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Eyepieces for 200p (and ED80) thoughts please...


Johnnyaardvark

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Hi All,


 


In know part of this response is going to be... get to meet and try a few out but I am quite keen to upgrade from my stock eps...


 


I am looking at various eyepieces mostly in the mid to budget range that would suite a 200p and soon an Evostar ED80 (As a "travel" scope when I'm not imaging)


 


I am interested in thoughts on the following:


 


Baader Hyperion 68's vs Celestron X-cel lx's?


 


and the above vs BST's?


 


and any comments/thoughts on the Baader Aspheric models?  I am very tempted by the 36mm for wide field views. 


 


I wear glasses and need them on really due to an astigmatism.


 


I have tried one of Tuckstars Baader Panetariums (I assume 68's I think possibly a 5 or 8mm? (ish)) at Wymeswold but only with a loaned ED80 I had (I was quite impressed) and have tried a couple of Celestron ep's both with the ED80 and my 200p which I liked compared to the stock ones I am currently using.


 


If I like the Baader/Celestron ones with the ED80 am I likely to find them nice with the 200p as well? I think I know the answer to that!


 


I am also considering an 8-24 mm zoom. I have used a Celestron one and in spite of it's issues with field of view/eye relief at the short fl end I found I used it a lot as it saved changing eyepieces. How does the Baader one compare? Would you buy a range of fixed focal length ep's as well as a zoom ro would that be a waste?


 


OK, lots of questions there... hoping for some interesting thoughts/comments.


 


Thanks


 


Steve


 


 


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i always struggle to find a good eyepiece i`m very happy with, without going to the prices of teleview panoptics which i know would be amazing in a 200p because i`ve used a mates at a dark site and there very good, all i have at the moment are the hyperions which i believe work better in a slightly slower scope as do most eyepieces and a 32mm panaview which is a very nice reasonable priced eyepiece.


i hear from people that the BST`s are ok but i`ve personally never looked through one. 


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Thanks Rob. Sounds like I could do with trying out some hyperions with the 200p to see how they perform.

Would love a panoptic or two for sure but a bit out my price range for now really. Mostly want an initial upgrade on the stock eps. Interested on thoughts on the 2" vs 1.25 though?

Will have a look at the panaview.

Thanks.

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good thing about the hyperions is that you can use them with 1.25" as well as 2" plus you can use then for eyepiece projection with the right adapter but as said i think they might be better for a slower scope, certainly check out the panaviews, they have some good write ups.


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I've now got three Celestron X-Cels (7,12,25mm) and they work great for me. Did consider the Hyperions but bought a used X-Cel and was impressed.


Good eye relief as I wear my specs , more than adequate field of view (60 deg), good build quality, Less elements than the Hyperion at 1 1/4" and so in theory should be a touch brighter and not quite so expensive for me to buy as a starter set. Hyperions have a 68 deg FOV and good slightly longer eye relief. Think you can only see 60-68 deg FOV without moving your eye.


 


I have to say that I have not tried an Hyperion yet but have tried a few Televue EPs the other night and to my relatively novice eye there was not a massive difference other than fantastic field of view. You were trying to look round corners with the Televues and in focus all the way. Would like to try again sometime - Might invest in some of these in the future  :)  :)


 


So X-Cels worth a go............


 


Ade

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good thing about the hyperions is that you can use them with 1.25" as well as 2" plus you can use then for eyepiece projection with the right adapter but as said i think they might be better for a slower scope, certainly check out the panaviews, they have some good write ups.

 

Thanks Rob,

 

Had seen that re: eye piece projection and may be tempted to try using that technique at some point e.g. for white light imaging of the sun.

 

Do you use yours in 2" or 1.25" mode? Any noticeable differences assuming you've tried both?

 

Read on FLO that the Panaview is not quite clear across the field of view with quite a bit of coma towards the edges. How do you get on with yours? I assume this would be more noticeable in a faster frac?

