My Lenses

[GPC]

Hi all, I have only just joined and am looking for some advice.
I was given a telescope as a gift sometime ago and have recently started learning how to use it and have been looking at some of the plantets that i could find anyway. but I have been reading articles on the lenses and a couple of the articles i read said that it is a good idea to stay away from some particular ones - being a H25 H20 H12.5 and SR4. and fundly enough my telescope came with a H20 H12.5 and SR4.
The telescope is about 2 and a bit years old. can anyone offer some advice on weather those lenses are ok for me?(as a pretty new learner) or weather it might be worth upgrading lenses if possible or maybe i need to upgrade my telescope.

Any info would be much appreciated! :)

Thanks

[vespine]

hi and welcome. Sounds like the kind of telescope I started with. You would definitely benefit from buying a nicer eyepiece, I'd recommend sticking around the lower end, like 20mm. Pushing the magnification on a telescope like that isn't really going to give you great views.

On this page

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-10-guansheng.htm#accessories

you can get the GS 20mm super plossl for $29, or it might be even worth going to 32mm and the 1.25" barlow if you have another $29. That should give you a great wider view and a half decent 16mm equivalent view, and you'll be able to use the barlow with any future eyepieces you might get.

On the other hand, the $39 Guan Sheng superview would be nicer then the plossl...



This is unfortunately the dilemma you face every time you think you might want to spend some money on this hobby. Not even the sky is the limit to how much you can spend :)

If I had to make the choice right now, I'd probably get the $39 20mm superview eyepiece. This will give you a good idea of what the telescope is capable of. If it satisfies you for a while, you might get away with buying an extra eye piece and barlow some time down the track. If it only manages to whet your appetite more then satisfy it, it's probably time to start saving for a new scope ;) .

[M54]

Hi Glen,

Welcome to IIS.:welcome:

I'm no expert on eyepieces but I'd say you would probably benefit from upgrading from what you have.
Here is a link to some info that I found helpful...

http://www.universetoday.com/17064/telescope-eyepiece/

Molly.:)

[ZeroID]

I have the 20 mm GSO Superview and it is excellent value for the money. Add a 2 x Barlow and you have two magnifications to choose from. Gets the most use on scope.