Cheap eyepieces on e-bay etc (1 Viewer)

I've been looking for a low mag eyepiece formy PF 65ED scope (in the 20-25mm range) for digiscoping and whilst I'd love to have the Pentax XW it's a bit out of my price range. I'm on the verge of buying a Vixen LV20 (which is about $80-$90 here in Japan) but am intrigued by some of the cheap eyepieces available on e-bay. Has anyone any experience with Knight Owl

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SUPER-WIDE-...597288777QQcategoryZ29954QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I've also seen eyepices from Seben

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Seben-1-25-ED...oryZ3636QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and how about these

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-25-ED-TELES...oryZ3636QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I've noticed the Vixen LV only has a field of 50 degrees whereas the other have wider fields. I use a Pentax XF12 and a generic "clone" 8-24mm zoom at the moment and want a lower power fixed eyepiece for digiscoping only (it's a pain constantly removing and realligning my adapter so it'll be permanently attached).

Any opinions? Should I just forget about these e-bay cheapies and go with a trusted brand like Vixen?

Hi Stuprice:
I will recommend you what I have used. At 24mm the Williams-Optics DCL28 is great, for ~$80. It has a 28mm thread. Not that I have been digiscoping for a long time, but some of my best (not too many) pictures have been taken using this eyepiece. The orion stratus series is pretty good and sells for ~$95. Both eyepieces can be used for general birding of digiscoping. My feeling is that you are going to use the eyepieces just for birding it may be OK to go with this supercheap models, but if you intend to digiscope, it will help to have better glass (multicoated, ED, etc). hope this helps. Jose

eBay eyepieces

I actually own some of the eyepieces from the vendors on eBay. My opinion is that their lenses are pretty good but their build quality is off from the higher end.

The eBay eyepiece tend have some dust and/or shavings between the lenses. I had to exchange a few. I own some better eyepieces from Williams and Orion also and that's the biggest difference I've seen.

So long as you stay with the super wides up to medium power (down to 12mm) you should be fine. The eBay ultra wides leave alot to be desired...especially at the higher powers.

The first link you have are the GSO's and they are pretty good coating and build wise. Even has less dust between the lenses than the eBay norm. Mine has one bigger shaving which I move to the edges by shaking the eyepiece. :-O

Can Popper said:

I actually own some of the eyepieces from the vendors on eBay. My opinion is that their lenses are pretty good but their build quality is off from the higher end.


The first link you have are the GSO's and they are pretty good coating and build wise. Even has less dust between the lenses than the eBay norm. Mine has one bigger shaving which I move to the edges by shaking the eyepiece. :-O

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Hi. I got the GSO 20mm off e-bay.

I was happy enough with it but noticed a few specks of dust. Whilst cleaning it I unscrewed the bayonet.....BIG mistake. All the 3 lenses inside fell out in a big pile.I couldn't work our which piece went where which way round and in what order. I eventually managed to put it back together in the right order but of course by now it was filthy...........I laboriously cleaned it all with lens cleaning gear but of course there are now more specks of dust than before. I realise this is a critique of my clumsiness rather than of the eyepiece. Despite all the eyepiece has been subjected too it's still useable if you ignore the several specks. It's nice and bright and also pretty sharp although I notice a bit of a yellowish tinge at one point on the edge........dunno if it was there before or after I almost destroyed the eyepiece though.


It also isn't so good for digiscoping (at least not with my set-up) as the lens is recessed and I can't get my camera close enough except at max zoom.

Having said that you really can't complain for the price. Around $45 with postage...........................

I'm using the Pentax XF12 and a cheap zoom off e-bay and at the moment they're enough to be honest. My next eyepiece will be a Pentax XW. And NO WAY will I be unscrewing the bayonet on that one.

LOL...you did that? I did something similar too. I got one of the Super Wide 20mm off e-bay and noticed some dust. So I took the eyepiece apart and meticulously wiped each lens with microfiber and put the eyepiece back together.

After I looked through my handiwork, I noticed even more "dust". Turned out to be skin flakes from my hand and fibers from my microfiber towel.

The humidity on the day I took my eyepiece apart was low so my skin probably flaked a bit more than normal. So I sent the eyepiece back for an exchange.

LESSON: Take your eyepiece apart on a humid day and wear gloves. Also use real lens cleaning cloth.

However, even that might not quite fully work. One thing I noticed about my SWA was the spacing rings used in the eyepiece felt kind of cheap and might also be a source of dust when the paint flakes off of them. The lens seem to be of good quality so they probably cut corners with the housing.

Still, nice eyepiece for the price. My personal strategy is to spend the big $$ on the high powered eyepieces and just go with the eBay stuff for the low and medium powered eyepieces.

I'm using my eyepieces with a 114mm Bushnell Voyager and 100mm Pentax so I got plenty of photons to work with.

stuprice68 said:

Hi. I got the GSO 20mm off e-bay.

I was happy enough with it but noticed a few specks of dust. Whilst cleaning it I unscrewed the bayonet.....BIG mistake. All the 3 lenses inside fell out in a big pile.I couldn't work our which piece went where which way round and in what order. I eventually managed to put it back together in the right order but of course by now it was filthy...........I laboriously cleaned it all with lens cleaning gear but of course there are now more specks of dust than before. I realise this is a critique of my clumsiness rather than of the eyepiece. Despite all the eyepiece has been subjected too it's still useable if you ignore the several specks. It's nice and bright and also pretty sharp although I notice a bit of a yellowish tinge at one point on the edge........dunno if it was there before or after I almost destroyed the eyepiece though.

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