44 replies to this topic

[Highburymark]

Some of my sharpest binoviewer pairs.

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[BRCoz]

When I bought my binoviewer years ago, Russ at Denkmeier suggested TV 19 pans and TV 32 plössl for the scopes I had at that time.

 

I added a pair of CZJ 16  and some orthos from UO.    

[bmcclana]

The 35mm pseudo masuyama were really nice for lowest magnification. Also really liked the 17.5 Morpheus. Both could be planetary in the right scope with the right GPC. I liked the long eye relief of them.

I also used the Baader Zooms since at smaller exit pupils I could use them without glasses.

[Bob4BVM]

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!

 

1200-Full.JPG

There are many zooms which are smaller diameter that the EPs in your case. Orion, Celestron, Svbony, Vixen, etc etc

Even Nikons if you can find them...

 

[k5apl]

My preference with my Maxbright bino's is to use inexpensive eyepieces made by/for AstroTech and purchased from Astronomics. I agree that TV 24 Panoptics great, but they are very expensive (way above my budget).  And, I don't particularly enjoy very wide angle eypieces in binoviewing.  Most of my eyepieces are around 60-70 degrees FOV.  I also like "flat field" over standard Plossl's.

 

You got good advice about using magnification before the eyepieces;  my preference is a 1.7X GPC (really 1.5X).  This approach is

working for me without a major investment.  Binoviewing is my favorite way to look at the Universe.  Hope you enjoy too.

Wes

[ABQJeff]

With my MBIIs and 2.6x GPC (which also helps with CATs to avoid aperture loss), my ES68-24, ES68-20, TV Delite 18.2mm, Baader Morpheus 17.5mm, ES68-16 and SV 15mm 82 degree is my planetary eyepiece line up with my C11 Edge.

[MrRoberts]

24pan

16 and 9 nag

[Lazerguy2010]

I'm new to binoviewing, just found a used Orion 1.25in. (and I love it!)  I have to use the included 2x GPC/barlow in order to reach focus with my AT125EDL. For lowest magnification and max. brightness, I ordered two 40mm SVBony Plossls.

At first I was disappointed with them because there was a 7.5mm difference in focus between the two EPs, so I had to pull one slightly out of the bino (in addition to the diopter adjuster).

I thought ''those cheap EPs have really poor manufacturing consistency'' then I decided to investigate:

finally found that one EP had the first lens group installed in reverse, that is with the lens's most convex face towards the scope. Once reassembled correctly, now both EP's are very well matched indeed!

Nice views, really quite sharp especially for the price.

Edited by Lazerguy2010, 18 January 2025 - 09:53 PM.

[Randy Blair]

Pair of MEADE 13.8 SWA smoothies Have become my favourite (I do not wear glasses when viewing).  In an 8” SCT they offer really nice magnification and wonderful black background. Orion Nebulae and Jupiter were both showing off in this pair.  Eye relief is perfect (for me with no glasses).  No eyelashes on the lens and no blackouts from too much eye relief.  Very comfortable view.  I also love my 20mm Celestron erfle smoothies for the same reasons.  

[Shorty Barlow]

I've been through a few in my time:

 

[Procyon]

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°.

For some reason the 16mm Naglers were a total fail for me for binoviewing. Maybe because I was using Arcturus Binos? But the 13mm Naglers were probably the best pair I've ever used as well as 25mm TV Plossls.

[Procyon]

Can anyone recommend a 2nd pair to me?

 

I currently have a pair of 25mm Zeiss W-PL 10x/23 that I've never gotten to use since I bought them 3-4 years ago. 

 

I'm tempted with these 3 types:

 

18mm Takahashi Abbe Orthoscopics Pair? LE's? TPL's, not sure what they're called these days.

20mm ES 62's
20mm pair TV Plossls 

 

For 11" SCT/Arcturus Binos

Edited by Procyon, 09 March 2025 - 05:36 PM.

[betacygni]

Can anyone recommend a 2nd pair to me?

I currently have a pair of 25mm Zeiss W-PL 10x/23 that I've never gotten to use since I bought them 3-4 years ago.

