eyepiece advice / where to buy?

[bawiur]

Hi, I'm new here. Got an 8" f/6 dob a couple of months ago and it's been great. Since then I've been reading up on eyepieces and keeping an eye on the classifieds to upgrade.



Scope came with 10mm and 25mm plossls and I picked up a used 6mm William Optics SPL (which I haven't got much use out of just yet because the planets are hiding near the sun, but the moon is nice with it, you can see here (https://www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/ek17og/looking_up_at_the_moon_with_tycho_c rater_nicely/)for a shot I took).


Anyway I'd like to pick up something in the 14-15mm and 30mm range (around 2.5mm and 5mm exit pupil on this scope) with wider views than the plossls. But it's been tricky to find an eyepiece I want that's actually available somewhere, whether online or retail. I'm in Perth. I've looked at Explore Scientific 82s, APM UFFs, a 15mm Axiom LX (pre-Luminos, supposedly better, missed out on ebay), and looked longingly at some Televues on the classifieds without quite pulling the trigger on one. I considered the 30mm GSO Superview but think it's probably best to go straight to something a bit better in this relatively fast scope rather than upgrading later.



So I'm curious where you guys like to get your eyepieces from here in Australia. And which ones might you go for when starting out in my position, with your experience?

[Startrek]

When I started out 4 years ago, I bit the bullet and bought Televue eye pieces after 6 months of putting up with the basic 10mm and 25mm Plossl’s and 30mm superview that came with my 10” dob ( Televue was a quantum leap in quality and view but you pay for it ) I’ve built my Televue collection up slowly over four years and I now have a 12” Goto dob and the views are literally out of this world on a good night ( pardon the pun )
All my Televue eye pieces were purchased new from Bintel in Sydney ( the main authorised Televue dealer in Australia )
The IIS classifieds have used Televue eye pieces popping up for sale from time to time so if you have a strict budget you might get some bargains
There are so many other quality eye pieces on the market it gets confusing so I hope others can pitch in and offer advice
Sorry but I’m a Televue user through and through so can’t offer any other brand advice
Good luck !

[gaseous]

Explore Scientific are good eyepieces. I had the 30mm 82 degree model before upgrading to a Televue Nagler 31T5. There is a difference, but not an extraordinary one. They're both leaps and bounds above the 30mm superview though. I've also got a 14mm 100 degree ES eyepiece, which is very good. I've found with some of these larger eyepieces that an extension tube is needed to reach focus. The Baader 8-24 zoom is also good for convenience.

[m11]

Hi Simon,

I would second what Patrick has posted. The Explorer Scientific are pretty good for what you get, especially the 82degrees eyepieces.

I have Televue eyepieces and I have kept all of them - they seem to accumulate out of nowhere :rofl:

I have the Baader Zoom and they are worth getting for the price point.