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Pentax 80 and Baader Zoom - Not Coming to Focus (1 Viewer)

Oscar56

Well-known member
My Pentax 80 just arrived this week. I have been putting it through some initial trials in the back hard using many of my astronomical eyepieces.

My Baader Hyperion Mark III zoom works brilliantly at short and medium focus. But for long distances, I have yet to determine where this begins, I do not have enough in-focus.

The Mark III, like the other Baader Hyperion fixed focal lengths, are modular. When I remove the lower 1 1/2" sleeve the zoom comes to focus at all distances but that leaves me with an eyepiece that I cannot "lock in".

Has anyone resolved this issue?

Thanks, Grant
 
Hi, I have a Pentax with the zoom, with mine I made a sleeve that pushes over the top. Or you could just wrap tap round it but you need to be careful of the inner sleeve pulling off. Lots of ways to make it fit though.

At the moment I'm using a Baader 14mm Morpheus and it's superb.

Ron
 
Baader Zoom

Grant, I've been using a Baader Zoom (first type, not Mark III) with Pentax PF spotting scopes for some time. I suspect the Mark III version can be adapted in the same way as the older version, and your tests seem to confirm that. See my post, #24 in the Baader Zoom thread from Oct. 16, 2013. You'll need to scroll down some in this Pentax forum. Unfortunately, this solution requires turning an adapter on a metal lathe, though it does not require any lathe threading. If you don't have access to a lathe, you may find a local machine shop that could turn out the adapter for you. Hope this helps. - Bill
 
Ron:

A sleeve is what I had in mind. What did you make yours out of?

Grant


I used a small in-line plastic fuel filter. cut both ends off and then you have a tube. With the filter I used it's nice tight push fit when you remove the thin sleeve from the Baader. In my case this was still a tad too narrow, so I put some insulation tape round it and it works a treat.
You could leave the thin sleeve on the Baader and wrap tape around that, the only problem with that is, if you have the ep too tight a fit, it may pull out and leave the sleeve inside the scope. If this happens it's not easy to remove. You could also remove the the sleeve from the Baader and just wrap tape around it, but it makes the zooming stiff because it's touching the zooming spiral.

Ron
 
Grant, what fixed eyepieces have you tried in the Pentax? At the moment I have two Opticrons, a BST 12mm, a Baader 14mm Morpheus and a 9mm Morpheus. The FoV you get with the Morpheus eps is massive, makes looking through the Baader zoom like you're looking down a tube.

Ron
 
Thanks for the tips. I will do a little bit of experimentation over the next couple of days. So far I tried a couple of O rings and electrical tape but not to my liking.
 
The baader zoom is not really modular,..the astronomy barrel can be switched from the 1 1/4 to the 2 inches but there is not changes to the focal lenght ,other than the zooming ..other hyperion eyepieces are indeed modular in the sense that optical elements can be removed ,and extenssion rings added,changing the focal lenght of the eyepiece,in a number of combinations...
I dont understand how removing the 1 1/4 tube gives you the extra clearance needed to reach infinity focus,unless you removed the threaded ring inside the collar. That ring seems to be the physical limit of the eyepiece to reach focus on most scopes.
 
The baader zoom is not really modular,..the astronomy barrel can be switched from the 1 1/4 to the 2 inches but there is not changes to the focal lenght ,other than the zooming ..other hyperion eyepieces are indeed modular in the sense that optical elements can be removed ,and extenssion rings added,changing the focal lenght of the eyepiece,in a number of combinations...
I dont understand how removing the 1 1/4 tube gives you the extra clearance needed to reach infinity focus,unless you removed the threaded ring inside the collar. That ring seems to be the physical limit of the eyepiece to reach focus on most scopes.


That's right, you have to remove the ring, but what's left is too small, so it needs to be built up. Like I said , I used a plastic tube.
 
Grant, what fixed eyepieces have you tried in the Pentax? At the moment I have two Opticrons, a BST 12mm, a Baader 14mm Morpheus and a 9mm Morpheus. The FoV you get with the Morpheus eps is massive, makes looking through the Baader zoom like you're looking down a tube.

Ron

Ron:

I have tested everything from a GSO32mm (52 degree AFOV) to Explore Scientific 6.7mm. (82 degree field of view). So far the GSO 32mm provides the widest actual field of view, just slightly better than my ES68 20mm.
 
Hi, thanks for that, that's the problem with the Pentax, there are too many options with eps. Like I said, the Baader Morpheus 14mm is superb on the 65mm and on the 80mm.Not the cheapest but highly recommend.
With regards to the Baader zoom fitting, a 35mm film canister might work. I've tried one but it only
goes in half way, then it get tights. To be honest, now that I tried fixed eps, and they are so quick to change, I'm not a big fan of the Baader zoom.

Ron
 
The BST Explorer ED is very nice and inexpensive..I used the 12 mm with the celestron regal and worked very well..about 60 degrees ..The BST Flat Field is also nice and about the same price.. a bit under 50 euros...The Flat Field 16mm is the same eyepiece that Vortex sells ,with an adapter,to use in the Razor HD,giving 30x..they sell it for 150 i think..
 
The BST Explorer ED is very nice and inexpensive..I used the 12 mm with the celestron regal and worked very well..about 60 degrees ..The BST Flat Field is also nice and about the same price.. a bit under 50 euros...The Flat Field 16mm is the same eyepiece that Vortex sells ,with an adapter,to use in the Razor HD,giving 30x..they sell it for 150 i think..


Yes the BST 12mm Explorer is a cracker for the money. I bought one just to try it and I compared it side by side with the Pentax XF12 in my PF65, as hard as I tried I could not tell them apart. Maybe, just maybe the Pentax had the edge. The Pentax is waterproof though.

I also tried the the XW10 at the same time and I couldn't get along with it, kept getting blackout. At the moment I'm trying a 9mm Baader Morpheus and it's far better, and cheaper.
 
Last edited:
See my post, #24 in the Baader Zoom thread from Oct. 16, 2013. You'll need to scroll down some in this Pentax forum. Unfortunately, this solution requires turning an adapter on a metal lathe, though it does not require any lathe threading. If you don't have access to a lathe, you may find a local machine shop that could turn out the adapter for you. Hope this helps. - Bill

Thanks Bill, I found that post. That's a nice solution.

I have created an inexpensive plastic prototype. Now I will see if I can craft it into something a little more substantial. I will also need to create an end cap to protect the EP during transport.
 
I purchased 2 of the Baader zooms for my astronomical binoviewer. So I need to retain end caps with the normal 1.25" diameter. I want to create one more end cap for when I am transporting and using the Baader zoom for use with the Pentax zoom. The external diameter, once you remove the threaded fitting, is less than 1.25".
 
I purchased 2 of the Baader zooms for my astronomical binoviewer. So I need to retain end caps with the normal 1.25" diameter. I want to create one more end cap for when I am transporting and using the Baader zoom for use with the Pentax zoom. The external diameter, once you remove the threaded fitting, is less than 1.25".

Yes, but once lt's been modified to fit the Pentax your Baader end caps fits. Am I missing something here?
 
Yes, but once lt's been modified to fit the Pentax your Baader end caps fits. Am I missing something here?

B :)

I thought my "fix" would be too loose, but now that I think I have the final spacing ring built it is quite tight. So, yep I don't need to make a new cap!

Time for a beer.
 
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