See my comments on the 10mm Highlight ep-nice contrast, clarity, 52 deg. fov, comfortable eye relief (for non eyeglass wearers, at least). I got the 10mm & 6.3 when they were on sale a while back for around $41. I use these with my XT4.5, a .965-1.25 hybrid diagonal and a 60mm Celestron f/15 refractor.

The 6.3 barlowed well with Orion's Shorty plus on Saturn one night, but that same night the image did break down a bit when I tried with Jupiter (Jupiter was so bright-too bright...)Noticeably higher contrast than the Sirius eps (good also), these are Orion's "sleeper" eps, a great value & bang for the buck, passing right under the radar.

In s.e. Louisiana

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 5
Date: 04/28/2004 03:26:45 pm PST

Replies: 0

High contrast, eye relief comfortable if you don't wear glasses, 52 degree fov, good clarity in details, thats what I saw on Jupiter & Saturn with this ep barlowed (very well) with Orion's Shorty plus and my XT4.5" f8 dob. Didn't notice any light loss, Saturn very 3d, Cassini especially, noticable crepe ring, B & A rings and more? on nights of good seeing. On Jupiter's best night of seeing, I saw festoons in the bands-a first for me, the contrast of this ep no doubt helped here.

Another thing, if your skies can get reasonably dark and you come across a few nights of excellent, clear, steady seeing, I think that is the other half of the equation in the telescope and optics + ? (conditions) = what and how good I will see. I'm one of those people that doesn't have high-end eps, yet still experiences excellent views. [I've had a HI-O 4mm Tak (.965), very nice, but sold it because it was too hard to keep the image in the fov in my small 60mm f/15 refractor.]

Orion has a winner here. I also bought the 6.3, very nice. I have UO's 7mm classic ortho, but the small eye relief and narrow field of view, nudging a 4.5" dob had (still has) me looking at wider fov eps. A nice black sky in the background, the Highlights have the same high contrast as my UO, and obviously more so than the Sirius eps (good eps) that came with my telescope.

These are keepers, even if I do get a Meade UWA or other higher end wide-angle ep(s) one day. If you are watching your budget and don't want to spend a small fortune, these fully multicoated Highlights are a nice way to go.

In S.E. Louisiana

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 5
Date: 04/28/2004 03:15:17 pm PST

Replies: 0