 

Thanks

 

Steve

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I've now got three Celestron X-Cels (7,12,25mm) and they work great for me. Did consider the Hyperions but bought a used X-Cel and was impressed.

Good eye relief as I wear my specs , more than adequate field of view (60 deg), good build quality, Less elements than the Hyperion at 1 1/4" and so in theory should be a touch brighter and not quite so expensive for me to buy as a starter set. Hyperions have a 68 deg FOV and good slightly longer eye relief. Think you can only see 60-68 deg FOV without moving your eye.

 

I have to say that I have not tried an Hyperion yet but have tried a few Televue EPs the other night and to my relatively novice eye there was not a massive difference other than fantastic field of view. You were trying to look round corners with the Televues and in focus all the way. Would like to try again sometime - Might invest in some of these in the future  :)  :)

 

So X-Cels worth a go............

 

Ade

 

Thanks Ade,

 

Nice to know how you get on as you are using a dob so would be similar to the 200p. The Celestron eps I have used so far were quite nice to my eye's so certainly tempting. Will have to check what the maximum fl goes up to... may end up mixing and matching a bit.

 

I assume all the x-cel's are 1.25".  

 

How do you get on with your shorter fl ep's? Have you had much use out of them yet with respect to seeing conditions?

 

 

Does anyone else have experience of both the Celestrons and Hyperions preferably with a faster scope?

 

Steve

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I can't help too much with regards to your specific questions, but I used the stock eps for a year, the 25mm was ok (ish) the 10mm useless, next I upgraded to a 8-24mm Badder Hyperion zoom mk3, big improvement over the stock eps, every mm ep between 8mm and 24mm, all for £170 in one ep, so no changing. Stuck with that for a while, borrowed some BST explores, they were really good (for the money) but then I lost all common sense and bought a TeleVue 13mm Ethos, at 100 degree apparent FOV the view of the double cluster at 13mm but all of it just showing in the FOV was stunning, crystal clear views right to the very edges, massive improvement over the zoom (as I have found with all single focal length eps over their zoom counterparts). My next ep was a 35mm TeleVue Panoptic, this ep is a 2" ep (compared to the 1.25" of the Ethos) and again, the wide field views are simply stunning, with no noticeable loss of focus towards the edges. While these eps are great for wide field views, open clusters, the veil nebula, the 13mm for lunar, my next purchase is going to be a 2x2" TeleVue Powermate to be used with the 13mm to drop that down to a 6.5mm ep which should be perfect for the solar system objects.

Like mentioned above, this does not answer your specific questions but will hopefully give you an insight into the quality of higher priced eps, I will never sell my TeleVues (unless they make something better) but they will still be fantastic eps regardless of what my next scope may be.

Your more than welcomed to give than a go at the next meet I'm at.

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Thanks Rob,

 

Had seen that re: eye piece projection and may be tempted to try using that technique at some point e.g. for white light imaging of the sun.

 

Do you use yours in 2" or 1.25" mode? Any noticeable differences assuming you've tried both?

 

Read on FLO that the Panaview is not quite clear across the field of view with quite a bit of coma towards the edges. How do you get on with yours? I assume this would be more noticeable in a faster frac?

 

Thanks

 

Steve

i tend to use them more in 2" mode with a 2" diagonal but the little opening on the rear of the Celestron 8" sct doesn`t really allow it to perform to it`s best, though they both suit slower scopes best, i must admit that i haven`t looked through an eyepiece for a while now that i`ve got a fairly good imaging rig so have been spending alot of time on that, and i haven`t tried them at all on the faster william optics gt81 yet !

both the eyepieces are alittle fuzzy at the edges but unless it a massive object your looking at it doesn`t really matter that much as the bit your interested in is in the center, i gave up along time ago trying to get maximum magnification on objects, much better to back off the mag and get a better look although it won`t be as big. clear skies also make the differance, had my best views ever looking though my hyperions and a 6" sct at Kelling star party a few years ago, amazing views, if we do a meet soon i`ll bring them both down for you to try but for the money there not bad.

