Your eyepiece family!

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Originally Posted by entr0py

Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?

I have a big collection of eyepieces Takahashi, Televue, Pentax XW's, TMB Supermonocentrics, Zeiss, Docter 12.5mm and newly acquired Nikon Nav's but I seem always to come back to the Takahashi LE's for viewing Planets. I am eager to try the new range of Takahashi TPL's.

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by entr0py

Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?

Pairs of Tak LE 5mm and 7.5mm in Zeiss binoviewer at the back end of TOA130NFB…..

[EpickCrom (Joe)]

Originally Posted by entr0py

Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?

Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.

[croweater (Richard)]

Originally Posted by EpickCrom

Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.

Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard

[EpickCrom (Joe)]

Originally Posted by croweater

Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard

Hi Richard, I heartily agree! They are very good "bang for your buck" eyepieces. I too like the 60° AFOV they have and yes those screw up eyecups are very nice. I also have the Cielo HD 4.5mm and 2.3mm, they are also good for planetary and lunar observations and come close to my 6.5mm for sharpness . I'm glad that you are enjoying yours as much as I'm enjoying mine

Clear Skies
Joe

[Dave882 (David)]

In my binoviewers I only use 2 pairs for pretty much everything:
Denkmeier D21mm FMC for Solar and Lunar
Burgess 9mm TMB Planetary for major and minor planets or Lunar if the conditions are excellent

These give me around 200x and 450x in the c14 (bit less with the powerswitch) and found both to be great contrast and really sharp. Although I’ve got my eye out for something around the 5-6mm for those nights of exceptional seeing.

[JeniSkunk (Jenifur)]

Originally Posted by entr0py

Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?

Originally Posted by EpickCrom

Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

Originally Posted by croweater

Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard

Another Saxon Cielo HD eyepieces user here, I've had mine since Pete at Astro Anarchy first started stocking them. I've three eyepieces in the range, the 25mm, 12mm, and the 6.5mm. I posted about what ones I have, in post number 357 in this thread.
The 6.5mm is my go to for most tasks, with the 12mm being used mostly as a general viewing ep. The 12mm is my immediate go to for general lunar viewing. At dark sites I can get transport to, that's when the 25mm gets its most use. It's good for constellations and nebulas, which you simply can't see in urban light pollution.
I don't have any Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces, but I wouldn't mind trying some out to see how they compare to the Saxons.

[MTregz (Michael)]

Originally Posted by EpickCrom

Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.

I'll have to look into that, thanks for sharing

[Crater101 (Warren)]

I have most of the Celestron X-Cel LX 1.25 eyepieces (2.3, 5. 9, 12, 18, & 25mm) and I find them great for planetary viewing, and quite good for general observing. They're accompanied by X-Cel LX 2x and 3x Barlows.

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

I have a homemade 6"f7 Newt, optimised for visual obs with a 3.5% by area secondary. It only takes 1.25" eyepieces. My other scopes 18" dob, 8" Vixen cass and 80mm and 100mm refractors all have 2" focusers.

Over the years I have assembled an excellent set of mostly premium eyepieces. Most of the premium eyepieces have been purchased second hand here on IIS.


2" eyepieces
GSO SV 42mm (54 deg)
31mm* & 17mm* Naglers (82 deg)

1.25" eyepieces
Unitron 40mm Kellner
Meade 25mm & 12mm Orthoscpic (45 deg)
Denkmeier D21mm* and D14mm (65 deg)*
University Optics 16mm König (65 deg)
Explore Scientific 11mm (82 deg)
Pentax XW10* & XW5* (70 deg)
Nagler 12mm* and 7mm* (82 deg)

* Purchased 2nd hand

For some reason, the Denkmeiers are resold at very discounted prices. They are really superb eyepieces in fast newts and longer f ratio scopes. Many members of my circle of friends all own the 14mm and 21mm Denkmeiers.
The Naglers, Denks and Pentax are the jewels in this set. The others are good eyepieces, just not superb eyepieces.


Joe

[Matthieu]

Originally Posted by Crater101

I have most of the Celestron X-Cel LX 1.25 eyepieces (2.3, 5. 9, 12, 18, & 25mm) and I find them great for planetary viewing, and quite good for general observing. They're accompanied by X-Cel LX 2x and 3x Barlows.

I also have a few of the X-Cel LX's (25, 12, 9, 7 and 5mm). They serve me well in a 16" f/4 dob which is no mean feat. I liked all of them aside from the 5 but that's probably because 360x is too much mag most nights. Also, a couple of them had the known issue of small bits of metal on the inside which were very visible on the moon until I cleaned it. I'd be curious to hear whether the Saxon Cielo have better quality control.

I've started upgrading eyepieces so have an ES 68° 40mm (for my frac), a few Ultima Edges (30, 18 and 15mm), an ES 82° 11mm and the SvBony sv215 3-8mm zoom. So far, I've only properly compared the zoom to the X-Cel LX's and the zoom seems both brighter and sharper to me than the 7 and 9 X-Cel Lx's which are my favourite.

[Matthieu]

Originally Posted by OzEclipse

The Naglers, Denks and Pentax are the jewels in this set. The others are good eyepieces, just not superb eyepieces.

It's a great set, even the B team eyepieces are well rated.