• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Zoom eyepieces for Pentax 65? (1 Viewer)

FrankD

FrankD

Well-known member
I am now in the market for a zoom eyepiece for my Pentax 65 mm ED angled scope. I have several fixed eyepieces both for general birding and for digiscoping use. However, I think I would also like to add a zoom eyepiece to the lineup just to have something to cover all situations. I imagine it would be more convenient to have a zoom eyepiece at times for general birding.

Having said that I dug through the forum archives and found that, on the moderately expensive end, the Vixen Lanthanum zoom is recommended while, on the inexpensive end, the Scoptronix zoom comes fairly highly regarded. The Pentax XF series zoom would also be worthy of consideration assuming that 11 mm of eye relief on the high mag. end won't be too troublesome. Am I leaving any good ones out in either of these price ranges? Ofcourse, I would love to have the XW zoom but at close to $400 it is going to be out of my price range until at least Christmas. Also, since I do not plan on digiscoping with it I am not going to be as critical about having the absolute best image quality. I know the field of view is going to be fairly restricted but if one model has slightly more of it then that would definitely be a plus.

Any and all input would be appreciated.

Thank you ahead of time for the help.
 
FrankD said:
I am now in the market for a zoom eyepiece for my Pentax 65 mm ED angled scope. I have several fixed eyepieces both for general birding and for digiscoping use. However, I think I would also like to add a zoom eyepiece to the lineup just to have something to cover all situations. I imagine it would be more convenient to have a zoom eyepiece at times for general birding.

Having said that I dug through the forum archives and found that, on the moderately expensive end, the Vixen Lanthanum zoom is recommended while, on the inexpensive end, the Scoptronix zoom comes fairly highly regarded. The Pentax XF series zoom would also be worthy of consideration assuming that 11 mm of eye relief on the high mag. end won't be too troublesome. Am I leaving any good ones out in either of these price ranges? Ofcourse, I would love to have the XW zoom but at close to $400 it is going to be out of my price range until at least Christmas. Also, since I do not plan on digiscoping with it I am not going to be as critical about having the absolute best image quality. I know the field of view is going to be fairly restricted but if one model has slightly more of it then that would definitely be a plus.

Any and all input would be appreciated.

Thank you ahead of time for the help.
Click to expand...
Frank:
I bought my scope with the XF zoom and i think ,although is a nice eyepiece,the eye relief is WAY too short.....at the max magnification end is UNCOMFORTABLE ,and the image is way degraded......I have now the SWAROVSKI 1 1/4 zoom ,the one that Meade sold a while back ,and is a great eyepiece......As a matter of fact i am going to sell it.....i want a fixed high quality wide angle eyepiece(XW)and since i cant afford both ,i have decided to sell it......let me know if you are interested and i will tell you about specifications and particular problems with pentax scope(and the solutions i have found)..thanks
 
Thank you for the comments and suggestions. In all honesty I do not know if I could afford a Swarovski eyepiece at the moment (operating under the assumption that it has to be quite expensive) but I kindly thank you for the offer.

I will definitely take your comments regarding the XF zoom to heart and will knock it off my short list. Any experiences with the other zooms I mentioned?

Anyone?
 
I haven't seen the Meade version of the old Swarovski zoom, but I used the Swaro version with a homemade 1.25" adapter for many years. It is still an excellent eyepiece, IMO superior to the big Pentax zoom which I don't think is competitive with the other expensive zooms. I haven't tried any versions of the Vixen zoom.
 
