44 replies to this topic

[sportsmed]

I was thinking of getting a binoviewer and was wondering what eyepieces people really liked using mainly for Planetary in the 5mm - 9mm range? But also wouldn't mind knowing some good lower power EP's around 20mm. I would mainly be using the binos in my 127mm Mak and AT80ED. Thanks

[balcon3]

Binoviewers are great for planets. For reaching the higher magnifications that are desirable for viewing planets, short focal length eyepieces that have little eye relief (like plossls and orthos) can be difficult to use on a binoviewer. This is because your head has fewer degrees of freedom of movement when both eyes have to be aligned with the eyepieces. So I would recommend either longer eye relief eypieces, or using a Barlow/Glass Path Corrector between the diagonal and the binoviewer. The Barlow/GPC, will magnify the image so you can use longer focal length eyepieces, including Plossls and Orthos, which in many cases give the nicest views. The Barlow/GPC will also correct for some of the distortions introduced by the prisms of the binoviewers, so it is a good idea to use one anyway. Also some eyepieces, especially widefield ones, are too wide physically to use in binoviewers. This depends on your inter pupillary distance. For example, Pentax XW eyepieces are broad at the top, which can cause problems. For all these reasons, I like Plossl/Ortho eyepieces in the 12-24mm range, Barlowed/GPC'd appropriately to get to the magnification you want. I really like my Masuyama 12.5mm and 16mm for planets in my Maxbright II binoviewer. 

[isogroup]

I sold the dog and bought a second 9mm Nagler. Never looked back. Stunning wide field views at high enough power to watch the planets and moon in 3D.

[wrvond]

I was thinking of getting a binoviewer and was wondering what eyepieces people really liked using mainly for Planetary in the 5mm - 9mm range? But also wouldn't mind knowing some good lower power EP's around 20mm. I would mainly be using the binos in my 127mm Mak and AT80ED. Thanks

I once had a CZAS BV and a range of Tele Vue eyepieces along with a Carl Zeiss 2x Abbe Barlow. Even though it had self-centering quick release eyepiece clamps, it was still kind of a pain swapping out eyepieces in the dark, ensuring pairs stayed together was surprisingly difficult. One night I couldn't get the view to merge to save my life. In the morning I discovered one side had a 5mm Nagler and the other a 9mm Nagler. 

 

Now I've got the Baader Mark Vs and this time around I'm resisting the urge to buy a bunch of eyepiece pairs or several GPCs (not in stock anyway). Instead I bought a pair of Baader Hyperion Mark IV zooms. I don't have a lot of time with them yet, but so far I really like them and don't really feel a need for anything else.

[Usquebae]

I have a pair of Svbony 7mm-21mm Zooms (model SV135), and find them ideal for lunar and planetary.  They are very good optically, and quite comfortable to use in a binoviewer.  My other favored EP pairs are 15mm Luminos, 25mm Plossls, and the 30mm plossls that came with my Arcturus BV.  I have a pair of 18.2mm DeLites also, but find those a little fussy to use because of my narrow IPD.

 

If you are new to binoviewing, you should probably take a little time to get acquainted with how your IPD, eye sockets, and nose interact with the BV.  Everybody's face is different, so you can't take individual testimonials as applicable to all.  I personally need EPs with narrower bodies and longer eye relief than the average person.  Some people are happy using a pair of 24 Panoptics, which would never work for me.

 

p.s. - I just noticed your EP list shows an Orion 7-21.  That might be identical to the SV135.  My zooms are actually Orion branded.  I referenced the Svbony brand because Orion is now out of business.  If your 7-21mm looks the same as the SV135, it probably is.  Both companies sold the same EP for a time.

Edited by Usquebae, 04 January 2025 - 03:07 PM.

[havasman]

T6 Naglers have become my favorites. Vixen SLV's are also quite good, especially for folks that need long eye relief. And their twist up eyecups work well to make them work comfortably for the rest of us that do not like LER.

[25585]

Vatious Vixen LVs, Nikon 17.5mm NAV SWs, TAL 25mm symmetricals, Cal Zeiss OPMIs, Svbony 7-21mm zooms, Baader Morpheus. 

[betacygni]

As balcon3 mentioned above, definitely use an amplifier of some sort (glasspath, barlow, powermate, etc). In addition to the issues he mentioned short focal length eyepieces become significantly harder to merge and can introduce eye strain even if you can.

I’ve tested eyepieces quite extensively in binoviewers for planetary performance and Takahashi TPLs have come out on top (I’d get the 18mm or longer depending on your amplifier choice, to maintain eye relief comfort). If you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of performance the Masuyama 16mm 85* are very good planetary for wide fields, or quality zooms (baaader or APM super zoom) for convenience/dialing into seeing.

For lower power the 16mm 85* Masuyama can actually do a very good job too since it has a large field stop. Other good choices are the 24mm panoptics, 24mm APM UFF, and Siebert 24mm Ultra (the Siebert 24mm is very good on planetary too). I tend not to care too much about AFOV binoviewing so I really like brandons (20mm and 25mm) and 25mm Takahashi TPL. With the right amplifier the TPL can cover all bases.

Edited by betacygni, 04 January 2025 - 12:34 PM.

[havasman]

+1 for the 24Pans

[RAKing]

The 24mm Panoptics have always been the Gold Standard for binoviewing, IMHO.  Everybody with binos should own a pair.

 

For everything else, I have been very happy with the 16T5 and all the T6 Naglers.  My bino case has dual holes drilled so nothing gets mixed up.  So for the 5-9mm range, it's easily the 5, 7, and 9T6 Naglers - depends on the scope and seeing conditions.

