14 replies to this topic

[GrassLakeRon]

I am looking for a GSO 10mm Superview. Does anyone own one. What are it's plus and minus.

Thanks.

Ron

[Astrojensen]

I do. It's a very small, lightweight eyepiece, about the size of a 13mm Plössl. The eye relief is a bit on the short side, but not too bad. About the level of a 10mm ortho, but with a substantially bigger eye lens. The lens is not deeply recessed, and the entire field is visible (not when wearing glasses!), though you may need to fold the soft rubber eyeguard down. The apparent field of view is at least 70°, but feels closer to 75°. 

 

It's quite darned sharp, with good contrast, and appears to be multicoated. Edge performance is very decent, even in faster scopes. In slow scopes, it's excellent. 

 

The design is NOT a classic Erfle, but a weird 1-1-1-2 design (yes, I've taken one apart). It Barlows well and works well in a binoviewer.  

 

It was the first short focal length, wide-field eyepiece I got, and it opened new horizons for me. I found it much easier to use at high magnification than the 10mm Zeiss Jena Ortho I had previously been using, since the larger field allowed more stars in the field, giving many more reference points for faint deep-sky objects, as well as allowing extended drift time, when observing with scopes without tracking. 

 

It's similar to the Masuyama 10mm 85° in many respects, which has given me hope that this eyepiece can actually work for me, despite reports of it having troublesome eye relief. 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[GrassLakeRon]

Thomas

Thank you for the report. Agena told me they will start carrying them later this month. Where did you get yours? I really like the superviews in my CC6.

[Astrojensen]

Thomas

Thank you for the report. Agena told me they will start carrying them later this month. Where did you get yours? I really like the superviews in my CC6.

I bought mine many years ago from TS. I've had them for at least ten years. 

 

All the Superviews are really good in long focal ratio scopes. The 20mm will show any dust on the front lens, which is super annoying for lunar observing. A shame, since this eyepiece works extremely well in binoviewers. For deep sky, the dust is not an issue.  

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

Edited by Astrojensen, 15 August 2024 - 08:05 AM.

[Agena Astro]

The 10mm SuperView that GSO introduced about a decade ago wasn't nearly as good as the others in the series. Production was discontinued shortly thereafter.

 

The one coming early next month is a new iteration, and while we do have the new 10mm on the way, we do not have any specs yet.

 

Sincerely,

Tom

AgenaAstro.com

Edited by Agena AstroProducts, 15 August 2024 - 09:02 AM.

[GrassLakeRon]

The 10mm SuperView that GSO introduced about a decade ago wasn't nearly as good as the others in the series. Production was discontinued shortly thereafter.

The one coming early next month is a new iteration, and while we do have the new 10mm on the way, we do not have any specs yet.

Sincerely,
Tom
AgenaAstro.com

Sign me up for one....I would love to test it out!

[Astrojensen]

The 10mm SuperView that GSO introduced about a decade ago wasn't nearly as good as the others in the series. Production was discontinued shortly thereafter.

 

The one coming early next month is a new iteration, and while we do have the new 10mm on the way, we do not have any specs yet.

 

Sincerely,

Tom

AgenaAstro.com

Interesting. I considered the 10mm to be one of the best in the original series. It was most certainly my most used one. It even did fairly well on my f/5 Dobsonian. 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[SomeonePOG]

The design is NOT a classic Erfle, but a weird 1-1-1-2 design (yes, I've taken one apart). It Barlows well and works well in a binoviewer.  

Hi, I bought a 20mm superview recently from an authorized vendor and the one I received says that it is a 4-element design.

I asked GSO about the same and they said that it is a 3group 5element design but the body of the eyepiece says it is a 4element. I asked the vendor also and they said that they have never received a 5 element 20mm superview from GSO... 

Should I be concerned? I have not heard of anything bad about this vendor from my astronomy club, infact most people recommend them! Is it possible that it was made to different specifications?

 

(I am not sure about the rules so I am sorry if this is considered as necroposting)

 

Thanks.

