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Baader Hyperion 8-24mm zoom (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter eitanaltman
- Start date
mayoayo
Well-known member
Hi again......did you send the zoom back?...i have a vixen zoom in superb(i hope,is in vixen now being internally cleaned),or really good condition...is a nice eyepiece...good caracteristics and a great focal performance with most scopes(including the PF65)..if you want to trade ...i would love to try the baader.....price is higher for the vixen...still a premium zoom,no doubt.......
eitanaltman
Well-known member
mayoayo said:
Hi Manuel -- Unfortunately, the Baader Zoom will not work in the Pentax scope even with your solution. I took out the compression ring and I even screwed off the barrel of the zoom and it only increased the focus range out to 150 feet or so. It looks like it easily needs 12mm+ of extra travel.
On a side note, the price is most definitely NOT higher for the Vixen. The Baader lists for $189, exactly the same as the Vixen zoom, but the difference is that the Vixen zoom is available for much cheaper because it's been out for a while. Also, Vixen NA was just having a sale where the zoom was $128, and other stores are matching that.
For example, here's the Vixen zoom available brand-new for $129:
http://www.shop.com/op/~Vixen_8mm_2..._of_View_-prod-38314606-50879730?sourceid=298
There's no way a used Vixen zoom should have a higher price than a brand-new Baader zoom.
mayoayo
Well-known member
Hello.......i guess the LV REALLY is down in price now.....!!!!!!!it used to be more expensive,in the 200$ ,i guess the new additions to the zoom market,with the proxima/WO zoom and the Baader is making vixen to compite....thanks for the info,i wasnt trying to do a smart move on you..although yes,there are ways for a used zoom to have a higher price than a brand nw baader zoom,i sold my swaroski astro zoom(used)for 100 $ dollars more than the baader new price,..and it was worth it!!!!!!!!!eitanaltman said:
(I use an APM 2" adapter for the Swaro zoom. It's actually intended for Zeiss eyepieces but works with the Swaro zoom if longer hex screws are substituted.)
Where can I find this APM 2" adapter? I have looked on the net and APM sight and I have not been able to locate it. Trying to use the APM adapter into a Williams 2" image erector then use the Swaro eyepieces. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Where can I find this APM 2" adapter? I have looked on the net and APM sight and I have not been able to locate it. Trying to use the APM adapter into a Williams 2" image erector then use the Swaro eyepieces. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
So I understand that the Baader, while the consensus best zoom, won't work on the Pentax 65ED. What then is the best alternative? I can get a good deal on the Pentax XF 20 - 60, but its specs for afov and eye relief look rather lame, at least compared to the Baader. So, price independent, what zoom would you equipment experts choose? In particular, how does the Vixon 8-24 compare to the Pentax XF zoom? Is the Vixon the best non-Pentax lens? I don't wear glasses so eye relief is less of a concern to me -- I really just want to start with the best zoom available so I can keep my focus on birding rather than equipment.
Thanks for any opinions on this.
Thanks for any opinions on this.
mayoayo
Well-known member
Hi there.....i used the XF zoom for a while and although image quality was ok at the low end of magnification,it degraded quite a lot when going up to 60X(that zoom delivered 20x-60x,while other zooms will grant you likely 18-51x or so)..the ER was lame ,as you said,and made very hard to enjoy using it.I then used the Swarovski astronomy style7.7-23.1 zoom,i believe this to be the foundation eyepiece for most zooms .really nice coatings ,amazingly SHARP,all the way and beyond the edges.the image at 7.7(52X)was incredible .the field of view was narrow ,maybe less than 50˚ AFOV,probably 45˚...and it didnt reach infinity at the lower magnification setting either(on the pentax 65),but,its mistique and sharpness made for the problems.Now i use the Vixen zoom. In the very beggining i missed the contrast and sharpness or the swaro,but i discovered that such contrast was at the price of a bit of a yellowish cast.The Vixen has a more neutral feeling,and is a bit brighter.I was looking at Seagulls and felt a somehow more subtil ,detailed COLOUR rendering .image seems as sharp to me now.maybe the feeling of "sharp beyond the edge "is not there,but image is good mostly all the way to the edge.it also helds power pretty well,maybe loosing at its very few mm,while the swaro kept going all the way to 7.7. FOW still being narrow BUT,maybe a few aparent degrees wider,maybe 50,52˚?at 24MM ?..I think i measured the Swaro real field at 1.8˚(dont even remember the equation),sure the vixen is more than 2˚...All in all ,a very good eyepiece...AND IT CAN BE FOUND AT 129$ NEW!!!!! someplaces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! very good deal....hope this helps...
