9 replies to this topic

[geekay]

I haven't been able to find any reviews of the Borg ultra-wide eyepieces. It's not clear to me whether they are made in Japan by Tomytec, or are perhaps rebrands from GSO or another company. Priced at about $60, I'm wondering if they might be real bargains. Anyone here have experience with them?

[MisterDan]

These are (were) the only "Borg" (Oasis) eyepieces I know...

 

https://www.cloudyni...-ever-used-one/

 

They date back ~20 years.  I don't know if there are newer/current Borg/Oasis eyepieces.

 

Cheers.

Dan

[geekay]

These are (were) the only "Borg" (Oasis) eyepieces I know...

 

https://www.cloudyni...-ever-used-one/

 

They date back ~20 years.  I don't know if there are newer/current Borg/Oasis eyepieces.

 

Cheers.

Dan

They currently offer 6mm, 9mm, 15mm and 20mm ultra-wides. Here's the listing on the official Borg/Oasis Studio website:

https://www.tomytec....cts/partsByC/19

[MisterDan]

They currently offer 6mm, 9mm, 15mm and 20mm ultra-wides. Here's the listing on the official Borg/Oasis Studio website:

https://www.tomytec....cts/partsByC/19

They are almost certainly "Red Lines" - like these:

https://www.svbony.c...B-F9152C-F9152D

 

Good eyepieces, for sure; but not made by Borg/Tomytec.

 

Best wishes.

Dan

[geekay]

They are almost certainly "Red Lines" - like these:

https://www.svbony.c...B-F9152C-F9152D

 

Good eyepieces, for sure; but not made by Borg/Tomytec.

 

Best wishes.

Dan

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the feedback!

[Starman1]

They are available with red or gold stripes and from at least 10 different companies.

If price is an object, look at the sellers on AliExpress (the Chinese eBay), where they have been seen for under $50US for all four!

They are 66-68° wide angles, not ultra-wides.

 

You can find tons of reviews on them by looking up reviews for "Orion Expanse eyepieces", one of the labels they were sold under in the US for many years.

There is a lot of evidence these come from Ningbo in China, though which of the optical companies there, I don't know.

[EsaT]

They are almost certainly "Red Lines" - like these:

https://www.svbony.c...B-F9152C-F9152D

 

Good eyepieces, for sure; but not made by Borg/Tomytec.

More like "Gold lines" with stripe colour changed.

Svbony "Red lines" have that grippy surface part for handling eyepiece.

Though undercut there.

 

And 20mm and especially 15mm aren't good for nowadays common faster focal ratio telescopes:

https://telescopicwa...line-eyepieces/

[geekay]

They are available with red or gold stripes and from at least 10 different companies.

If price is an object, look at the sellers on AliExpress (the Chinese eBay), where they have been seen for under $50US for all four!

They are 66-68° wide angles, not ultra-wides.

 

You can find tons of reviews on them by looking up reviews for "Orion Expanse eyepieces", one of the labels they were sold under in the US for many years.

There is a lot of evidence these come from Ningbo in China, though which of the optical companies there, I don't know.

Thanks for the additional information.

I initially thought I might have stumbled upon another low-priced set of Japanese-made eyepieces, akin to the "Starbase" orthos and Kellners. If so, I would have bought them. But as they are simply rebrands of the widely available redlines/goldlines, I'll pass.

[Battlestamps]

They are available with red or gold stripes and from at least 10 different companies.

If price is an object, look at the sellers on AliExpress (the Chinese eBay), where they have been seen for under $50US for all four!

They are 66-68° wide angles, not ultra-wides.

 

You can find tons of reviews on them by looking up reviews for "Orion Expanse eyepieces", one of the labels they were sold under in the US for many years.

There is a lot of evidence these come from Ningbo in China, though which of the optical companies there, I don't know.

I believe this is the mother source..

 

https://www.aquilate...oduct/eyepiece/

[Starman1]

I believe this is the mother source..

 

https://www.aquilate...oduct/eyepiece/

Yes, I believe you're right.  It is in Ningbo, Tianying Optical Technology Co., Ltd.