henry link said:
I haven't seen the Meade version of the old Swarovski zoom, but I used the Swaro version with a homemade 1.25" adapter for many years. It is still an excellent eyepiece, IMO superior to the big Pentax zoom which I don't think is competitive with the other expensive zooms. I haven't tried any versions of the Vixen zoom.
Click to expand...
The Meade series 4000 first zoom(the actual 4000 is the vixen/televue one)was made in austria by swarovski,and labeled by meade for a while.......is a superb zoom..(the narrow FOV of a zoom though),but very sharp,very bright,,,its performance at 7.7mm(51X in the pf65ED)is quite something...1.9˚-0.9˚fov that is about 45˚ afov at 23MM(17X in the 65)..at 30x the fov is basically 1.5˚, that is a a 40% less fov that ,lets say an ORION STRATUS.....it could be frustrating when looking at medium/close range,when the fiel of view is critical,...of course is great at long distance ........if anybody is interested ill send price and specifications...ONE QUESTION ,HOW DO YOU GUYS REACH FOCUS WITH THE PENTAX SCOPE AND ASTRO EYEPIECES????????ANY PROBLEMS/SOLUTIONS..>???????
THANKS
 
ONE QUESTION ,HOW DO YOU GUYS REACH FOCUS WITH THE PENTAX SCOPE AND ASTRO EYEPIECES????????ANY PROBLEMS/SOLUTIONS..>???????
THANKS
Click to expand...

Hmm, if you mean something like the Knight Owl EWAs that I mentioned then my response would simply be that there isn't any problem reaching focus with the 65 mm and any of the astronomical eyepieces I have tried...EWA, Meade or Seibert. The scope seems designed for them.
 
I'm also thinking of getting a new zoom for my Pentax 65. I currently use a 8-24mm eyepiece I picked up on e-bay for about $60. It has no brand name but I think it's the same as the Seben ones that are forever advertised on e-bay (it has the exact same serial number). It's ok but has its limitations (especially at higher mag) and I've decided to upgrade.

I was thinking of the Vixen LV 8-24mm zoom. It's reasonably priced here in Japan (about $130). The only other one I was considering was the Scopetronix 7-21mm. I've heard mostly positive stuff about the Vixen but the Scopetronix one interests me too. It's also quite a bit cheaper.

Has anyone tried it?
 
stuprice68 said:
I'm also thinking of getting a new zoom for my Pentax 65.

I was thinking of the Vixen LV 8-24mm zoom. It's reasonably priced here i

Has anyone tried it?
Click to expand...

I have the TV 8-24 zoom same as the vixen & orion zoom i believe .It works fine on my 65, 80 & 100 pf,s. I have 2 smc 8-24 EP,S That came with the scopes . They are very good but the TV is much more portable .I do use the smc,s at home tho.The TV ,VIXEN & ORION all cost around $200 in the US.
Brian.
 
Hi Brian. I knew the Vixen comes well recommmended and I'll probably end up getting it. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with the Scopetronix zoom. I got some digiscoping stuff from Scopetronix and was pretty impressed.





medinabrit said:
I have the TV 8-24 zoom same as the vixen & orion zoom i believe .It works fine on my 65, 80 & 100 pf,s. I have 2 smc 8-24 EP,S That came with the scopes . They are very good but the TV is much more portable .I do use the smc,s at home tho.The TV ,VIXEN & ORION all cost around $200 in the US.
Brian.
Click to expand...
 
Stu,

It sounds like your search/questions are the same as mine. Both the Scopetronix and Vixen zooms seem to fit exactly what I am looking for. The question for me is whether or not the Vixen's benefits are worth the extra $110. I know the lanthanum glass elements should provide a better image but is there anything else about the Vixen that would sway me in that direction?
 
FrankD said:
Hmm, if you mean something like the Knight Owl EWAs that I mentioned then my response would simply be that there isn't any problem reaching focus with the 65 mm and any of the astronomical eyepieces I have tried...EWA, Meade or Seibert. The scope seems designed for them.
Click to expand...
Well....I dont know....SOME of the eyepieces that i have tried on the 65ed DIDNT reach focus at infinity.....SCOPETRONIX MAXVIEW SERIES makes a different model or variation for use with PENTAX scopes,i tried the regular version(i dont remember if it was a 20mm ??)and it DIDNT reach infinity.The swaro zoom ,when fit on the scope with the original compression ring,doesnt reach infinity focus,and i have been told recently that the PENTAX XL14 DOESNT FOCUS EITHER!!...I replaced the original compression ring on the scope,with a piece of plumbing hardware(the little red orange plumbing rings on the hardware store).The original ring lifts the eyepiece as compresses,increasing the distance that the light has to travel from the objective to your eye.Maybe only a little ,but ENOUGH to affect the focal lenght.....the improvised ring allowes me to pull the eyepiece in when compressing ,and also to set the compression collar in its lower point,therefore gaining valuable MILLIMETERS in the search for focus.......With a Zoom the problem was solved as well by zooming in to a higher magnification...
I would like to know if any of the eyepieces that you people have tried, did present any problem.......
 
