Eyepieces for WO Z61

[DebinOz]

I am buying a William Optics z61ii as an upgrade from camera lenses for photography.
For use with a 2" diagonal, what eyepieces would be the best bang for buck on this little scope, and what could I hope to view with it? I imagine it will be in use for imaging most of the time but I would enjoy having a look through it occasionally.

[OzEclipse]

Deb,

The scope is a 61mm f6 while the optics are reported to be quite sharp it’s still only a 61mm objective so maximum resolution is going to be limited. Even with excellent optics your maximum usable magnification is limited to between 90x to 120x. You’ll get those magnifications with 3mm(120x) or 4mm(90x).

61mm will give you decent but not fantastic light gathering for deep sky viewing. Similar to a half a pair of largish binoculars. A low magnification eyepiece will give you wide field views. The lowest magnification you can use depends upon the dilation of your pupil which is a function of age.

For an f6 telescope:-

Age………Eyepieces
20’s……..40mm
30’s………40mm
40’s………35-38mm
50’s………30-35mm
60’s………28-30mm
70’s………20-24mm

I would recommend one more eyepiece midway between the long and short eyepieces 10-15mm.

What eyepiece you buy really depends on your budget. Don’t scrimp too much on eyepieces. Cheap eyepieces can turn a great scope into a mediocre one.

Joe

[DebinOz]

Thanks Joe, this is a fantastic explanation. Sounds like I may be better saving for a separate scope for viewing.

[OzEclipse]

Hi Deb
A 60mm scope still has 100x the light gathering of the naked eye. But you won’t see a lot of details on planets. But an 8in scope has more than 1000x the light gathering of the naked eye and 4 times the optical resolution of a 60mm scope.

Eyepieces, particularly quality eyepieces are a long term investment that can be used on future telescopes. I still use a couple of the eyepieces I bought in 1979 for my first telescope.

Joe

[Pierre_C]

Hi Deb.

I agree with Joe and where you are heading with this.

I would suggest starting with a 12mm eyepiece. This would be the theoretical sweet spot for a 2mm exit pupil.

This will give you good views of wide star clusters and star fields through the William Optics z61ii. The moon, planets and other DSOs will still seem very small.

If you think your future visual telescope will also be around f/6, then the eyepiece should also work well for it. You could see it as an investment.

Regards.