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Moon through Kowa Prominar 883 + APM 12.5mm + 1.6x extender (1 Viewer)

BoldenEagle

Well-known member
Finland
This picture was taken with Samsung A50 phone camera using Opticron universal phone adapter.

The camera is not perfectly centered so there is some fringing on the edge of the right side especially.

Juhani
 

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This picture was taken with Samsung A50 phone camera using Opticron universal phone adapter.

The camera is not perfectly centered so there is some fringing on the edge of the right side especially.

Juhani

Nice picture, thanks. What power does the APM eyepiece provide with the extender on your Kowa ? .... I would really like to see the backside(dark) :-C where all the ET’s live. :eek!:
 
I think magnification should be about 65x (scope focal lenght 510mm: eyepiece focal lenght 12.5mm) x1.6 = 65.28

I also slightly zoomed the camera in with this one.

Juhani
 
I think magnification should be about 65x (scope focal lenght 510mm: eyepiece focal lenght 12.5mm) x1.6 = 65.28

I also slightly zoomed the camera in with this one.

Juhani

Juhani ... Is it possible for you to show us a photo of your Kowa scope set up with the APM eyepiece with the 1.6 Ext. .... Thanks, Gwen
 
Juhani ... Is it possible for you to show us a photo of your Kowa scope set up with the APM eyepiece with the 1.6 Ext.

Here it is, with smartphone adapter attached.

There's also picture of APM HI-FW 12.5mm between Kowa TE-11WZ eyepiece and Kowa 1.6x extender to show size proportions.

Everything in that set is standard stuff but I have added rubber ring on the APM eyepiece to fill the cap between the barrel of the eyepiece and scope mount. I have used Kowa TSN-AS1.25G adapter to attach the APM eyepiece to the scope mount or to the extender. One can also use TSN-AS1.25K (the one with knurled screws) but with that one it just barely reaches focus to infinity if not using the extender.

Regards, Juhani
 

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Here it is, with smartphone adapter attached.

There's also picture of APM HI-FW 12.5mm between Kowa TE-11WZ eyepiece and Kowa 1.6x extender to show size proportions.

Everything in that set is standard stuff but I have added rubber ring on the APM eyepiece to fill the cap between the barrel of the eyepiece and scope mount. I have used Kowa TSN-AS1.25G adapter to attach the APM eyepiece to the scope mount or to the extender. One can also use TSN-AS1.25K (the one with knurled screws) but with that one it just barely reaches focus to infinity if not using the extender.

Regards, Juhani

Thanks :t:
 
Thanks for this. Can I ask if you've compared it without the extender against the Kowa 25-60x at similar magnification (40x?)? I assume the APM has a wider f.o.v., but is it noticeably brighter?

Dave
 
Thanks for this. Can I ask if you've compared it without the extender against the Kowa 25-60x at similar magnification (40x?)? I assume the APM has a wider f.o.v., but is it noticeably brighter?

Hi,

compared to Kowa 25-60x zoom, APM is little sharper (but this can also be related just to sample variations between my eyepieces). I'm not sure if it is much brighter, it may well be, but it's hard to tell because I can't compare them side by side. It's nevertheless very bright eyepiece, at least certainly not dimmer than the 25-60x zoom @40x.

Since I bought APM 12.5mm HI-FW eyepiece, I have been using it a lot more than Kowa 25-60x zoom eyepiece, in my opinion it offers so much better overall image quality and wider fov. I still carry the zoom in my bag with the extender already attached if I need higher mags so I can reach 96x if needed.

But finally a word of warning: eye placement is more critical with this APM than with the 25-60x zoom. It may be individual thing how one will feel it but I have now adapted to use it quite comfortably. With my eyeglasses it works just fine when eyecup folded down.

Juhani
 
Hi,

compared to Kowa 25-60x zoom, APM is little sharper (but this can also be related just to sample variations between my eyepieces). I'm not sure if it is much brighter, it may well be, but it's hard to tell because I can't compare them side by side. It's nevertheless very bright eyepiece, at least certainly not dimmer than the 25-60x zoom @40x.

Since I bought APM 12.5mm HI-FW eyepiece, I have been using it a lot more than Kowa 25-60x zoom eyepiece, in my opinion it offers so much better overall image quality and wider fov. I still carry the zoom in my bag with the extender already attached if I need higher mags so I can reach 96x if needed.

But finally a word of warning: eye placement is more critical with this APM than with the 25-60x zoom. It may be individual thing how one will feel it but I have now adapted to use it quite comfortably. With my eyeglasses it works just fine when eyecup folded down.