I'm tempted with these 3 types:

18mm Takahashi Abbe Orthoscopics Pair? LE's? TPL's, not sure what they're called these days.
20mm ES 62's
20mm pair TV Plossls

For 11" SCT/Arcturus Binos

From a planetary performance perspective the Tak TPLs are the best. The others will give a bit wider AFOV though, so depends on what you’re after.

[Highburymark]

Can anyone recommend a 2nd pair to me?

I currently have a pair of 25mm Zeiss W-PL 10x/23 that I've never gotten to use since I bought them 3-4 years ago.

I'm tempted with these 3 types:

18mm Takahashi Abbe Orthoscopics Pair? LE's? TPL's, not sure what they're called these days.
20mm ES 62's
20mm pair TV Plossls

For 11" SCT/Arcturus Binos

Any reason the W-PLs aren’t working for you? They are supremely nice binoviewing eyepieces. I had to fit a fairly long eyeguard due to generous eye relief, but otherwise find them very comfortable and Zeiss-sharp. I also have 18mm Tak orthos, now discontinued, but the TPLs are certainly as good for binoviewing.

[Procyon]

Any reason the W-PLs aren’t working for you? They are supremely nice binoviewing eyepieces. I had to fit a fairly long eyeguard due to generous eye relief, but otherwise find them very comfortable and Zeiss-sharp. I also have 18mm Tak orthos, now discontinued, but the TPLs are certainly as good for binoviewing.

Hey, I have a pair of 25mm and wanted an 18mm pair also. Don't like zooms. Maybe you're suggesting I can find a 1.4x OCS or Barlow?

 

I may get a 19mm Astro-Tech PF pair from Astronomics, heard they are pretty good. Anyone tried these? They look comfy too.

 

These I have now:

 

Edited by Procyon, 10 March 2025 - 11:03 AM.

[denis0007dl]

Hey, I have a pair of 25mm and wanted an 18mm pair also. Don't like zooms. Maybe you're suggesting I can find a 1.4x OCS or Barlow?

 

I may get a 19mm Astro-Tech PF pair from Astronomics, heard they are pretty good. Anyone tried these? They look comfy too.

 

These I have now:

 

post-68352-0-71871300-1643074438_thumb.jpg

Get Takahashi TPL line and enjoy.

 

For WA views, Naglers T6, XWAs, Ethos or Morpheus line.

[Procyon]

You guys are probably right here, since I plan to use the 18-19mm range mostly on planets, why not get something that will show them better by 10% (I hope lol).

 

I've read some comments on the Tak TPL's being slightly too neutral colored and that was not excellent for viewing Jupiter and Saturn, what is your opinions on that?

 

Personally, I've always preferred Neutral eyepieces over warm or too cool. Do you guys use any filters for binoviewing planets?

 

Man, if Dennis too is recommending the TAK Tpl's over Zeiss....something must be going on with them lol.

[denis0007dl]

These epcs were by far my favorites till TPLs come out.

 

But Zeiss I had have 27mm custom made field stops so are much more immerssive than TPLs.

 

TPLs provide whiter/colder image, have less scatter and are bit sharper and more contrastier than Zeiss.

 

Image as proof of ownership, not only empty words LOL.

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[Lookitup]

The Pentax XW 10mm's are my fav's currently. 

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[R.Kelley]

Can anyone recommend a 2nd pair to me?

 

I currently have a pair of 25mm Zeiss W-PL 10x/23 that I've never gotten to use since I bought them 3-4 years ago. 

 

I'm tempted with these 3 types:

 

18mm Takahashi Abbe Orthoscopics Pair? LE's? TPL's, not sure what they're called these days.

20mm ES 62's
20mm pair TV Plossls 

 

For 11" SCT/Arcturus Binos

I've got a pair of Takahashi 18mm LE's, but I think they've been discontinued. However, they have a pretty neutral color tone, so I'd imagine the current model Takahashi eyepieces would have similar viewing properties.

I also have a pair of 18.2 DeLite's which are really nice. The long eye relief makes them a bit more comfortable to use for an extended period of time. Visually, they are on the same tier in terms of sharpness & contrast, but the DeLite is slightly warmer compared to the neutral tone of the Takahashi LE's.

Personally, I prefer the DeLite's for planetary viewing and the LE's for lunar observation. The slightly warmer tone of the DeLite's makes Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn appear richer in color.