Hello Adri_Bha,
{EDIT: Welcome to the eyepiece forum of Cloudy Nights [CN] !!!}
My telescope: Sky-Watcher Classic 250P Dobsonian (10 inch aperture, 1200mm focal length, F/Ratio: 4.7)
WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR:
Hello Cloudy Nights. I am currently looking for good 5mm and 7mm eyepieces. I narrowed down to the following since they're within my budget:
WHAT I'VE CONSIDERED SO FAR:
- Tele Vue 5mm DeLite VS Pentax 5mm XW
- Tele Vue 7mm DeLite VS Pentax 7mm XW
My scope is quite fast, so it's not so forgiving. The Pentax XW is slightly cheaper than the Tele Vue DeLite. They both have the same eye relief of 20mm, but the Pentax has a wider Apparent Field of View (70 degrees) than the DeLite (62 degrees), which is really nice to have. So why is it cheaper exactly, and what would I be sacrificing if I got the Pentax XW over the Tele Vue DeLite? Are the DeLites really that much better, that even with a smaller AFOV they're more expensive? For some reason, I'm having a hard time being convinced that they are.
Note: I made a similar post before about high power eyepieces, and decided to get the Tele Vue 6mm Delos. I wanted a higher and lower magnification in my collection. Thank you.
Thank you for your post. I especially appreciate your use of BOLD & Underline.
I own a full set of Pentax XW (68 Degree) eyepieces: 40mm, 30mm, 20mm, 14mm, 10mm, 7mm, 5mm & 3.5mm
I also own full set of TeleVue Delites (62 Degree): 18.2mm, 15mm, 13mm, 11mm, 9mm, 7mm, 5mm, 4mm & 3mm and in addition
I furthermore own TeleVue Radians (57 Degree) in the even mm sizes to interleave with the DeLites, so 12mm, 10mm, 8mm, 6mm, etc.
All these are pretty good eyepieces. I would say that "sandwiching" a 6mm Delos in between a 7mm & 5mm DeLite set is a good approach.
I like my Pentax XW set. They are larger Apparent Field of View (AFoV) and physical size. They are very easy and comfortable.
My advice is to carefully consider if you value the Parfocal nature of the TeleVue against the added drift time of the Pentax ?
Furthermore, is the difference of "sandwiching" the Delos 6mm between the two Pentax XW 7mm & 5mm going to work for you ?
Is the possibly superior Edge control of the DeLite valuable to you (especially if you are giving up 6 Deg. AFoV) ?
Best,
Ed
P.S. Also you may want to consider the APM Super-ZOOM (15.4mm-7.7mm, 67 Degrees AFoV) which I also recommend . . .
Edited by eblanken, 04 April 2025 - 01:08 AM.