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Fixed eyepiece for Celestron Regal M2 80ED (1 Viewer)

MerlinT

Active member
Hi,

I’m looking for adding one fixed eyepiece to my “collection” (Celestron Regal M2 80ED). I use my scope for birding, when I’m not bringing my Nikon D750 with the 200-500mm lens (I use the same tripod).

I already have the Long Eye Relief (the one included with the scope), which is 27x. I’ve read a lot of threads here, and I still hesitate between the Baader Hyperion 13mm (36x) and the 17mm (28x). Since 30x seems to be the sweet spot, and the 17mm would be (too) close to my LER, does the 13mm would be too powerful for my day-to-day use?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance |=)| !

Chris
 
Hi,

I would aim for sth around 40-50x unless you want to replace your LER EP with something wider. So maybe look for sth in the 9-12mm range...

In the astro scene the Hyperion fixed mag EPs are not known for their great performance on fast instruments (like your Regal at f6). I would probably get an Explore Scientific from the 68 or 82 deg series - price is similar an they're waterproof too (and they work down to f4).

Joachim
 
The Celestron Regal Zoom is worth to own,and it is not expensive..The use of a zoom would help you determine what magnifications you use the most,and you can add anoter wide of your preferred focal lenght in the future..Or you can go with the new Hyperion MkIV zoom and give it a try..I use this zoom (version III)and never feel the need of wider views..in fact most of its range is as wide or wider than most fixed power eyepieces,specially when getting in the high power range
 
Hi,

I would aim for sth around 40-50x unless you want to replace your LER EP with something wider. So maybe look for sth in the 9-12mm range...

In the astro scene the Hyperion fixed mag EPs are not known for their great performance on fast instruments (like your Regal at f6). I would probably get an Explore Scientific from the 68 or 82 deg series - price is similar an they're waterproof too (and they work down to f4).

Joachim

Thank you Joachim! Didn't look at the Explorer Scientific EP. You're right about the price, and waterproof is a very interesting option... Getting a zoom (Celestron or Mark IV) was on my mind, but with all the comments I've read, I thought a fixed EP (+/- 30x) would be better for birding.
 
The Celestron Regal Zoom is worth to own,and it is not expensive..The use of a zoom would help you determine what magnifications you use the most,and you can add anoter wide of your preferred focal lenght in the future..Or you can go with the new Hyperion MkIV zoom and give it a try..I use this zoom (version III)and never feel the need of wider views..in fact most of its range is as wide or wider than most fixed power eyepieces,specially when getting in the high power range

Thank you mayoayo! I think I've read (more than once) all your posts about the Celestron Regal ;)

The Celestron zoom is affordable (less than $200 CAD) vs the Mark IV (+/- $430 CAD). But if the Mark IV is as good as their fixed EP, I might go for it, since I only want to add one EP to my set for birding (yet). But I want it to be good quality, though, and the Mark IV seems to be the right one...
 
Yesterday, on a cloudy day, I watched two Common Mergansers (lake). I was disappointed by the lack of sharpness of the scope + EP. Today, it was more satisfying as I could appreciate the sharpness, on a sunny day, by watching a peregrine falcon perched on a cliff. But in both case, 27x was too short. I'll probably get the Mark IV in the next weeks... Will this zoom be better than my actual LER EP, even if it's not a fixed one?

Thanks again |:$|

Chris
 
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I finally bought the Baader Hyperion Mark IV yesterday. I should receive it in 2-3 weeks. I even might look for a Barlow lens in the next weeks (planets observation purpose)...

Thank you for all your advice, I really appreciate your help (and wisdom o:D ) in my quest (and expenses :'D )!

Chris
 
Hi everyone,

Just want to let you know that I received my Baader Hyperion Mark IV yesterday. Tested it this morning, and I'm quite surprised about the quality and sharpness of this zoom, compare to my Celestron LER EP!

Thanks again for all your help and advice! :t:

Chris
 
Slow dooown,...Where you go so fast ,pal?..waaaait...Do you realize you are the first user to test this zoom in the forum?..Well,it is good that the zoom works well with the Regal..Show us some pictures..Do You reach infinity and have a good run of focus past infinity?..My MarkIII ,sitting as close as possible on the Kowa 823 ,has only a couple diopters past infinity..i can only defocus three or four rings past infinity..How about the Regal/Mark IV combination?
Let us thank you too!!!
 
Hi everyone,

Just want to let you know that I received my Baader Hyperion Mark IV yesterday. Tested it this morning, and I'm quite surprised about the quality and sharpness of this zoom, compare to my Celestron LER EP!

Thanks again for all your help and advice! :t:

Chris

Hi,

good to hear that it works well and thanks for reporting back - I have the Mk3 for my astro scopes and it also gives very nice views. The main difference between Mk3 and Mk4 is some mm more infocus on the latter.

But as mayoayo has mentioned, please try if you can reach infinity under the stars and also how much focus travel is available beyond infinity.

Joachim
 
Slow dooown,...Where you go so fast ,pal?..waaaait...Do you realize you are the first user to test this zoom in the forum?..Well,it is good that the zoom works well with the Regal..Show us some pictures..Do You reach infinity and have a good run of focus past infinity?..My MarkIII ,sitting as close as possible on the Kowa 823 ,has only a couple diopters past infinity..i can only defocus three or four rings past infinity..How about the Regal/Mark IV combination?
Let us thank you too!!!

