Re: [Utah-astronomy] Star party eyepiece
Larry, the Stratus line was the first line I purchased after using plossls for a long time. For the cost they are very effective eyepieces. I did get a little coma on the outer edge but not enough to be a bother. I had the 5mm, 13mm, 17mm and 21mm and I enjoyed them all. I kept the 17mm when I sold the rest and upgraded to the Pentax XW line (thanks to Steve Fisher). I do think for many over the last year many people upgrading choose not to go with the Stratus and Hyperions and instead went with the Explore Scientific when they were on sale as they offered the 82 degree field of view. That leads to a whole other discussion on FOV and what people like. -- Jay Eads
On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 3:30 PM, Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
That leads to a whole other discussion on FOV and what people like. --
Jay, you hit the nail on the head. Eyepieces, like most aspects of this or any hobby, are very much in the realm of "personal prefference", and nobody can marginalize anyone else for their choices. Eyepieces come and go. What's available this year may not be around 5 years from now. I know that most of what I use, purchased over 3 decades ago, are now antiques. Yet they suit me just fine. Many still hold-up very well when compared to contemporary offerings.
I’ve been blamed for worse things. Poor lil’ Pentax only 70° FOV
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:30:40 -0600 From: jayleads@gmail.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Star party eyepiece
Larry, the Stratus line was the first line I purchased after using plossls for a long time. For the cost they are very effective eyepieces. I did get a little coma on the outer edge but not enough to be a bother. I had the 5mm, 13mm, 17mm and 21mm and I enjoyed them all. I kept the 17mm when I sold the rest and upgraded to the Pentax XW line (thanks to Steve Fisher). I do think for many over the last year many people upgrading choose not to go with the Stratus and Hyperions and instead went with the Explore Scientific when they were on sale as they offered the 82 degree field of view. That leads to a whole other discussion on FOV and what people like. -- Jay Eads _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 4:30 PM, Steve Fisher <iotacass1@hotmail.com> wrote:
I’ve been blamed for worse things.
Poor lil’ Pentax only 70° FOV
You newbies are so spoiled.
When I started in this hobby, a 40° FOV meant you were living high-off-the-hog! Enjoy! ;-)
I got my new 28mm RKE's from SS today: http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/ATM/RKE28mm001.jpg These will make a great addition to my bino-viewer pairs, as well as all-around terrific eyepieces (at a bargain price!) and yes, they will provide excellend views for the general public when I am in "outreach" mode. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to re-purchase the eyepeice (at a discount from what I originally paid for them decades ago, including inflation) since I regretably sold my RKE's some years ago. Here's an out-of-focus (sorrry!) shot of my 3 iterations of the Edmund 28mm eyepiece. The modern RKE, it's immediate predecessor, and the original, made from (I assume) surplus governmet- military- optics from Edmund's heyday in the '60's. I love them all, and all provide a similar view. The oldest one uses 2 achromats, while the 2 more recent are Kellners. (RKE= Rank-Kellner-Edmund). David Rank is the designer of the modern RKE. http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/JethroTull1958/ATM/RKE002.jpg Many modern, wide-field, high-dollar eyepieces have very short eye-relief, along with other characteristics (kidney-bean-effect, amont others) that make them unsuitable for general-public, "novice" viewing. I ask all seasoned observers to take that into account when selecting an eyepiece for the general public. They won't have the eyepiece skills/knowledge that you do. It would be best to select an eyepiece with medium eye-relief and a "medium" FOV when showcasing the heavens to the general public. Make it easy on them while still giving them a good view of the target. Time for the cantankerous, irrascible, and lonely among us to find something else to sh*t all-over because others don't practice the hobby the way they do. YMMV.
participants (3)
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Chuck Hards -
Jay Eads -
Steve Fisher