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Pentax 65 ED Eyepiece suggestions? (1 Viewer)

FrankD

Well-known member
I followed the advice of many and just went with a Pentax 65 ED angled scope from camerlandny ($419.99 shipped). I just bought the scope body though as, for the moment, finances are tight. What I need now is a relatively inexpensive eyepiece to use with it until I can afford to buy the expensive Pentax XW ED eyepiece. I am looking for suggestions in terms of which eyepiece to buy and where to get it.... as well as what magnification to pick up.

My reasoning is something like this....If I get an inexpensive zoom eyepiece now then I would probably opt for a wide angle 25/30X Pentax XW eyepiece in the future. If I opt for the inexpensive 25 or 30X eyepiece now then I would get the zoom Pentax XW eyepiece later. Decisions, decisions.

Any and all suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.
 
It would seem that I may have found the answer to one of my questions. In one of the threads on this forum someone asked a similar question (yeah, I know I should have looked first) and I found an auction or two on Ebay with some inexpensive eyepieces. It turns out the seller for one of them actually is located in a nearby town.

That still leaves me with questions in terms of which configuration to purchase.
 
What specific configuration question do you have?

You can look at my various eyepiece review and see the pictures I took through the various eBay eyepieces.

There is a new line, recently carried by Knight Owl (one of the eBay sellers near you) called the EWA that I have not reviewed (see http://cgi.ebay.com/ENHANCED-SUPER-...8QQihZ017QQcategoryZ29954QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem). It is supposed to be even better than the SWA line that I have posted pictures of.

In my correspondence with owl1, the new EWA line has better eyerelief than the SWA (good for digiscoping, glasses and better comfort), supposed to have a flatter field than the SWA (please look at the SWA pics that I posted), and good for f/6 scopes and above (the Pentaxes are f/6+). From the looks of them and their specs, they may be the OEM version of the Orion Expanse eyepieces (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/p...PRODUCT&iMainCat=6&iSubCat=36&iProductID=4059) whom Sout Fork has had good experiences with.

And like all eBay eyepieces, they cost peanuts and less than buying through Orion or other major retailer.
 
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Can Popper,

I think you just answered some of my questions. I sent Owl1 an email through Ebay so I hope to hear from him sometime soon. I plan on taking the scope with me to the storefront to try a few eyepieces on it. What prices are we talking about here for SWA and EWA eyepieces. What magnifications will the various eyepieces yield on the Pentax 65?

I will check your pictures out shortly.

Thank you kindly for responding.
 
The Pentax 65ED has a focal length of 390.

So just take 390 and divide it by the focal length of the eyepiece.

The EWA line has focal lengths of 20, 15, 9, and 6. That translates to 19.5X, 26X, 43X, and 65X. If you need lower magnifications, then go with the plossls in the 40, 32 and 25 focal lengths which will give you 10x, 12x, and 16x, respectively.

If you click on the link I provided you, you will see that the most expensive of the EWA line only cost $38. The EWA line's pricing pressure has dropped the price of the SWA line down to the $20's. The plossls are also going for the $20's.
 
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Thank you for the explanation. I was once into amateur astronomy and probably should have known the answer to the first question. I also checked out the links you posted. Excellent pricing.

Last question for you, how do I access your pictures. I checked your gallery and did not find any entries. I checked the product review link and could not find any eyepieces.

Thanks again.
 
Just click here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=57013

and scroll down, lots of pics from different eyepieces. More pics on the next page denoted <2>

If you were into amatuer astronomy once, shouldn't you have some eyepieces left over from that time? Just plug them in and go. I know I still have eyepieces leftover from when I was 8.
 
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Actually, now that you mention it, I do. I have three Meade eyepieces which go with my 6 inch Meade Reflector...a 25 mm, 9 mm and 4 mm...though I am going to have to check to see what type of condition they are in. The last time I enthusiastically used that telescope was when I was in 8th grade....some time ago. ;)

Thank you for the link.
 
A very popular eyepiece with the Pentax 65 is the Vixen 8mm - 24mm Lanthanum Series 1.25" Zoom Eyepiece. You can buy it at a good price at Adorama:

http://www.adorama.com/VXLAZ.html

I have the PF65A and this eyepiece and they work great together. Even at the highest magnification, the image is sharp. The only criticism I have is that there is actualy too much eye-relief, especially at the lowest and highest magnification, sometimes causing "black-out" problems if you don't position your eye perfectly. In the middle of the zoom range, this problem goes away. Of course, if you don't wear glasses, it won't be a problem anyway.
 
RAH,

Thank you for the suggestion. That $170 is a bit more than I can afford at the moment but in a month or two I should have sufficient funds. However, if I remember what I was quoted from gr8tfuldoug at camerlandny the Pentax XW eyepiece was only going to be about $210. Wouldn't I be smarter to go that route since it was designed by the same folks that came up with the scope?
 
Frank,

Don't forget the Pentax XF eyepieces. They are actually quite sophisticated eyepieces that use the same glass and coatings as the XW, but in a much smaller and lighter package. The specs look a lot like Televue radians. I haven't seen them, but they seem to me to be largely ignored in favour of the XW without even being tried. I have a 14mm XW. It weighs 15 ozs. and the shorter focal length XW's are even larger and heavier. The XW zoom seems to me to be far too expensive for the level of performance it delivers and quite large and heavy considering the narrow FOV compared to the other expensive zooms.

