Meade Instruments 07741 Series 5000 1.25-Inch Ultra Wide Angle 8.8-mm Eyepiece (Black)

I bought this to use with my Orion XT8 Plus Dobsonian. As others have noted, this thing is big (see photos). It weighs 1lb, 10 oz (737g). I included a photo comparing it to the Orion 28mm eyepiece, which comes with the telescope. I thought the 28mm eyepiece was big!Down to the pros and cons (cons first):Cons:1) Ring of grease: due to the way the twist-up eyecup works, you have to watch out for a ring of grease what is exposed when the eye cup is up. The grease is exposed because the eyepiece is threaded in the body and extends when you (firmly) grab the main body and the bottom and twist in opposite directions. The interior parts of the eyepiece descend, thus "raising" the eye cup. The eye cup itself doesn't move. So when you do this, the interior sleeve of the eyepiece, which is covered in grease, is exposed by about 1/4". I'll get used to it, but I touched it probably three times in my only outing with it so far.Pros:1) Field of view: at 82 degrees, this is simply beautiful. You don't feel like you're looking through a long tube with a tiny opening. Instead, it's the feeling of almost sticking your head out into space. I also get this feeling with the 28mm Deepview eyepiece (w/a 56 degree AFOV, interestingly), but this is more powerful and just as bright (60x in my scope vs. the 28mm's 42.8x). The moon is stunning in this piece (although painfully bright - get a moon filter with this!). The Orion nebula was clear and very visible.2) Eye relief: aside from the ring of grease, the eye cup itself is nice. It provides very deep eye relief. I happen to have long eye lashes, so sunglasses and telescope viewing can be challenges, but with this I could push my eye into it until it sealed out the light around it and nothing touched the lens element. The cup itself is a very firm and kinda thick rubber with a satin feel which doesn't move or have to be folded up, so I believe it will last and I'm not worried about it someday tearing. Very nice.3) Clarity/focus: clarity and sharpness just make the whole viewing experience come to life. You experience more the depth of space, and it feels more three-dimensional to view through a quality eyepiece such as this. Power isn't everything! You'll want more power for planetary viewing (although I could clearly make out two cloud bands on Jupiter, along with the four main moons, but it was pretty small).Neutral:1) Size: again, it's massive. One reviewer called it "the hand grenade," which is no joke. It's also heavy, which makes me wonder how it would perform in a refractor or a smaller tube assembly like a Maksutov-Cassegrain. It doesn't bother my Dob, though.2) Ghosting: When viewing Jupiter, I did notice that there was a ghost image swimming around when I would move my head. I'm willing to correct this should it be the fault of less-than-ideal viewing, which I had when testing this (and there was a lot of light from the half moon). I'll correct this if it goes away under better conditions. UPDATE 4/26/16: I was finally able to get another night of pretty clear skies, and this time there was no ghosting, only a dim lens flare when observing Jupiter plus the usual diffraction spikes (which reflectors have regardless of the eyepiece). Atmospheric conditions, humidity, and other things can affect viewing quality, so the lesson learned is: observe the same thing over several nights, when the climate conditions might vary, to see if it really is the eyepiece or something else. I guess it was something else.Misc:- it comes in a nice, foam lined box.- the dust caps are nice.- it is waterproof (realistically more like humidity proof - you're not going to be taking your telescope out in the rain!).- I will be buying at least one other eyepiece in this series, as well as a barlow for 2" eyepieces. I am very happy with this eyepiece.

I gave this a good test run in a 4" f/5 Televue Genesis hours after it arrived on my doorstep. Any eyepiece that claims to be a premium eyepiece simply must do well in fast optical systems...and it did.Contrast was excellent with minimal ghosting on planets. Color tone seemed pretty neutral. The eye relief is more than a Type 6 Nagler and just under that of an Ethos--almost (not quite) enough for eyeglass wearers but I was able to see the full field of view with my thin eyeglasses. At this low a focal length, though, my own eye's astigmatism wasn't a factor, so I preferred using it w/o glasses, and the eye relief was plentiful in that regard. The eye relief is adjustable, and eye placement wasn't critical, either; it felt cozy.Sharpness, both on- and off-axis, was excellent. Premium eyepieces have an intangible, je-ne-sais-quoi "oomph" to focus that's hard to describe, but you know it when you see it, and the 5.5mm Meade had it. Stars are tiny, tiny pinpoints. M13 was resolved and I had a clean split of both Epsilon-1 and Epsilon-2 Lyrae with the 5.5mm Meade in the Genesis--that's just 91X, for those keeping score at home. Off-axis astigmatism is very minimal; stars were tack-sharp until the very edge of the field stop (>95% from the center to the edge). The Genesis is an f/5 refractor free of coma, comparable to the view in an f/4.3 reflector equipped with a Paracorr. In other words, a severe optical test, and it passed with flying colors.If I could find any faults with it, there are two very minor quibbles, one mechanical and the other optical. One is the excessive barrel grease that Meade has insisted on using since, I dunno, the Pleistocene Epoch, which is an issue when the eyecup is adjusted to change eye relief. The eyepiece also has a little lateral color on the brightest (2nd magnitude or brighter) stars starting from around 80% out from the center to the edge, more so than a Delos or Pentax XW, but quite a bit less than other widefield eyepieces I've used or looked through.Neither of these points really detracts from its performance, which is why I'm still giving it five stars. On balance, it's a great eyepiece that FAR exceeds its price point in terms of performance. Not a "great eyepiece for the money"; just a great eyepiece. Why Meade has it priced as low as they do, I dunno, but I'd suggest grabbing one before they come to their senses. My eyepiece case has only five other eyepieces, and of those, three are Televues and one is a Pentax XW. The 5.5mm Meade 5000 UWA has earned its place into the case and can hold its head up high among the others.HIGHLY recommended.