Juhani

Juhani ... Smart choice with the purchase of the APM 12.5 eyepiece. As with any eyepiece that offers a wide view with long eye relief like your APM 12.5 eyepiece, depending on your facial characteristics and whether you wear eye glasses will determine if eye placement will be a problem or not. I personally really liked the APM eyepiece, it’s really huge ocular lens combined with its long eye relief really worked well with my eye glasses. Of all the eyepieces I have owned/used, the APM 12.5 was one of my favorites. I do not use a spotting scope anymore but I highly recommend this eyepiece.
 
Many thanks Juhani and gcole. I've just ordered one!

Great! Hope you will enjoy it!

If you are using AS1.25G- adapter, the right distance from the end of the 1.25'' barrel sleeve to the lower edge of the adapter is about 8 mm (see picture). Then the barrel sleeve end won't touch the scope body which circles the protective glass but you will be able to focus to infinity. If the barrel sleeve end will touch the scope body it might cause some little metal or paint specks to detach by friction when you twist the eyepiece in or out.

Juhani
 

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Many thanks for sharing this nice setup. While I´ve been thinking about trying some (astro) wide angle eypieces on my TSN 883 before, I kept rejecting this idea because the 25-60x eyepiece delievers essentially all I need in this magnification range, even if some fixed focals are even wider. However, I was not really considering the possibility to deploy a short focal length eyepiece together with the 1.6x extender!

I am not often using the extender with the 25-60x as I feel the increase in usable power does not really compensate for loosing the ability to scan at a magnification of less than 30x. Now, I tried a Baader Morpheus 4.5 mm eyepiece together with the extender as a combination for reading colour rings and I am quite impressed. Of course, the resulting magnification of around 180x means there is a strong sensitivity to even moderate shake of the tripod and the view gets dim quickly on a winter afternoon. Also, eye placement is a bit tricky due to the small exit pupil, but overall fine. I found the usability with glasses a bit limited, not due to eye relief which I found pleasant, but mostly because the alignment is a tad more difficult and without glasses one can avoid contact with the setup that otherwise might cause some subtle vibrations. I

Nonetheless, it meant for my first tests that I could confidently read coded rings, whereas 'only' 96x (25-60x plus extender) where not enough to overcome this unpleasant situation where you barely get the sort of detail you need to make the ID (of a ring in this case) , while you would stillt not admit that it is essentially pointless to try.

Meinolf
 
Muchas gracias por compartir esta bonita configuración. Mientras pensaba en probar algunos oculares (astro) de gran angular en mi TSN 883, seguí rechazando esta idea porque el ocular de 25-60x ofrece esencialmente todo lo que necesito en este rango de aumento, incluso si algunos focos fijos son aún más amplios. . Sin embargo, ¡realmente no estaba considerando la posibilidad de implementar un ocular de distancia focal corta junto con el extensor 1.6x!

No suelo usar el extensor con el 25-60x porque creo que el aumento de la potencia utilizable no compensa la pérdida de la capacidad de escanear con un aumento de menos de 30x. Ahora, probé un ocular Baader Morpheus de 4.5 mm junto con el extensor como combinación para leer anillos de color y estoy bastante impresionado. Por supuesto, el aumento resultante de alrededor de 180x significa que hay una fuerte sensibilidad a incluso un movimiento moderado del trípode y la vista se oscurece rápidamente en una tarde de invierno. Además, la colocación de los ojos es un poco complicada debido a la pequeña pupila de salida, pero en general está bien. Encontré la usabilidad con anteojos un poco limitada, no debido al alivio ocular que encontré agradable, sino principalmente porque la alineación es un poco más difícil y sin anteojos uno puede evitar el contacto con la configuración que de otra manera podría causar algunas vibraciones sutiles. yo

No obstante, significó para mis primeras pruebas que podía leer con confianza anillos codificados, mientras que 'solo' 96x (25-60x más extensor) no fue suficiente para superar esta situación desagradable en la que apenas se obtiene el tipo de detalle que necesita para hacer la identificación (de un anillo en este caso), mientras que aún no admitirías que es esencialmente inútil intentarlo.

Meinolf
Hello Meinolf. I am also interested in using the Morpheus 4.5mm with the Kowa and the 1.6x extender. I have two questions: -How does the set for lunar observation behave? -Can it be used to observe on bright days? (for example, for distant raptor nests)
Thank you
Peter (sorry, it's a google translation)
 
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