Meade Instruments 07178-02 Super Plossl 2-Inch 56-Millimeter Eyepiece

As far as the shipping from Amazon is concerned; incredibly fast and the item arrived intact. Thanks Amazon! As far as the product is concerned, I had concerns that the quality of this Chinese eyepiece would not compare to the older Japanese Series 4000 eyepieces due to some of the negative comments I have come across on the internet. Here is my experience: It came in a nice and solid cardboard box but no bolt case or end caps. This was of no consequence to me since I use custom yellow caps and put all my eyepieces in a pluck foamed case. The chrome part of the barrel is not as dense in materials as the Japanese versions but it will definitely do the job. The rubber eyecup is a little harder and sloppy to fold up than the Japanese version and makes me wonder if it would be able to survive an observing session in deep winter without cracking. These quibbles give the item a different feel than it's original counterpart. Aside from this, everything else is solid and beautiful. When you look through the glass, it is big and super clear without a hint of dust. (I would say this makes it worth the money). Rubber grips feel good. Eye relief and views are exactly what you would expect from a 56mm plossl. I have two mint custom astronomy cases of Japan only Series 4000 Meade eyepieces, a barlow and filters. The 56mm is the only Chinese eyepiece in there. I figured it should be easy enough to get clear images from a low power eyepiece even if the Chinese compromise their quality a few percent here and there. I was right. For the money, this eyepiece is a winner..............but if I ever find a Japanese 56 4000 in mint condition, just for the sake of being picky, this one is going up for sale.

This is a terrific eyepiece for Cassegrain telescopes above 160mm. That being said do not get this for Newtonian type reflectors under 8" with an smaller than f/5 focal ratio. You'll be able to see the silhouette of the secondary mirror when looking at objects with a larger angular diameter, such as the moon. It works wonders with my 178mm Cassegrain, actually my mirror is 8" but the corrector plate is 178mm (Maksutov). I needed this eyepiece to resolve M42 with a wider field of view. I'm very impressed by the edge to edge field of view. Stars don't have any coma effect near the field stops. The moon doesn't reveal any chromatic rainbow colors, aberrations commonly associated with cheaper Plossls. I have been using this eyepiece for about six months now and I recommend it as it is a very affordable addition to any collection. It is a little weighty for equatorial mounts (depending on the mount). I assume that this is the reason for the very thin chrome barrel. The glass seems to be of very nice quality and light transmission. It's --almost as good as the Tele Vue 40mm Plossl. But it doesn't have the same dark contrast effect. This eyepiece does not have any dust cover for the lens or barrel, so you'll have to find some that fit, or use the box. Although I've never done it, I'm pretty sure it will thread 2" filters.

It's is very clear and you will need a filter when looking at the moon, can pick out deep space objects better the the 1.25" lenses.

We use this for public viewing with a big old f16 refractor, where it offers the widest possible field and moderate magnification for nights when the seeing is middling. Very comfortable viewing, sharp images and good contrast. Not too heavy for the size, and no complaints about the quality of build or finish. Incredible value if you have a very long focal length scope, like ours.....if your scope if shorter than f10 you would probably be better served with a 35-40mm widefield design.

Sharp edge-to-edge, but I am selling it now because the FOV is subjectively too narrow for such low power eyepiece. With my ED100 f/9 it is rather like looking through a dark chimney comparing to a typical 38mm 70-degree SWA 2-incher which is much more pleasure to use.Oddly enough the "Meade" website says literally: "...and offering a generous 52° apparent field of view...". "Generous 52°"? Well, maybe it is a bit generous, but only when compared to some classic 42° orthos.