Replying to myself, with additional comments.
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9M - 6.5M - 4.5M
What I like:
- All the optical pros that Don P. mentions
- The wide range of adjustments that make them very comfortable and usable by observers like myself that don't wear glasses.
What is starting to bother me:- The light scatter. I knew about this problem but it never really bothered me with the planets. With planets I just place them inside of the center 2/3 or even 3/4 of the field and the light scatter problem is a non issue. Looking at the moon is a different story. A soft and very objectionable glow across the fov makes it almost unusable on the moon. The 4.5 was the worst offender (It is still a great EP on 99.99% of targets).
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I only get out to a darker site once every two months or so. In my light polluted backyard the planets and the moon are viewed often, maybe 20% of the time. I normally reach for my APM SZ and Barlows to look at the Moon. I should have kept it that way.
The 4.5M was benched and the 5mm Pentax XW took a turn, an excellent EP on the Moon!
I don't know. As much as I want to keep a uniform ~80° afov in my LER set, I am leaning towards trying a Delos and very likely a T7 in the future.
-Victor
Field stop sizes:
Morpheus 4.5 (4.8) - 6.5mm
Morpheus 6.5 (6.7) - 8.5mm
Morpheus 9 (8.9) - 11.5mm
Nikon 5SW - 6.3mm (93% as wide as M4.5 when adjusted for focal length)
Nikon 7SW - 8.9mm (100% as wide as M6.5)
Nikon 10SW - 12.5mm (97% as wide as M9)
The Nikons are very sharp planetary eyepieces, right up there with my Tak 5LE and Nagler 7T1. (I don’t have a premium 10mm for comparison, but the 10 did best my 10 Luminos, as expected.) Ernest reviewed the 7SW and gave it high praise, I think ranking it ahead of the 7XW (although it is a little hard to tell with translation issues). They are remarkably easy to view through. And look at the physical size and shape of the 5SW compared to the 5XW or 4.5 Delos.
Just something to consider. Certainly Delos or NT7 would be excellent as well. But much larger eyepieces, if that matters, and more expensive.
Edited by SeattleScott, 24 March 2025 - 06:42 PM.