PaulJacobson
Well-known member
mayoayo said:
Perhaps I'm missing something here - maybe it's the swaro mystique - but I'm curious how you manage to assess EP sharpness "beyond the edges"?
cheers
Paul
mayoayo
Well-known member
Hi ....that sentence is a way to say that image was still equally sharp at its very edge,100%...It seems to me that the FOV of the eyepiece was the limit of its sharpness,a field of view given by the compromise of the zooming design..in other words ,it seemed like the glass itself was sharp beyond the edges of the field stop..Does this makes sense?PaulJacobson said:
Mark Ansell
loonaddict
Baader zoom purchase
Hi there, I'm about to purchase a Zeiss Diascope. am I to believe then that the Baader zoom you reviewed is the way to go in place of the Zeiss zoom.
Thx
Mark
Hi there, I'm about to purchase a Zeiss Diascope. am I to believe then that the Baader zoom you reviewed is the way to go in place of the Zeiss zoom.
Thx
Mark
Crake Dude
Well-known member
Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom availabily in UK
The following site has one of these left in stock as I write....it's probably the only one available in UK at present, as other stockists are awaiting back orders, I believe.
http://www.modernastronomy.com/
Steve
The following site has one of these left in stock as I write....it's probably the only one available in UK at present, as other stockists are awaiting back orders, I believe.
http://www.modernastronomy.com/
Steve
DRodrigues
Well-known member
Nikon zoom on Pentax scopes
Just remembered that the Nikon zoom can be used on the Pentax 100mm model, with or without the astro-adapter (have a look on cr-telescopes at http://pt-ducks.naturlink.pt/). However, as it seems that the focus range of the 65mm is different of 100 mm model, the best would be to test it first. Nikon zoom has better image quality than the XF and maximum magnification will result in 56x.
Did any one tested the Baader zoom on the 100mm model? if yes, does it focus at the infinity?
David
Just remembered that the Nikon zoom can be used on the Pentax 100mm model, with or without the astro-adapter (have a look on cr-telescopes at http://pt-ducks.naturlink.pt/). However, as it seems that the focus range of the 65mm is different of 100 mm model, the best would be to test it first. Nikon zoom has better image quality than the XF and maximum magnification will result in 56x.
Did any one tested the Baader zoom on the 100mm model? if yes, does it focus at the infinity?
David
Can Popper
Well-known member
If anyone wants to send me their Baader zoom, I volunteer to test it in my Pentax 100. 
Sadly, the Baader Zoom will not reach focus in the PF80. However,
the other (fixed focus) Baader eyepieces do!
Kind regards,
young Ian.
DRodrigues
Well-known member
It also doesn't reach focus on the PF100...
David
David
Has anyone here tried the new version of the Hyperion zoom, and if so, does it suffer the same problems with focus on Pentax scopes as its predecessor?
Perhaps the inaccurate click stops have been addressed?
I don't see anything describing improvements over the previous version...
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=30-718-78-9246
Have to scroll 3/4 way down on this page:
http://www.alpineastro.com/Eyepieces_Accessories/Eyepieces_Accessories.htm
Perhaps the inaccurate click stops have been addressed?
I don't see anything describing improvements over the previous version...
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=30-718-78-9246
Have to scroll 3/4 way down on this page:
http://www.alpineastro.com/Eyepieces_Accessories/Eyepieces_Accessories.htm
Attachments
henry link
Well-known member
Owen,
The importer says that the click stops are now accurately labeled and the new eyepieces are supplied with both 2" and 1.25" barrels. The optics and the housing are supposed to be unchanged so I wouldn't expect it to reach focus in the Pentax scopes.
Henry
The importer says that the click stops are now accurately labeled and the new eyepieces are supplied with both 2" and 1.25" barrels. The optics and the housing are supposed to be unchanged so I wouldn't expect it to reach focus in the Pentax scopes.
Henry
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