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Hi John,
I'd suggest high-quality fixed focal length eyepieces over a zoom.
All zooms (including camera lenses) are a compromise and rarely deliver the same degree of image sharpness as a single fl eyepiece can. The only one I thought pretty good was a Baader Hyperion 24-8mm zoom I had on loan for a test report. But it isn't a cheapie either ($500- AUD)!
The limitation even on such an expensive unit is that at low powers, the FOV is about that of a plossl (~50deg) and wider fields (60-68 deg) only comes with higher powers. It was pretty to quite sharp at all focal lengths, though sometimes the field stop went out of focus or became "soft". Cheap zooms are generally, really somewhere between awful and catastrophic. Zoom eyepieces will generally work better on longer focal length telescopes that impose fewer demands on the eyepiece optics.
The Baader was by far the best zoom I've experienced, but in the end, I prefer a wide range of Televue Naglers. Yes, I know they're very expensive too -- but a great eyepiece is a jewel forever and if you change 'scopes you can use them with another 'scope. You can buy 'em (like I did) one at a time over a number of years. I think it took me ten years to get the suite of eyepieces I currently use (eight) -- all Naglers (bar-one).
Best,
L.
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