Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Eyepiece Reviews:Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm

 Info  Votes  Messages  More Stats  Up One Level
Vote
Page 1 of 2 Next

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Very bright images (plossol like) and clear all the way to the edge. Not much difference between this one and his 25mm. Both the physical appearance and the views are pretty close to the same. Could be my scope (C102HD), but I would buy again. If you do buy get either the 25mm or the 19mm, but not both (too close in performance in my opinion. Other than that an outstanding bargain!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43869

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
One of the reasons I went out observing tonight was to try my new Gary
Russell 2" 19mm SWA Konig ($65). I was very pleased. The eye relief was
perfect. The whole 67* AFOV was easily taken in without bumping the glass
with my eyeball. (Ron Who was there & wears glasses said it was comfortable to use
with his glasses on). As expected it had a considerable amount of coma, the
outer 25% was terrible. However when looking at a deep sky object in the
center of the FOV it was not noticable (when concentrating on the object in
the center of the FOV the coma was not apparent at all, only noticable when I
looked directly at the fild stars at the edge of the FOV. It provided a nice wide
field view (67*) and was every bit as sharp as my 18mm Celestron Ultima.
Its a keeper. The coma is Much less evident in a longer focal ratio scope. I
tried it on a 6" f/8 newt & the 11" f/10 SCT and edge performance was much
better. I will still continue to use it in my f/4.8 dob though. The coma was
easily ignored when looking to the center of the field.

I did a side by side comparison with a 21mm Pentax XL ($230) I did *not*
see an improvement worth $160. The Eyerelief was of course better in the
Pentax and the edge correction was very good in comparison. I stand by the
$65 Gary Russell EP. the coma/edge distortions are easily filtered out of
peripheral vision when looking at the object in the middle of the field

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43870

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Ditto the above comment. I can't believe Gary sells these for $65. Very bright, very sharp. Nice AFOV. Could only improve a little in edge correction and contrast, but probably easily worth two to three times the amount Gary charges for these. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with this eyepiece. A "10" for value.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43872

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Overall a very good eyepiece, especially for the price. In my 16" f4 dob the stars are pinpoint about 2/3 of the way to the edge. Very respectable in a fast, big dob. The piece looks high quality in my hand and is fairly light and easy to handle. Gary Russell is very good to deal with and I would recommend him and his eyepieces. Clear skies, Mark Hansen.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43873

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
A fine eyepiece which provides good views of the planets and our moon. For a medium power eyepiece (64X in my Dob), you can see a lot of detail on Jupiter with a polarizing filter set. I just used it extensively during the recent Christmas solar eclipse and it performed very well. Good resolution of sunspots. It does a fine job on star clusters, too. Hard to beat for the price. I have 3 of Mr. Russell's eyepieces and have found them to be a good value.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43874

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Wonderful eyepiece! Sharp images to the edge and very good contrast. I can highly recommend this eyepiece! Using it in my 10" f10 SCT, it's hard to believe that it only costs $68.00. Can't go wrong on this one.
Scott Baker
San Diego Astronomy Association

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43875

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
I really did not know what to expect when I received this Russell 19mm. When I finally had an opportunity to use it I was totally surprised. Sharp and contrasty with only a bit of drop off near the edge. I had the opportunity to compare the Russell with my TV 19mm Wide Field and (to my dismay) must say that the comparison was very favorable. I think the contrast was the biggest shock. It gave very nice images of M97 and M108 even though the seeing was not that great. Also the light weight of this 2 inch eyepiece makes it a pleasure to use. You can go between 1 1/4 and this unit without re-balancing your system. I give this 2 in eyepiece a 10. Not because it is the best you can get, but because I feel it IS the best you can get at this price. At under 70.00 for a 2 inch wide field ocular you can't go wrong.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43876

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
I tried my new Russell 19mm SWA Konig last evening under steady, clear skies.
Using a SW 150mm f8.3 refractor, M4 was resolved to the core with several dark lanes visable and delicate pin-point points of light at the core. Similsr performance on M8. Very slight coma on the edges at f8.3, perhaps only outer 7-10% of field, which is barely noticable. The eye-relief is excellent and Gary puts a very nive rubber eye-cup on for long comfortable viewing.It's a keeper!!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43877

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Excellent eyepiece when used in 8" f10 SCT. Sharp, wide FOV, good contrast, good eyerelief and nice eye cup. Would recommend even at a higher price.

Light weight can make rebalancing the OTA necessary.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43878

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
My most commonly used eyepiece in my 8" SCT. To be frank: this eyepiece is a steal! I compared these at a dark sky party with a 19mm Televue Wide Field; as you might expect, the TV was indeed a hair crisper and a touch brighter, but the difference was quite subtle.

