I've been reading a few threads here and there and thinking about some better eyepieces. I've read a few 'eyepiece primers' and although I've got good info from there I haven't been able to decide on wich actual eyepieces I'd like.
The dob (f5) came with Bintel plossels and an FMC, which I believe are rebadged DSO.
Should I stick it out for a while and try other peoples' eyepieces first or is it a safe bet to go for a few select better eyepieces? I'm thinking mid-range and have been looking at ES, RKE, Vixen, Pentax and a few others. The ES ones are sounding pretty good but a lot of people stand by the others as well.
I'll be doing some planetary viewing but DSOs really interest me. Most of my viewing I do from inner-west Sydney but my garden is well-shielded from local lighting.
Any advice or recommendations appreciated! I know it's down to personal preference but let's have it.....
Yep, what Daniel said really. If you want to go a bit wider than plossls my choice for my 10" f4.8 Newt is the ES 68º 28 24 20 16 and a 1.25" barlow to go 12 10 and 8mm. Have heard, and not tried, that the 82 ES's are good in fast Newts.
I use the ES 82D 6.7 and the 68D 24mm and they are very good eps.
Also, the TMB 6mm are good value planetary due to their cost.
Got mine from VTI Optics in Melbourne.
I would suggest holding on to your cash for a bit and making it a priority to get to a viewing night or two with your scope at the Pony Club or similar with other IIS Members.
This will give you a chance to look first hand through a number of eyepieces and there is a good chance that a kind soul or two will let you borrow a few to try out in your own gear.
Trying before you buy is a great way to go if you can.
If that fails i would go back to the standard questions before I would make a recommendation...what is your budget, what do like look at, what are your likes/dislikes ergonomically etc.
I tend to buy fewer top shelf items that I will enjoy over my life in a variety of scopes (less is more) but others have different opinions...Good Luck and Enjoy!
hi timbo, I can vouch for the TMB II 6 and 5mm in my 10" gso dob. lovely images of the planet's. good seeing is required thou specially if you Barlow them.
my most used eyepiece is my 40mm plossl just because I like the views from it then I knuckle down to the 20 or 15mm, and then Barlow the 15.
I also have the 32 and 30mm 2" but the coma on those are a bit worse then the 40mm (and having to put the adapter in etc when going to higher power annoys me when using the 2 2" barrel eps).
the 40mm is like using binos .. kinda gives the same view is get with the 12x50... it's good for cruising the skies but so is the 32 2".
it is a matter of preference, I'm also wondering what's a next step so I'll be interested in what people suggest.
After trying a number of other peoples different eps, I've settled on the 82deg ES as an excellent reasonably priced range for my 8" dob, and haven't any complaints.
If at all possible follow Scott's sage advice and try your candidate eyepieces before you buy them, especially if they are very expensive. There has been a considerable number of eyepieces I had lusted for after reading reviews and forum posts, that turned out to be far less desirable after I tried them in my own scope.
