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Old 15-12-2018, 05:09 PM
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FredinBroome (Fred)
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Buying lenses and filters in a kit, good or bad move

Hi all,


I just purchased a 200/1200 Saxon dobsonian scope and am interested in getting some lens and filters in a kit i.e Orion 1.25" Premium Telescope Accessory Kit. I found one second hand and was wondering if buying a kit was the way to go or not. Just a newbie here so any advice is welcome.


Cheers,
Fred
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Old 15-12-2018, 07:53 PM
astroturf (Bryan)
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Hi Fred
I would avoid buying a kit of eyepieces
you will find after a while you have a couple of favourites you always go for
& never use the rest, & if you do its to little effect

better off going for 2 or 3 ideal sizes that suit you & up the quality

I have only 2 eps, I sold all the ones I didnt seem to be using and have'nt missed them since

Bryan
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Old 15-12-2018, 08:35 PM
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Originally Posted by astroturf View Post
Hi Fred
I would avoid buying a kit of eyepieces
you will find after a while you have a couple of favourites you always go for
& never use the rest, & if you do its to little effect

better off going for 2 or 3 ideal sizes that suit you & up the quality

I have only 2 eps, I sold all the ones I didnt seem to be using and have'nt missed them since

Bryan
Thanks for the advice Bryan. Is there any preference. I've been checking expensive lens kits with only 3 pieces to narrow my selection. I've seen these relatively cheap Starguider duel ED lens's that look nice but I'm not in a hurry. I might fall in love with the lenses that come with my telescope heheh


Cheers mate
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Old 15-12-2018, 08:48 PM
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gaseous (Patrick)
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Originally Posted by FredinBroome View Post
I might fall in love with the lenses that come with my telescope heheh
Pretty unlikely I reckon! Good to try a few different eyepieces at some local astronomy nights if possible. I can recommend the Baader 8-24 zoom if you want a reasonable allrounder.
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Old 15-12-2018, 09:11 PM
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Pretty unlikely I reckon! Good to try a few different eyepieces at some local astronomy nights if possible. I can recommend the Baader 8-24 zoom if you want a reasonable allrounder.
Hi Patrick, I was only joking about the token lenses hehe. That's why I'm doing some research now. I'm better off getting quality lenses and filters as these will always stay with me to use on my next scope when that eventually will happen. Thanks for your advice mate, I'll check that lens out.


Cheers mate
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  #6  
Old 16-12-2018, 06:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FredinBroome View Post
was wondering if buying a kit was the way to go or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astroturf View Post
Hi Fred
I would avoid buying a kit of eyepieces
you will find after a while you have a couple of favourites you always go for
& never use the rest, & if you do its to little effect
better off going for 2 or 3 ideal sizes that suit you & up the quality
I think it really depends on how many eyepieces, filters, and other accessories the kit has, as to how much will turn out to be waste.

In my case, I bought the now semi-discontinued Sky-Watcher Eyepiece and Filter Kit to use with my Sky-Watcher 130/650 tabletop collapsible Dobsonian. I call the eyepiece kit 'semi-discontinued' as the manufacturer of Sky-Watcher, Synta, still do the kit under their Celestron brand.
The kit contains a 15mm Kellner, 6mm Plössl, 2x Barlow, Lunar filter, Blue 80A filter, and Red 25 filter.
Australian Geographic list the Celestron kit for $149.99. Celestron Astromaster Accessory Kit. That's nearly twice what I paid.
https://shop.australiangeographic.co...ssory-kit.html

In terms of usefulness for me, the 6mm Plössl has turned out to basically be a paperweight. The Red 25 filter, I didn't find a use for. The Lunar filter gets use when viewing the moon, and the 80A I use for viewing some planets. The 2x Barlow, and 15mm Kellner immediately became, and have stayed, immediate go-to pieces of kit.
The 15mm Kellner is a nice in-between size to the stock Sky-Watcher Super 10 and Super 25 modified achromats, and is better quality.
The 2x Barlow, is for when I need more focal length to increase magnification.

Going by what Bryan describes, I should have retired the Sky-Watcher 15mm Kellner, after buying the Saxon Cielo HD 12mm, as the Saxon is far higher quality and is very close in magnification to the 15mm. I use the 15mm Kellner for basic viewing to see if there's anything I want to examine in more detail with the Saxon eyepieces and possibly the Barlow.

