1
$\begingroup$

I am looking into getting a zoom eyepiece for myself, and not sure on what basis to evaluate and compare various options.

For some background on the type of observing I plan to do see my earlier question: Good eyepieces for Saturn and Jupiter

Here are some examples of zoom eyepieces that I've looked at so far

On these pages there are links to several more options.

It would be a very great help if anyone could help me figure out on what basis I might choose one of these or quickly rule some out, or recommend how I could search for more options.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
2
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I've made some more adjustments to your edit. I think it looks fine, you can double check it and edit further. Welcome to Stack Exchange! $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Oct 7, 2020 at 17:03
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @uhoh Thanks a lot, you are very kind. $\endgroup$
    – RyugaGod
    Commented Oct 8, 2020 at 2:45

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1
$\begingroup$

Those two eyepieces are probably from the same factory.

This is my non-expert view of how this works, gleaned from hearsay I've read:

What tends to happen is that a Chinese manufacturer, such as Long Perng, makes a lot of eyepieces. Then, resellers will pay for some of these eyepieces and to have their names printed on them.

In any manufacturing job the quality of the results will vary (this is true for many products). Generally speaking, the resellers who pay more money will get the best eyepieces. The ones who pay the least will get the worst.

This is somewhat reflected in the prices of the eyepieces offered by resellers.

The big-name brands that I can think of who design their own eyepieces are APM/Lunt, Baader, Explore Scientific, Nikon, Pentax, Takahashi, Tele Vue, and Vixen. Generally, anything that costs 150 €/£/$ or less is going to be a generic model which then gets a brand name stamped on it, like Altair, Astromania, Bresser, SVBONY, Meoptex, OVL, Celestron, Orion, William Optics, or many other names.

There's quite a range of prices for what are essentially the same eyepieces.

From what I read in astronomy forums, SVBONY are currently building a name for themselves in the low-budget end of the market. People are generally pleased with the quality of their products, and especially pleased with the prices of their products. You have to do some research before buying, though, as there are a few items in their line-up which have been badly received.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Aaron U are back ! As always solving my problems! Thanks. $\endgroup$
    – RyugaGod
    Commented Oct 8, 2020 at 15:40
1
$\begingroup$

7-21mm is a pretty common zoom eyepiece option, available from the companies you identified as well as others like SVBONY and Orion. (8-24mm is another popular option).

Doing a quick search for the Meoptex, it appears to have the same apparent FOV's as the Astromania, as well as the same eye relief. It's not impossible that they are the same design, repackaged for another company.

Another feature to look for in telescope eyepieces is "fully-multi coated" which will minimize reflections and stray light (Astromania, Orion, and SVBONY list this feature, but Meoptex does not).

IN my limited experience with telescopes, it generally holds true that the more expensive options have better performance, but your total performance will be limited by your poorest component. (A \$200 eyepiece won't make a $25 telescope any better)

You can also look for used eyepieces, advice, and reviews on cloudynights.com.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks a lot for your reply. From your answer, I can make out that SVBONY or Astromania are better then Meoptex. I am not gonna go for orion/celestron as they are out of my budget on other websites and out of stock from ubuy. Did I make the right conclusion? $\endgroup$
    – RyugaGod
    Commented Oct 8, 2020 at 2:50
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I have a couple of SVBONY's cheaper "super plossl" eyepieces (not zoom) and have been pleased with them for the price. (I think I paid $25 for 3 eyepieces). Of the two, I would probably go with SVBONY's option because it has more elements (6 elements in 4 groups, vs Astromania/Meoptex advertises as 4 elements). Having cemented groups like that will often deliver better color correction, which is a huge factor in seeing fine detail. $\endgroup$
    – nflemming2004
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 4:33
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ You may also want to consider getting some planetary filters to help enhance the contrast of details. There is a decent guide here: agenaastro.com/articles/guides/visual-and-imaging-filters/… Note, the guide is applicable to budget filters too, not just from that company. $\endgroup$
    – nflemming2004
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 4:34
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks a lot for your help! I will be going for SVBONY then. $\endgroup$
    – RyugaGod
    Commented Oct 9, 2020 at 9:46

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .