TheSkySearchers

Have unpacked the 17.5mm now. It has the soft eyecup all Morphei had originally, but also comes with the screw-on one, a M43 spacer ring, winged eyecup and various caps. A holster is also included.

The soft eyecup is all I need when wearing glasses, it just touches my glasses lens with.

I hope you enjoy the views using it with the BV, I will have to look at getting some new BV pairs in the future and the Morpheus seem to work well for this.

I use the 14 Morpheus in a 12.5" newtonian, and it's a keeper.
I'm waiting for the 9mm to come back in stock in the market.

I just completed my set with what may have been the last 4.5mm in our country at the old prices. Arrives tomorrow. Too bad I am observing at my dark sky site tonight, with my 10" GS0. Perhaps the 4.5mm will be the least incredible of the line. ALL are outstanding so far. Like Seal Team Six, I don't think any can be considered sub par. Would anyone want to mess with the least strong of a team of six Navy Seals? At 4.5mm I think a more specialized eyepiece may be required. As for the 14mm it will be part of my estate. Let's see if the 4.5mm belongs with the others...

j.gardavsky wrote: ↑Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:10 pm This February, we have had a small shoot-out of the Morpheus EPs against my Pentax XW, and the Morphei have been within the 65°AFOV close to the Pentax, so far I can remember.
With their 77°larger AFOV they will be pretty much interesting for the long focus telescopes.

As above, try out before buying,
JG

My fastest scope is F5, and Morpheus is fine with it.

25585 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 5:41 pm

j.gardavsky wrote: ↑Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:10 pm This February, we have had a small shoot-out of the Morpheus EPs against my Pentax XW, and the Morphei have been within the 65°AFOV close to the Pentax, so far I can remember.
With their 77°larger AFOV they will be pretty much interesting for the long focus telescopes.

As above, try out before buying,
JG

My fastest scope is F5, and Morpheus is fine with it.

There is actually one exception known to me, where the Morpheus 4.5mm is behind the Pentax XW 5mm:
Don't use this 4.5 Morpheus on Mars through the Baader H-Alpha 35nm interference filter. Here is the Pentax XW 5mm sharper, as tested through a 10" Dob.
It may be the case, that the spherical aberration (the Gaussian zone error) of the Morpheus optics is undercorrected on the long wavelengths.

Best,
JG

j.gardavsky wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 5:53 pm

25585 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 5:41 pm

j.gardavsky wrote: ↑Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:10 pm This February, we have had a small shoot-out of the Morpheus EPs against my Pentax XW, and the Morphei have been within the 65°AFOV close to the Pentax, so far I can remember.
With their 77°larger AFOV they will be pretty much interesting for the long focus telescopes.

As above, try out before buying,
JG

My fastest scope is F5, and Morpheus is fine with it.

There is actually one exception known to me, where the Morpheus 4.5mm is behind the Pentax XW 5mm:
Don't use this 4.5 Morpheus on Mars through the Baader H-Alpha 35nm interference filter. Here is the Pentax XW 5mm sharper, as tested through a 10" Dob.
It may be the case, that the spherical aberration (the Gaussian zone error) of the Morpheus optics is undercorrected on the long wavelengths.

Best,
JG

I was restraining myself from comments but since JG has started... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

I was restraining myself from comments but since JG has started... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

This indicates you have not found the optimum distance for the eye from the lens, because the Morpheus lineup is not sensitive to eye placement at the right distance from the eyepiece. With the eyeguard extender, there are 2 heights for the winged eyeguard and 4 heights for the stock eyeguard.
It is possible, by mixing and matching, to find the optimum setting of the eye and get to zero blackouts or sensitivity at the eyepiece.

Don Pensack wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:00 pm

I was restraining myself from comments but since JG has started... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

This indicates you have not found the optimum distance for the eye from the lens, because the Morpheus lineup is not sensitive to eye placement at the right distance from the eyepiece.

But, that applies to any EP. Once you find the right eye position the EP works. My point was that for some EPs finding and maintaining that right position is harder than for others. Well designed EPs should guide you to that position and it should be easy to dial-in right height for the eyeguard.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:36 pm

Don Pensack wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:00 pm

I was restraining myself from comments but since JG has started... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

This indicates you have not found the optimum distance for the eye from the lens, because the Morpheus lineup is not sensitive to eye placement at the right distance from the eyepiece.

But, that applies to any EP. Once you find the right eye position the EP works. My point was that for some EPs finding and maintaining that right position is harder than for others. Well designed EPs should guide you to that position and it should be easy to dial-in right height for the eyeguard.

Long eye relief eyepieces used without glasses always require some experimentation to find the right position. Some LER eyepieces don't have a tall-enough eyecup for easy use, but the Baader Morpheus is not one of them. If the extender is added and the eyecup is flipped up, even people who prefer to have the eyecups touch their faces can use the Morpheus eyepieces without blackouts. With the eyecups in the Down position and no extender is added, the eyepieces will be suitable for glasses use at the eyepiece, but the non-glasses wearer will find the eyepieces difficult to use. The "effective" eye relief of the Morpheus eyepieces is longer than the "effective" eye reliefs of the XW series.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 7:08 pm ... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

Given how observer comments never seem to converge to a consensus relative to eye positioning sensitivity for various eyepieces, IMO the unique physiology of the observer's eye also probably contributes to how easy or hard it is to find and hold correct eye positioning. So whether an eyepiece is easy or difficult is likely not just due to optical characteristics and build ergonomic characteristics and user skill/abilities, but also probably impacted by the individual observer's eye physiology. I have and use both XWs and Morpheus as my primary wide-field eyepieces. I find both brands very easy and forgiving relative to eye placement and actually find the Morpheus a little better in that regard than the XWs. I generally never use eye guards when observing too, so almost always have them all the way down.

WilliamPaolini wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:46 pm

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 7:08 pm ... I also prefer XWs over Morpheus. With Morpheus I can't get by how sensitive is the eye position. It was hard for me to hold it or move the eye around without getting blackouts. XWs on other hand feel very natural and relaxed. Could be the eyeguard design.

Given how observer comments never seem to converge to a consensus relative to eye positioning sensitivity for various eyepieces, IMO the unique physiology of the observer's eye also probably contributes to how easy or hard it is to find and hold correct eye positioning. So whether an eyepiece is easy or difficult is likely not just due to optical characteristics and build ergonomic characteristics and user skill/abilities, but also probably impacted by the individual observer's eye physiology. I have and use both XWs and Morpheus as my primary wide-field eyepieces. I find both brands very easy and forgiving relative to eye placement and actually find the Morpheus a little better in that regard than the XWs. I generally never use eye guards when observing too, so almost always have them all the way down.

Obviously observing preferences and personal physiology contribute to EP selection. Each report is individual but read enough and patterns start to emerge. I saw quite few when people purchased and quickly re-sell/returned Morpheus because of eye placement/sensitivity. I never stumbled on that issue while researching XWs, the most common complain is field curvature in fast scopes, in particular for XW14.

No EPs are perfect, I thought it will be useful for people considering Morpheus to hear about mine and similar experiences.

I don't wear glasses but prefer long ER eyepieces. I don't have any issue holding the view in the Morpheus EP's and like Bill, prefer observing with the eyecups down or removed. I only use the eyecups when chasing very faint detail in galaxies. For me, the best view with the Morpheus is with the eyecup completely removed which delivers the infinity pool effect, were the eyepiece disappears and the view floats in front of my eye, a surreal effect for me best appreciated with the 9mm. The view of the Tarantula nebula in the LMC or omega Centauri through my 18 inch scope and 9mm Morpheus(sans eyecup) is a sight to behold. The view seems to overflow the eye lens.

Its interesting though that both Pentax XWs (& XLs before) and Baader Morpheus are also made with binocular &/or spotting scope users in mind. Their glasses-friendly design makes them ideal there. TV Delites, Nikon NAV SWs, some APM & the Docter 12.5mm 84° likewise.

Reading bird forums, Vixen LVWs & LV series were popular in their day, both were also glasses friendly. Those others are well liked too,

Astro use exclusive eyepieces seem to be more lab-perfect as for microscope optics, but field use conditions and ergonomics often seem to play as secondary or less considerations in their design. Telescopes are of course microscopes on the cosmos, so need quality at eye end, but the scientists who do designing often seem to be more bent on achievement of product perfection, than of end user ease.

I find there is a parallell with the fashion industry & its consumers. You make your Armani & Boss fit, put up with inconvenience to wear/use "the best".

Baader Morpheus may not be for optics élitists, but they are good functional, immersive, optically excellent and very very usable.

Please excuse this off-topic question...
25585 - I see in your sig line you have I R Poyser eyepieces. Which ones?

25585 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 2:35 pm ..........
Astro use exclusive eyepieces seem to be more lab-perfect as for microscope optics, but field use conditions and ergonomics often seem to play as secondary or less considerations in their design. Telescopes are of course microscopes on the cosmos, so need quality at eye end, but the scientists who do designing often seem to be more bent on achievement of product perfection, than of end user ease.
.......

I, for one, am thankful of that. LER and wide fields have their market. I have a few, mostly for sharing a view with others. But, call me an optical elitist if you will, optical perfection is what I value most. I don't buy optics with the idea of not seeing something comfortably.

WilliamPaolini wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 5:41 pm Please excuse this off-topic question...
25585 - I see in your sig line you have I R Poyser eyepieces. Which ones?

They are the 35mm Plossl EP1s. Long eye relief and good light transmission. Very good for binoviewing.

https://i1.wp.com/irpoyser.co.uk/wp-con ... .jpg?w=800

I have the 9 and 17.5 coming in. I'm looking forward to seeing how they stack up. Are they in between my DeLites and my ES92's/A11, or do they belong with the DeLites, or do they belong with my wide field EPs? Interesting questions for me. I'm hoping to put them among my wide field EPs.

Don Pensack wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:16 pm

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:36 pm

Don Pensack wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:00 pm

This indicates you have not found the optimum distance for the eye from the lens, because the Morpheus lineup is not sensitive to eye placement at the right distance from the eyepiece.

But, that applies to any EP. Once you find the right eye position the EP works. My point was that for some EPs finding and maintaining that right position is harder than for others. Well designed EPs should guide you to that position and it should be easy to dial-in right height for the eyeguard.

Long eye relief eyepieces used without glasses always require some experimentation to find the right position. Some LER eyepieces don't have a tall-enough eyecup for easy use, but the Baader Morpheus is not one of them. If the extender is added and the eyecup is flipped up, even people who prefer to have the eyecups touch their faces can use the Morpheus eyepieces without blackouts. With the eyecups in the Down position and no extender is added, the eyepieces will be suitable for glasses use at the eyepiece, but the non-glasses wearer will find the eyepieces difficult to use. The "effective" eye relief of the Morpheus eyepieces is longer than the "effective" eye reliefs of the XW series.

Eye positioning is one factor, eye positioning and seeing the whole FoV, or being able to without any optical aberration, that is the whole equation. With Morpheus its solved, as much as can be, for me.

Why some optical designers can achieve this, but others with smaller AFOVs, seem unable &/or unwilling to, is a puzzlement.

A FYI for anyone unaware. Baader Morpheus eyepieces are sealed waterproof (but not gas filled). Page 7 of the booklet states the eyepieces are waterproof, and breaking the seal voids warranty.

A useful booklet as it shows the adapters etc to fit with Baader's large range of accessories, and what is needed for use afocal applications.