Question by ozzrya91: Eyepiece deal I have come across/ Mars filter?
I have come across a deal for a 3.5mm Vixen eyepiece that everywhere else online is about 0 dollars and on amazon there is one for about 0 and there is only 1 in stock [it is new also]. I realize this would only be for planet and moon views but should I take the deal while its there? It is so tempting. An save. And currently I am interested in planetary viewing.
Is this deal worth it?
It is a “Vixen 3856 LVW 3.5mm Telescope Eyepiece”
Every site from Telescopes.com to scopecity.com to bhphotovideo.com to adorama.com it is priced at 0 or above.
I think I am going to hold off on trying to get any cameras or imagers for my scope for now. But is this a good deal to go after?
I am trying to focus on planetary viewing right now mainly saturn and mars because those are the two most easily visible currently. Should I look for a lower powered eyepiece? or should I take this save? The magnifications from this eyepiece will be about 357x. I am able to view saturn, the moon and mars nicely at about 312x through my celestron 4mm plossl but the eye relief is hard to deal with and it doesnt stay in my view for very long.
As for the mars filter. There are three that I am looking at. 1 by Orion for about and 2 from televue for about 4 each.
Any opinions on the performance of how these filters perform? I have also heard that they work good on jupiter.
Let me know what you guys think. I am so tempted to take this deal but I am not sure whether it is worth it or not. [limited eyepiece experience]
Thanks
Best answer:
Answer by gn
DON’T JUMP INTO THIS: LVWs ROUTINELY SELL ON ASTROMART USED FOR 5. And eyepieces are very durable and hold up well over time.
Some of those Amazon deals are pretty sweet. However, I think you are on the wrong track; and on Mars filters, I think you’re way off.
The Vixen LVW series is very good but you should also inquire into the University Optics ortho series in these short focal lengths. You can get a high quality “planet eyepiece” (4mm) for .
The reason to pop for a 0 eyepiece is for better eye relief than these short tiny peephole orthos can provide. There are a number of options out there, including the Burgess (I personally don’t like them) eyepieces, as well as a fair number of high quality plossls (such as those by Televue). But if you click around, at Adorama, Astronomics, Opt (Oceanside Photo), Highpoint Scientific, etc., you can take a look at the Pentax XW series which are among the finest eyepieces around. They often sell for 0 for the 3.5mm but it is important to note that they are hardly ever *listed* at those prices. You have to call and ask, many dealers will discount. (They get into trouble with Pentax if they post lower prices.) I would rather have a 3.5XW at 0 than a 3.5 LVW at 0.
Some folks will argue that for viewing planets you don’t need wide field eyepieces at all, but there are reasons: you might want to see Jupiter AND its moons, or you might be looking at a longish galaxy at high power. Much depends on what kind of telescope you are using and how much aperture you have: but as a general rule, a 2.5 to 3.5mm eyepiece is going to pretty much be the maximum effective magnification you can get out of any telescope. Some people will say that you should get a good barlow and a 5mm eyepiece, but I prefer to use unbarlowed eyepieces.
Back to the issue: purists like to say that tiny glass plossls, orthos, etc., deliver cleaner views because there are fewer optical surfaces. But you do usually have short eye relief (means your eye is plastered to the glass) and you can get a problem with eyepiece fogging, at which point you don’t see anything. If you live in NM or AZ you might be fine with tiny glass; in the northeast fogging is a significant problem. The bigger eyepieces hold their heat better. (But for long sessions all eyepieces will need to be heated)
Anyhow, it is generally wise to call and ask for “real prices” since the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can forbid vendors from advertising lower prices.
The Baader Hyperion eyepieces are the most widely recommended mid-priced good quality general purpose eyepieces. They have a 3.5mm for 0. (I saw them on alpineastro.com)
As for Mars filters: most of these are pretty worthless for your eyepiece pleasure. The most effective eyepiece filter out there that works on both Mars and Jupiter is called the Baader Neodymium filter and it is sold by Astro-physics and a few other vendors. It impressively sharpens the view of Mars and Jupiter. It is a very fine piece of glass and not very expensive.
As a general matter, I would encourage you to consider buying eyepieces used to save funds and to increase your ability to try different pieces of equipment and get your money back. Joining Astromart costs for a lifetime membership, once you’re in, there are discussion groups about eyepieces and a beginner’s forum etc. Cloudynights is a great free forum, more effective than Yahoo for answers like this. But Astromart is the NY Stock exchange of used equipment and you will get your one-time fee back on your first eyepiece purchase.
As for your sale deal: I recommend taking a pass. There are many 3 to 5mm options out there, the LVWs are good, but they can be bought used in great condition, and there are plenty of alternatives for cost effective good views of the planets. I will say, however, that Vixen is a good brand, and if you are attuned to the fact that Vixen is a good brand you’re in a better place than many others. But even though they make telescopes their eyepieces tend not to generate as much enthusiasm, a situation shared by the pre-eminent scope maker Takahashi, whose Tak LE eyepieces have a following but not a large one compared to Pentax XWs (at the high end) or Baader Hyperions.
I have omitted from this discussion the Pentax XOs, the TMB planetary eyepieces, and the Zeiss ZAO II orthos (the set of four goes for 00) because I think you can find out about those on Cloudynights or on Astromart. But for buying and selling this stuff, Astromart is where you want to be, and if you get into exploring your options in the used market you won’t regret taking a pass on this particular LVW opportunity.
It may be true that this Mars opposition is “poor” (the planet is small) but it actually is “good” (the planet is very high up where the seeing is better). I’ve had better views this year with Mars “high up” directly overhead than in 2003 which was supposedly the best viewing occasion in 50,000 years. That’s because Mars was low in the atmospheric soup, which it always is during its closest approaches for the N hemisphere.
As for tracking: I would recommend backing out to 250x if it’s a problem. The best way to “improve your eyepieces” is actually with a better mount, that tracks and is steady. But that’s a separate topic.
Hope that helps,
GN
Add your own answer in the comments!
(out of 1 reviews)
(out of reviews)