter blew my mind. At first I thought I had made a mistake buying the 5mm. It doesn't magnify as much as the BST and initially I had thought the image quality to be rather poor. However, once I tried the BST again I found that it wasn't the EPs fault. The seeing was terrible. Still, the 5mm easily pulled out cloud bands from Jupiter. The sharpness was only slightly better than the BST but the contrast was simply at another league! I could not believe how much detail was available.

 

This was also significantly better than my 10" dob. Now the 10" is and Orion Skyquest. Not terrible but certainly not top of the line. It usually fares better for dimmer things but I was surprised to see how much it struggled compared to the 100XL/5mm combo. The equivalent magnification for the Dob is with a 10mm EP. So even with the Pentax 10mm which is by far my favorite EP the 100XL STILL CAME OUT ON TOP for detail. Crazy!

 

So weird review, I know but at least now I understand why I love the Pentax EPs so much. It's the contrast dummy!

Well that is interesting! I ended up getting the Astromania planetary 4mm ep, which I think is pretty similar to the best ($100 for the pair on amazon) surprisingly, they work way better than expected on Jupiter and Saturn. Little finicky on the eye position, but last night I was able to very clearly see the shadow transit of Io, and some decent detail in the cloud bands. Takes patience and keeping still but I've really enjoyed them for planets. Oddly enough even though I have the ED version of the BT100xl, I don't have much in the way of CA on planets and the moon with these. The OB XL 7mm pair have way more CA than these, which I did not expect. Now for stars and DSO stuff they are terrible on that stuff, but specifically planets and moon, not bad for the price! Of course reading this, the Pentax 5mm may be a temptation down the line lol 

Edited by richardmeadeiii, 16 November 2022 - 02:23 PM.

[jrazz]

Oh absolutely

 

Ultimately the BT itself is surprisingly good for planets and can take magnification really well and TBF the atmosphere plays a bigger part in what you see anyway.

 

Regarding the Pentax. You don't need to look through them. Too expensive!  

[richardmeadeiii]

Yeah I had pretty low expectations for planetary, based on opinions on here, so it’s been a cool surprise! 

Edited by richardmeadeiii, 17 November 2022 - 09:02 AM.

[jrazz]

Thought I'd update this thread since I have been fully infected with Takitis....

 

Previous planetary and close double preference were these:

TV Delite 3mm.

 

TBH, the Pentax XW 5mm are also just plain awesome but for planets the extra reach (186x vs 112x) was significant.

 

 

 

Then came the TOE

 

 

 

I do think these edge out both the Pentax and TV in contrast. It's really hard to tell because they are all good but the baffling, blackening and probably the coatings are probably better in the TOE. The views on the moon.... OMG. Even through the smoke the detail is impressive. Keep in mind that I am struggling with Takitis here so take what I say with a grain of salt but these are really really nice to look through.

 

However where they really stand out is in usability.

 

No notch, small, light weight and parafocal with the XW are all reasons I love these eyepieces. TBH I never really got along with the Delites. Yes, they are good and the light shield is excellent but I never really LIKED them. Using them was a pain because they were impossible to "collimate". It would take me at least 15 minutes to find a position where I could merge the image. They would flop around in the holders and I would have to screw out the barrles a lot. They are good eyepieces just not for my BT. The TOE on the other hand are simply perfectly matched. The same reason I like the 32mm Plössls (light and small) is the reason I like these.

 

Highly recommended but beware of Takitis!!

 

 

Below a comparison of the Plössls and the TOE... 

 

 

[MT4]

I just placed an order for a Tak TOE 4mm eyepiece for use with my Tak scopes despite the short eye relief of 10mm.

 

@Jordan - I blame you for the above 

[Rich V.]

Since the TOEs have a similar 52° AFOV and 10mm ER, I'd think the flexibility of a Nagler 3-6Z (50° and 10mm) might be an advantage for planetary, particularly in a BT where changing eyepieces adds to the hassl..  I wonder how much better a TOE might be than a NZ?

[jrazz]

I just placed an order for a Tak TOE 4mm eyepiece for use with my Tak scopes despite the short eye relief of 10mm.

 

@Jordan - I blame you for the above 

 
 

I am nothing if not an enabler.

 

Edit: I think you’d be fine with glasses. You can easily fold back the eye guard to get close. The eye guard has a nice rubber base that would protect the lens as well… It’s just a nice eyepiece.

 

 

Since the TOEs have a similar 52° AFOV and 10mm ER, I'd think the flexibility of a Nagler 3-6Z (50° and 10mm) might be an advantage for planetary, particularly in a BT where changing eyepieces adds to the hassl..  I wonder how much better a TOE might be than a NZ?

I would bet the difference is minimal. When looking through the TOE, the Delites and the Pentax XW all of them are excellent so I’m willing to bet that any optical difference is largely subjective.

 

HOWEVER… These are just nice to hold and look AT. They feel really high quality. I know we scoff at these things but I honestly enjoy using them. Are they showing me stuff I wouldn’t see otherwise? Certainly not. I like them. It’s a hobby.

