Brightwell Summit 4 mm Plössl eyepiece

Specifications

Description

The Summit 4 mm Plössl is a four-element eyepiece with a 50-degree apparent field and a 1.25 in barrel. It is a high-power eyepiece. In a 500 mm refractor it gives 125x, in a 1,200 mm Dobsonian it gives 300x, and in a 2,032 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain it gives 508x. At these powers, small changes in focus, collimation, and tracking show quickly, so you will use it mostly on the Moon, bright planets, and close double stars.

The 3.2 mm field stop sets a narrow true field. In a 1,200 mm telescope it spans about 0.15 degrees, or roughly 9 arcminutes, which is enough to frame a planetary disk with some space around it. Because the apparent field is 50 degrees, the true field narrows quickly as focal length increases, so the eyepiece suits detailed views of small targets rather than wide sweeps of the sky. Start with a lower-power eyepiece to locate the object, then move up to this one once it is centred.

The Plössl design uses two cemented doublets facing each other. In telescopes slower than about f/6, it gives sharp stars across most of the field, with some softening at the edge in faster Newtonians. The lenses are fully multi-coated, and the barrel interior is blackened to reduce internal reflections that would lower contrast on the Moon and planets.

With 9 mm of eye relief, the eyepiece needs your eye close to the lens, so you will find the full field easiest to see with glasses off or with a short eyecup in place. The barrel is threaded for standard 1.25 in filters and fits any 1.25 in focuser or diagonal. The eyepiece weighs 45 g, which keeps it balanced on lightweight focusers in smaller telescopes.

About this configuration

The Brightwell Summit 4 mm Plössl eyepiece is offered in several configurations, and the notes below describe what this particular one adds. This configuration comes without a case, which suits observers who keep their eyepieces in a shared foam box. No case is included, so the eyepiece ships in a simple box with its two dust caps fitted. A fold-down eyecup is simple and has no moving parts that can loosen in cold weather.

Silver anodizing has the same wear resistance as the black finish, with a lighter look. The optics in the 2024 edition match the other years; the changes concern the housing only. Check the barrel size in the specifications against your focuser or star diagonal before you choose a configuration.

What's in the box

• Eyepiece
• Top and bottom dust caps
• Plastic storage case

Compatibility notes

• Fits any 1.25 in focuser, diagonal, or Barlow lens.
• The barrel accepts standard 1.25 in filters (M28.5 x 0.6 thread).
• Sharp across most of the field at f/6 and slower; softer at the edge in faster Newtonians.