New Celestron 8SE User; Best eyepieces?

[milkyway_dingo (Simon)]

Good Day,

So thanks to those who gave me some really awesome advice about power supplies & batteries.


It's time for me to consider eyepieces!

I believe the scope will be coming with a stock 25mm eyepiece.

I know I don't know much about them, & I will be pouring through threads on here & other places over the next few days before the scope arrives.

I would really like some advice about what would be the best one or two or few pieces to get started, besides what will be coming with the scope.

I intend to look at *everything* at some point (not considering solar observations until much much later..), so I imagine I will need a good range of pieces for the various tasks.

For the other Celestron 8SE users: What have you found to be good matches for the scope? Anything to avoid like the plague?


I had seen these 'zoomable' eyepieces.. Which I am not sure about. Theres this cheaper Celestron one, but I think people find the Baader ones to be better?

Celestron 8-24 zoomable eyepiece

Baader Hyperion Zoom

Baader Hyperion MKIII


Are these zoomable eyepieces worth it?
Will one of these practically replace 2-3 separate eyepieces?

Thanks in advance

Time for me to start reading

[Atmos (Colin)]

Although I have never used them from an optical standpoint, you're better off getting a fixed lens than a zoomable. An exceptional zoom eye piece may be better than some fixed eye pieces but having several decent eye pieces will give better views.

Just to reiterate, this is coming from someone that has no experience with zoom eye pieces, just be knowledge of optics and the sheer difficulty of making them work at both extremes.

[traveller (Bo)]

Hi Simon,
Do you have a budget in mind? 1.25" or 2"?
I can recommend the old celestron silver top plossls and also the vixen lv series, both have excellent contrast and relatively cheap ($50-80 each second hand). The only downside is they have relatively narrow field of view.
Hope that helps.
Bo

[casstony]

Originally Posted by milkyway_dingo

I had seen these 'zoomable' eyepieces.. Which I am not sure about. Theres this cheaper Celestron one, but I think people find the Baader ones to be better?

Hi Simon, I like zoom eyepieces for their convenience and most modern zooms are decent. The main advantage of the Hyperion over the Celestron is a wider field of view. The Celestron is decent (I've owned one) and given it's low price I might buy that to get the range of focal lengths while keeping an eye out in the classifieds for suitable widefield eyepieces.

The Explore Scientific 68 degree and 82 degree eyepieces are very good quality and more moderately priced than the premium brands. Avoid buying shorter focal length/high magnification eyepieces until you work out what magnifications your observing site will allow you to reach.

[milkyway_dingo (Simon)]

Thanks to everybody on here for the advice

I decided to just get the Celestron zoom eyepiece thingy, about $90 off of eBay.

I don't really have a set budget at the moment for more eyepieces. I think I will pick them up as time goes by, & I get a better idea of what I want or need.
I still need to look further into the difference between 1.25"& 2" eyepieces. I would have assumed that they are just different form factors, but I suspect I may be wrong.

Still learning little bits as I go

Thanks again, IIS

[casstony]

If your observing location is a badly light polluted backyard there's nothing to gain from a 2" diagonal and 2" eyepieces. The reason to go to 2" gear is to get low power wide fields of view for observing larger DSO's. If you have or can get to darker skies a 2" SCT diagonal and Explore Scientific 34mm eyepiece (for example) would give nice views of various nebulae and star clusters.
Stick with the screw-on type 2" diagonal to avoid the diagonal hitting the drive base.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Simon, if your scope comes with the 25mm E-Lux then don't throw it away as its a pretty decent eyepiece as 25mm plossls go, it's sharp, decent eye relief and friendly to use. Best eyepiece I've ever had come with a scope, I still use it occasionally as it's an old friend

Zooms are a question of taste...I prefer a couple of carefully chosen fixed focal lengths. I'd recommend a 8-10mm ortho for higher magnification planetary viewing on better than average nights. You should be able to pick up a very nice one for around $100. Then I'd suggest a 12-14mm for nights that aren't so great, maybe with a little more apparent FOV.