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I can't help too much with regards to your specific questions, but I used the stock eps for a year, the 25mm was ok (ish) the 10mm useless, next I upgraded to a 8-24mm Badder Hyperion zoom mk3, big improvement over the stock eps, every mm ep between 8mm and 24mm, all for £170 in one ep, so no changing. Stuck with that for a while, borrowed some BST explores, they were really good (for the money) but then I lost all common sense and bought a TeleVue 13mm Ethos, at 100 degree apparent FOV the view of the double cluster at 13mm but all of it just showing in the FOV was stunning, crystal clear views right to the very edges, massive improvement over the zoom (as I have found with all single focal length eps over their zoom counterparts). My next ep was a 35mm TeleVue Panoptic, this ep is a 2" ep (compared to the 1.25" of the Ethos) and again, the wide field views are simply stunning, with no noticeable loss of focus towards the edges. While these eps are great for wide field views, open clusters, the veil nebula, the 13mm for lunar, my next purchase is going to be a 2x2" TeleVue Powermate to be used with the 13mm to drop that down to a 6.5mm ep which should be perfect for the solar system objects.

Like mentioned above, this does not answer your specific questions but will hopefully give you an insight into the quality of higher priced eps, I will never sell my TeleVues (unless they make something better) but they will still be fantastic eps regardless of what my next scope may be.

Your more than welcomed to give than a go at the next meet I'm at.

 

Thanks Daz,

 

Your eyepiece history certainly makes interesting reading as is food for thought. I think I have looked through your 35mm but only at the moon. One day I may be tempted.

 

Regards

 

Steve

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i tend to use them more in 2" mode with a 2" diagonal but the little opening on the rear of the Celestron 8" sct doesn`t really allow it to perform to it`s best, though they both suit slower scopes best, i must admit that i haven`t looked through an eyepiece for a while now that i`ve got a fairly good imaging rig so have been spending alot of time on that, and i haven`t tried them at all on the faster william optics gt81 yet !

both the eyepieces are alittle fuzzy at the edges but unless it a massive object your looking at it doesn`t really matter that much as the bit your interested in is in the center, i gave up along time ago trying to get maximum magnification on objects, much better to back off the mag and get a better look although it won`t be as big. clear skies also make the differance, had my best views ever looking though my hyperions and a 6" sct at Kelling star party a few years ago, amazing views, if we do a meet soon i`ll bring them both down for you to try but for the money there not bad.

 

Cheers Rob,

 

I guess there won't be  many meets for a while.

 

I have an 18mm BST Starguider to have a bit of a play with and my buy it at quite a reduced rate. Would be great at some point to compare the BST's to this and the Celestron ones though.

 

I may bite the bullet and buy something in the mean time but will see. Wonder how much difference the 2" makes over the 1.25" sizes?

 

Steve

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  • 3 months later...
Guest MichaelDurban

I have a 250p and was confronted (like so many others) to make a choice..


I narrowed it down to the B-Hyperions, X-cells, ES 68 degr range and then I saw


the AgenaAstro Starguider (rebranded Astrotech) and went for those...


 


They have a 60 degr FOV and seemed quite reasonable in price (US$ 58,-)


 


I must say though, for a fast scope -apart from TV's- there is only one eyepiece brand


which ticks all the boxes...the ES range.


 


They were on sale last year, but in my 'cheapness' I went for the astroguiders.


 


I sincerely regret that decission.


 


If you can't afford the TV's...go for the ES..

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Guest Tweedledum

Hi Michael,


 


It is horses for courses, I think that the 'astroguoiders' are known here as the BST starguiders which have a very good reputation. BUT you have a large fast scope that would be a test for any eyepiece.