Fred, with your Saxon telescope, one question comes to mind, do you want to stay with Plössl type eyepieces, or look at other types?
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Old 16-12-2018, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post
I think it really depends on how many eyepieces, filters, and other accessories the kit has, as to how much will turn out to be waste.

In my case, I bought the now semi-discontinued Sky-Watcher Eyepiece and Filter Kit to use with my Sky-Watcher 130/650 tabletop collapsible Dobsonian. I call the eyepiece kit 'semi-discontinued' as the manufacturer of Sky-Watcher, Synta, still do the kit under their Celestron brand.
The kit contains a 15mm Kellner, 6mm Plössl, 2x Barlow, Lunar filter, Blue 80A filter, and Red 25 filter.
Australian Geographic list the Celestron kit for $149.99. Celestron Astromaster Accessory Kit. That's nearly twice what I paid.
https://shop.australiangeographic.co...ssory-kit.html

In terms of usefulness for me, the 6mm Plössl has turned out to basically be a paperweight. The Red 25 filter, I didn't find a use for. The Lunar filter gets use when viewing the moon, and the 80A I use for viewing some planets. The 2x Barlow, and 15mm Kellner immediately became, and have stayed, immediate go-to pieces of kit.
The 15mm Kellner is a nice in-between size to the stock Sky-Watcher Super 10 and Super 25 modified achromats, and is better quality.
The 2x Barlow, is for when I need more focal length to increase magnification.

Going by what Bryan describes, I should have retired the Sky-Watcher 15mm Kellner, after buying the Saxon Cielo HD 12mm, as the Saxon is far higher quality and is very close in magnification to the 15mm. I use the 15mm Kellner for basic viewing to see if there's anything I want to examine in more detail with the Saxon eyepieces and possibly the Barlow.

Fred, with your Saxon telescope, one question comes to mind, do you want to stay with Plössl type eyepieces, or look at other types?
Hi Jenifur,

Thanks for your input. I actually researched about the Baader 8-24mm zoom eyepiece Mk 4 and heard mostly excellent reports about them. I found one at a great price with free shipping from Astro Petes so I went ahead and purchased it, just then actually hehe. I'm still looking for filters but in no hurry and will get some after more research is done. I do have a moon filter that came with a crappy F36050 so I will try that when the moon is brighter as it appears all telescope optics are interchangeable.


Thanks to Patrick for giving me the heads up.


Cheers, Fred
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Old 16-12-2018, 08:06 PM
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Originally Posted by FredinBroome View Post
Hi Jenifur,

Thanks for your input. I actually researched about the Baader 8-24mm zoom eyepiece Mk 4 and heard mostly excellent reports about them. I found one at a great price with free shipping from Astro Petes so I went ahead and purchased it, just then actually hehe.
The Baader zoom is a great eyepiece.
I'd like to add some of the fixed length Baader Hyperion eyepieces to my collection some day.
I do all my astronomy shopping at Astro Anarchy (used to be called Astro Pete's)

Quote:
I'm still looking for filters but in no hurry and will get some after more research is done. I do have a moon filter that came with a crappy F36050 so I will try that when the moon is brighter as it appears all telescope optics are interchangeable.
They are not all interchangable
There's 3 common eyepiece mount sizes.
.965in, common for el-cheapo department store junk.
1.25in, common for smaller good telescopes.
2in, common for larger size telescopes.
Filters are specific to each eyepiece barrel size.

Looking up the info on the F36050, it's got the .965in mount, so its eyepieces and filters will be unusable on your Saxon.
You'll have to buy new filters to use with your new Baader. That's the Bad News.
The Good News is Astro Anarchy carries a great range of filters to suit, so More Astronomy Shopping to do.
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Old 16-12-2018, 09:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post
The Baader zoom is a great eyepiece.
I'd like to add some of the fixed length Baader Hyperion eyepieces to my collection some day.
I do all my astronomy shopping at Astro Anarchy (used to be called Astro Pete's)



They are not all interchangable
There's 3 common eyepiece mount sizes.
.965in, common for el-cheapo department store junk.
1.25in, common for smaller good telescopes.
2in, common for larger size telescopes.
Filters are specific to each eyepiece barrel size.

