anyone used Bintel EP before?

alfredbird · #1 21-01-2007, 10:46 PM

It looks a real good bargin. Below $300 you can have a set of EP. anyone has some other options for starter, such as Meade 4000 set or buy some median quality EP to set up my own set.

My telescope will be a DOB, such as Meade bridge series.

thanks

iceman (Mike) · #2 22-01-2007, 07:02 AM

Is it the SuperView set or plossl set?

astro_nutt · #3 22-01-2007, 09:24 AM

I have the 15mm 4-element wideview (superview?) which compliments my 10" f 4.9 Saxon Dob nicely..very good indeed!!

ving (David) · #4 22-01-2007, 09:38 AM

basically the bintel EPs are relabed GSOs I am lead to believe...
They are good for a starter EP

beware the superviews tho. they are pretty good EPs but not in fast scopes (ie f/5 or faster)

alfredbird · #5 22-01-2007, 11:33 PM

thanks above, it means plossl set would be a better choice, right? but how to judge it is or not

Geoff45 (Geoff) · #6 23-01-2007, 09:55 AM

Basically you get what you pay for. I have a bunch of Bintel Plossls and one Televue Radian. The Bintel plossls are OK, but when I put in the Radian, it's obvious why one costs $349 and the others cost around $40. From now on, I'll be saving my money to get some more top of the line eyepieces. After all, an eyepiece should last a lifetime, so it's a one-off expense.
Geoff

janoskiss (Steve H) · #7 23-01-2007, 02:28 PM

Bintel, ie GSO, plossls are a good way to get started with a comprehensive set of EPs without spending very much money at all. e.g., 32mm 20mm 15mm and a 2x barlow. The supreviews esp the 1.25" ones are no good for fast Dobs IMO. The only one that might be worth considering is the 30mm.

My exp with GSO plossls 32,25,15 and 9mm: the 25mm is the best, followed by the 32mm which vignettes slightly (barrel intrudes on field stop), 9mm is good but tight on eye relief, and 15mm is the weakest of the lot with narrow FOV and/or poor illumination, ie. vignettes quite severely. Never tried the 20mm.

IMO by far the best value premium EPs around for f/5-ish dobs are the Pentax XFs 8.5 and 12mm, available from Frontier Optics. With a good 2x barlow and you will have mid-to-high powers, deep sky and planets, covered. Add one more low power EP and you'd have all occasions pretty well covered.

ving (David) · #8 23-01-2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janoskiss

and 15mm is the weakest of the lot with narrow FOV and/or poor illumination, ie. vignettes quite severely.

my 15mm works pretty well at f6... better than the 30mm.

janoskiss (Steve H) · #9 23-01-2007, 04:55 PM

Ving, if you compared the 15mm GSO plossl with a 15mm Celestron Ultima or Antares Elite or similar, the latter would feel like a superwide, even though it's only a 52 degree plossl.

ving (David) · #10 23-01-2007, 07:06 PM

huh? i thought you were talking about the SW?

Apocrisiary (Michael) · #11 23-01-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janoskiss

..if you compared the 15mm GSO plossl with a 15mm Celestron Ultima or Antares Elite or similar, the latter would feel like a superwide, even though it's only a 52 degree plossl.

The GSO, Ultima and Elite all have 52 deg AFOV. Therefore at 15mm focal length they will give a similar feel...none of them should perform like a superwide because they are not.
If you need an "eyepiece set" because you have a telescope without eyepieces then the Plossl set is an inexpensive way to get a range of magnifications.
If you want premium views then save your pennies and buy a couple of good quality eyepieces.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #12 23-01-2007, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocrisiary

If you need an "eyepiece set" because you have a telescope without eyepieces then the Plossl set is an inexpensive way to get a range of magnifications.
If you want premium views then save your pennies and buy a couple of good quality eyepieces.

A comment I agree with...the GSO (Bintel and others) plossl eyepieces are functional and as a beginner set are a resonable place to start if you are in need of some eyepieces...premium they are not but again they are not priced that way.

If you are just getting started I would not spend money on a whole set...you can do great things with 3 eyepieces...low power, medium power and high power...alternately you could look at 2 eyepieces and a barlow lens gaining 4 different magnifications...

Many people have different eyepiece "strategies" and one can argue successfully for their point of view...I won't open that can of worms right now...

Cheers!

janoskiss (Steve H) · #13 24-01-2007, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocrisiary

The GSO, Ultima and Elite all have 52 deg AFOV. Therefore at 15mm focal length they will give a similar feel...none of them should perform like a superwide because they are not.

