Eyepiece Candy Store

15 years ago you had few options when it came to deciding what type of eyepiece to buy that was moderately priced. Inexpensive Kellners or Modified Achromats and more expensive but attainable Plossls and Orthos were on the menu. Your AFOV was limited to 40-52 degrees. Wanted more than 52 degrees?  You were going to pay for it. Your other option of course was to shell out big bucks for exotic widefield designs coming out of trailblazing companies like Tele Vue Optics. Beginners frustrated with the relatively small AFOV of their Orthos and Plossls and the high prices of the exotic widefield deigns could buy an Erfle widefield but you certainly wouldn't brag about it to your friends. There was a negative stigma attached to that design and most reviewers trashed it. Comments like “pretty good for an Erfle” were about as good as you were going to find. For many just starting out, the decision on what to buy to supplement the one or two Modified Achromat, Kellner (or if you were lucky, Plossl) eyepieces that came with their telescope was fairly basic. Plossls and Orthos and Barlow lenses were really the only entries that would improve upon the MA or Kellner EP’s they may already have for a modest cost. 

It was the age of the Plossl and Ortho! As the market was flush with Plossl and Ortho choices, I remember reading so many reviews of Plossls and “Super Plossls” back then and coming away thinking “Wow, these eyepieces all perform so differently, what should I get?" Today I look back and conclude there was a lot of hair splitting going on in those Plossl reviews and differences were minor at best unless one design had an obvious flaw. 

Fast forward to today and a new reality exists: Various Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese companies with access to sophisticated manufacturing equipment, know-how and specialized optical design software are producing 82 and 68 degree offerings in focal lengths very similar to the Nagler and Panoptic designs although not identical to them. "Patent infringement fears? We don't need no stinking patent infringement fears!" It seems even the recently released 100 and 110 degree Ethos is answered to some extent with the 100 and 120 degree offerings from the competition. 

Notice the dizzying array of widefield designs that have flooded the market. Many of which are giving the best coming out of the premium eyepiece companies such as Tele Vue and Pentax - a major run for their money. Well, actually, not for their money, but for a fraction of their money. 2 to 4 times less money in fact. Reviewers are suggesting some of these entries are rivaling and in some cases surpassing the efforts coming from the most expensive entries. I feel for Tele Vue, as they are arguably the most emulated eyepiece manufacturer on the planet! How does the saying go…? Forgery…er…I mean Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?  All kidding aside... Such is the current astronomical world. As a buyer it gives us all unprecedented access to top performing exotic eyepiece designs for a fraction of what it used to cost. 

As a result you can now buy Panoptic and Nagler class widefield eyepieces for $100 NEW and less used! We can largely thank Explore Scientific and their brutal sale prices for this. Its actually quite insane. The crazy high prices of the past no longer prohibit mere mortals with lower budgets from acquiring amazing eyepieces. We are at an exciting and unprecedented time. Explore Scientific has set a new economy with regards to eyepiece performance and price. They are putting pressure on Meade, Celestron and more importantly Tele Vue to adjust prices or be left by the wayside. As a result of this pricing pressure from ES, the used market is hotter than the Sun's Chromosphere. And how hot is that, you ask?? HOT. It’s an amazing time to buy lightly used.  

Consider this bit of insanity: I picked up a used ES68 20mm in new condition for $82 shipped off of Ebay. An eyepiece some prefer to the $350 Pentax XW and the $270 19mm Panoptic. Even crazier is the deal I got on a used Meade 14mm UWA in excellent condition that arrived yesterday for $80 shipped which has been compared with the $330 Nagler 13mm. Did I mention those two recent acquisitions are both waterproof? Consider the deal I got a few months ago on brand new Meade 24mm UWA with a 2" 99% dielectric diagonal bundle for $160 and I essentially got each for $80. The Meade 24mm UWA is well regarded and has been favorably compared with the $525 22mm Nagler or the $655 26mm Nagler. Totally unprecedented. I'm certainly not saying these competitors are better than the Tele Vue examples but for the cost involved this is almost a moot point. This is THE time to pick up exotic eyepieces, I don’t know how long this will last. Once the Explore Scientific sale prices goes away on their ES68 and ES82 line I believe prices will creep back up. The forums are full of people replacing their sets with ES as that seems to be the fashionable trend these days. And since no one will buy a used eyepiece for more than a new one – the used market is flooded with EP’s from Meade, Celestron and ES among others in the 68 and 82 degree class at prices that have dropped to unprecedented levels. It’s a veritable eyepiece candy store out there! They all look so delicious....decisions, decisions...

Meade 14mm UWA, ES68 20mm, Meade 24mm UWA

Have you recently bagged a deal on an eyepiece you are still pinching yourself about? Share it in the comments!

Next up: Eyepiece Review: Initial Impressions: Meade 14mm 82* UWA