Wide Field Eyepieces

Hello,

I have a 8" Meade LXD75 SNT and currently don't have any eyepieces longer than 26mm - thinking of getting a 40mm plossl or something in that range. The Meade wide angle plossl look good but are very expensive and out of my budget - paying upwards to £400. I have seen one which tempts me - Meade 4000 Series QX Wide Angle 36mm - £100 - anyone have one or tried one or heard any reports? Other alternatives to be recommended?

Your help would appreciated

Neill

Hello,I have a 8" Meade LXD75 SNT and currently don't have any eyepieces longer than 26mm - thinking of getting a 40mm plossl or something in that range. The Meade wide angle plossl look good but are very expensive and out of my budget - paying upwards to £400. I have seen one which tempts me - Meade 4000 Series QX Wide Angle 36mm - £100 - anyone have one or tried one or heard any reports? Other alternatives to be recommended? Neill

Neill,

Yes, you can read about Meade QX eyepieces including the 36mm in this review by Mike Hosea: www.cloudynights.com/documents/BurgessSWA.pdf

Gordon

www.warehouseexpress.com are selling your QX 36mm eyepiece for £85ST. If you are looking for wide angle have you considered a 2" eyepiece ?

I recently got a 2" Meade 4000 series 33mm SWA eyepiece and it just blew me away. I am getting 2 deg viewing on my 8" f5 reflector. Its like viewing through a porthole

www.warehouseexpress.com are selling your QX 36mm eyepiece for £85ST. If you are looking for wide angle have you considered a 2" eyepiece ?

The 36mm QX is a 2" eyepiece!

Gordon

Oops :oops: Fair point Gordon I forgot they go to 2" after the 20mm

Neill --

At f/4, your SNT is going to put some serious pressure on a Meade QX to deliver a reasonably abberation-free view.

Unfortunately, most wide-field eyepieces that will perform well at f/4 are rather dear (Naglers, Panoptics, Pentaxs, etc.).

Another line you might try would be the University Optics Konigs. (But they're going to have a hard time at f/4 as well.)

Personally, I'd try to pick up a used 27mm Panoptic from a US seller (to avoid the European markup) on Astromart. Another good target might be a used series 4000 Meade SWA (which will crush a QX at f/4).

-- Jeff.