 

One word of caution - pairs of eyepieces can pile up fast, and they can get expensive, too!  I try to limit myself to four pairs when I go outside for a session.  Otherwise, I can get the feeling that my hobby is "Eyepiece Swapping" as opposed to looking at the stars!    The suggestion of a pair of zooms is a great idea, but my IPD is too narrow for the zooms to be comfortable.

 

Cheers,

 

Ron

 

This is a small Pelican 1200 case with room for three pairs of Naglers, plus the 24 Pans.  Small and easy to carry!

 

 

[Lookitup]

With the Binotron and 3x power-switch my most used EP's with long eye-relief are:

 

Morpheus 12.5mm, most used.

Vixen SSW 10mm with eye-caps removed, excellent for Jupiter.

Morpheus 17.5mm, perfect for scanning the skies like with a binocular.

Delite's 7, 9 and 11mm. Excellent but too narrow of a view. The 7mm's are special for high mag. planetary.

Denkmeier 14mm. All around great match for the Binotron. 

ES 24mm. Good eye-relief and immersive. The 20mm less so.

Pentax 8.5mm. Very sharp and comfortable with the eye-caps removed (used on the decloaked Delite's).

Edited by Lookitup, 04 January 2025 - 08:44 PM.

[EboO]

Like betacygni I use TPL 12.5 and Masuyama 30 and a 16mm 85° pair is incoming. All are completed by GPC and PM.

Edited by EboO, 05 January 2025 - 01:44 AM.

[Deep13]

Not sure if I answered this one yet:

 

for DSOs, either the 30mm 1.25" Celestron Ultima or the 25mm TV Pössl

 

for planets in the 5" f/12 DIY scope with D&G lenses, 16mm Brandon

[pzad]

Panoptics 24mm and Baader zooms

[Astro-Remete]

Baader Zoom 8-24, because GPC give you extra magnification, which gives you the intended view.

[Roman M]

I have a pair of Svbony 7mm-21mm Zooms (model SV135), and find them ideal for lunar and planetary. They are very good optically, and quite comfortable to use in a binoviewer. My other favored EP pairs are 15mm Luminos, 25mm Plossls, and the 30mm plossls that came with my Arcturus BV. I have a pair of 18.2mm DeLites also, but find those a little fussy to use because of my narrow IPD.

If you are new to binoviewing, you should probably take a little time to get acquainted with how your IPD, eye sockets, and nose interact with the BV. Everybody's face is different, so you can't take individual testimonials as applicable to all. I personally need EPs with narrower bodies and longer eye relief than the average person. Some people are happy using a pair of 24 Panoptics, which would never work for me.

p.s. - I just noticed your EP list shows an Orion 7-21. That might be identical to the SV135. My zooms are actually Orion branded. I referenced the Svbony brand because Orion is now out of business. If your 7-21mm looks the same as the SV135, it probably is. Both companies sold the same EP for a time.

Please tell me, do you use a 15mm luminos without an outer shell?

[JoshUrban]

Something to keep in mind: some binoviewers act as a 2x barlow, too.  I've got the Televue set, and that's how it's configured.  So, my 12.5mm UO orthos are really crankin' with longer focal length scopes. 

My most often used eyepieces with the BV are a pair of old school University Optics 24mm Konigs. 

[Usquebae]

Please tell me, do you use a 15mm luminos without an outer shell?

Without.  The 15mm Luminos are not quite as good optically as Axiom/Nagler/Meade UWA, etc., but they have a little longer eye relief than those other options, so they are more comfortable for me when binoviewing.  And I do not look at the edge of the field while binoviewing, so the edge just needs to be clean enough to not be distracting.

[swsantos]

The APM 15mm UFF is also a nice binoviewer friendly eyepiece with a Panoptic-esque physique that requires no decloaking to play nice. I use them with a pair of 24mm and 19mm Panoptics in my Maxbright and the UFFs give up nothing to the Panoptics.

[Roman M]

Without. The 15mm Luminos are not quite as good optically as Axiom/Nagler/Meade UWA, etc., but they have a little longer eye relief than those other options, so they are more comfortable for me when binoviewing. And I do not look at the edge of the field while binoviewing, so the edge just needs to be clean enough to not be distracting.

Thanks for the answer! I had a 15mm luminos, but I sold it after I bought a 13mm APM XWA. I liked him, but XWA won the battle. I was thinking of buying a 15mm Sky Rower UFF, but I want to try 82°

[R.Kelley]

When I first started binoviewing, I got some Vixen long eye relief eyepieces that weren't too crazy expensive, but they weren't the cheapest option either.

 

Vixen SLV lanthanum eyepieces.

https://agenaastro.c.../vixen_slv.html

 

Plössls will also be a good starter option if you are curious to see how binoviewing works and don't want to spend a lot in the process.

 

It's worth noting that the field of view behavior is slightly different than mono viewing.. I can't view a full 82° fov when binoviewing because there is some head movements required to see the edge. It could have something to do with eye relief because I could see the edge when using the 76° Morpheus 17.5, but not with the 16t5 Nagler 82°.

Edited by R.Kelley, 05 January 2025 - 01:01 PM.

[SandyHouTex]

I had my optically spectacular C6 out earlier this week with my Baader binoviewer and used two Tak TPL 25mm eyepeices for a wonderful view of Jupiter and its moons.  A ton of detail was visible.

[Rutilus]

When I started out with bino-viewers, I just used Plossl eyepieces and they were good.

For the past decade, I now use eyepieces converted from old pairs of binoculars. 

I now have 3 pairs, and all give really excellent high power views of the planets.

Plus each pair/set cost no more than $10.

[Kutno]

 

... I have been very happy with the 16T5 and all the T6 Naglers.

 

Spot on!

[manolis]

i have the same scope .TPL 12.5 and longer and Masuyama 16mm 85° plus barlows,powermate. very sharp.