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18-20 mm eyepiece? (1 Viewer)

FrankD

FrankD

Well-known member
I may shortly be in the market for a decent 18-20 mm fixed eyepiece for my Pentax 65 scope. I have owned the XW 20 mm but was forced to sell it because of financial concerns. I currently have the Knight Owl EWA 20 mm for the scope and am relatively content with it. However, it does exhibit noticeable edge distortion (compared to the Pentax) and has some color fringing in certain situations. Would any of you folks be kind enough to recommend some of the other 18-20 mm fixed eyepieces currently on the market?

Thank you and Happy Holidays!
 
Frank, I forget, were you not happy with any of the zooms? The 24mm end of my zoom is what I use most, if I want to be near 20mm. Maybe you already have what you need.

What are you scoping mostly? In poor light, I just stick to 24mm.
 
Tero,

I had the Vixen Lanthanum zoom for the 65 but had to sell that too. In all honesty I used it the least of any of my eyepieces. I used the XW 20 mm the most often. I find I use the scope the most for hawkwatching in the late summer and fall or to look at feeder birds behind the house so a wide, flat field of view with good resolution is what I am after. I am probably going to pick up one of the inexpensive zooms (sub-$50) just to have but the 20 mm wide-angle eyepiece is what I will probably make the most use of.

Ultralite,

Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into them.
 
Anyone have thoughts on the Pentax XL 21 mm eyepiece. If I remember correctly it was the predecessor to the XW series. I found one for $170 and believe it may suit my needs quite nicely. If anyone can do a field of view/distortion/color fringing control comparison then it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
 
FrankD said:
Anyone have thoughts on the Pentax XL 21 mm eyepiece. If I remember correctly it was the predecessor to the XW series.
Click to expand...

I had one. It was indeed the predecessor to the now XW20. The XLs had a 65 degree AFOV whereas the XWs have 70. The XLs have the same screw type eyecup and are optically excellent. If it's in good shape, you can't go wrong.
Since I no longer have it I can't A-B test it against my XW20 for you.
 
Frank..The Hyperions have also excellent reputation...You can score some good Eyepieces in Astromart as well...Sometimes excellent deals for Vixen/Televue Zooms ..I am now using a vixen Geoma ED scope,and the Eyepieces are excellent..I used them(modified)also in my last PF65 ,last summer,and they worked great...one of the eyepiece series ,the GL(not GLH),is very good and the Eyepieces are very compact..Wide field,decent eye relief..and very sharp...they fit a special thread around 1 inch thick,and the main body of the eyepiece is around 1 1/4 ..it would be easy to fit a piece of 1 1/4 tube in the thread,and it definitely will work in the Pentax,even making the desired diameter with tape..,They sell for about 49 dollars,because they are older(the current line is the GLH)...they have a GL25 and a GL20...Good Stuff..
 
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FrankD said:
Thank you Kevin. They are "like new" for $169. I will put an order in for one now.
Click to expand...

I'll await your review :t:

To me it's a vastly superior EP over the Hyperion of which I have also.

Waterproof, best eyecup design ever, better optics (lanthanum "low dispersion" elements) and coatings are why I say that.
 
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Thank you gentleman. I will let you know what I decide on. I might just order both and see which suits my needs better. I must say that I do enjoy the increased resolution of a low CA eyepiece so I am leaning in that direction. Dropping $300 for another XW seems excessive for me now but I can probably swing half that.

Thanks again.
 
Well, scratch the XL eyepiece. I put an order in for it but it turns out their website wasn't updated by quantity and they are sold out. I will check out the other suggestions. Thanks.
 
Frank ,Check Astromart marketplace...Is a serious place,check the offers,or place an add for what you want...chances are you can find some good deal ,quite fast too...The WO newer zoom,not sure of the price,Seems to be a contender zoom..
Older 20X NIKON eyepieces,sometimes show in EBAY for peanuts.It would be interesting to see how they adapt to the Pentax Scope....
Waterproofing for a fixed power eyepiece,doesnt really matter to me ,that much... the Vixen Zoom is not waterproof,and never fogged on me,even when used in heavy mist/condensation,in the Oregon Coast
 
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mayoayo,

Thank you for the suggestions. I will take a look into them. At the moment I am left trying to decide what to do with eyepieces in general. I have the three EWA (9, 15 and 20 mm) eyepieces to use with the scope and they suit most of my needs. I was hoping to shoot for a higher quality (wider field of view, better edge sharpness and ED style glass) 20 mm eyepiece to use for hawkwatching and digiscoping. Other than the Pentax XW or XL I am not sure what to get.