I have the Meade UWA Series 5000-8.8mm, and it is really one of the best high-power eyepieces in my collection. I was fortunate to have purchased it pre-owned on Amazon, and I’m now looking to add the 20mm from this line. The moon, Venus, and Saturn really showcase the capabilities of this multi-lens ocular, and I consider it the fine middle ground between “budget” and “premium”. The 82-degree AFOV gives you plenty of sky as well. Using a 12.5 dobsonian, the exit pupil is a comfortable 1.76. The only less-than-pleasing detail (if there is any) about the 5000 UWAs are, as has been stated by many, is the grease that becomes exposed if you twist the eye so up. But I knew about this beforehand, and I have to admit that I was curious about it. Anyway, all you have to do is wipe it off with a rag or towel. Simple. I don’t understand why it’s an issue to fix (unless you don’t twist the eyecup up, it won’t affect you). I should note that this line from Meade is discontinued, and as of today, you will have a hard time finding these since people who own them won’t be fast to part with them. And if they do, they’ll be smart enough to sell them more than they were new. They’re that good, and tbh, my 9mm Delite has nothing on it (except maybe the more modern-looking build.

This is a well known classic eyepiece in its range. I was not disappointed. It's 5.5mm so it really magnifies objects in the sky a lot. But the wide 82* field of view gives a very immersive experience. Basically it magnifies small objects but it also shows a wide field. The optics on this are first class. You can't go wrong owning this eyepiece. I got mine from the US and the duty and tax was taken care of with the Amazon option.

Excellent sharp views even in my F4.7 reflector. Now my favourite eyepiece. To my surprise I even prefer it to my 11mm Televue Plossl for planetary views, even though I didn't really intend this eyepiece for planetary viewing.

This ep is of solid and heavy build quality, the fov is fantastic and the image is clear and sharpe.The eyecup raises and is more of a socket than a cup, it works, blocks out light well and is comfortable.As others have mentioned raising the eyecup exposes a greased section at the base, while it doesn't bother me that much it is easy to touch it and get grease on your fingers. However you get used to it and instinctively know where it is.A simple plastic extended sheath would solve this minor issue.

This is an amazing EP. I believe its actually better than its TV counterparts.Sharp all the way to its huge AFOW. High power viewing in most telescopesPerfect for unguided Dobs as your target (usually planets) stays in your field of view longer.This EP is also very colour neutral, compared to rivals which seem to colour the images in a more yellow castSome reviews complain about the lubricant used when rotating to raise the eye cup.I can tell you that this is largely untrue. Just raise and lower the cup a few times while wiping with a clean tissue.After a few minutes its no problem at all. I believe that this EP destined to become a "must have"in terms of collectability. It won't be around forever so don't be shy. Prices have been going up due to virus restrictions. If 5.5mm is too short a focal range consider the Meade 8.8mm UWA which is very similar.Lastly the boxes they come in are excellent too. Very professionally looking. The top comes off easily with to top dark foam staying in the lid. About the best I've seen in my 20+ EP collection.You may change your telescopes but a good EP will serve you forever. This one is a keeper

Love this EP. Nice wide field of view, 82 degree. Perfect for planets in unguided DobsoniansFlat and sharp across is AFOW. No edge brightening as with some of its competition.The grease used to lubricate the pop up eye cup has been negatively reviewed by some.I find it's no problem at all. Just raise and lower it a few times and wipe with a clean tissueThe focal length is great at 8.8mm and it complements its 5.5mm UWA stable mate very wellAnd for the price this is a "no brainer". Just get one