UO HD Ortho or Radian vs. Meade Super Plossl

Hello all. I was hoping I could get some advice on eyepieces. I have read some reviews of the UO Orthos and Televue Radians, but any further comments would be appreciated.

I have a new Meade 12 GPS UHTC. I sent away for the eyepiece deal, but Meade is back ordered. I was thinking of getting an orthoscopic by UO--the new HD series, something like a 9mm or 7mm to use as a very high power eyepiece when conditions permit. I also thought I might use this over the next month or so, if possible, as I await the delivery of the Meade eyepieces.

Is the UO HD Ortho (or just the regular UO Ortho) a significant upgrade over the Series 4000 Super Plossl (probably mostly for planetary viewing) such that it is worth getting the UO Ortho even though I will have another Meade Super Plossl of the same size?

Also, how does the UO Ortho compare to the Radian, apart from FOV and eye relief (I do not wear glasses). The UO HD Ortho is about $80, which is very inexpensive compared to the Radian.

I plan to use my scope for general viewing and I am an intermediate amateur, but I have not done any viewing in almost 15 years (with my old C8).

Any assistance is appreciated.

Gregg D. Bernstein
Augusta, Maine

I can compare the standard UO ortho 7mm and 9mm to Meade 4000 9.7mm to a 10mm Radian. I assume the new UOs are better than the older UOs Refer to the article on CloudyNights for review of UO HDs.

The 9.7 is not a great eyepiece, it has some lack of contrast and similar eye relief to the 9mm ortho. The 9mm UO is IMO one of the best moderate to high power eyepieces in the UO line. It is crisp and tack sharp to the edge. When conditions won't permit use of the 7mm UO, I back down to the 9mm and generally see nearly the same view, just a bit smaller. I'm always replacing the 9.7mm with something, trying to get a better view. I would characterize the 9.7mm as a dark eyepiece. Seems like it just doesn't pass enough light for the view to be enjoyed as much as it could be. I have two meade 9.7mm lenses, one came with a used package deal. One has an Afov of 49°, the other has an Afov of 46°. The UO 9mm ortho has an Afov of 43°, the radians are 60°. The 10mm Radian is similar in contrast and sharpness to the 9mm ortho, but it puts up 20% wider 33% wider fov and does so with long eye relief. When I have kids out for a viewing session, many find it difficult to acquire the view in the Radian. I guess that's why they provide that pupil guide, but I don't use it.

My scopes, my eyes. edz

If your looking for a great deal on Plossls and the such, don't forget that TeleVue makes them too. I compared a 15mm w/2X barlow (Televue barlow) to an UO 7mm ortho on Mars last weekend and I couldn't tell the difference between the two for brightenss and contrast.

Personally I think the TV plossls are hard to beat, plus they are the best investment eyepieces if you buy them and decide to sell them later (IMO). You can get 75-85% of your money back, can't say that about Meade stuff I don't think.

Preston