[milkyway_dingo (Simon)]

Thanks for the info on the 2" eyepieces Tony, clears that up nicely

Dunk,

The eyepiece that came with the scope does not have 'E-Lux' written on it. Just "25mm PLOSSL". Looks like I may have just missed out.


I did get the Celestron 8-24mm zoom, & I have to say that I am not impressed with it, so far.
I checked out M22 the night I got it, & through the zoom (set at 24mm), it was fainter & more blurry then when I switched back over to the 25mm.
M22 was *stunning* through the 25mm, & rather unimpressive through the zoom.

I'll keep having a go with the zoom (when the weather improves, haha..). I won't write it off just yet, & it probably will be more impressive at a decent dark sky site.

Dunk, would be be able to give me some specific examples of eyepieces in the ranges you mentioned? (8-10mm ortho & 12-14mm, presumably also ortho?)

Cheers

[casstony]

Originally Posted by milkyway_dingo

I checked out M22 the night I got it, & through the zoom (set at 24mm), it was fainter & more blurry then when I switched back over to the 25mm.

Some of the zooms are poor at one end of their range. The Celestron has its poorest image quality at 24mm (although it should still be fine on axis). It also has a narrow field of view at 24mm, the afov being about 40 degrees. It should perform better at other settings.

[milkyway_dingo (Simon)]

Just got back from a quick session with the neighbours;
New neighbour had never looked through a telescope before, so he was impressed

Also, before I had only tried out the scope setup on the front deck, and while that deck feels nice & stable, it actually isn't.
But this time, being setup on the ground, it was noticably more stable & easier to view Saturn & M22.
The Celestron zoom did perform better this time around. The extra shaking from the deck wasn't helping the situation.

I'm warming upto the zoom now. Slowly...

[rrussell1962]

Hi Simon, I have both the Celestron zoom and the Baader Hyperion zoom and did a comparison last night with the Nexstar 8se. The Baader zoom is, I think, a better performer, sharper off axis and with more contrast. Also the field of view is slightly larger at all focal lengths. The Baader also has click stops at the 12, 16 and 20 settings - which is useful. But then of course the Baader is a lot more expensive.

The one disadvantage they both have for me is that the field of view is quite narrow at the 24mm setting. My preference is for a wider field of view around the 24mm range to make sure that objects always end up in the field of view after a GOTO. Apart from that I was generally satisfied with the Baader Hyperion zoom.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Originally Posted by milkyway_dingo

The eyepiece that came with the scope does not have 'E-Lux' written on it. Just "25mm PLOSSL". Looks like I may have just missed out.


I did get the Celestron 8-24mm zoom, & I have to say that I am not impressed with it, so far.
I checked out M22 the night I got it, & through the zoom (set at 24mm), it was fainter & more blurry then when I switched back over to the 25mm.
M22 was *stunning* through the 25mm, & rather unimpressive through the zoom.

I'll keep having a go with the zoom (when the weather improves, haha..). I won't write it off just yet, & it probably will be more impressive at a decent dark sky site.

Dunk, would be be able to give me some specific examples of eyepieces in the ranges you mentioned? (8-10mm ortho & 12-14mm, presumably also ortho?)

Simon, if the 25 looks good, roll with it

The shorter focal length is probably the one to pick last, as given the higher magnification, it'll be the one you'll use the least. Something like TeleVue 8mm plossl http://www.bintel.com.au/Eyepieces-a...oductview.aspx or one of the orthos from http://www.kkohki.com/English/kkohkiparts.html they really are some of the best out there. Just be warned that neither of them have a lot of eye relief.

In the mid-range you might want a little more apparent FOV but this is totally a case of personal preference. There are lots of good options for a SCT...Baader Hyperion, Vixen LVW, Explore Scientific 82 and 68 degree ranges...and of course the more expensive choices from TeleVue, Pentax, etc.

