20 replies to this topic

[GTom]

An interesting specimen came up in classifieds nearby: a 50mm Orion Optiluxe eyepiece, made in Japan.

It is almost impossible to get specifications, not to mention reviews on the unit. Any idea how would it compare to the recent 4 element Plössls or the 5 element Japanese Meade 56mm Plössl?

 

Edited by GTom, 15 December 2024 - 06:42 AM.

[macdonjh]

I believe the Optiluxe are Konigs.  I have a set and enjoy them in my slow scopes, f/10 and slower.  They are terrible in fast scopes, though.  The eye relief of the 50mm (I think more than 30mm) makes it hard for me to keep the exit pupil centered, but the image is nice.  AFOV is something like 65^o for the 32mm, 62^o for the 40mm and 58^o for the 50mm, but I'm not sure I remember that correctly. 

[25585]

It is made in Japan.

[GTom]

Just found THIS, stating it has 5 elements, Königs are to my knowledge have 3.

I believe the Optiluxe are Konigs.  I have a set and enjoy them in my slow scopes, f/10 and slower.  They are terrible in fast scopes, though.  The eye relief of the 50mm (I think more than 30mm) makes it hard for me to keep the exit pupil centered, but the image is nice.  AFOV is something like 65^o for the 32mm, 62^o for the 40mm and 58^o for the 50mm, but I'm not sure I remember that correctly. 

 

Yupp, written on the box.

It is made in Japan.

[VA3DSO]

I had one of these a long time ago - It is a Plössl. Just 4 elements I believe. Don't take anything you see on Excelsis as gospel.

[scopeboy42]

Per the Orion catalog, the 50mm is 5 elements and the rest of the series are 4.

 

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[VA3DSO]

Per the Orion catalog, the 50mm is 5 elements and the rest of the series are 4.

Okay, that is good to know! And that's the best source possible (the Orion catalog)! I guess the post on Excelsis was correct - but I still would never take it as gospel (and I've written some reviews on there!).

 

I guess the Optiluxe is similar to those Meade "Super" Plössls that were also 5 elements.

 

Thanks for the clarification!

[GTom]

I had one of these a long time ago - It is a Plössl. Just 4 elements I believe. Don't take anything you see on Excelsis as gospel.

Found a book, William Paolini: Choosing and Using Astronomical Eyepieces. He quotes "telescope.com" as his that-time data source and mentions 4 elements for the 32 and 40mm, 5 elements for the 50mm eyepiece. That made me thinking that there might be a relationship between this and the Japanese made 56mm Meade Plössl.

 

Edit: @scopeboy42, many thanks (I was terrible slow this evening )!

Edited by GTom, 15 December 2024 - 06:13 PM.

[scout]

Found a book, William Paolini: Choosing and Using Astronomical Eyepieces.

He quotes "telescope.com" as his that-time data source 

telescope.com was Orion's website.

[John Huntley]

I had the 40mm Optiluxe for a while many years ago. It performed decently in the F/10 refractor that I had back then but showed lots of outer field distortions when I put it in an F/6.5 refractor. It was very similar (apart from the focal length) to a Vixen 50mm plossl that I had about that time.

 

I thought it might have been made in the same factory that the Japanese Celestron Ulitima's were made. It certainly had a very similar look and feel to it.

 

The Optiluxe was not one of the "stand out" eyepieces that I've owned in all honesty. 

 

[25585]

I have the 50mm, nice long eye relief. Being 5 element, I guess it might be pseudo-Masuyama, as the Meade Super-Plossls and Takahashi LE series, both made in Japan, were. (Meade 56mm 5 element is as good as the TV 55mm Plossl, and is slightly easier for scanning with).  My 80mm F15 J-scope refractor being 1200mm FL is good for these eyepieces, perhaps the 100mm F11 EDs would be too.

[macdonjh]

[25585]

Optiluxe.png

How does the 40 compare with your Pentax XL?

[The Cloud Gazer]

If the 50mm is indeed 58° then it is likely not a pseudo masuyama. My 50mm MOP is a 53° but max tfov possible. Likely higher distortion in this eyepiece?

