Few months ago I was looking for a good planetary eyepiece having a focal length between 7mm and 6mm, having a 20mm eye relief and not exceeding 160 euro. First, I found the Radian 6. I was very impressed, especially on Jupiter. Few days ago I could finally get the Pentax XL 7 and get two nice nights to compare both on my Dobson 200 (f6).
My conclusion between the Pentax XL 7 and the Radian 6 is the following, the Pentax XL 7 is neutral in color, which the Radian 6 is far from being… On the moon, no discussion possible, I much prefer the Pentax.
On Jupiter, I would say the two are almost complementary. To easily highlight the different bands of clouds, the 6 is really effective. On the other hand, the 7 is more effective on subtle details. Example, a moon passing in front of Jupiter, passing really right on the edge, Friday night was obvious at first glance in the Pentax, not in the 6.
On Mars both were beaten by the Meade 4000 UWA 4.7 which I just received 😁…. But to choose between the Pentax 7 or the Radian 6, I would say the Pentax because it gives an absolutely black sky background (it's even confusing at first).
For the deep sky, the Pentax is obviously the winner because of its neutrality and the absolutely black sky background.
So, if some hesitate between the two, the second-hand price being equivalent, I would recommend the Pentax… for those who can, take both 🙂
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Edited by Apnee44, 30 January 2023 - 01:26 AM.