 


I have a fair old mish mash of kit (tackle tramp not tackle queen!) including a starguider which I restrict to long focal length scopes.


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I must say though, for a fast scope -apart from TV's- there is only one eyepiece brand

which ticks all the boxes...the ES range.

 

If you can't afford the TV's...go for the ES..

 

Agreed :thumbsup: .

 

Though ES have actually pushed the bar a little further than TV with the introduction of their 25mm 2", 30mm 3" 100 degree eyepieces and 9mm 120 degree eyepiece. Apparently they are in the process of developing more eyepieces in both their 120 degree series and 3" series.

 

TV do have a much longer reputation and a wider range of superb equipment.

 

I imported my ES eyepieces from AgenaAstro and was very pleased with their quick service, and can confirm that they are a pleasure to deal with by phone and online. Following my online order, it took just 3 days to get the eyepieces into the UK from California, 4 days in UK customs and then 4 days for Royal Mail to ship them internally according to the tracking report I had! 

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Was always going to be a contentious issue especially for a faster scope. Posted this a while ago and in the end did get a few 2nd hand ep's and one new one... mostly at the more budget end. Of course the ES and Televues look great but price wise they will have to wait! 


 


I now have...


 


6mm Zhumell that I have used for some planetary and bright DSO's that I have been very happy with.


4mm UWA - probably a SW. Also planetary - not bad but less impressed - mostly not quite had the seeing conditions [of course] either


 


18mm Starguider ED - quite nice mid range


36mm Aspheric - beautiful for wider fields of view but still not perfect around the edge


 


My eye's are so so and have an astigmatism so have to wear my glasses so even with the very good eye-relief most of these offer I struggle a little to fully get the max field of view in one go.


 


All of these blow the stock ep's out of the water...  except the 2" 28mm LET which I think is actually quite nice with a good bright field.


 


Quite a random selection but pretty happy really. Can't wait to fully use them in anger in darkened and hopefully clearer skies.


 


Thanks for the comments and welcome to the site Michael :)


 


Steve


Edited by Johnnyaardvark
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Guest MichaelDurban

thank you Steve,..


 


We are constantly fighting with coma in our scopes..


 


I do not mind it so much as I always use my ES 2x focal extender in my 25mm and 15mm.


 


Actually those are the only two eyepieces I use..I also have the Starguider ED (BST) 8mm and the GSO 40mm


but seldom use them..now and then for planetary (eh...the 8mm..)


 


I've read the Axioms are very nice too, but also very bulky.


 


In any case...my next savings will go to the ES range..

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest MichaelDurban

yes..I have looked at that but that means changing it when I change


eyepieces.


 


I'd rather have a good eyepiece which gives me good views.

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I'd rather have a good eyepiece which gives me good views.

 

???  :screwloose:

 

You have more than a good eyepiece with Televue, with as good a view as you need, whether you want a Plossel type field of view, or something ultra wide like an Ethos.

 

And the Dioptrx takes care of astigmatism.

 

Thats a win win in my book.

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Guest MichaelDurban

no..i mean I don't want to keep changing the adapter when I


switch eyepieces.


 


I'd rather have a good eyepiece which gives good views without


using an adapter...I don't want to screw in another set of glass..

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Steve : Don't forget Televue do an adapter thing (Dioptrx) to correct for astigmatism.....

 

Not sure if you've factored this in to the mix.... :chin_scratch2:

 

http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=54#.VCNR5L4zLHh

 

Thanks for the info Rob. I had looked at the astigmatism correction before but agree with Michael re: having to change the adapter with each ep.

 

If I had a few televue eyepieces at some point in the future though who knows I may give them a go but all a bit out of my price range at the moment. A nice idea in an ideal situation I guess.  

 

Best wishes

 

Steve

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Well you're welcome to try any of my Televues Steve. 


 


If i ever get up to Belper ( when they have a meet ? )  give me a shout........ :)


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