Re: zoom eyepiece

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:18:44 +0000, Malcolm wrote:

In article <v_ednb4_HYr5PDjUnZ2dnUVZ8rOdnZ2d@xxxxxx>, catkin
<hjr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
The only thing I would add to Malcolm's comments

thank you for your comments :) but I cannot see Malcolm's, only those
from Alan.
Hayley

Let me try again.

This is what I said, though perhaps it should be Alan re-posting them!

It all depends what you want from your telescope. Some people find it
best to have a fixed focus eyepiece because they believe, and are often
right, or certainly used to be, that the image will be brighter than any
zoom eyepiece can produce, and it gives them all the magnification that
they think they will need, usually around 30-35x. Others, including
myself, have a 20-60x zoom which, as you saw and were told, are now much
better quality throughout the magnification range than they used to be,
because while we may do most of our viewing with no more magnification
than the fixed-focus eyepiece, we have the option and the flexibility of
being able to zoom in (and out) as required

My advice is, though biased (!), because I have always had a zoom
eyepiece and wouldn't be without it. It is absolutely invaluable! Others
may differ, though some at least of them may not realise the improvement
there has been in the quality of modern zoom eyepieces.

Depending where you live, there are retailers of optical equipment who
have their shops at bird reserves so that you can test them out on real
birds in real conditions, rather than in a street! Most of the Wildfowl
and Wetlands Trust centres have equipment shops as do some RSPB
reserves. Check the adverts in 'Birds' magazine. You are a member of the
RSPB, aren't you??
I'll add my remarks so they are now all in one place.

The only thing I would add to Malcolm's comments is that if you intend to
use the telescope for digital photography then the choice of eyepiece is
critical.

If the eye relief is not large enough the image will not fill the field of
view of the camera. The only way to be sure is to test your digital camera
against the eyepiece.

I use fixed magnifiaction eyepieces since at the time I was not impressed
by the quality of the zoom eyepieces, they have improved a lot recently and
are very versatile.

Personally I would go for a zoom eyepiece if I was buying a new telescope
now as the quality is much better. This applies to optical equipment in
general; I had a look through a new pair of Zeiss 8x42 binoculars recently
and was very impressed by the quality - mind you at £1000 they should be
exceptionally good.

Alan
.

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