A ramble, and two questions about the Baader Hyperion Mk IV eyepiece. (1 Viewer)

Hi all
First off I would like to say how continually amazed I am at the generous knowledge shared on both the spotting scope and binocular forums. A valuable source of information for an optics beginner like myself. I've had to do a lot of hard uphill paddling to keep up with and understand all the great information but its worth the sore head.

I travel by plane a fair bit and do a certain amount of longish hiking and mountain climbing mostly in Central America and am a confessed pack weight obsessed, one bag traveller. An obsession which I hope explains the choice of Celestron's Hummingbird 50mm as my first travel scope (please don't laugh). I mount the Scope on a Sirui T-25 Carbon fibre tripod which is super light (680 grams) and small enough to pack inside the bag. Surprisingly stable too.

The Hummingbird is ok for such a little scope and will get me by till I've saved up for my dream travel scope which is the Kowa TSN-553. I’m aware that there are other scopes that are lighter than the Kowa but you cant argue with love.

A few questions if I may.

Will jazzing up the little scope with a Baader Hyperion zoom Mk IV. improve the view of the Hummingbird or will nothing do that?

Can I swap out the eventual stock eyepiece on the eventual dream Kowa with the Mk IV and is that swap even worth it?
I’m not completely sold on the Mk IV but if it’ll help the view on both scopes then I’m in. I'm also pretty sure the Baader is heavier than the stock Hummingbird eyepiece, so be it I guess.

So what d’ya think’ Good idea, Dumb idea? I’m interested in what folks think. As I say I don’t really know much about all this so will rely on the final word of the glitterati here.
Cheers,
Bryan

Hi,

in principle the Hummingbirds can take 1.25" astro EPs but you'll have to try if you can get to focus with the Baader zoom plus as you noticed, it is quite heavy and will probably unbalance the Hummingbord quite a bit.

The Kowa 553 has a fixed zoom EP (which looks like it is the current 20-60 zoom for the small body scopes, which is ok but not more).

Joachim

Hello Bryan,

Two comments. First, the Kowa 553 eyepiece is not interchangeable so you would not be able to use the Baader or any other eyepiece with the Kowa. Second, I believe the Baader is not not sealed/waterproof. This can be a serious problem in areas of high humidity and heat.

Depending on your usage, you might want to consider good weatherproofed binoculars with an optical doubler when you need extra magnification.

Best,
Jerry

in principle the Hummingbirds can take 1.25" astro EPs but you'll have to try if you can get to focus with the Baader zoom plus as you noticed, it is quite heavy and will probably unbalance the Hummingbord quite a bit.

Click to expand...

Hi Joachim
Thanks for the heads up.

the Baader weighs in at 290 grams and the stock eyepiece on the 50 mm Hummingbird is a little over half that, say 140 or 150 so yes a bit heavy and tippy.

In the manual for the eyepiece they say an A and/or B ring are supplied with the unit that adjusts for the 4mm back focus by fitting the piece 4 mm further in. This is verbatim not a direct quote of course. They claim they have the whole spotting scope infinity focus thing for this eyepiece sorted. They even have a fair few photos of the eyepiece on several models of scopes including the Hummingbird on their website so they seem convinced.
All else being equal I do wonder how much better the view in the little Hummer would be with one of these babies.

Regarding the Kowa 553 by "fixed" I'm assuming you mean permanently attached to the scope as in a fixed lens camera. Jerry's note flagged it for me and I'm surprised that the eyepieces can't be swapped out. Might it be a case similar to camera manufacturers when they claim by going to a fixed lens camera they can optimize the optical design. Either way it does put the brakes (just a little) on my crush for the Kowa.
Again, thanks for the info.
Cheers,
Bryan

Two comments. First, the Kowa 553 eyepiece is not interchangeable so you would not be able to use the Baader or any other eyepiece with the Kowa. Second, I believe the Baader is not not sealed/waterproof. This can be a serious problem in areas of high humidity and heat.

Click to expand...

Hi Jerry
Thanks for the heads up on the Kowa. Its a pity the eyepiece can't be swapped out. Thats worrying a wee bit and puts getting the Baader eyepiece on the back burner. I guess the cash can go into the kitty for the Kowa or some other deserving device.

Baader claims that the eyepiece has o rings on the "top lens doublet and the zoom ring" but not on the "front lens element inside the 1 1/4 nose piece" Sooo...sort of, kind of water proof?

Thanks for the advice on the binos, I've been beating up my old Terras for a bit now and they seem to be holding up. Not so well of course that new binos wouldn't be welcome. I always have room in my life for more binoculars.
I got the little scope for hiking down in Central America as there are a lot of forest canopy species that often just sit there, thankfully, and are usually still there after I've finished fumbling around getting a fussy scope set up. Bless em ;-)
Thanks again.

