Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavytone
Eyepieces. Resist the urge to splurge - you really only need 3 for most purposes plus a 4th high-power one when the seeing permits.
I don't use barlows - less glass in the light path is better, ie a good eyepiece.
The shortest fl depends on the focal ratio of your scope but at a guess one around 6-8mm will suit and possibly another around 3.5-4mm.
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Thata what I was thinking. Im still having fun looking through all the ones I have but wanting another to get the magnification up closer to what the scope is capable of. I think the rest will do me until i learn more and know what specifically I might be chasing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaseous
Righto Adam, open up that wallet, or prep a kidney for removal....
Aside from any quality issues, you've probably got enough eyepieces to be going on with. Your 2x Barlow and eyepieces effectively give you 5mm, 6.25mm, 9mm, 10mm, 12.5mm, 16mm, 18mm, 25mm and 32mm. The 12.5mm purchase may have been redundant as you achieve the same magnification with the Barlowed 25mm, and as a Barlowed 10mm and 12.5mm give you 5mm and 6.25mm respectively you probably don't need to buy separate eyepieces at these focal lengths. Not sure how well the basic 10mm EP Barlows - if it's the standard 10mm EP then I'm guessing not too well, and you're probably approaching the effective magnification of your scope with a 5mm EP anyway.
Cheap online collimators are very much hit and miss. You'll pay a lot more for the same model in a store, but they should at least warrant that it's properly aligned for you. As a dob owner this is an important bit of gear. I don't know your budget, but if money permits, get a decent one first up. I've been down the cheap route myself, and it's not worth the hassle. That being said, even the cheap ones should come with a 1.25"-2" adapter.
Cheap online moon filters can be reasonable though. I've got some pretty basic polarizing filters that do a great job and cost peanuts. Not sure about the standard moon filters though. As far as nebula filters go, every person on the forum will have their own opinion as to the best filter. I haven't tried a lot, but I have the DGM NPB filters which are really good - you'd probably be looking at $75USD for a 1.25" and $150USD for the 2".
Big Joe seems to be one of the resident experts on double stars so he may have better ideas, but from my limited knowledge I don't think you need/want any particular filters for viewing these. I'm sure there's a section on what the best gear is for double star viewing.
As always, it comes down to what you're wanting to spend. You certainly seem to have enough eyepieces for the time being, but a collimator would be a handy/essential addition, as would some form of nebula filter. Even a cheap nebula filter is probably going to be better than nothing (depending on your skies). Others will have different ideas! Good luck.
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The barlow I have is 2" and I only have 1 EP in that size. The others are all 1.25". I was thinking a 1.25" barlow for my other eyepieces.
Makes sense regarding the collimator. Im thinking I might buy something half decent to start considering its an essential piece of kit. Crap collimation is only going to lead to crap viewing.
The filters seem like for now I could probably get an array of cheaper nones just to play around with then upgrade when I know what I might want.
Thanks for the replies!