Radian / Pentax XL EP Question

I am thinking of purchasing a Radian EP primarily for planetary viewing. Reviews and Ads indicate this EP has high contrast and is good for high power observing. I like the eye relief and extended FOV over plossls.

Backyard Astonomers Guide (BAG) indicated this EP essentially has a built in barlow. I usually use plossls w/ 2x or 3x barlow. In choosing a Radian, first choice would be 14 mm, to be used w/ the barlows for high power viewing. Is this EP a poor candidate for barlow? Am I better off purchasing a 5 mm EP?

BAG discusses the Pentax XL's as an alternative for Radian. Are they still available? Would the XL be a good candidate for Barlow?

I will be using the EP's w/ an AR6 and an upcoming (hopefully) small APO.

Thanks.

Gregg

Well, *I* use a 14mm with a 2x or 3x Tele Vue Barlow on my 7" f/6.7 sometimes, but only because I like to leave the rest of my eyepieces inside sometimes and just go out with a couple.

I highly recommend this kind of activity as a "get over the equipment obsession and observe" kind of thing, but for somebody who is constructing their set and looking to expand into the next quality tier from regular Plossls and Barlows, I'm reluctant. As for Radians and Pentax XLs, you *can* use them with Barlows, but for best planetary use I think you should buy them for the focal length you need for PLANETARY use to keep the number of air-to-glass surfaces down.

If it isn't the wide field you want but better image quality, consider high-quality orthos and Plossls, with a high-quality Barlow or Powermate for below 7mm focal lengths if you don't like getting poked in the eye. The contrast in a 15mm Tele Vue Plossl in a 2.5x Powermate should rival a 6mm Radian any day of the week. Tak LEs are good in the 5mm and 7.5mm focal lengths. Hey, if you can wait and you're willing to spend $200 on an eyepiece, consider a new TMB Super Monocentric. I can't personally vouch for them yet, but they're billed to be the best thing to come along since the famouse Carl Zeiss Abbe Orthos. Eye relief is also about 0.8 times focal length, but the field of view is only 30 degrees on these, so you need a driven mount for the most part.
--
Mike