My biggest recommendation would be to get out there with the local clubs/associations and mingle with other stargazers and see what they are using, hopefully some of them will be kind enough to let you look through and see what options are comfortable to you before you spend any $$

[Moontanner (Ross)]

Hi Simon,

Congratulations on the new scope. The first step to another level of wow!

I read your post and it looked very similar to the one I posted some time ago. Funnily enough, the responses were much the same and I tend to agree with them now.

Credit where credit is due, one of the people from Bintel in Sydney listened to my situation and suggested a 12.5mm eyepiece from their range. The 12.5 Orion Edge on I think.
I bought several others for experimentation later on. The 12.5 is the one that gets used most for planetary stuff. I was able to see that the points of light around Saturn were moons.

My advice. Don't spend too much until you get your head around things. You'll need every cent later on when you work out what you really want to see.

Borrow as many eyepieces as possible first!

[Don Pensack]

Well, an 8SE is a nice scope for just about all object types.
For eyepieces, here are some recommendations:
(all 1.25"):
32mm Plossl (widest possible field in the C8, bright exit pupil, relatively low power, if you use it later with a focal reducer, the field opens up a lot more)
20mm widefield of some sort (good medium power, nice wide enjoyable FOV, excellent exit pupil for visual acuity, good contrast on DSOs)
13 to 14mm widefield of some sort (good high power for planets, small DSOs, double stars and general high power viewing, but a low enough power to avoid bad seeing problems)
A good 2X barlow lens. Adds the equivalent of a 10mm (using the 20mm) and a 6.5-7mm (using the higher power eyepiece). This would yield ultra-high power for superb seeing and planets and Moon and double stars.

Now a couple pointers about observing to make it better:
1) put the scope out at sunset, pointed horizontal, to cool down. When you start observing 90 minutes later when it gets dark, the scope's optics will be cooled down and you will start out with better image quality. If you sit out with it as it gets dark, you will be dark adapted when it gets dark. otherwise, don't try to view anything faint for at least 45 minutes after you go out to view so you start out fully dark adapted.
2) Maximize your telescope's view of every object by trying to view only along or near the S-N meridian where every object is its highest above the horizon.
3) try to never view any object below 30 degrees off the horizon because the air is too thick down there. At 30 degrees, the atmosphere is twice as thick as at the zenith, and at the horizon it's 10 times as thick.
4) try to not view objects needing high resolution (like planets) directly above a roof. Roofs give off heat and the heat causes atmospheric shimmering in the air above them.
5) Spend a lot of time observing. Learning to see is like learning to play the piano. it takes time and a lot of practice. Objects that seem faint at first will seem bright when you go back to view them in a couple of years.
6) Learn all the constellations: get a good planisphere and learn each one that you can see. Once you know them, you will never be lost and the stars will all be familiar when you look up.

[sil (Steve)]

Originally Posted by milkyway_dingo

Are these zoomable eyepieces worth it?
Will one of these practically replace 2-3 separate eyepieces?

YES and YES.

I have Baader Hyperions and after researching the Baader Zoom I bought it. My Hyperions see no light anymore, to my eyes there is no observable difference at the eye and the convenience of the zoom is worth it, I've said it many times the hyperions are hard to beat for the price and an awesome upgrade from bundled eyepieces.

Only issue is in cheaper end scopes where a prime EP is close to limit of focus the zoom probably wont reach focus.

[athua (Gus)]

Originally Posted by milkyway_dingo

I decided to just get the Celestron zoom eyepiece thingy, about $90 off of eBay.

One thing that you may not realise with the Celestron Zoom Eyepiece is that there is a T-thread hidden under the eye-piece rubber. This will allow you to connect a DSLR with an appropriate T-Ring for the camera to the eyepiece.

I have a C8 on an equatorial AVX mount and have used this to image Jupiter and Saturn.