10mmish eyepiece advise

[Ryan101]

Hello all,
I use a 12" f4.9 dobsonian telescope.
My favourite dso's are planetary nebula.


I am considering which 10mmish eyepiece to upgrade to from the stock plossl that came with the scope.
I naively bought a 6.5mm Morpheus which at 230x is just too much power. I have only been able to use it once in the last 8 months!!
I am interested in the 'less glass' argument but not sold on it as I have no way to compare before I buy. I am considering:
- Morpheus 9mm
- televue delite 11mm
- televue plossl 11mm
- Baader classic ortho 10mm
Etc



The BCO really intrigues me. I guess my question is, which of these would show the best sharpness and detail of the intended object ie: planetary nebula and planets.
I'm not going to take into account FOV, price, ER, comfort, sharpness across the field as I intend to keep the object well centred.
Any thoughts would be really helpful

Cheers

[astro744]

How do you intend on keeping the target centered? At 150x without tracking it will drift quickly.

Do you by any chance have a quality longer focal length eyepiece in the 24-25mm range?

I find the 24mm Panoptic + 2.5x Powermate an excellent combination for an effective 9.6mm eyepiece giving the eye relief and field of view of the 24mm Panoptic. Only consider this route if you have one or the other items or want a 24mm power eyepiece also or want a 2.5x Powermate also. If you don't have either then cost will be more than a single 10-11mm eyepiece.

Note you need a Powermate and not Barlow for the above to work well. A Barlow changes the angle of the rays the eyepiece sees and also plays around with the eye relief causing vignette.

[Ryan101]

I have no tracking, but though I consider myself a beginner I have been doing this for about 5 years, so I am used to the bumping and nudging.
I have no powermate or 25mm panoptic.

I currently use a 25mm Saxon Cielo (Celestron x-cel knock off) which I quite enjoy.

[croweater]

Hi Ryan, Bintel have a sale on Celestron XL's with some of the range $99. Not sure which or if they are in stock but might be worth giving them a ring.
Cheers, Richard

[Ryan101]

Thanks Richard,
Do you think the Xcel would compare to my other suggestions?
I'm really not too sure which way to go

[astro744]

If you’ve got the 6.5mm Morpheus and like it other than magnification then I think the 9mm Morpheus is a good choice as it will complement it nicely if it is within your budget.

[croweater]

Well if you can afford the morpheus I would agree with astro and go for that. They get very good reviews.The xl are good for their price and you mentioned you were happy with the ciello. I have a few of them and like them. They are pretty sharp and very comfortable to use. I had a tv 11mm and didn't like the short eye relief (8mm). The ciello and xl right in my happy zone at 16mm.
Cheers, Richard

[mura_gadi]

Not all ep's in the same line will perform equally. The X-Cel 7 and 9mm are two stand outs in that line and at $99 are well discounted. The Morpheus 9mm and under are all very good ep's... Delites as well.

You mention not worrying about ER so I'd be inclined to suggest ortho, if the targets are planetary nebula and start splitting etc, your not going to have to nudge that often. If it were planets I'd say you'd get RSI in your nudging arm...

However, good ER and ease of placement is going to give you longer time at the EP without eye strain. William A. Paolini or Bill Paolini has some good reviews for that sort of FL ep and tested in a similar scope from memory.

As suggested a x2.5 powermate but maybe a 20mm + 25mm TV plossl and a Omni 32mm sticking to 1.25". Single cheap ep, but good performance is the TMB as well, some QC issues.

[astro744]

Here is a low cost option. Not sure how it performs and what the QC is like.

https://www.svbony.com/sv190-ultra-flat-field-eyepiece-uf10/

It is available at Amazon Au for under $69 (Australian stock, free delivery) or $99 (free international delivery). Not sure why anyone would buy the more expensive option unless the local one sells out.

Perhaps someone has one and can comment on how it performs in a Newtonian with 1520mm focal length given the eyepiece has a flat field. I would think the field will remain flat in a flat field telescope such as a Tele Vue 101 but I would expect to see curvature in other telescopes. The eyepiece itself just won’t add or subtract any extra curvature.

