Guest General Cluster Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Having "decided" (yeah right ;-) on a starter scope: SW Equinox ED80 I'm wondering which EPs to start out with. This scope will be a keeper and ultimately used for AP but mainly for observing to start with. As my signature states I wear specs for astigmatism so need long eye relief (approx 20mm I believe). Eventually I'm hoping to purchase a couple of 2" TV Delos EPs, but before that I'd like to see which focal lengths I prefer by trying a couple of "middle of the road" optics. Question1 Which diagonals should I consider that will eventually get the best out of TV Delos eyepieces? Reckon I've got somewhere in the region of £150 to spend. Question2 I'd like to get a quality Barlow from the off: any suggestions? Question3 Which middle of the road EPs with decent relief would be wise to try out? Somewhere in the region of £35-£50. If anybody out there's willing to help me spend some cash (sensibly mind) I would appreciate some input. i have no problem at all with buying second hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) Hi, I`m afraid I cant help with question 1 as I have never owned a diagonal. Question 2, I would seriously consider scrapping the idea of a barlow and just jump right in the deep end and get a Televue Powermate, granted they are expensive (circa £260 for the 2") but from past discussions on here and SGL I think the general concensus is that a powermate has all the advantages of a barlow with none of the disadvantages. I have owned a cheapo barlow before I got rid of it and it was awefull, never bothered with one again. There may be middle of the road barlows out there but I`m not going to bother with them (for example I beleive TAL 2x and 3x barlows are proberbly the best middle of the road barlows you could get). Question 3, bit of a tough one, done a very quick search (as I`m currently at work) and around that price range the chance of finding an ep with 20mm + of eye relief is near on impossible. Best i could find were the William Optics range of ep's, the range is 9mm to 40mm, £59 - £84, all have 72 degree FOV and the eye relief ranges from 12mm to 28mm. Next up the Celestron X-cel LX range has good reveiws, their eye relief is 16mm, 60 defree FOV and range in size from 2.3mm to 25mm, price £64. For large eye releif ep's I think your gonna have to spend big bucks (Televue / Explorer scientific range) to get 20mm + of eye releif across all the mm range of ep's. Hopefully somebody else will be along who's not at work and can spend a bit more time doing searches etc (or if they just know). Happy hunting. Edited July 21, 2014 by Daz Type-R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 good choice for a diagnal must be a william optics 2" although i`m sure the fact that it has william optics on it inflates the price, but i`ve found it to be very good. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/william-optics-2-dielectric-diagonal-with-sct-adaptor.html come up second hand now and again for about £80 these also have had some great reviews, http://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/opticron-dielectric-diagonal.html got too be a bargain at that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) FLO have had an offer on the opticron 2" diag its a class piece of kit, dielectric and with compression bands for the ep's :-- http://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/opticron-dielectric-diagonal.html At a penny under £60 its a bargain. I don't particularly like using barlows but you can pick up an used ED Revelation barlow again with compression rings for around £40 The BST explorers now known as starguiders are excellent value with a 68 deg afov and very comfortable screew up rubber eyecups C£50 :-- http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/bst%20ed%20eyepieces.html Before spending cash, come along to a meet as there will be a wide range of kit to have a peek through. Edited July 21, 2014 by Tweedledum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I discounted the BST as they only have 12-13 mm eye relief. Saying that though, I have looked through a number of them and for the price, you can't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest General Cluster Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Thanks again for the swift responses: the WO kit is what I was thinking re diagonals, and I will indeed pop along to a meet before spending cash: Belper probably. When would be a good time to come? These light nights are getting to me: when will you guys be there in numbers? TBH I have a mountain of fishing reels to sell off first before I start acquiring eye pieces! The good thing about swapping salmon fishing for amateur astronomy is I can enjoy the summer months but secretly want Autumn/Winter to arrive - although with less rain! Tele Vue Powermates eh? A quick web search shows this is definitely the way forward so thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Yeah, a Powermate is on my shopping list for Kelling in 2 months time Trouble with Belper is while the site is cracking, we share it with the cricket club and when they have matches on a Saturday (which is every Saturday in season) they are there quite late so we can only use it mid week or when there are no matches. Once the season finishes some of us are there every weekend weather permitting. Check the announcements section as it shows the cricket season and then when the season is done, check the meets section daily, as meets can be arranged and organised within an hour depending on the weather (can be cancelled just as quick as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have 5mm & 8mm BST's. As a glasses wearer and astigmatic they are very comfortable to view through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have 5mm & 8mm BST's. As a glasses wearer and astigmatic they are very comfortable to view through. I agree, I have the 8mm, 25mm and one other, and I'm looking at getting another of each for my binoviewers. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Keep an eye on asb&s Cazz, they sometimes come up on there. But they are few and far between second hand as they are good value. Cheers Damian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Keep an eye on asb&s Cazz, they sometimes come up on there. But they are few and far between second hand as they are good value. Cheers Damian Thanks Damien, I will, I know they don't hang around long when they do pop up for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) If you drop me a pm with the ep's that you want, i'll send pm if I see any. Cheers Damian Edited July 21, 2014 by Tweedledum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest General Cluster Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 The BSTs you mention: they're only 1.25". How does a view through a 1.25" compare with a 2"? As you can see I'm a proper novice with a lot of reading/experimenting and peeking through others' kit :-D Funny how things turn out: In 1989 I was off to do a degree in cosmology, 25 years later I don't know how a telescope works!!!! LOTS TO DO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tweedledum Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Hi Mark, Only 1.25"!! It really only pays to have 2" EPs in the longer focal length as the field stops are limiting in the shorter focal length EPs. Unless you have very deep pockets. My 13mm nagler is only 1.25", 23mm axiom is 2". See good guide here :-https://www.astronomics.com/how-to-pick-an-eyepiece_t.aspx Cheers Damian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 If you drop me a pm with the ep's that you want, i'll send pm if I see any. Cheers Damian Will do, thank you :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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