3:)

Hi,

good to hear that it works well and thanks for reporting back - I have the Mk3 for my astro scopes and it also gives very nice views. The main difference between Mk3 and Mk4 is some mm more infocus on the latter.

But as mayoayo has mentioned, please try if you can reach infinity under the stars and also how much focus travel is available beyond infinity.

Joachim


I'll try to do more tests and get some answers for both of you in the next days/weeks. ;)

Chris
 
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I have the Celestron Regal M2 80ED. Mine came with the zoom lens, not the LER. At the lowest zoom, the scope is great. But I hate it at higher mags. I don't have other scopes or experience to compare it with, but I find that I have to basically leave it at 20x because anything higher is larger but too fuzzy.

Is that normal? Do you find the Baader zoom you picked up is just as sharp at top magnifications?
 
That's definitely not normal. It's a strong indicator that your scope is defective. I doubt that the eyepiece is at fault, but a quick check at high power with a different eyepiece would settle that question.

If it can be returned to the dealer I would do that. If not, and it's still under warranty return it to Celestron. They will probably just send you a new one.

In dealing with manufacturers I think it's better to know specifically what's wrong. You should be able to determine that by doing a "star-test". If you google the term you'll find lots of instructions for star-testing on the internet.
 
Hi,

first of all, welcome to BF!

Regarding your scope, Henry is right - the Regal 80 ED should be sharp up to 60x at least. Doing a star test is indeed recommended - you could take images of the out of focus patterns and post here or in the cloudynights refractor forum.

Joachim
 
The Baader shows a noticeable wider field of view at all powers,but specially at medium/high ,other advantages might be noticeable in a side by side comparison..perhaps contrast or sharpness is superior in the Baader zoom,but the Celestron zolm is a good enough eyepiece to deliver a good view of whatever the scope optics can create ,amd although a better eyepiece can make the view more comfortble or increase contrast or sharpness(slightly), an already bad view is not going to improve with a better eyepiece..If your scope is fuzzy past 20x ,you have a lemon,and that belongs back to the manufacturer..You can use the zoom at max power to easily determine what is wrong with the scope,at least basic,easy to diagnose problems like serious astigmatism,or obvious misalignment..If you have a clear night,go outside and look at a bright star...Go in and out of focus ..the focused image should not show spikes and out of focus images should be a series of round concentric circles..if the image out of focus is an elipse ,and changes from vertically oriented to horizontally oriented,that might indicate astigmatism,,if the circles are not concentric ,but excentric,that might be a sign of misalignment....this is very basic,but are my main basic tests and have helped me to make sure my optics are fine when i have purchased something new...results are consistent with the quality of the image pretty much always
 
I have the Celestron Regal M2 80ED. Mine came with the zoom lens, not the LER. At the lowest zoom, the scope is great. But I hate it at higher mags. I don't have other scopes or experience to compare it with, but I find that I have to basically leave it at 20x because anything higher is larger but too fuzzy.

Is that normal? Do you find the Baader zoom you picked up is just as sharp at top magnifications?

Bought the Celestron Regal M2 80ED from amaon.co.uk a few days ago got a good deal £368 retail boxed like new it was in amazon warehouse a customer return, can zoom 20x to 60x always looks perfect no fuzziness at all.

Very happy with the scope only owned real cheap ones before under £50 going to use it for nature watching and some basic astronomy, I'm a complete newbie on both activities so will do a lot of research on forums like this.
 
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Star Test for my scope

Hi -

Here is my first attempt at diagnosing with a star test. Not sure how well I did. Not sure I'm able to read the results much. Does anyone have any pointers on how I could improve these pics? Are the results readable at all?

What I did:

- Celestron Regal with the stock zoom lens set to 60x
- Cell phone in a holder pressed to the lens. Focus set to MF and at infinite.
- Took pics via voice command.

I played with various ISO/shutter settings but didn't get much improvement in clarity over "auto" settings.

Thanks for all the help!
 

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I have the Celestron Regal M2 80ED. Mine came with the zoom lens, not the LER. At the lowest zoom, the scope is great. But I hate it at higher mags. I don't have other scopes or experience to compare it with, but I find that I have to basically leave it at 20x because anything higher is larger but too fuzzy.

Is that normal? Do you find the Baader zoom you picked up is just as sharp at top magnifications?
I have the 65mm Regal and never used the Celestron zoom. I use the same Vixen zoom I’ve used on my Pentax for years. It is some 200 dollars on Amazon or B and H. It gets a little dim past 40x but is the best for that price. I use glasses when scoping so the rubber is folded back. Eye cups are useless for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001...vixen+zoom&dpPl=1&dpID=31Bxg3bmW5L&ref=plSrch
 
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Are the results readable at all?

Well, it looks quite wrong - fitting the bad image at anything but minimum magnification. These unfocused diffraction patterns should be round and ideally look the same inside and outside of focus by the same amount. The focused one should be a point or at higher magnification an Airy disc.

If the image is always that non-round, it's most probably a bad case of pinched optics. I'd certainly not want to keep it.

Joachim
 
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I agree with Joaquim,but you need to try a few more pictures to see if the picture is the result of bad optics or bad alignment of the phone/camera...Does the image look similar in visual use?
 
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