Recently I happened across a pair of 8mm Plössl by Carton. They're a great Plössl and for $20.00 each brand new they're a steal!
They have about a 45° FOV but there is very little edge aberration. There's only the slightest amount of softness at the very edge of the FOV. Detail and Contrast are very good and light transmission is excellent. With an f/7 achromat on the Moon there is very little chromatic aberration, just the slightest of fringe on the outside and nothing noticeable at the terminator. This eyepiece doesn't enhance CA like some of the less expensive Plössl I've tried. On the Orion Nebula the eyepieces are as good at showing detail as a pair of TV 7.4mm Plössl. I haven't had a chance to try them out on a good planetary target but I suspect they'll do fine.
The drawback to this eyepiece it's the eye relief & eye point. Eye relief is only a few millimeters and it blacks out easily. If you wear glasses you're not going to be able to use this eyepiece and you won't like it if you're a novice not used to holding eyepoint.
Without A-B testing it's hard to say but my feeling is the high end Plössls will out perform this one. Then again for 3 or 4 times the price you'd hope they'd do some things better. Overall it's a fun and inexpensive eyepiece at a not so common focal length for a Plössl [or they're expensive dust caps for my BT-80s! :S ].
Happy Holidays & Clear Skies, Bill
They have about a 45° FOV but there is very little edge aberration. There's only the slightest amount of softness at the very edge of the FOV. Detail and Contrast are very good and light transmission is excellent. With an f/7 achromat on the Moon there is very little chromatic aberration, just the slightest of fringe on the outside and nothing noticeable at the terminator. This eyepiece doesn't enhance CA like some of the less expensive Plössl I've tried. On the Orion Nebula the eyepieces are as good at showing detail as a pair of TV 7.4mm Plössl. I haven't had a chance to try them out on a good planetary target but I suspect they'll do fine.
The drawback to this eyepiece it's the eye relief & eye point. Eye relief is only a few millimeters and it blacks out easily. If you wear glasses you're not going to be able to use this eyepiece and you won't like it if you're a novice not used to holding eyepoint.
Without A-B testing it's hard to say but my feeling is the high end Plössls will out perform this one. Then again for 3 or 4 times the price you'd hope they'd do some things better. Overall it's a fun and inexpensive eyepiece at a not so common focal length for a Plössl [or they're expensive dust caps for my BT-80s! :S ].
Happy Holidays & Clear Skies, Bill
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