Is 82° better than 68° ?

[M.]

I ask this question because I have the 82° skywatcher and although its a really crisp eyepiece, I have real difficulties with it sometimes and have no such problems with the hyperions, which are of course 68°.

I struggle to peer around into the lens, whereas the hyperions seem easy to look into.

For this reason I'm considering sticking with the 68°

I wear corrective lenses (contacts) and have astigmatism in my right eye, not sure if this is causing me problems.

I was just curious to see if it's me, the scope, or if others here have the same issue.

Edited August 8, 2015 by M__

[Tweedledee]

If you require a wider field, then the 82° is usually better than 68°.

 

But not all eyepieces are created equal. Some are higher quality and some lower quality. I'd rather have a high quality well corrected 68° than a low quality 82°. Also some types/makes of ep suit different peoples eyes better than others.

 

I would say that your 82° SW is of better quality than your 68° degree Hyperion, but of course the 82° SW may just not suit your eyes.

 

In the past, I have owned both the 16mm 82° William Optics version of your SW and the 17mm Hyperion at the same time. My eyes didn't really get on too well with either of them, though out of the two I actually prefered the 82° which was much sharper towards the edge of the view than the Hyperion was. I sold them both.

 

I have always found that the 82° Nagler suited my eyes much better, but they are even more expensive still and even Naglers don't suit everyones eyes.

 

Your lenses and astigmatism may well be contributing to your problems with certain eps, but I don't think your F10 scope will have too much bearing on the whether or not you get on well with a particular eyepiece.

 

Try before you buy.

 

It is good to know that eyepieces don't lose much value if they are well looked after, so you should'nt lose much when you sell.

 

I have always taken the attitude that if I buy an eyepiece and don't like it, I'll sell it, and if I lose £10 or £20 on the deal then I'm happy to think that I have effectively rented it for a relatively small fee and gained some experience.

 

Funny things eyepieces, as are eyes  

Edited August 8, 2015 by Tweedledee

[M.]

Thanks for taking the time to write up Pete, extra points as its so early too

[Doc]

I find 100° very hard to get on with for the same reasons you describe. My 82° William Optics were comfortable but the 72° are brilliant and I find I'm no longer searching around the edges, everything just falls into place.

 

I think peoples eyes are made different or should I say deteroirate at different speeds and it's a case of getting an eyepiece that suits them.

[+RonC]

Could not agree more Mick, best to look through as many EP's as you can at meetings etc..

 

Cheers

Ron

[BAZ]

My personal experience is that with a 100 degree fields of view is that it's like looking out of a porthole, the view is all there, but you can't see all of it at once. It probably has the advantage of being able to scan a large area of sky without moving the scope. For me a 82 degree is big enough and I can see the whole view through it.

This is of course entirely subjective, and what suits me likely wouldn't float your boat. As already mentioned, when you find an eyepiece which suits you it's generally one which will get regular use.