Which zoom eyepiece

[beastmaster]

Hi All

I am thinking of getting a 8-24 zoom eyepiece. Aint not sure which to get.

Baader Hyperion Mark-III Clickstop Zoom Eyepiece 8-24mm
OR
Pentax SMC 8-24mm

Any one hands on both? Know 1 bro here just sold his (why sell huh?).

Thanks in advance.

[Gary]

I have played with James's Baader click zoom but no experience with the Pentax version yet. The build is good and the click-zooming pretty smooth. A good eyepiece for objects that look good in mid to high magnification. Also useful for non guided mounts as a finder eyepiece and then quickly zoom in to the object (e.g. Jupiter) without wasting time changing eyepiece.

Please take note at magnifications nearer to and at 24mm, the afov is not as wide as dedicated widefield non-zoom eyepieces. So don't buy this if your sole intention is to use it for widefield views of a large objects like M45, M31, ..etc. Again, like there is no perfect telescope, there is no perfect eyepiece that can do both the job of zoom and non-zoom eyepiece equally well.

[beastmaster]

Thanks Gary. Yeah I have read pretty much review on Baader but Pentax is still grey... not much review on it.

Only review for both is http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/ ... in/4170624

not sure whether accurate... so was hoping to get opinion in here.

[rlow]

I think you had probably read my brief report in that CN post regarding the Pentax smc XL zoom.

Btw Pentax has 2 zooms, XL 8-24mm and XF 6.5-19.5mm. The XL zoom is supposedly the better one.

Baader had 3 versions up to Mark III. I had never tried the Baader zooms.

Instead I went for the Leica ASPH 9-18mm zoom, which is probably the best zoom in the market currently. Sharpness and contrast is really top-notch, with an edge over Ethos, Naglers and XWs. It has wider Afov at 60 deg. at 18mm to 80 deg. at 9mm. On-axis performance is as good or better than most 4-element planetary eyepieces including Brandons. This is incredible when we consider that this zoom has 8 elements in 5 groups. Almost parfocal across its range of focal length, water-resistant, good eye-relief for those with glasses. Almost perfect zoom but there is a price to pay Performs excellently on my 6" f/8 apo but edge performance is not so good in a f/5 dob unless it is barlowed, then it is again sharp to the edge. Mated with the Zeiss Abbe Barlow, this is an awesome planetary zoom on my 15" f/4.5 dob.

[beastmaster]

I think you had probably read my brief report in that CN post regarding the Pentax smc XL zoom.

Btw Pentax has 2 zooms, XL 8-24mm and XF 6.5-19.5mm. The XL zoom is supposedly the better one.

Baader had 3 versions up to Mark III. I had never tried the Baader zooms.

Instead I went for the Leica ASPH 9-18mm zoom, which is probably the best zoom in the market currently. Sharpness and contrast is really top-notch, with an edge over Ethos, Naglers and XWs. It has wider Afov at 60 deg. at 18mm to 80 deg. at 9mm. On-axis performance is as good or better than most 4-element planetary eyepieces including Brandons. This is incredible when we consider that this zoom has 8 elements in 5 groups. Almost parfocal across its range of focal length, water-resistant, good eye-relief for those with glasses. Almost perfect zoom but there is a price to pay Performs excellently on my 6" f/8 apo but edge performance is not so good in a f/5 dob unless it is barlowed, then it is again sharp to the edge. Mated with the Zeiss Abbe Barlow, this is an awesome planetary zoom on my 15" f/4.5 dob.

Hi Richard

I was refering to http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2 ... piece.html

It doesnt say XL or XF.

bro... wt%@$#%@.... Leica so expensive!!!! I can buy 2 Baader zoom and do bino view!!!

Where you get yours? How much? I mean the Leica zoom. Search everywhere only this site show
http://www.apm-telescopes.net/en/produc ... f02c081a7f

[rlow]

Thats the XL version, evident from its focal range.

I was lucky to get Leica ASPH zoom from astromart, an original version at used price.

If you think APM's price is dear, wait til you check out the local price...without the adaptor.

but generally some people think you get what you pay for.

[Mariner]

A quick question regarding zooms. What are the opinions on the Pentax XF6.5-19.5mm zoom and the Televue clickstop 8-24mm zoom? How would the performance of these two compare with the Hyperion MkIII zoom?

[Airconvent]

Digging up this old post to check if anyone has updated opinion of the Baader Hyperion 8-24 zoom? I know the mark IV has been released although not widely available yet. How does this compare with the Televue zooms?