Eyepiece and Barlow

[Jerry]

You've been given a £300 voucher for your local telescope dealer, you want a new eyepice to view the planets ( Jupiter Saturn etc ) , one to view DSO's and a new Barlow, which ones would you spend the voucher on, btw you cant add to you voucher 🤔

[BAZ]

What scope do you have and would you prefer 1.25" or 2"?

[+Bino-viewer]

Assuming you're using your SW 250 Dob, i'd look at the SW range of UWA planetary's for higher power viewing.

Good value at £50 each and take your pick from 6 between 2.5mm and 9mm.

Lots of other options here, of course : the William Optics 'Swan' range 9mm is £74.

 

But remember, too much mag will not help much. I'd keep the power somewhere between 100 - 150x for now and see how you get on.

I'd forget about a Barlow for the time being.

 

Viewing DSO's at low power is a bit more problematic.

The SW range of Plossls for eg may look attractive, but the are really designed for scopes slower the F6 and yours is F4.7 at 1200mm focal length.

Coma will be an issue for you, and if you go for something in the 30mm or higher range you may well see the scopes secondary mirror in the middle of the field of view.

 

In short, because you have a 'faster scope' it will be more 'fussy' with eyepieces in the lower power department.

Better to save, (or buy second hand) and get a good, well corrected eyepiece that will be up to the job, and i'd recommend something in the 20 -25mm range.

Better still, come to an observing meet, and look through, and try out a few different options and see what works for you and your scope.

 

HTH, Rob 🙂🔭

 

 

[Jerry]

9 hours ago, BAZ said:

What scope do you have and would you prefer 1.25" or 2"?

SW 250 flexi tube,  never used a 2" eyepiece, the ones I have are the 10mm and 25mm that came with it a Nirvarna 16mm and a Celestron zoom, I'd loaded all my gear up to come to the last dark site meet but had to do babysitting duties at the last minute

[Jerry]

Thanks Baz, any make of eyepiece in the 20-25mm range you'd recommend, have been looking at the ES

[+Bino-viewer]

The ES are very nice indeed. (This is Rob, by the way, not Baz)

 

Never owned one myself though. 

I remember my astro society had a 30/82 which i remember using a few times which gave lovely views.

 

They do a 24/82 version but they're not cheap at £306 from FLO.

Some eyepieces and alot of astro gear in general is now what i'd call silly money. Some crazy prices out there.

I really would go for second hand eyepieces as there are some bargains out there. Just to keep it real price wise.

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bino-viewer

[+Streetbob]

I have  18, 11 and 6.7  ES 82 eps. i find they are good solid eyepieces and give good views and not silly money. I don’t get the full wide view benefits now I wear varifocals so they don’t get out often. 

[BAZ]

I have the Skywatcher 26mm Panaview, this won't break the bank, but it does suffer a bit from the usual coma around the edges. It works really well on my Dob and is my favourite for finding the fainter fuzzies. For my eyes, I can see the grey mist move through the field and that gentle movement is what differentiates the object from background sky.

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/panaview-2-eyepieces.html

 

Can be obtained from elsewhere, but a competative price.

Edited September 10, 2022 by BAZ

[Jerry]

Which one of those 3 would you recommend Baz, I like my Nirvana 16mm  ( that's the only EP I have other than the stock ones so cant compare the quality with any other) and wondered whether to get one of those in a high power eyepiece and then get one of the Panaviews, did also consider the Baader Hyperion, bit above my price range but could always save for a bit longer 🙂

Edited September 10, 2022 by Jerry

[BAZ]

Personally, I wouldn't rush into it, wait until the next meet and have a look round. It's a bit subjective, what might suit me could be completely wrong for you. ES have a good reputaion, Teleview have their ardent fans (along with deep pockets) and there are a pletora of others. You need to find one that suits your eye and one that's not a chore to spend hours looking through.

 

[Jerry]

Will do thanks,, hopefully there will be a meet at one of the dark sites soon

[+Glafnazur]

I have the 6.7 and 14 ES 82 and they are good eyepieces, I have the ES 28 and 40 Maxvision 68 eyepieces which I picked up second hand and they perform well too. I've also got three of the Baader Morpheus range the 4.5, 9 and 17.5 and they are really nice eyepieces, the 17.5 has become my new 'go to' eyepiece replacing the 14mm ES 82 and I hope to get the complete range eventually. Like Baz suggests you're probably best to try and sample some at a meet or star party before committing yourself.

[Jerry]

What is it that you prefer between the 17.5 and the 14mm eyepieces?

[tuckstar]

On 10/09/2022 at 10:14, Jerry said:

did also consider the Baader Hyperion, bit above my price range but could always save for a bit longer 🙂

I used a set of hyperion with my old f7, they are great eyepieces, but, I upgraded to a 250px and they just didn't perform as well at f4.7. Upgraded to the es 100° and they are really nice if you like that kind of view, a little coma, but to be expected and I have a coma corrector I've never used so it can't be that bad. Anyway your welcome to try them at a meet. I would try as many as possible, everybody's eyes are different what works for one might not for another, spend as much as you can afford. You can, 95% of the time, use them on any scope you may get in the future, and they can be an investment. Some of mine are now worth more second hand than I paid new! With a fast scope you will benefit from well corrected eyepieces.

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by tuckstar

[+Glafnazur]

On 10/09/2022 at 13:52, Jerry said:

What is it that you prefer between the 17.5 and the 14mm eyepieces?

I like the build quality of the morpheus, it is good to able to use it with either a 1.25 or 2 inch diagonal and I think the stars are sharper than the ES 14.