3 replies to this topic

[quercuslobata]

Hi,

I picked up a used Celestron binoviewer here to see if binoviewing is for me. I have a pair of 25mm xcel-lx and I think they are just too wide to fit my schnozz in between them comfortably. This makes me think I should try something narrower like plossls. I have an assortment, but only one of each. How important is it for a given focal length that you get the same manufacturer, and is it important that you get the same run if they changed over the years?

For example, I have a 26mm Celestron Halloween plossl. I think there were different versions? so if I’m looking for a second one how do I know what will work, or is it just trial and error?

 

I also have a 20mm GSO plossl, which are still available, but the one I have is a different color body than the ones I see being sold now. Will it matter, or same wine in different bottles?

 

Thanks

[RAKing]

Good questions!  Sorry, but my answer is: it depends.

 

Some manufacturers are very good about consistency, others, not so much.  When I started binoviewing, I was able to match the TV T6 Naglers and small Panoptics that I had bought and used several years before I started with the BV.  I was also able to match some CZJ orthos that were made decades apart.  A few of my CZJ orthos had older brass housings and I had no trouble matching much newer versions.  And my Takahashi LE eyepieces all worked well together, even though some of them had the newer white lettering and my originals were all green letters.

 

I think it's worth a shot to see if you can match your Halloween plossls, and if you just want to dip your toe into the BV "water", I got hooked by the views when I tried my first pair of William Optics 20mm SWANs.  These are budget eyepieces with 65-degree FOV and are still available for under $60.00 each. 

 

I hope the BVs work for you!

 

Ron

[cahanc]

Regarding the ep's pinching the nose. It happens a lot, many eyepieces can be decloaked by taking off the upper housing leaving them naked or stripped down and much thinner. Many articles come up if you search CN for decloaking eyepieces. I wound up buying a Denkmeier Super27 for binoviewers, the ability to switch between 3 different magnifications without changing eyepieces is fantastic!! Good luck!!

[tturtle]

I have a pair of 32 TV Plossls from different years and a pair on 28mm RKEs from different years and even though they look slightly different they perform fine.