The eyepiece is very light, being made out of Delrin, and is nicely machined. My only minor beef was that the rubber eyecup had a slight pucker along the edge when it arrived, which I easily fixed with a spot of super glue.

It's a real pleasure to have an inexpensive, handcrafted eyepiece that gives views way beyond its price.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43879

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
HI I have the Russell 19mm .. I love this eyepiece Its lightweight dit not costthat much and seems to be every bit as sharp as as my 19mm old inch and quarter teleview THe bad news is that I lost his EmaEmail address does anybody know what it is I want to his other eyepieces too... thanks for helping derasa1@aol.com

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43880

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
This eyepiece is an excellent value, considering that it is a 2-inch
and compares very well to other eyepieces costing much more. In my Meade 127ED it provided high contrast fine lunar detail (just about first quarter) The really wide angle of view is a joy to view. Very little to nit-pick about.
Goood image contrast, little distortion at edge,but a well made eyepiece
worth much more. I would recommend it to anyone

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43881

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
One of my better eyepieces.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=85729

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
I have this in the 1 1/4" version for $40. At that price, it is an awesome deal. It appears to be very similar to a Konig binocular eyepiece. In an f5.6 Newtonian, it starts to degrade with about 25% of the field left to go due to coma. You'll want to keep the moon centered. It's no Nagler. However, for star fields, it's wide field is great for taking it all in. The distortion is difficult to see in your peripheral vision while looking at the center. The eyerelief is very close to the quoted 19mm. Easy to use with eyeglasses and the rubber top covers all metal. The eyecup is very easy to flip up and down just like a binocular's. Very easy to use and effective. It weighs practically nothing and is very short (1 1/2", maybe). There is no way to get blackouts. The focus field is slightly curved requiring some minor tweaking for the edge. Overall, a great value. I no longer feel a need to get a 21mm Pentax XL. A much better deal than a 19mm Axiom or Panoptic for eyeglass wearers with severe astigmatism.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=126552

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Nice, enjoyable wide-field ocular, I've had no desire to get Panoptics (for my personal scope) after looking through this $40 steal. Images are as bright as the views I get through my 17mm Plossl & 25mm Kellner. Stars are sharp towards the center, stay that way until the last 10% of the field in my f/8 telescope. A neighbor's f/4 system is not kind to it, though. A very lightweight eyepiece, easy to handle in cold weather thanks to its Delrin construction. Don't plan on using filters on it much, those plastic threads are apt to strip easily.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=131629

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Ordered on ebay. When I got it I was a little sceptical. Wow was I surprised. Don't get me wrong it isn't a TeleVue but it didn't cost me 200 either. I have a fast (f4) newtonian and the center was sharp as a tack but at the edges it isn't so good. That being said neither are most other wide fields. When I put it on a Stellarview refractor things got much better with almost no edge distortion.
Now for the good stuff. It's like looking through a window into the sky .... a joy to use. The field is so wide that you get lost looking into it. The contrast is great (maybe the black delrin helps block light). It is one of my favorite pieces.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=137752

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Took my barely portable 6" refractor, along with an assortment of eyepieces which included my 2" 19mm Russell WA Konig, to a star party. Everyone looked through everyone's scope. They loved the space walk of my 14mm Meade UWA. Then I put in the Russell to show what the $65 ep could do. The veteran star party leader took a look and, not believing his eyes, declared with restrained wonder, "That is really a lot of stars." It was, more than he'd seen in a single magnified view all night. The Russell is amazing in its ability to capture light. Pulls in almost everything, and with a very pleasing and well contrasted view. It may not be as tack sharp or as wide as some of the high priced (over-priced?)competition, but it's a great deal at a fraction of their cost. The Russell is a surprising performer and a keeper.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=143031

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
This is a great eyepiece. I have Naglers, Panoptics, and Pentax XLs and while this eyepiece can't really match them
in terms of contrast, it seems to come very, very close
in terms of sharpness. The Delrin housing is well machined
and creates a very light eyepiece. I only wish Russell made
this in a 1.25 inch size.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=204053

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Overall only a 6, optics in my one were dissapoiting !
Altough - pricey, but strongly disagree with comparison to TV-Nagler or Panoptics.
The Naglers as well as the Radians plus the Pentaxes don´t only feel better, they are sharper & brighter

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:7 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=206572

Russell Optics Wide Angle 19mm
Great Utility Eyepiece and tough too.
(dropped it on a sidewalk and it did not hurt the optics, try that with a Tel Vue), clear with no distortion in F7 scope.
not as clear as Radian but not bad and just 65 bucks with a wider view, barlows well.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=212514

Page 1 of 2 Next

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

Jay Freeman's Eyepiece Primer
Starting out in Amateur Astronomy
 
How to use This Site
Why Register?
Voting Guide