Advice for wide angle EP...?

absolut (Rob) · #1 28-02-2013, 06:31 PM

Hi,

I'm trying to (read: giving myself a headache) figure out a good EP for wide angle browsing of the universe's wonders.

I don't want anything that is too wide (low power) for my scope, and it would be a bonus if I could couple it with a good barlow for another level of browsing goodness.

My scope is only modest (like my budget) Saxon 909EQ2 (90mm F10 refractor). I have the 2 included EP's: 10mm (it's rubbish) and a 25mm (not much better). I bought a Saxon 4.5mm for lunar/planetary, but I dont have any decent wide angle EP's at this point.

I'm thinking something in the 30-35mm range is as wide as I'd want to go on a 90mm refractor... or is that over the top too?

Looking to do some serious time on my scope at IISAC2013!

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!

Rob

louie_the_fly (Stew) · #2 28-02-2013, 07:46 PM

Gidday Rob. I deliberated over a modestlypriced EP for some time and eventually I bought one of these from Bintel. I'm more than happy with it. In fact, The range comes in 1.25" and 2". I'll probably grab a 42mm one at some stage.

http://www.bintel.com.au/Eyepieces-a...oductview.aspx

They appear to be good value for money. Don't know how they would go on your scope. The only refractor I've ever had was a crappy 35mm 3 piece collapsible one when I was a kid.

mental4astro (Alexander) · #3 01-03-2013, 09:22 AM

Hi Robert,

If you can hold out wait for IISAC! You'll be able to see, even borrow, some different types of EPs. Some inexpensive others $$$. You be able to see what different aparent fields of view (AFOV) look like, how comfortable they are for you, and what may work best in your scope.

Some EP designs are better suited to some scope. Designs than others too, so what works well in one is terrible in another.

Your scope may be modest, but it still merits learning its strengths and weaknesses. Hey, my first scope was a little 50mm refractor with what I know now were dreadful eyepieces. But I cut my teeth with it over 13 years. Not long ago I actually used better EPs with - man! What a difference in image quality!!! Nothing wrong with that little scope

. So you too may be very pleasantly surprised at what your scope can deliver.

ZeroID (Brent) · #4 01-03-2013, 10:55 AM

The GSO Superview 15 & 20mm are good options. 68* views I think and reasonably priced. Work quite well with a barlow as well.

AstralTraveller (David) · #5 01-03-2013, 01:25 PM

With a scope like that I'd have an ep that will give you the widest true field of view, which in your case is >2.5 degrees, and then work down from there. That way you can get all the truly large spectacular clusters in the fov. At that size even the pleiades will fit into the fov!

If you go for an ultra wide angle ep (ie about 84 degrees apparent fov) than you want about 30mm focal length. I couldn't afford a 31mm Nagler and so wound up with a Williams Optics 28mm, which is a classy ep but I suspect above your budget. There are cheaper ultra wides out there but I cant speak to their quality.

It's probably easier to get quality in the super wide class (ie 65-70 degrees apparent fov), in which case you're looking at about 40mm fl. Again. Panoptic (or Vixen?) are probably above your budget but I would look at the 42mm superview at Bintel.

In general remember that you may upgrade your scope, or end up with several scopes, but you tend to keep eps. So, don't buy too many but buy the best quality you can afford. When I decided to upgrade my eps I decided on a plan (what I wanted) and then watched the classifieds. It took several years but I managed to get most of my eps at about 75% of new price (I'm amazed at the things some people sell).

Astro_Bot · #6 01-03-2013, 02:05 PM

Following on from David's suggestions above ...

In the 40mm class, the Explore Scientific 68 deg. range is quite nice. Specifically, the ES 68d 40mm is around half the cost of a Panoptic, but still a very good view (though it's a big eyepiece), and there's a 34mm 68 deg. worth considering. Slightly cheaper is the TS Paragon (clone of the TMB Paragon) 40mm, which is nearly as good, but the ES 40mm has the edge on clarity/detail in side-by-side comparison. Both of these are better than the GSO Superview 42mm.

But, I can't help thinking that even the ES eyepieces are overkill for a 90mm Saxon refractor, especially since you have a few eyepieces to buy.

The GSO Superviews are easy to beat if you spend more money, but on a very limited budget, IMHO, they represent good value and might be a good step up from your bundled eyepieces.

absolut (Rob) · #7 01-03-2013, 07:47 PM

Thanks for the awesome feedback guys!!

My budget is limited from the standpoint that I really don't want to spend the big dollars on something I'm not going to get the best seeing with.
I could see myself going into the hundreds for a good EP in this class, because I know I'm always going to use it and take it with me for any new scope's I end up getting in the future!

I think I'll work on my willpower and try to wait unti after IISAC and do some field research on the subject... waiting plays well with improving my budget at the same time!

I've already spent a little money at the low end of the quality scale, I think I need to work more on collecting the "keepers" and not the dust collectors.

Thanks and clear seeing to you all!

Rob