Eyepiece selection help required

[Spookyer]

Hello all

I plan on purchasing a refractor in about the 120mm range. I will be using the scope for some visual observing and then later more for AP.

I want to purchase a few eyepieces (maybe 3) to give me a reasonable range across all targets (planets and dso). They don't have to be top shelf but still decent and value for money.

Can I get suggestions please for what I should buy?
Size, brand, field of view etc.

thanks
Brett

[dannat]

is it 900mm focal length?

i think a 5mm for planets & maybe a 8mm for DSo's (i prefer slightly higher magficicaion)
BST explorer (avail telescopesandastronomy SA)or astrotech paradigms are a good starter ep, about 60deg fov with decent eye relief, they make a 25mm also for wide field viewing. they cost <$100 each but offer good views

[Spookyer]

Yes around 900mm focal length. I am told around 68° field of view is desirable but willing to listen to other opinions.

[MattT]

Bit of a hard call wanting three eyepieces to do it all without spending a bomb...In my f8 150 achro I use 9 14 and 20mm 100º ES eyepieces. Adding a 2X barlow gets 7 and 4.5mm and is a good spread but at a cost.
What to do...What is your budget and buy within it. ES 82º series are really good too as are the 68º series :shrug:
Matt

[Profiler]

In terms of bang for buck the Explore Scientifics are generally good and Baader Hyperions are also very nice. Both brands provide good quality eyepieces at very reasonable prices.

[David Niven]

I would go for the ES 82D 6.7, 11 and 18mm.
If you are incline to spend less, thr TMB 6 and 9 are good value.

[brian nordstrom]

:) Even cheaper are the GSO superviews from Andrews 15mm and 20mm $39 and 30mm 2 inch $49 , all 68* fields .
I grabbed one of the 15mm's for a friend up here a while ago and I was very impressed with its performance , very , very good . I don't know how they do it for that price ,:shrug: .
Others have said the same thing about these eyepieces here at IIS over the last year or so .
Brian.

[ZeroID]

+1 for the GSO Superviews here. Amazingly good for the money. And I have a 32mm 2" <SNAP> :D

[Howard]

Hey Brett & fellow members ... thanks for raising this and answering it. I'm a newbie too and even going to local astronomy clubs and asking and viewing through a variety of EP's is still confusing! Don't know why but reading this post seems to have triggered an epiphany.

Seems to me it comes down to ... checking out 82 vs 68 vs narrower degree EP's on near and far stuff at a club viewing night and see if it really matters to you. In my case while I'd love 82 degree, I think my old eyes see sharper stuff through the 68's. Is this just my old eyes or astigmatism or something, but that what seems to suit my vision?

Once you have that figured .... your budget determines the brand. All the brands mentioned by the members posts here seem to be the main ones mentioned for good value ... even if they are at different price points. IE GSO if you want to spend less, and Baader or ES if you want to spend $100+ per EP.

Re focal lengths ... I second MattT's post. The last bloke I spoke to a couple of weekends ago convinced me that his Televue 2x extender looked everybit as sharp as the prime lens and resulted in his only owning 3 EP's but covering a large focal range.

(Just gotta save for that ES 2x extender now!)

[RobF]

The Televue guys have some great info worth digesting Brett:
http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=154

[bigjoe]

Brett Ive used many eps in my time and the gso9 plossel and 30mm superview are the best value on the planet imho.Cheers ps get a good barlow:)