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Old 22-05-2006, 05:24 PM
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janoskiss (Steve H)
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Sale, VIC
Posts: 6,033
Welcome guys. Two members with one login name. I think that's a first.

Quote:
We would like to get a better quality 2" for overall viewing
A low power wide or semi-wide eyepiece at modest cost is a tough ask. 30mm Superview works okay and it's cheap, especially if you buy used. It's not great in an f/5 Dob but you could do worse. Probably a good idea ask Bintel to swap the 32mm RKE that comes with the scope for one of these.

Quote:
we feel we need specific FOV and magnification to view Nebula and Galaxies at their most detailed clarity.
That you can have for not a lot of money (e.g., UO orthos), but if you want a wide field of view (FOV) and good eye relief as well, it will cost you, or you need to trade a bit of performance for comfort. The Orion Stratus or Baader Hyperion eyepieces are very good all-rounders at modest cost. Bintel should be able to get the Stratus EPs for you. The 13mm would be the most useful one to get. The 21mm is a nice low-mid power eyepiece as well, although the LVW version (the original which is a 22mm) is a lot better at that focal length. Check out MyAstroshop for LVWs.

One EP I have to recommend is the 8.5mm Pentax XF --- optically this is just about as good as an eyepiece gets, up there with the 10mm XW for half the cost, and with a slightly narrower but still generous 60-degree FOV. O/S it sells for under $US150 which makes it amazing value. I'd be inclined to recommend the 12mm XF too, but I have not tried it. It might have field curvature issues in the 12" Dob. The 8.5mm I own and it is brilliant. Very useful mid-high power focal length for the 12" Dob.

Grab a good barlow for high powers.
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