3 replies to this topic

[Procyon]

If I have a pair of 25mm Zeiss W-PL's, what is the next logical choice of ep's strictly for viewing Saturn and Jupiter?

 

- 16mm Masuyama 85

- 18mm Takahashi TPL's

- 20mm Masuyama 53

- 20mm FL Leicas

- 20mm TV Plossls

 

Would love the slightly warmer 18.2mm Delites but I've tried 18mm TV Radians they weren't a good match for my face. Don't feel like decloaking eyepieces either. 

 

A 14mm Radian once gave me the best view of Jupiter I've seen to date. Meaning I liked it's low transmission rate in the indigo or warm tone...

 

Than again, I can get any good neutral or flat transmission ep and use a contrast booster filter for the night. I also have 3x, 1.9x, 1.8x OCS/Barlows for the binos. 

 

How the heck am I supposed to choose the next ep pair with all this info? lol

 

Anyone?  

Edited by Procyon, 13 March 2025 - 07:20 PM.

[balcon3]

I assume you will be using these with your CPC 1100. I'm not sure what you are looking for. What is it about your Zeiss W-PL's that you want to improve on? Your 25mm Zeiss will give you 112x. I would say that you certainly want more magnification, but you say that you can use Barlows. I really like my Masuyama 16mm/85's  for planets in binoviewers. There are also Masuyama 53 degree AFOV eyepieces in 15, 20, and 25mm. All the Masuyamas have fantastic contrast and sharpness. It is nice to have the extra AFOV with the 16/85's. The eye relief scales with the focal length, so if you wear glasses and need alot of eye relief they may not be for you.

[Procyon]

I assume you will be using these with your CPC 1100. I'm not sure what you are looking for. What is it about your Zeiss W-PL's that you want to improve on? Your 25mm Zeiss will give you 112x. I would say that you certainly want more magnification, but you say that you can use Barlows. I really like my Masuyama 16mm/85's  for planets in binoviewers. There are also Masuyama 53 degree AFOV eyepieces in 15, 20, and 25mm. All the Masuyamas have fantastic contrast and sharpness. It is nice to have the extra AFOV with the 16/85's. The eye relief scales with the focal length, so if you wear glasses and need alot of eye relief they may not be for you.

Was thinking about getting a Leica and using a barlow on those 2 planets. 

 

Probably will just get the Tak 18's and be done with it, although the Matsuyama's are interesting too.

 

Added these to the list of options:

 

16mm Masuyama 85

20mm Masuyama 53

 

I prefer viewing like Betacygni with face planted on comfy eyeshield.

Edited by Procyon, 14 March 2025 - 03:15 PM.

[betacygni]

Was thinking about getting a Leica and using a barlow on those 2 planets.

Probably will just get the Tak 18's and be done with it, although the Matsuyama's are interesting too.

Added these to the list of options:

16mm Masuyama 85
20mm Masuyama 53

I prefer viewing like Betacygni which face planted on comfy eyeshield.

Yes, from a pure performance standpoint the 18mm Taks are the way to go. I compared them directly to the Delites and they showed noticeably more finer detail on Jupiter/Saturn. That said those are all really good eyepieces and you’d be splitting hairs to a degree. The nice thing about the 16mm Masuyama is they do give a very wide TFOV due to their wide AFOV. They remain my favorite overall eyepiece in that regard, but the TPLs still come out if the seeing is good and the planets are my focus for the night.