10 replies to this topic

[Gregory Gross]

I know that, for quite a while, Vernonscope has offered flat top versions of their Brandon eyepieces but only in the standard 1.25" format. This morning I discovered on Vernonscope's Questar eyepieces webpage that they have started to produce flat top threaded Questar Brandon eyepieces, too.

 

It doesn't look like they have a flat top version of their new 20mm Brandon, but perhaps one will emerge eventually.

 

I've always thought that a flat top Brandon would be a great way to harken back to the style of the original Japanese-made eyepieces that came with new Questar until the early 1970s and the early versions of the Questar Brandons that appeared for a few years.

Edited by Gregory Gross, 29 January 2023 - 02:16 PM.

[RMay]

Moderately interesting as a variation on a theme, but I can see wiping lots of eyelash and skin oils off those top objective lenses. They’d be a pass for me, but I’d be interested in reactions to them.

Ron

[Gregory Gross]

Personally speaking, I too prefer the eyecups. I have long eyelashes, and eyecups help me keep my eye at the right distance from the eye lens of the eyepiece. But I know others prefer eyepieces without eyecups, so it's nice that those folks have options.

[Mike Allen]

I use flat top Brandons in my Q7 Astro.  Wing type rubber eyecups are attached to the oculars to block light intrusion from the outside corner of my eye socket.  This greatly improves contrast.  The winged eyecups originally came with my set of University HD Abbe Orthos, and fit the flat top Brandons perfectly.

 

I have Brandons with the provided round eyecups for my Q3.5 standard.  The round eyecups are not as effective in blocking light intrusion as the winged version.  The Questar Brandon 8mm round eyecup is too tall for me to see the full field of view, due to its short eye relief, so I replaced the eyecup with a flat top adapter that Liz at Vernonscope sold to me.

 

No problems with eyelash oil when using flat top Brandons.

[RMay]

I use flat top Brandons in my Q7 Astro. Wing type rubber eyecups are attached to the oculars to block light intrusion from the outside corner of my eye socket.

Does anyone make/sell Q-compatible winged eyecups for their eyepieces? I’d give them a try.

Ron

[Mike Allen]

Alpine Astronomical sells them in various sizes.  The Baader Rubber Eyeshield II on their web site looks like the ones that came with my University HD orthos, although I have not confirmed their size is the same.

[98105dude]

Let's remember that the Questar Brandon 6mm eyepiece is a flat top.

[Larry Geary]

I know that, for quite a while, Vernonscope has offered flat top versions of their Brandon eyepieces but only in the standard 1.25" format. This morning I discovered on Vernonscope's Questar eyepieces webpage that they have started to produce flat top threaded Questar Brandon eyepieces, too.

 

It doesn't look like they have a flat top version of their new 20mm Brandon, but perhaps one will emerge eventually.

 

I've always thought that a flat top Brandon would be a great way to harken back to the style of the original Japanese-made eyepieces that came with new Questar until the early 1970s and the early versions of the Questar Brandons that appeared for a few years.

I think the flat-tops are beautiful. I have a set of the non-threaded flat-top Brandons, 32mm through 6mm, which I just remembered were issued as a 50th anniversary set and marked as such. I also have an old-style 4mm made with old Chester Brandon glass from the 1950s that Don Yeier found around the shop. (Don only made a handful. They aren't very good, and he knew it, but they're unique.) I asked Don to have a case made to hold the complete set, including the 4mm, and he did. Don was a great guy.

 

All my threaded, eyecup Brandons for the Questar are from the 1980s and in a case from back then. The interior padding deteriorated so I replaced it with pick 'n' pluck foam from a Pelican case. I can probably fit a threaded 6mm in there, and maybe someday I will. I don't feel a need for a 20mm.

[Gregory Gross]

I get the strong impression that Tony and Liz Mansfield are quite capably continuing on with the torch that Don Yeier carried for years after he himself bought Chester Brandon's business in 1963. I love the fact that they introduced a 20mm Brandon, and I'm glad to see that they are making other additions to their line of American-made products.

[munirocks]

I prefer eyecups for the longer focal lengths, 16 and above, and flat tops for the short focal lengths, 12 and below.

The short ones have short eye relief, which makes them more prone to fogging from the moisture in your eyeball, so the extra ventilation of the bare top helps keep them clear. 

The ones with eyecups in my collection also have threads for the Q eyepiece holder; the bare ones don't.

Edited by munirocks, 18 March 2023 - 01:12 PM.

[wcw]

I 3d printed wingtips for my flat top Brandons. They easily slide on but are snug enough to stay put. I printed them at Shapeways.com.

 

 

 

 

Here is the .stl file

https://www.dropbox....ny 009.stl?dl=0

 

-Bill