ATM Brando Eyepieces

[Art Russell <artrussell@mindspring.com>]

On your question about Brandon  Eyepieces. Any opinion is strictly my own 
and as such, certainly prone to error...

I've owned the 20mm Brandon Widefield and 8mm EFL eyepieces since 1986, as 
well as a mated 2X Dakin Barlow. I've used these eyepieces in 8 inch 
Celestron SCT, 10 inch Meade LX200, 80mm Brandon F6.3 APO (currently own, 
new since 1986) and 18 inch F5 Lightweight Tectron Dobsonian (currently 
own, new since 1995) combinations. Neither eyepiece can match either the 
Panoptic or the Nagler I,II series of lenses in widefield performance. 
Their fields of view are much more limited. Additionally, the 20mm 
distinctly shows coma at the extreme edges of the field of view. However, 
within the central field of view of either eyepiece or eyepiece with barlow 
combination, these eyepieces IME appear to provide superior contrast and 
flare control when viewing the Moon and Planets. I assume this may be due 
to having fewer glass elements than either the Panoptic or Nagler designs 
(of which I own quite a few).

In the balance, I prefer the Brandons for the Moon and planets at very high 
power high power (8mm X2 Dakin Barlow = 4mm). Additionally, I've found this 
combination excellent when observing diffuse objects at high power with my 
18 inch Tectron (572X ). At less than very high power I prefer the 
Panoptics and Naglers. I've also compared the Brandons to comparable TV 
(Televue) Plossls and believe they may hold the edge in contrast here as 
well.

When it comes to eyepieces, the Brandons have stayed and all of the Meades 
and Celestrons have been replaced by Televue Panoptics and Naglers.

Clear Skies!

Art Russell

"Second star to the right, straight on 'til morning."
                                   - L. Frank Baum