I did not mean to say they were. Perhaps I'd better explain. The GSO only has only the central 35-40 degrees fully illuminated. Brightness drops off rapidly from there to the edge and the outer 10-15 degrees are quite dark. The Antares Elites are fully illuminated across the entire FOV. This gives the impression of a much wider FOV, and going from GSO to Antares Plossl does indeed feel very much like going from a good Plossl like the Antares Elite to a super wide angle EP.

alfredbird · #14 24-01-2007, 11:21 PM

I agree that spending money on good EP is more attracting, and also they have better resale value.

Since I can borrow a low-power one and a high-power one, so I am think buy a mid-power to start my set. how many mm will everyone recommand?

Also as Tele Vue is sure for the best EP on market. which range will you say, Naglar, Panoptic or radian, I refer where my glasses all the time.

iceman (Mike) · #15 25-01-2007, 06:39 AM

If you wear glasses and need more eye-relief, the radians are a good range.

On a lightbridge (assuming 10"), then a medium power would be around the 12-15mm focal length.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #16 25-01-2007, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfredbird

I agree that spending money on good EP is more attracting, and also they have better resale value.

Since I can borrow a low-power one and a high-power one, so I am think buy a mid-power to start my set. how many mm will everyone recommand?

Also as Tele Vue is sure for the best EP on market. which range will you say, Naglar, Panoptic or radian, I refer where my glasses all the time.

I'd recommending holding on a while before splashing out on a "premium" eyepiece until you get some observing time under your belt (assuming that you are new to hobby apologies if I am wrong on this)...and I would strongly encourage you to try a few eyepieces out before you buy...

Yes, Televue make fine eyepieces (Naglar, Pan, Radian) as do Pentax (XW and others)...each line has a few characteristics that make them "special" be it a wide field of view or good eye relief and a whole range of other features. There is no single "best" but a range of top notch (think Coke v Pepsi, Holden v Ford...you get the idea)

The high end features are all things that support their high prices (at least that is the justification I use) and give additional enjoyment to some users...

However, not all observers have the experience and know how to take advantage of all of these features (imagine my Grandmother with a Porsche in her garage...great machine but she'll never do it justice...at least my Grandmother won't)...don't rush in and spend big $ until you get a chance to look through a few eyepeices...

Get to a viewing night...most people I've met in this hobby are happy to share views and talk about equipment so that you can learn what to look for.

Good Luck!

ving (David) · #17 25-01-2007, 10:33 AM

well pointed out scott, no one goes out and gets thier learners permit at 16 year old then buys a ferrari

my opinion. get 3 GSO plossls (low medium and high power) and start there. thye are cheap and you dont have to worry about getting them dirty too much and they perform ok. then get to some observing session and try out a few EPs of some seasoned vets to get a feel for them... if you find something you like and buy it you have only wasted $30 or so on teh gso, and you can then use the gso on public nights to save the good EP....

but as you can see from this thread, there are as many opinions on what eyepiece to buy as there are astronomers

good luck to you with whatever you do

janoskiss (Steve H) · #18 25-01-2007, 10:38 AM

Just to make one more thing explicit - lest you fall into a common trap: you will not see more with expensive $400-$1000 wide angle eyepieces than with good plossls or orthoscopics costing around $100 ea (in fact quite the opposite!) - and less expensive FMC plossls like the GSOs are not that far behind these either. So don't fall into the trap of thinking that a Nagler or XW will show you so much more because it's so much more expensive and because people cannot stop going on and on about how they are the best thing in astronomy since Galileo. What you are paying for with the expensive widefield EPs is the wide field of view with good performance to the edge of field and close to on-axis performance of very good simple design EPs like plossls and orthos.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #19 25-01-2007, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janoskiss

Just to make one more thing explicit - lest you fall into a common trap: you will not see more with expensive $400-$1000 wide angle eyepieces than with good plossls or orthoscopics costing around $100 ea (in fact quite the opposite!) - and less expensive FMC plossls like the GSOs are not that far behind these either. So don't fall into the trap of thinking that a Nagler or XW will show you so much more because it's so much more expensive and because people cannot stop going on and on about how they are the best thing in astronomy since Galileo. What you are paying for with the expensive widefield EPs is the wide field of view with good performance to the edge of field and close to on-axis performance of very good simple design EPs like plossls and orthos.

In general agreement on the point made above...the difference in performance you pay for (value v top end quality) is in the last little bit...and I would suggest that for many the difference in enjoyment (between value and top end) is small...

The best gear (scope, eyepeice etc.) for you is the gear that you wil use and use often...top end, low end or mid range it does not really matter as long as you use it... the objective (in my opinion) is to get out at night and see "stuff" and enjoy the hobby...

rmcpb (Rob) · #20 25-01-2007, 06:05 PM

I don't know if you can still get them but a few Meade series 4000 or Celestron Ultimas would be a good start to a basic collection that would allow you to observe for quite a while before needing to upgrade. I would be looking at 26mm, 15mm, 9mm as the basic workhorse set, add a barlow and you are in business. Later you could add a 2" low power easily for those great deep in space views.