Edited by The Cloud Gazer, 24 December 2024 - 04:41 AM.

[macdonjh]

How does the 40 compare with your Pentax XL?

To my uncritical eye, it compares well.  I generally reach for my Pentax these days because it's easier to keep the exit pupil centered properly.  I used the 40mm Optiluxe happily for a decade, though.  It was my second upgrade eye piece when I first started observing.  It's seen lots of time in my 6" f/12 achromat, C11 and Parks HIT (Cassegrain configuration).  My then-young son loved it, too: it was HUGE.

 

From the Orion catalog shown in scopeboy42's Post #6:

50mm: 5-element modified Plossl, 45^o

40mm: 4-element, 62^o

32mm: 4-element, 58^o

 

I remember that ad...

Edited by macdonjh, 24 December 2024 - 09:37 AM.

[macdonjh]

Just found THIS, stating it has 5 elements, Königs are to my knowledge have 3.

Not that the following proves either of us right or wrong, but I got curious and found a little more information: 

 

From one website: "Modern versions of Konigs usually use lower dispersion glasses than were available to Albert during WW I and sometimes add more elements. The most common change is to add a positive, concave-convex element before the cemented doublet field lens, with the convex surface facing the doublet. These modernized Konigs offer 60 to 70-degree AFOV's and are usually sold under proprietary names that do not credit Konig as the original designer."

 

I turns out I also have a digital copy of a 1940 patent application by Konig for two eye pieces: on a 3-1 and the other a 2-2.  Perhaps a patent search for Konig will reveal a 5-element eye piece of his design, too. 

[Starman1]

König patented 38 different eyepiece designs with 3, 4, 5, and 6 elements.

The ones sold most often in the US had 4 elements in 4 groups.

The 50mm had 5 elements, probably also in 4 groups.

To my knowledge, the Optiluxe eyepieces were Königs.

[ChristianG]

Found a book, William Paolini: Choosing and Using Astronomical Eyepieces.

He's a frequent contributor here, user BillP unless I a wrong.

 

--Christian

[Starman1]

He's a frequent contributor here, user BillP unless I a wrong.

 

--Christian

The book is a bit dated, alas.

Last I heard, he gave up on CN in favor of a couple other forum sites.  One is defunct, so I don't know where he's posting now.

English language Forum sites:

Cloudy Nights

Astro Mart

The Sky Searchers

Astronomy Connect

Star Gazer's Lounge

StarStuff

Astronomy.com

Ice In Space

DeepSky Forum

AmAstro

r/telescopes

Cosmo Quest

Society for Popular Astronomy

[CollinofAlabama]

The book is a bit dated, alas.

Last I heard, he gave up on CN in favor of a couple other forum sites.  One is defunct, so I don't know where he's posting now.

 

William Paolini was one of the better reviewers here on CN, in my opinion.  Not that his visual predilections are like mine;  they are not.  But Bill would be the first to point out that everyone's vision is unique, and he was only "calling it likes me sees it", as Popeye might say.  He was very straightforward about that, but too many people took his reviews as criticisms of their own favorites, or bought things on his recommendation only to find they didn't like them, and wrote nasty things.  I think Bill got tired of the stupidity of it all, which is a shame, since he was, although certainly opinionated, very straightforward about his opinions, and absolutely gave allowance to others' perceptions, preferences, and optical predilections to be different from his own.  He would not insult others, but others felt too comfortable insulting his writings, and that is a shame.  He was a man, not a god, and would be the first to admit it.  But he was a careful reviewer, very optically perceptive with extraordinarily good vision.  He is missed by we who valued his knowledgeable take on things optical.

Edited by CollinofAlabama, 25 April 2025 - 11:24 AM.

[Mike B]

I dunno- BillP may’ve invented the expression “YMMV”… Your Mileage May Vary- as in this is my take on this EP, but your own results may not be the same. He utilized this expression often in his writing & postings- and I’ve followed in so doing myself!

 

BillP- wherever you are, you are hugely missed by sooo many here, and have always been highly regarded! We hope all is well with you!