Edited by jrazz, 26 May 2023 - 01:58 PM.

[jrazz]

Just 1 year ago?!?! Wow, I feel like I've had this BT for waaaay longer.

It has become my #1 (sometimes it's #2 after the MoonStar ) observing instrument. Been with it up mountains and in very very dark locations. Camping, back yard, with and without dog. It's a keeper fo shu!

 

What I've learned is that AFOV is nice but contrast is more nice. I think (and hope) that I finally have the correct eyepieces for me:

 

Takahashi TPL 25mm (22.4x)

Takahashi TPL 12.5mm (45x)

Takahashi TOE 4mm (140x)

 

OK, I also have a 6.5x almost attached to it!

 

Really that's it. Wide, Mid, and High Mag. (and super wide!)

 

I am sorely tempted to add a MC/LE 7.5mm and the 2.5mm TOE but no! I will stay strong and minimal!

The best thing about this minimal setup is that I think less about eyepieces and more about what I want to observe. 

 

It also allows me to have just a mini eyepiece box (really small and cute) that is super easy to get along with. 

 

 

We'll see how long this honeymoon lasts

Edited by jrazz, 03 August 2023 - 12:01 PM.

[wrighty338]

You can also attach the 20mm and 32mm Masuyama to the 1,25" APM binos:

 

 

 

Jochen

 

Really interesting. 20x70 85' how are the views? 

Easy to replicate no doubt with CAD + a small lathe, cheaper just to buy from tatsurou though probably! How did you go about your purchase?

[richardmeadeiii]

Reporting back on the Plossl/BT part of this thread:) and also Takitis (I'll blame Jrazz, I think I have similar viewing taste or eyes as you do)

 

I've now gone on a very similar journey with the eye piece collection (I only have light Takatis symptoms so far though lol). I started using my 26mm super plossls more regularly about a month ago (kinda forgot about them), and really enjoyed them in the summer sky (far from perfect as far as sharpness goes but fun).

 

I ended up picking up a pair of the smoothie Japan version of them and.....WOW! They are amazing! So immersive (space portal) and I can get them to focus so finely tuned that stars are as pin point as I've seen through the BT. Spent many of hours in the last month with them and it's been a blast. What it it taught me though, for my eyes, and viewing style, (plus two viewing), I don't mind the narrower FOV, and I also really find contrast and sharpness to be of more value to me as well! So Jrazz, you are onto something there! 

 

That's when I fell into the rabbit hole (Space portal?) I sold off my 3 sets of Pentax XWs/XLs and a few other Eps I had, and now I also have the TV 7.4 smoothies, TV 10.5 smoothies in hand and the TV 13 smoothies on the way! 

 

The TV smoothie Plossls are so dang sharp! The TV 7.4 in particular, if you can handle the eye relief (which thankfully I can) is the sharpest/most contrasty I've seen Saturn/Jupiter and the moon. I like these far better then the Pentax XL 7mms. These are not nearly as comfortable as the Pentax of course, and not nearly as wide but for just looking at the planets and moon,  I can't imagine a better view through the BT at 76x. So good!  

 

I also picked up the Tak TPL 18mms (light symptoms now) and got to test them out last night, and they are sooo dang nice, the contrast is amazing..... and more then anything, that really stands out to me. Everything just pops! I imagine they will be my goto pair, as I really like magnification from 20x-50x range and that hits that sweet spot for me at x31. The TPL 18s are super comfortable as well for me, with and without glasses on. I use glasses half the time when observing, I don't have issues one way or the other, but it's a tad less clumsy to keep them on when I'm using the reticle finder so that's really nice. 

 

The ease of use with all of these is crazy. Being able quickly change these out, without having to adjust the N12 head. Light, small and easy to handle. I'm all about ease of use, and being able to observe with minimal work involved (yeah I'm lazy like that). Also my wife can now view through any of my eye pieces, and she couldn't view though most of mine due to narrow IPD. The other thing with the Pentax eyepieces, I was always so scared to drop them! I don't feel like that with any of these. 

 

I won't talk about how much I want a pair of TOES, I WON'T TALK ABOUT IT, I WON'T LISTEN TO IT, I WONT BUY THEM (I totally will) 

[jrazz]

No such thing as light Takitis... Before you know you have a TOA hovering in your study

 

[richardmeadeiii]

Oh wow! I'm going to pretend I don't want one! (I do). 

[cimar]

I have pairs of UFF 24mm and UWA 10mm.

[tccz]

I've been swayed by certain people on this forum () and off to buy a 100mm BT (OB 100XL-SD). Now that I'm fully bought in, I'm looking for recommendations for eyepiece focal lengths that would be useful with this BT (560mm, F5.6)

 

So, what are your recommendations and why? Should I go for wide field x25 (22mm) or focus on really deep 80x (7mm). Something in the middle? Anyone has experience with this BT and can tell me what are the most useful focal lengths/magnifications?

Great thread... looks like you went through the process of searching eyepieces for BT100 just a couple years ago. Super helpful read.