$8.33 eyepiece that really is good.

That's the cost of each eyepiece when you buy 3 of them for $25.00. This eyepiece, being sold under the name Celestron or Vite are a surprise. The eyepiece body is plastic, the barrel is aluminum. The writing on them, unlike some expensive eyepieces that now only silk-screen paint, is engraved. They come in 4mm, 10mm and 26mm focal lengths, use an aspheric element to achieve a 62 deg. field of view. Using the eyepiece is surprising, while the edges have the typical aberration of Plossls or Orthos, the centre is very sharp with high contrast, at least the equal of simple eyepieces costing $80-$120/ea. These put a stake through the heart of the remnants of Huygen and Ramsden junk out there, and more than a few 3-element eyepieces. While these won't replace high-end widefields, they are really an amazing value.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171836578816...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

On Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 2:51:50 AM UTC-4, RichA wrote:
That's the cost of each eyepiece when you buy 3 of them for $25.00. This eyepiece, being sold under the name Celestron or Vite are a surprise. The eyepiece body is plastic, the barrel is aluminum. The writing on them, unlike some expensive eyepieces that now only silk-screen paint, is engraved. They come in 4mm, 10mm and 26mm focal lengths, use an aspheric element to achieve a 62 deg. field of view. Using the eyepiece is surprising, while the edges have the typical aberration of Plossls or Orthos, the centre is very sharp with high contrast, at least the equal of simple eyepieces costing $80-$120/ea. These put a stake through the heart of the remnants of Huygen and Ramsden junk out there, and more than a few 3-element eyepieces. While these won't replace high-end widefields, they are really an amazing value.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171836578816...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/50...-23m-aspheric/

Are more of these eyepieces going to be made? Current supplies seem limited..

To LsD this is all moot. LsD says, "There's little to be seen through an eyepiece."

On Wednesday, 19 August 2015 07:24:40 UTC-4, wrote:
On Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 2:51:50 AM UTC-4, RichA wrote:
That's the cost of each eyepiece when you buy 3 of them for $25.00. This eyepiece, being sold under the name Celestron or Vite are a surprise. The eyepiece body is plastic, the barrel is aluminum. The writing on them, unlike some expensive eyepieces that now only silk-screen paint, is engraved. They come in 4mm, 10mm and 26mm focal lengths, use an aspheric element to achieve a 62 deg. field of view. Using the eyepiece is surprising, while the edges have the typical aberration of Plossls or Orthos, the centre is very sharp with high contrast, at least the equal of simple eyepieces costing $80-$120/ea. These put a stake through the heart of the remnants of Huygen and Ramsden junk out there, and more than a few 3-element eyepieces. While these won't replace high-end widefields, they are really an amazing value.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171836578816...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/50...-23m-aspheric/

Are more of these eyepieces going to be made? Current supplies seem limited.

Good question. I suspect that even for China, the cost of production has to be higher than what they are being sold for. I've seen some horrible Huygens in 1-1/4" barrels and these are nothing like them, and they used to cost $15.00 each.


To LsD this is all moot. LsD says, "There's little to be seen through an eyepiece."

Video astronomy is a nice toy, not much else. I remember hooking up a B&W video camera to a C-11 in the early 1990's. Nothing like seeing Jupiter 10 inches wide on a screen...