TMB Super Monocentric 5mm


 Info  Votes  Messages  More Stats  Up One Level
image
Brand and Model:TMB Super Monocentric 5mm
Price ($USD):$200.00
Type:Monocentric
Focal Length:5 mm
Barrel Size:1.25
Apparent FOV:30.0 degrees
Field Stop Dia.:0.0 mm
Eye Relief:3 mm
Elements:3
Weight (lbs):
Description:This 1.25" Super Monocentric TMB eyepiece is an unexcelled medium high to high power eyepiece. It works particularly well with short and medium focal length refractors to provide unequalled lunar, planetary, and binary star views. High quality and accurately collimated equatorial reflectors with focal ratios of f/6 and above will also work well. The better-quality 7” aperture and larger Schmidt- and Maksutov-Cassegrains will also work well, although their focal lengths and focal ratios will provide narrow exit pupils and very high magnifications that will often exceed the practical limits of your seeing conditions. It can resolve compact globular clusters in exquisite detail, if the field of your eyepiece/telescope combination is wide enough to hold them. With a relatively narrow 30° field of view, it is not designed to encompass open clusters or large scale faint objects (even on a 540mm focal length instrument its field of view is little more than a quarter of a degree across). However, its unsurpassed 99% light transmission makes it surprisingly good for picking out faint and compact planetary nebulas against a stellar background. That said, the buyer should still recognize that this eyepiece is optimized for the highest possible contrast and highest definition lunar and planetary images, not deep space observing. It will reward the serious lunar/planetary observer with the best images that his or her telescope and skies are capable of producing. The highest quality and best maintained optics will benefit most from this eyepiece.

Vote Highlights Vote
TMB Super Monocentric 5mm
The TMB Monocentric 5mm is simply the best planetary eyepieces I have ever used. I own or have owned, Zeiss 0.965" ortho's, Nikon ortho's, circle T ortho's, etc, and the TMB is the best on-axis. It is sharp right to the edge of it's 30* AFOV in my 6" F/7.3 newtonian. Comparing to the Zeiss and Nikon, the TMB is a little sharper and contrast. A think it is a good value, considering the price of other high-end planetrary eyepices.
M. J. Lazo

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=560639


TMB Super Monocentric 5mm
Pros:

The TMB Monocentric eyepieces (and the 5mm I am reporting on here) are simply the best planetary eyepieces I have ever used.

Please read my comments in my review of the 4mm eyepiece.

Cautions:

The Monocentrics have a relatively narrow field, and the 5mm has fairly short eye-relief. For their intended purpose, neither of these factors bothered me. When viewing the planets (these ARE planetary eyepieces) I don't use the edges of the field anyway, so I simply position my eye at a comfortable distance from the eyepiece. The background is so dark it is not troubling to me that the field is narrow; I can hardly notice WHERE the field boundary is.

Cons:

I seen NO downside to this eyepiece optically or mechanically when it is used for its intended purpose.

Cosmetically I found it difficult to read the focal length (on a band around the top of the barrel) at night.

Overall impression:

I know of no better planetary eyepieces than the TMB line. Period. Thus my optical rating of 10. When you look at the cost of other premium eyepieces (Televue, Pentax, Takahashi etc.) or the used price of a Zeiss Monocentric or Abbe Orthoscopic, I believe the TMB's are a true bargain. Thus my value rating of 10.

Please see my review of the 4mm eyepice for comments that are appropriate for the 5mm eyepiece as well.

Richard Chalfan

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=405814


TMB Super Monocentric 5mm
Well made, well designed. Excellent off axis correction (no visible off axis astigmatism using a 80mm f/6.25 semi-apo), imperceptible field curvature. I give it a 9.9 ;) , but the first 5mm TMB I got had obviously skipped quality control and was worth 1 out of 10. I was told that TMB has improved matters in that area but it is my opinion that testing before purchase remains mandatory for used TMB EPs and stronlgy recommended for new EPs.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=360167

[Click Here to Login]
Don't have a login? Register!