Halden Caravel 30 mm ultra-wide eyepiece

Specifications

Description

The Caravel 30 mm is a seven-element wide-field eyepiece with an 82-degree apparent field and a 2 in barrel. Its 44.0 mm field stop sets a wide true field at low power. The eyepiece requires a 2 in focuser, diagonal, or Barlow lens, and it suits telescopes of f/5 and slower.

A 30 mm eyepiece gives low to moderate magnification in most telescopes: 23x in a 700 mm refractor, 40x in a 1,200 mm Dobsonian, and 68x in a 2,032 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain. In the 1,200 mm telescope, the true field is about 2.1 degrees, enough to contain the Double Cluster in Perseus with room around both clusters. In the 700 mm refractor, the true field widens to about 3.6 degrees, which suits scanning star fields in the Milky Way.

The seven elements are fully multi-coated, and the barrel interior is blackened to reduce internal reflections. The rubber eyecup folds down for observers who wear glasses, giving 18 mm of eye relief, and folds up to block stray light. At 560 g, the eyepiece places a substantial load on the focuser, so check the rated payload of your focuser and diagonal before use with a heavy telescope.

The barrel is threaded for 2 in filters. Because the field stop of 44.0 mm exceeds the 27.5 mm limit for 1.25 in barrels, the eyepiece is built only for a 2 in barrel. It is a practical choice for low-power survey work and for framing large objects such as the Veil Nebula in a wide-field setup.

About this configuration

The Halden Caravel 30 mm ultra-wide 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. The twist-up eyecup sets your eye at the right distance from the lens, with or without glasses.

The black anodized barrel and body resist scratches and do not reflect light into the eyepiece. This is the 2023 edition of the Caravel line, the earliest version that is still listed in the catalog. Check the barrel size in the specifications against your focuser or star diagonal before you choose a configuration.

What's in the box

• Eyepiece with fold-down rubber eyecup
• Top and bottom dust caps
• Padded storage case

Compatibility notes

• Requires a 2 in focuser, diagonal, or Barlow lens.
• The barrel accepts 2 in filters.
• The 44.0 mm field stop exceeds the 27.5 mm limit for 1.25 in barrels and does not fit 1.25 in fittings.
• The field edge may show softening in telescopes faster than f/5.