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Old 16-09-2017, 12:47 AM
AEAJR (Ed)
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AEAJR is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Long Island, New York, USA
Posts: 372
Cool

Welcome to the universe.

A few things to consider.

Assuming that scope takes 1.25" eyepieces, eypieces are universal so you can move them from scope to scope. Investments in eyepieces for this scope can be carried forward.

Plossls are the bargain of the astronomy eyepieces. They are low cost yet give bright sharp images. People are crazy for wide view eyepieces, but Plossls give the best bang for the buck in terms of field of view and a sharp image. Even many of the off brand Plossl eyepieces are quite good. If you are a tight budget, these are great!

Zoom Eyepieces - I have 20 eyepieces for my 3 scopes but I spend most of my time with my zoom eyepieces. The Celestron 8-24 zoom (US $65, I am in the USA) is quite inexpensive and produces images comparable to my Plossl eyepieces. You might want to consider one. That, combined with your barlow, will likely give you the full range of magnifications for your telescope with just the zoom and the barlow.

I usually recommend a 32 mm Plossl, for low power wide views, a zoom and a barlow as the optimum combination for many people. And I have many other eyepieces available, but I just love the zoom.

For example, in my Meade ETX 80 mm refractor I have the 32 mm plossl for 12.5X and over 4 degree FOV. Very binocular like view. Then I drop in the zoom for 16X to 50X. I then drop that into a 3X barlow and have 50X to 150X. That is every magnification between 16X and 150X. All of them for the price of 1 or 2 Plossl eyepieces.
  • I never expected the zoom eyepiece to become my primary eyepiece, but it has.
  • The Celestron 8-24 zoom is good and comparable to my Plossl eyepieces ($65)
  • The Baader Hyperion zoom, which I also have, is great and comparable to my Explore Scientific eyepieces ( $289)
  • Watching doubles split as I rotate the barrel is wonderful
  • One filter serves over a wide range of magnifications, no screwing and unscrewing to try other eyepieces
  • Moving smoothly from and between small changes in magnification helps when seeing is not the best
  • I am always working at the optimum magnification for this target.
  • Sharing the view with others is easier, especially in my manual tracking Dob - I hand it over at low mag so it stays in the view longer. They zoom back in to whatever magnification works best for them.
  • My eyepiece case has been greatly simplified
  • Kids love the zoom


Over time you will spend far more on eyepieces than you will spend on telescopes, so don't be surprised. Some eyepieces can be over $800 US.

Last edited by AEAJR; 16-09-2017 at 01:05 AM.
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