Henry
 
Thank you for the tips Henry. I have not ruled out the XF line yet. I will keep them in mind when it comes time to upgrade from what I am starting out with.
 
henry link said:
Frank,

Don't forget the Pentax XF eyepieces. They are actually quite sophisticated eyepieces that use the same glass and coatings as the XW, but in a much smaller and lighter package. The specs look a lot like Televue radians. I haven't seen them, but they seem to me to be largely ignored in favour of the XW without even being tried. I have a 14mm XW. It weighs 15 ozs. and the shorter focal length XW's are even larger and heavier. The XW zoom seems to me to be far too expensive for the level of performance it delivers and quite large and heavy considering the narrow FOV compared to the other expensive zooms.

Henry
Hi there...when i got my scope(65edA),it camed with the XF zoom.It is a nicely made(superb)eyepiece,glass,coatings size and focal ratio(6.5-19 mm just enough to give the 65ed 20-60x0)..images are crisp at the low power part of the zoomand the FOV is quite good for a zoom.I didnt thought at high powers did too well in terms of brightness and sharpness.The main reason i wouldnt recommend this eyepiece is eye relief. 15 to 11 mm ...A very short Eye relief that doesnt quite allow for a comfortable view ,AT ALL!....the fixed eyepieces i have not seen though.....i have also tried the GSO SUPERVIEW 15mm and eye relief is not adecuate either.i have a zoom now that has 20 mm or more f eyerelief at low power and close to that at high power and makes a difference....Image in the cheap SUPERVIEW GSO was good!!!dont get me wrong...it was great for the price,only marginally lower image quality and maybe not sharp to the edge .the swarovski zoom i use now is on the narrow field of view side but super sharp all the way to the edge(i wonder if this is because is an astronomy eyepiece)..So frank, my advice is get eyepieces that would give you the right eye relief,and that maybe translates in longer focal lenghts.....
 
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mayoayo said:
Hi there...when i got my scope(65edA),it camed with the XF zoom.It is a nicely made(superb)eyepiece,glass,coatings size and focal ratio(6.5-19 mm just enough to give the 65ed 20-60x0)..images are crisp at the low power part of the zoomand the FOV is quite good for a zoom.I didnt thought at high powers did too well in terms of brightness and sharpness.The main reason i wouldnt recommend this eyepiece is eye relief. 15 to 11 mm ...A very short Eye relief that doesnt quite allow for a comfortable view ,AT ALL!....the fixed eyepieces i have not seen though.....i have also tried the GSO SUPERVIEW 15mm and eye relief is not adecuate either.i have a zoom now that has 20 mm or more f eyerelief at low power and close to that at high power and makes a difference....Image in the cheap SUPERVIEW GSO was good!!!dont get me wrong...it was great for the price,only marginally lower image quality and maybe not sharp to the edge .the swarovski zoom i use now is on the narrow field of view side but super sharp all the way to the edge(i wonder if this is because is an astronomy eyepiece)..So frank, my advice is get eyepieces that would give you the right eye relief,and that maybe translates in longer focal lenghts.....

Mayo,I have read at least two reviews that say the high power [60x] view is not as sharp in this Pentax 65ED.30x to 45x is good I guess. I have read the big boys [85mm] start to loose it at 60X.I don't want to sound like I'm putting down all these very fine spotters and wish I had the 65 and 80 ED Pentax Spotters myself.:)
Steve
 
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FrankD said:
However, if I remember what I was quoted from gr8tfuldoug at camerlandny the Pentax XW eyepiece was only going to be about $210. Wouldn't I be smarter to go that route since it was designed by the same folks that came up with the scope?
Frank,
I can't find an XW eyepiece for much less than $300 at Adorama or B&H. And the zoom is over $400. If you can get a fixed focus one for about $210 (i.e. you don't want a zoom), yes, the XW eyepieces are probably better than the Vixen zoom.

As far as the XF zoom, as mentioned above, the eye relief is quite poor. One of the big selling points of the Vixen is its really good eye relief. Plus, it has "lanthanum" glass, which is a higher quality glass than what the Pentax XF uses.
 
According to the Pentax website they use lanthanum glass for some elements of both the XW and XF eyepieces.

The XF fixed magnification eyepieces are the ones that look interesting to me; 6 elements in 4 groups, SMC multi-coating, lanthanum glass, 18mm eye relief and 60 degree AFOV for both the 12mm and the 8.5mm and they only weigh 5-6 ozs. If I needed an eyepiece with either of those focal lengths the XF's are the ones I would try first.
 
Guys,

Great info. I will keep it all in mind when doing future eyepiece shopping. It sounds like there are a ton of options out there for this scope. So many that it almost seems to make the decision more difficult. Great stuff, if anyone has more to contribute I would love to hear it. The more I know the better.
 
I posted this info on another thread but thought about sharing it here as well. I bought three of the new Knight Owl EWA series eyepieces.

I received the eyepieces this morning (less than one day from when I ordered them) and have been playing around with them all day. They are superb in my opinion. I cannot believe that they are only $37 a piece. I feel like I stole something. :)

In all seriousness, the eyepieces are quite good...exceptional even, especially when you consider the price. The Pentax is the most expensive and highest quality scope I have owned so I cannot put them in a comparison to the Pentax XF or XW eyepieces or any of the other high end units but they are definitely more than satisfactory as far as I am concerned. I am even debating now whether or not to go ahead and order the 6 mm as well.

All three of the eyepieces have exceptionally wide ocular lenses. They are basically the same diameter as the 1.25" tube they are mounted to. Eye relief is pretty good though both the 9 mm and 15 mm are somewhat shorter than the 20 mm. All of them give you a true wide angle effect with only moderate distortion around the outside edges. Image is bright with good contrast (though not the best). I have no complaints.
 
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