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Thanks to all.
I managed about another 1/2 hour last night to have another gander at Saturn (with two moons this time, and everything oh so bright!) and Orion's sword (oh so green). This time I was also looking for specific differences between eyepieces in the way of contrast, edge blur, etc. I can honestly say that I can't see myself using the supplied pieces for a second longer than I have to. Watching Saturn go from one edge to the other of the 10mm Plossl was like watching a smear transition to a nice sharp image then smear right out again, and the field is no where near flat - there's a fair bit of radial distortion. I know, the supplied pieces are just to get you going so I guess there is no surprise there.
I think both FOV and eye relief will dominate my choice of eyepieces. I have looked around a bit further and come across the 68 degree Orion Stratus eyepieces that are claimed to have constant 20mm eye relief across all focal lengths. I also see the Orion brand has various Barlow options and LPR filters, etc.
But now there's three questions in my mind:
1) Do I need an LPR filter for each eyepiece?
2) When is a Barlow not a Barlow? i.e. is all this "baffling" and so forth bit of a marketing gimmick, or really worth it? If I had to pick from the Shorty, Shorty Plus, Ultrascopic and Deluxe, which do I go for and why?
3) Is it best to pick a Barlow from the same manufacturer as your eyepieces for, um, not sure how to say it, but optical uniformity or things along those lines?
Tim
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