[AG Hybrid]

I've been nudging my 12" dob for 12 years. My Pentax XW 10mm is my favourite. It's very well corrected, exceptional sharp with fantastic ergonomics. It gives the perfect 2mm exit pupil too for DSO observing. Nudging the scope at 150x is fine. Just watch it drift through the field then nudge it and watch the object drift through again.

Would recommend the 9mm Morphus eyepiece too. Also, consider maybe a hyper wide like the Sky Rover 9mm XWA - not cheap though.

Would not recommend an ortho at 150x while nudging.

[The Mekon]

Look for a 9mm Nagler type 1. Every bit as good as the later Naglers. Brilliant in a Dob.

[AG Hybrid]

Why recommend an eyepiece released in 1980 that was discontinued decades ago and not the 2001 type 6 that's still readily available from retailers?

When was the last time a 9mm Type 1 came up for sale? At least here in Australia?

[The Mekon]

Only trying to recommend an eyepiece that is top quality and reasonably priced. The answer to your question is 2019 and price was $210 - a lot cheaper than the $350- $400 that is asked for type 6 Naglers.

[AG Hybrid]

Mate, where do you get them for $350-$400(AU)? - I assume your meaning used?

You are right about the reasonably priced thing. Despite owning a couple Televue - I couldn't consciously recommend them to someone with a modest eyepiece collection.

[Ryan101]

Thanks for everyone's input.
I've been considering the Pentax 10mm xw also. How does this perform on planetary nebula? This will be its main use. I love looking at the planets but it's always just a fleeting look while I can observe planetaries for hours.

The other item I've been considering is a paracorr. Just to clean up my less quality EP collection, though it doesn't bother me too much.

Would the slight barlowing of the paracorr reduce a 9mm eyepiece to the mostly unusable power range compaired to a 10mm or 11mm eyepiece?

[Ryan101]

Also(sorry),
The 6.5mm Morpheus has a definite 'coffee/caramel' tone to it. I have read this true of some Televue lines also. I don't think I'm a fan of this.
Does the Pentax or delite or even the 9mm morpheus show this colouring?

[astro744]

A Paracorr cleans up primary mirror coma not eyepiece aberrations but does help less corrected eyepiece by the nature of the 1.15 Barlow effect. I would not buy a Paracorr to correct less corrected eyepieces but rather to complement a highly corrected eyepiece by reducing the residual primary mirror coma visibility in a highly corrected eyepiece without any other aberrations present.

May I suggest two more into the mix and that is a 10mm Delos if you plan to use without Paracorr and a 12mm Delos if you plan on also getting a Paracorr (or use without).

As for colour tint that is as much an individuals colour response as it is a function of the eyepiece glass and coatings used. What you read on any forum is highly subjective in this matter in what is actually perceived and how it is then described.

[AG Hybrid]

The Pentax 10mm XW is brilliant on all targets. Also, doesn't need a coma corrector. Stars are pin point at the edge in my 12". Truth be told the Delos line of eyepieces are too. But you can get a Pentax XW10 for about $200 AU cheaper from a US online retailer. You can even get them from Amazon AU.

[Ryan101]

Seems as though I'm going to have to put a few wanted ads up and try some of these suggestions out.

[sorrycharlie]

I have owned a televue plossl and thought it was great value

[m11]

I found the Explorer Scientific range good value for the money. I think alot of these eyepiece like other companies have gone up in price recently though.

I like the Pentax xw10 but they are not cheapest.

I viewed with a fellow stargazer who had the APM xwa eyepiece range and they would really sharp across the field of view, great for deep sky and planetary viewing as well. I think Astronomics have something similar in their Astro-tech xwa range as well.

[gdrabs]

Another vote for Pentax XW 10mm. Great eyepiece.

[ausastronomer]

I own boxes full of premium eyepieces including Ethos, Delos, Panoptics, Naglers T4, T5 and T6, Pentax XW's, Pentax XF.

The 10mm Pentax XW is one of the absolute very best eyepieces ever made, at any price, in any era.

Somthing else to consider is the 8.5mm Pentax XF. It's a lot cheaper than a lot of other premium eyepieces, it is Japanese made with long eye relief and a 60 deg AFOV. It's a hidden gem at its price point. Not quite a Pentax XW but very good and 1/2 the price. It's a clear step up from the $100 Chinese eyepieces. Avoid the 12mm Pentax XF. A case of not all focal lengths in a series being equal.

Cheers
John B