[SeattleScott]

It is probably a misprint on the eyepiece. It happens at this price point. I have a barlow with a misspelling printed on it. Not even a particularly cheap barlow. I suspect it is a five-element eyepiece. These aren't Televues. Sometimes the specifications/labels are wrong.

 

Ultimately go by what you see when you look through the eyepiece. It is a budget superwide. The stars won't be sharp to the edge in a F5 Dob. That much is known. But is it good enough for you, in your scope, given the price? That is what matters. If you like what you see, if it is worth the price you paid, keep it and don't worry about what the label says or what may or may not be inside the eyepiece. If you look through it and reel back in horror, return it and invest in a nicer eyepiece.

[SomeonePOG]

It is probably a misprint on the eyepiece. It happens at this price point. I have a barlow with a misspelling printed on it. Not even a particularly cheap barlow. I suspect it is a five-element eyepiece. These aren't Televues. Sometimes the specifications/labels are wrong.

 

Ultimately go by what you see when you look through the eyepiece. It is a budget superwide. The stars won't be sharp to the edge in a F5 Dob. That much is known. But is it good enough for you, in your scope, given the price? That is what matters. If you like what you see, if it is worth the price you paid, keep it and don't worry about what the label says or what may or may not be inside the eyepiece. If you look through it and reel back in horror, return it and invest in a nicer eyepiece.

Oh I see, this is actually the second I got after a replacement because the first one had a manufacturing defect. Both said 4 element, so I guess this is just one of the batches that got screwed up.

 

I am using it with a f5.7 refractor (cheap celestron one) and it works pretty well. I haven't had a single clear night for about 2 weeks so I have not been able to test it in the sky but on some nearby buildings, its a big difference, its evident that its terrible for terrestrial objects but the important things like center sharpness, kidney beaning (big issue in the 'plossl' type eyepiece that came with it) are good and better than what I was using previously, edge distortion is not bad but clearly there. 

It is the first eyepiece I have purchased and I am satisfied. I anyways prefer to use binoculars since they are more enjoyable but yes, good start to my collection . 

 

The only question left is, does it barlow well? I was hoping to resolve some details on jupiter and get closer up to the moon and sun. 

 

Thanks.

[GrassLakeRon]

I bought one a 10mm couple weeks ago when Agena got them in. I really like it in my CC6. I like the views of the moon and Saturn the night I was doing my comparison. It was sharp and had good color on what I was looking at. I did not try and Barlow it because it would have pushed it beyond the seeing for that night. I tried my 5mm BST planetary and it was too much. Will try again tonight as long as it's clear. The 20 and 15 barlowed well with my GSO 2.5x(2.2x) Barlow.

Edited by GrassLakeRon, 23 October 2024 - 03:01 AM.

[SomeonePOG]

The 20 and 15 barlowed well with my GSO 2.5x(2.2x) Barlow.

Why do you say 2.2x? is not 2.5x? I was planning on getting the same one since it was at the perfect price point, not like that 0.3x difference will make or break my experience but is it good?

[GrassLakeRon]

Why do you say 2.2x? is not 2.5x? I was planning on getting the same one since it was at the perfect price point, not like that 0.3x difference will make or break my experience but is it good?

Many folks here have taken the time to measure it. Most say between 2.1-2.2x. To me this is not an issue because it is very good. My GSO Plossl EPs just love it.

[SeattleScott]

A barlow will help clean up the edge abberations.

Sounds like it is working like a good five element superwide should. Good center, some edge abberations.

[GrassLakeRon]

A barlow will help clean up the edge abberations.

Sounds like it is working like a good five element superwide should. Good center, some edge abberations.

Scott, to be honest I find the 20,15,10mm Superviews sharper then the gold and red line svbony series and with no kidney beaning. I also have used the Agena SWA's and find the Superviews better then those. Makes sense that the company who makes the scope makes EPs to show them off. I would love to see a comparison between these and that new 70° series from Angeleyes.

Edited by GrassLakeRon, 23 October 2024 - 10:11 AM.