27 replies to this topic

[hfjacinto]

I haven't looked at the night sky in over 2 years, but a few days ago I took out my binos and realized how much I missed astronomy. So I decided to revisit my gear and see what I still had, what I needed to replace and or upgrade and what was still good.

 

I had sold off several scopes including the 9.25 and most of my Naglers, but I still had a full set of 2" eyepieces but did have a few spaces in 1.25" that I should add to. One eyepiece that I was using was really not perfect, so that one was the first one I needed to replace.

 

The 11MM Nagler T6 was relegated to eyepiece duty in a 50MM Finder and while I like expansive views, having a Nagler in a finderscope is a little overkill. The finder was also F3.8 which really stresses the view in a 82* eyepiece. I was looking for a longer focal length but not so wide.

 

Asking the experts on the eyepiece forum, I got a few suggestions. In the end I was down to a few and since I was going to NEAF, I would check them out, but from speaking to a friend in the business his recommendation was to buy ASAP as the market is going to get more expensive really quickly so I read some reviews and decided on the 18MM Celestron Ultima which came in on Friday and like usual the clouds also followed.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

I ended up ordering from B&H as I had a $25 gift certificate and they are local, so shipping is super fast and free. I ordered on Thursday and the eyepiece arrived on Friday.

 

The eyepiece also came with a free gift. A really nice flashlight that I added to my car keys.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

Pretty bright light. Uses AAA which is a standard size, I don't like button cell flashlights. Its all metal construction.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

One thing I really like about B&H is that they do an excellent job of packaging. The eyepiece came in a double walled box with bagged air. The eyepiece box was wrapped and taped.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

I had to cut the tape before I was able to get into the actual box.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

Celestron did a great job, they double wrapped the eyepiece and put it in a bag.

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[hfjacinto]

Celestron also throws in a cleaning cloth. Nice quality and also in a plastic bag.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

Eyepiece itself is very well built with smooth mechicancals. The eyecup is sturdy but doesn't hurt looking through it.

 

Build quality is A+, this is a well built as most Televue eyepieces.

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

The eyelens

 

 

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[hfjacinto]

The rear lens looking at the street outside.

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[hfjacinto]

And like I said this was for a 50MM Finder.

 

 

My only issue is which end do I look through?

Edited by hfjacinto, 05 April 2025 - 04:10 PM.

[hfjacinto]

I did some daylight terrestrial testing and was pretty impressed. This is a time that 82* was too much but 65* seems perfect. I looked at straight lines and there is some pincushion but not as much as the Nagler and since the field is not so wide, the distortion is minimized.

 

One thing of note, this eyepiece takes 4-5MM less outfocus than the Nagler. Might be a good eyepiece for Binoviewers which have limited focus reach.

 

Terrestrial viewing will show you false color but in focus there wasn't any that I could see inner 90%, there was some (but no ring of fire) last 5%. In my opinion an excellent eyepiece. This is the case of less being more. I did stick my iphone to the back and this is an example of what the views is. Please note this is looking thru a window as it was damp outside (curse of new eyepiece). I hope to get out there this week and test it in the night sky.

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Edited by hfjacinto, 05 April 2025 - 04:11 PM.

[hfjacinto]

So current grade based on my limited time with the eyepiece:

 

Build Quality A+ - One of the better built eyepieces, comparable to Televue Quality,

Terrestrial viewing A - Its up there as a good eyepiece, I need more time to give a better grade and I honestly need to use a different scope, but for its intended use, I like it.

 

I guess the question becomes is this eyepiece overkill for a 50 MM Finder, and the answer is YES, but its less overkill than an 11MM Nagler.

 

I'll add more when I can test under the night sky.

[PJBilotta]

For me, the 18mm UFF (which this is), is one of the most underrated mid-priced eyepieces available. It is the equal of the 30mm and 24mm focal lengths of the same line that garner so much praise, and an extremely solid performer.