Looking up the info on the F36050, it's got the .965in mount, so its eyepieces and filters will be unusable on your Saxon.
You'll have to buy new filters to use with your new Baader. That's the Bad News.
The Good News is Astro Anarchy carries a great range of filters to suit, so More Astronomy Shopping to do.
Quote:
Looking up the info on the F36050, it's got the .965in mount, so its eyepieces and filters will be unusable on your Saxon.

It was just a thought to recycle some telescope parts. I will get some filters later for my Baader lens when I deem it necessary. For now I will just enjoy my scope with the better lens and see where I go from there. I think that the F36050 will be gifted to someone hehe


Cheers
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Old 17-12-2018, 07:19 AM
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gaseous (Patrick)
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The Baader zoom should get a lot of use - mine is still my go-to ep for general viewing, and with a Barlow should meet most of your magnification requirements. You may look at something with a longer focal length (30mm) for more widefield viewing, and you may or may not need an extension tube to reach focus with the zoom, (alternatively have it sitting out of the focuser a bit - careful with this method!)
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Old 17-12-2018, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by gaseous View Post
The Baader zoom should get a lot of use - mine is still my go-to ep for general viewing, and with a Barlow should meet most of your magnification requirements. You may look at something with a longer focal length (30mm) for more widefield viewing, and you may or may not need an extension tube to reach focus with the zoom, (alternatively have it sitting out of the focuser a bit - careful with this method!)
Hey Patrick,


I'm sure it will. Apart from the superior optics of the Baader Zoom, the convenience of having to just click the lens to change focus will save me having to stuff around physically changing lenses. By the way, a suggestion for a Baader barlow x2 I think it was was shown. Do you think this is necessary mate?
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Old 17-12-2018, 04:56 PM
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By the way, a suggestion for a Baader barlow x2 I think it was was shown. Do you think this is necessary mate?
A Barlow increases the focal length of a telescope by the multiplier value of the Barlow.
That means your 1200mm Dobsonian, with a 2x Barlow, then has an effective focal length of 2400mm.
That in turn increases the magnification of an eyepiece.
You need to know the maximum magnification your telescope can effectively use.
As an example, my 130/650 tabletop Dobsonian, has a theoretical max of 325x, but an effective max of 250x. This means that the maximum eyepiece I can use with a 2x Barlow is 5.2mm. Without a Barlow, 2.6mm.
My thoughts on a Barlow is that it is an essential piece of kit.
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Old 17-12-2018, 05:31 PM
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Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post
A Barlow increases the focal length of a telescope by the multiplier value of the Barlow.
That means your 1200mm Dobsonian, with a 2x Barlow, then has an effective focal length of 2400mm.
That in turn increases the magnification of an eyepiece.
You need to know the maximum magnification your telescope can effectively use.
As an example, my 130/650 tabletop Dobsonian, has a theoretical max of 325x, but an effective max of 250x. This means that the maximum eyepiece I can use with a 2x Barlow is 5.2mm. Without a Barlow, 2.6mm.
My thoughts on a Barlow is that it is an essential piece of kit.
I'll definitely keep a barlow in mind Jenifur for the future. I will see how my current rig goes and then play it by ear. I just purchased a second hand scope to add to my collection which I couldn't resist so funds are a bit tight for a little while hehe.


Thanks again for your help. Cheers Fred
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Old 17-12-2018, 05:46 PM
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Fred , there is a Baader zoom in the classifieds just now for $210 , not a bad price .

Brian.
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Old 17-12-2018, 05:50 PM
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Fred , there is a Baader zoom in the classifieds just now for $210 , not a bad price .

Brian.
Hi Brian Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately I already purchased a new one...them's the breaks. I'm sure some lucky person will get onto that one. Cheers mate
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Old 17-12-2018, 06:19 PM
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I really only use my Barlow for planets, which I don't do all that often. If you're not into planets then you could possibly hold off on the Barlow for a while.
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Old 17-12-2018, 06:25 PM
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I really only use my Barlow for planets, which I don't do all that often. If you're not into planets then you could possibly hold off on the Barlow for a while.
Yes Patrick good advice. I've spent enough already and I'm going to enjoy what I have once it all arrives. I should get my scope this week fingers crossed
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