Also I am kicking around the idea of buying an inexpensive zoom eyepiece just to have on hand for the rare circumstances I might use it. Any suggestions in that regard would be appreciated.

Happy New Year to you all!
 
FrankD said:
I was hoping to shoot for a higher quality (wider field of view, better edge sharpness and ED style glass) 20 mm eyepiece to use for hawkwatching and digiscoping. Other than the Pentax XW or XL I am not sure what to get.
Click to expand...

Good luck Frank. To my knowledge, no other such creature exists. I was going to suggest adding the TV 19mm Panoptic to your used hunting list, then I ran across this regarding the XW20:

"Reviewer: Erich Mayne
Rating:10 of 10
Great EP!
Compared to a Pan 19 the views are too close to call with "certainty" but the Pentax has the nod for ease of use. But when comparing flatness of FOV, no comparison. The Pentax is by far the better EP. While looking at vertical/straight objects in the day time, the Pan 19 turned telephone poles into boomerangs while the Pentax is about as flat, if not flatter then my UO 25mm ortho FOV. "ZERO" pin cushion effect. Combine that with no kidney bean effect WHATSOEVER and 20 mm of eye relief and it pulls ahead of the PAN 19 easily. And for what its worth.... its a "class 4" water/ weather proof lense. Heavy dew would litterally be like water off a duck's back. Good job Pentax. A true premium EP for the money paid. Made in Japan quality throughout. Only draw back is that its probably too big for most people to use for binoviewing, for that I'll keep my Pan 19's. Looking forward to geting more of the Pentax XW line soon."

I tried TV Nagler 11mm and 13mm EPs on a PF65 before and noticed significant distortion as well. The particular combination of features combined with perfect suitability for terrestrial use puts the Pentax XLs and XWs in a class of their own IMO. The Baader Hyperions (or other seller's versions) are still the closest spec-wise.

Good Luck in the New Year!
 
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Kevin Conville said:
The particular combination of features combined with perfect suitability for terrestrial use puts the Pentax XLs and XWs in a class of their own IMO.
Click to expand...
That's what I wanted to hear! Affirmation. Confirmation. Something. I caught the scope body on sale, and couldn't resist buying it. I wanted so bad to get a $120 eyepiece like the Baader Hyperion, but was afraid I'd regret it later because of the lack of waterproofness, or the eyecup, or end up wishing for, or buying a XW in addition. Also caught the XW14 on sale. Probably should have got the 20mm, but everybody raves about the 14. I think an XW20 later in the year, and I'll be done. Except for a better tripod, and a digiscoping adapter, and a new digital camera, and...:scribe:

Love you guys! <<<message from my credit card company
 
I really could not decide on any one size being ideal. The 20-24mm is good for general viewing and poor light conditions. But quite often I use the zoom to about 45x. So the 12mm XF sits on the shelf virtually unused. I think I could bird with a 12mm wide angle, though. I believe I have some 60 degrees with this already, right?
 
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Tero,

If my memory is correc the XF series had over 60 degrees. I believe the XL was 65 and the XW is 70.

Guys,

I have bitten a bit by the eyepiece bug again. What do you guys say to another one of those "Eyepiece Roundup" threads that Can Popper started a few years ago? I have three 20 mm-ish eyepieces on order. Any or all of them may suit my needs. I hope to post on all of them once they arrive.
 
I'm always interested in reading such comparisons Frank. I have three EPs in that general FL range. The Pentax XW20, a TV 20mm Plossl, and an RKE 18.5.

I've tried them for my own edification and I think you already know which one I like best, by a great margin. The XW is far more suited to digiscoping also though my results (through limited attempts) aren't top quality.
 
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