My 18mm practically lives in the focuser of my 72ED and 102 f/5 because it seems to magically conquer most of the field curvature of the faster refractors. Crisp and bright, sharp across the field, and easy eye relief. All in a very compact, lightweight and pretty inexpensive package. What's not to love? I really can't fault it much at its price point.

Good buy. I think you will enjoy it a lot!

[MortonH]

You should add the word Edge to the title of this thread as a Celestron Ultima is a very different eyepiece from the '90s.

[hfjacinto]

You should add the word Edge to the title of this thread as a Celestron Ultima is a very different eyepiece from the '90s.

Thank you, its been updated.

[dmgriff]

I have the Svbony SV190 version (excellent price) 18mm UFF. With Orion 2x/3x telecentrics, it is the eyepiece of choice for my AT60ED (20x, 40x, 60x). I have the Stellalyra 24mm UFF also (main ep for SV48P). They are nice performers in fast/slow otas.

[MortonH]

I think I've read that this eyepiece has substantial EOFB. That's put me off buying one.

Edited by MortonH, 07 April 2025 - 04:39 PM.

[hfjacinto]

I think I've read that this eyepiece has substantial EOFB. That's put me off buying one.

The edge of field brighting is very noticable in daylight, and I was not able to see it. You also have to take into consideration, the scope I was testing is a 50MM. Once I get it out in the night sky, I will try in the sopes and add to the review.

[Mike W]

I think I've read that this eyepiece has substantial EOFB. That's put me off buying one.

Thanks for the link to where you read that?

[MortonH]

Thanks for the link to where you read that?

https://www.cloudyni...-eyepiece-true/

[Mike W]

https://www.cloudyni...-eyepiece-true/

I trust Don Pensack (Starman 1) and his evaluation. He recommended the 30UFF over the 27pan's field curvature that my older eyes no longer can compensate for. He was right and on the 18mm I don't recollect any mention of EOFB in the 18mm?

 

https://www.cloudyni...s-buyers-guide/

Edited by Mike W, 07 April 2025 - 06:50 PM.

[hfjacinto]

I read the post above and one person had an issue with EOFB with a f6 scope but no issues in the 120MM.

I’m down to 2 visual scopes (120 MM F7.5 and 152 MM F7.9), both are ED refractors with extremely flat fields. In each scope most eyepieces work well. When I had an F5 and F10 scopes eyepieces that worked well in the SCT wouldn’t work well in the F5 scope. Some eyepieces worked well in both and then when I got the F7.5 some eyepieces didn’t work on that scope. The Axioms were a great example, perfect in the SCT, great in the F5 scope and I had the ring of fire so badly on the F7.5 that I wouldn’t use it on the moon.

Eyepieces are part of the optical path, and they are affected by the telescope, hence one observer may like an eyepiece while another may not.

[Mike W]

Exactly, the eyepiece won't correct for field curvature inherent in a faster scope. My use of the UFF was in a TV 102 f/8.6 where the 27 pan's field curvature was obvious but flat in the UFF. Younger eyes may compensate better for this.............

Has anyone used the 15mm Celestron Edge (or APM 15UFF)?

[Lagrange]

Exactly, the eyepiece won't correct for field curvature inherent in a faster scope. My use of the UFF was in a TV 102 f/8.6 where the 27 pan's field curvature was obvious but flat in the UFF. Younger eyes may compensate better for this.............

Has anyone used the 15mm Celestron Edge (or APM 15UFF)?

I've got the 15mm UFF (Sky Rover branded) and I love it. It's turned out to be a very useful focal length in my various small refractors and it delivers bright, sharp views in a very compact and lightweight package.

 

It's definitely worth trying out, especially if you can pick one up at a bargain price.

 

The design is a scaled version of the 18mm and 24mm models. One consequence of that is that the eye relief is reduced proportionally to 16mm (compared to 20mm for the 18mm UFF, and 29mm for the 24mm UFF) so it's probably not a great choice if you wear glasses while you observe.

Edited by Lagrange, 07 April 2025 - 08:38 PM.