Somewhat overrated eyepiece.
The Radian 8 mm was the first of the Radian series EP that I obtained for my then-new TOA 130. At the time , it was the highest power in my set , and coupled with the TOA 1.6x extender gave satisfactory views of the December 2003 Saturn opposition. On DSOs such as M15 , I was a bit let down by the stellar images produced ; M15 was fuzzy instead of granular , and the few stars I was able to resolve were far from pinpoint. I believed the light transmission to be below average as well. I have subsequently replaced this EP with a TMB Super Monocentric for planetary viewing. I found this EP somewhat difficult to use , due to frequent blackouts. I observe without my glasses and the 20 mm eye relief was in part responsible.
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10/16/2009 1:48:45 PM
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Excellent
In a Meade 10 SCT this was much sharper than the 9mm Meade ploessel or the 7mm Nagler. (Using M13 and Alberio as a comparison) In a TV-76 it is quite sharp but I find there is slight false color when looking at the Sun. It tooke me a minute or two to find the trick on how to position my eye. Once this was done I was able to hold my eye steady for many minutes at a time observing Mars. The apparent FOV and eye relief are as advertised. Easy to use while wearing eye glasses.
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10/16/2009 1:48:41 PM
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Wonderful Views
This really is a fantastic eyepiece. Would have given a 10, but sometimes you really have to work on getting your eye spot on over the lens, even with the pupil assist. The view is tack sharp with planretary and lunar detail razor sharp and contrasty. A must eyepiece for fast refractors!
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10/16/2009 1:48:39 PM
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Really a 9.5
A good eyepiece, being neither the very best, nor the worst in the radian line. A bit hard to beat in the TV line up if you need an 8mm and some eye relief. I like the new 7mm and 9mm Naglers better, but not by much.
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10/16/2009 1:48:37 PM
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The 8mm Tele Vue Radian
I have owned this eyepiece for almost three years now and
consider it to be an excellent value. The long eye relief (20mm)
and fairly large (and well corrected) apparent field of view of 60
degrees make the Radian a pleasure to use for planetary and
other high power observing. Sharpness is comparable to all but
the best orthoscopics.
However, the Radian does exhibit some lateral color and a lunar
image may appear somewhat yellow as compared to the Pentax
SMC XL for instance. My other complaint, albeit a minor one,
concerns the Instadjust eyeguard. I am not particularly fond of
this feature. It is disconcerting that it is so loose. I dont feel
that a premium eyepiece should require customer modifications.
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10/16/2009 1:48:37 PM
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TV 8mm Radian
Ditto my comments about the 10mm Radian. Simply a great eyepiece.
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10/16/2009 1:48:37 PM
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