PF-65ED with Vixen NLV eyepiece opinions (1 Viewer)

I am looking for some options for a fixed length eyepiece for my PF-65ed to keep the scope as compact as possible and is less expensive than the XW and XL series. I have the SMC zoom on the scope now and like it a lot but it is rather big and the cover will not zip closed with it on the scope body.

Mainly I am looking in the 7mm-10mm length and need good eyerelief. The Vixen Lanthanum series look interesting and woundered if anyone has specific experience with them on this scope or if you have other suggestions.

I want the more compact setup for when I am hiking a lot and the scope will spend some amount of time in a daypack.

thumper-tx said:

I am looking for some options for a fixed length eyepiece for my PF-65ed to keep the scope as compact as possible and is less expensive than the XW and XL series. I have the SMC zoom on the scope now and like it a lot but it is rather big and the cover will not zip closed with it on the scope body.

Mainly I am looking in the 7mm-10mm length and need good eyerelief. The Vixen Lanthanum series look interesting and woundered if anyone has specific experience with them on this scope or if you have other suggestions.

I want the more compact setup for when I am hiking a lot and the scope will spend some amount of time in a daypack.

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Forget 7-10mm in a fixed EP! For one you have that covered with the zoom! Look more at 12-20mm! This is where a fixed EP on that scope shines! That said I do like the newer Vixens with the twist up EP's they perform really well with the 65mm Pentax! They don't have a huge fov but, are tack sharp and show excellent color contrast! I have the 20mm and the newer clickstop zoom that I use on my scope! I used to have all the Pentax EP's that are useable on this scope. I'm down to XW 20 & 14 as well as the XF zoom which is never used anymore because I like the Vixen with 16-48X on the scope better than 20-60x! Which I think if you are using the larger Pentax zoom (SMC) you are getting the same mags (16-48x)! So if you want a compact EP that gives up a little fov I highly recommend the Vixen's! Hope this helps, Bryce...

Thanks for the feedback. You are correct, the SMC Pentax gives 16-48 magnification and I like it a lot. I hope a few more people weigh in with opinions on Vixen or other fixed eyepieces.

I use Baader's 8MM,13mm, and 17mm and love them, for the money they can't be beat!!