What Denkmeier?

Hello to the more knowledgeable,

I have never used a Binoviewer before, but want to experience the evolution from cyclops to full viewing capacity. I have read reviews and websites that give details of everything. However, I have not as of yet contacted a Sales rep, but I at least know the following:

In the early spring (sooner if I'm fortunate)I will be the proud owner of an SV4. I ordered this scope for various reasons and one at the top of the list is its ability to interface effortlessly with a Binoviewer. From my research I have determined that I want a Denkmeier with multiple magnification capability. What kit should I be considering from Denkmeier, and what eyepieces in the TV Nagler or Radian range would you suggest? It seems that I should give consideration to the Nagler 16mm T5 since the SV4 has a 650mm F/L. I am considering the purchase of two 16mm T5's as a start, but any suggestions would certainly be welcomed.

After a thorough review of Denk's website, it appears that the Denk II with the Power X switches seems like the right choice. Any comments?

Thanks for you help and suggestions,

Steve

One suggestion would be to get a good understanding of the binoviewer you are interested in. You say you have not even been to the Denkmeier site so why don't you give it a visit.. http://deepskybinoviewer.com/ Now you will be better informed. Give the gents a Denkmeier a call and they will be happy to guide you through your purchase.

Hi Steve
I have the Denk II w/PS. Your choice of package might be determined by any other scopes you have or may have in the future. I went with the Universal package because I have a refractor and a newton. Different packages have slightly different powers which will effect your choice of eyepieces. In my 540mm fl refractor and universal OCS cell I get approx. 1.25x/1.8x/and 2.25x, however in the 1529mm fl newton I get 1.2x/1.7x/ and 2.3x powers. My best advice is to Go to the Denk site and figure out which package you will want and the associated powers you will get from the OCS cell, THEN figure out which eyepieces will give you a good spread of magnifications. Number crunching is the only way to arrive at which eyepieces will work best. You might also talk to Russ at Denk. for advise, he helped me a lot. The Naglers will probably vignette but I went with them because I already had several that worked with the power spread so all I did was buy a matching eyepiece to make a pair. They do work well and the views are excellent.
Hope this helps
Buck

Steven Keaton said:
It seems that I should give consideration to the Nagler 16mm T5 since the SV4 has a 650mm F/L. I am considering the purchase of two 16mm T5's as a start, but any suggestions would certainly be welcomed.

Eyepiece selection for bino is a much more personal subject than
for mono viewing. Comfort factors depend of shape of face, size
of nose, etc. Most people can somehow get one eye to look comfortably
into one eyepiece, but many other factors some in with a bino.

That having been said, I personally much prefer the Nagler 13mm T6
to the 16mm T5. The eyerelief in the 16 T5 in a bino is just too
tight for my taste. The 24 Pan is another winner, though some
settings on the Denk PowerSwitch have vignetting or poor edge
performance due to Denk optics.

There are many other eyepiece brands that will likely work well.
Things to look for are good eyerelief (a little more than
you normally would prefer), and barrels that are small in
diameter, at least at the eye end. (And of course, good
optics.)

I think having a very wide apparent field is less of a
factor with binos. You can certainly see the field edges
in your peripheral vision with the bino. But you
generally cannot look around the field as much as you would
with a single eyepiece. With a single eyepiece you can tilt
your head around (besides moving eye around) to see the field
edge, but but you can't do this with the bino. The difference
between a 67 degree and an 80 degree apparent field is rather
less with a bino vs. mono.

I might suggest to try the "astromart lend / lease" system rather
than buying brand new eyepieces until you arrive at something you like.
I started out buying new TV eyepieces for my bino, and ended up
selling off a lot of them at a loss, as the bino view was just way
too awkward -- stuff like the Nagler 9mm T2 and Panoptic 22mm --
great eyepieces, just not bino comfortable.