Cheers,
Bryan

Bryan
Good luck with your search for your ultimate scope love affair. Kowas are super beasts but if you get a chance take a look at Meopta's S2 with either the wide angle 30-60 or 20-70. I hope to be reviewing this scope with the 20-70 over the next month or so having already reviewed it with the WA EP on here.
The Meopta is world class.

Lee

BryanP said:

Either way it does put the brakes (just a little) on my crush for the Kowa.

Click to expand...

Quite frankly if I was looking for sth around 1kg I would either look at the Opticron 60mm with SDLv2 or try to get an old 603 or 613 ED body and put either the 30 wide and maybe the 1.6x extender or the 20-60 zoom on it... Both will be a lot cheaper than the 550 series and of comparable weight and only slightly larger... and I'm not sure which one would win... 5mm more aperture means 20% more light... and the more relaxed focal ratio will at least compensate the (small) difference between ED and fluorite.

Joachim

Bryan
Good luck with your search for your ultimate scope love affair. Kowas are super beasts but if you get a chance take a look at Meopta's S2 with either the wide angle 30-60 or 20-70. I hope to be reviewing this scope with the 20-70 over the next month or so having already reviewed it with the WA EP on here.
The Meopta is world class.

Lee

Click to expand...

Thanks Lee,
That Meopta looks gorgeous. Thats one I'll have to look at for my "leave in C. America scope" by that I mean a scope I would leave permanently with friends and then have access to when I'm there and are just doing short local jaunts. That way it doesn't spend too much time on planes and in airports.
I'm pretty sure my friends won't wear out the scope too much when I'm not there as they are all running their own Swarovski scopes, besides I can hide the keys ;-)
Looking forward to the review, I always read and re-read both yours and anyone else who takes the time to review optical Objets d'art.
Cheers,
Bryan

Quite frankly if I was looking for sth around 1kg I would either look at the Opticron 60mm with SDLv2 or try to get an old 603 or 613 ED body and put either the 30 wide and maybe the 1.6x extender or the 20-60 zoom on it... Both will be a lot cheaper than the 550 series and of comparable weight and only slightly larger... and I'm not sure which one would win... 5mm more aperture means 20% more light... and the more relaxed focal ratio will at least compensate the (small) difference between ED and fluorite.

Joachim

Click to expand...

Hi Joachim
I actually have the Opticron and the eyepiece you recommend on my radar in spite of a friends experience with one at a Bird Fair in Florida last year. She said some pretty unflattering things about that little scope. I suggested that it might be a poor copy but despite my brilliant logic she wasn't buying it.
I'm going to be in NYC in a couple of weeks so foresee an orgy of playing with optics toys at the B&H and Adorama stores. I'll probably be able to see the Opticron for myself.
Based on your suggestions I'm going to look into the 603; 613 bodies and eyepieces. They weren't on my radar but are now, ain't this fun?
Cheers,
Bryan

Hi,

cannot really comment on the Opticron bodies, but I have an SDLv2 in my old TSN-3 and that is gorgeous.

The 603 and 613 are out of production (the 613 for a long time) so you need to find a good used example. Current small body EPs fit as should the new 1.6x extender for the small body scopes...

Have fun at B&H - I had a long session there too when on a business trip..

Joachim

Have fun at B&H - I had a long session there too when on a business trip..

Click to expand...

Joachim

I have never seen a SDLv2 in the flesh but have read enough about it from many different sources to believe the rave reviews. So if I should start dating the Opticron than it'll be that eyepiece for sure.
I'll be having fun at B&H me thinks. Hell, I've put aside a whole day for them, just in case ;-)

Cheers,
Bryan

I manage to adapt a Hyperion Zoom Mk IV to my Kowa 613ED and it's very portable and light. Is much superior in my opinion that the Kowa eyepieces, even the new ones (Kowa TE-9Z and Kowa TE-14WD). But I had to do some changes in the scope and in the eyepiece, I also draw and printed a 3D adapter.

Jackinggreen,
Thanks for that,
Anything that can bump up the quality of the view in the little Celestron might be worth the cash so perhaps a Mk iv is in the cards, especially since it may find a use on scopes I may acquire down the road.
I understand that the Hummingbirds can accept the Mk iv with out any jury rigging although I was following your discussion about 3d printing adapters in another thread with interest.

The Hummingbird is certainly usable in its stock configuration. The likelihood of actually having it with me on hikes are much improved by its handy size and light weight.

Cheers,
Bryan