mayoayo,

I have had no problem with focusing on the Knight Owl EWA 9, 15 or 20 mm nor the Seibert Ultra 20 mm or my Meade 25 mm and the Pentax XW 20 mm is a dream. ;)
 
FrankD said:
mayoayo,

I have had no problem with focusing on the Knight Owl EWA 9, 15 or 20 mm nor the Seibert Ultra 20 mm or my Meade 25 mm and the Pentax XW 20 mm is a dream. ;)
Click to expand...
Frank;
I am glad to hear that the XW 20 got its place in your collection,i wonder if one of the main differences beetwen the XL and XW series is their property to focus on the PF scopes....recently ,as mentioned,a friend commented on the inability of focus his scope with the Xl 14 ,among other astronomy eyepieces.....Does your scope goes pass infinity with all your eyepieces?.Does it go far beyond or bearly reaches?? If the scope does pass far beyond infinity with all eyepieces...Am i the proud owner of a defective unit ?
 
Does your scope goes pass infinity with all your eyepieces?.Does it go far beyond or bearly reaches?? If the scope does pass far beyond infinity with all eyepieces...Am i the proud owner of a defective unit ?
Click to expand...

I am at work at the moment so I cannot verify this but I seem to recall it going slightly past infinity. I have never had a problem reaching infinity with any of the eyepieces in the scope. I sincerely hope you do not have a defective unit.

On a somewhat related note, I am heading over to Owl Services tomorrow afternoon to have two of my EWA eyepieces cleaned by Tom, the owner. Any eyepieces you folks want me to try out on the Pentax 65 while I am there?

...and, no, he does not have any zoom eyepieces at the moment. I already asked. However, he said he will be getting them in stock soon. No other details were forthcoming at the time but I will see what I can find out tomorrow.
 
I have the Vixen Lanthanum 8-24 eyepiece (and use it with the PF-65A) and like it fine. My only complaint is that at the lowest and highest magnification, sometimes it seems that the eye-relief is too high, and I get blackout problems unless my eye is perfectly positioned (I wear glasses). This is usually when I am first using the scope after being away from it for a few weeks, and I quickly get used to it again. Plus, just a little zooming in or out and it goes away immediately.

I find that it is just about as sharp and clear even at maximum magnification. Other scopes I have used often get worse at the highest mag.
 
FrankD said:
Thank you for the comments and suggestions. In all honesty I do not know if I could afford a Swarovski eyepiece at the moment (operating under the assumption that it has to be quite expensive) but I kindly thank you for the offer.

I will definitely take your comments regarding the XF zoom to heart and will knock it off my short list. Any experiences with the other zooms I mentioned?

Anyone?
Click to expand...
I just posted the swaro zoom in the classifieds section ,selling at 225$......thanks
 
Warning! This thread is more than 18 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

J@se
Digiscope adapter for ED82a with 25 - 75x zoom
Replies
4
Views
786
J@se
J@se
P
Eyepieces for MM3 GA (non ED)
Replies
3
Views
334
Gzoladz74
G
G
Upgrade a Pentax 65 scope?
Replies
18
Views
4K
looksharp65
looksharp65
J
Better understanding the Leica range for a second-hand purchase
Replies
15
Views
1K
jb b
J
S
Digiscoping with a camera on a spotting scope seems possible by focusing is very difficult
Replies
1
Views
441
Gary5Bellies
G

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top