Eyepiece advice

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Currently have the following:
- Meade Zoom (8-24mm)
- Celestron X-Cel LX (9mm)
- Unknown brand (possibly Williams) 19mm

I would like to get one that is more than 24mm but less than 40mm.

The X-Cel series seems to be good but I do not know a lot about eyepieces.

Check my OTA in my sig below.

Budget as high as $100 (even used).

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Hi Stefan , I have not used one but the Orion Edge On 27mm 1.25 inch gets a very good rap on CN's , its $139 new at Bintel , apart from that keep a close eye on the classifieds here , you cant use 2 inch eyepieces can you ?
Brian.

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Hi Stefan , I have not used one but the Orion Edge On 27mm 1.25 inch gets a very good rap on CN's , its $139 new at Bintel , apart from that keep a close eye on the classifieds here , you cant use 2 inch eyepieces can you ?
Brian.

Hey mate.

Will keep an eye on the classifieds.

Nah it doesn't take 2".

[MortonH]

Or maybe a Tele Vue 32mm Plossl. They get snapped up fast so you might want to place a Wanted ad.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Or if you don't fancy the 50 degree AFOV, then maybe look out for a 24mm TV Panoptic or ES 68. Another difference would be the magnification, and if the light pollution isn't great where you are you might find the 24/68 shows less sky glow.

If you can get your hands on one of the Xcel LX 25mm you should see the same effect (and it might even be parfocal with your 9mm)

These and/or the 32mm plossl would max out the 1.25" barrel, and give you your maximum possible FOV in your scope.

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

A 30mm Vixen NPL Plossl from MyAstroShop costs $65. I have one and it is a very light EP for it size and user friendly.

[Renato1 (Renato)]

If you are going to stick to 1.25", I'm quite happy with my Meade 25mm HD-60 wide angle eyepiece, which you can get for around $80 to $90 on Ebay from the US.

Personally though, on my 127mm Mak, I got an adapter for it to take a 2" SCT diagonal, and have been delighted with even the cheap $49 Andrews 26mm, 32mm, 40mm and 50mm 2" eyepieces on it.
Regards,
Renato

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Hi Stefan , I have not used one but the Orion Edge On 27mm 1.25 inch gets a very good rap on CN's , its $139 new at Bintel , apart from that keep a close eye on the classifieds here , you cant use 2 inch eyepieces can you ?
Brian.

That one should be the same as the much cheaper $69 Seben one.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Orbinar-E...item58a67b4930

I have the Smart Astronomy version 19mm one, and it is really good, but I was put off getting the 27mm because of the narrow field.
Regards,
Renato

[Wavytone]

Stefan, in 1.25" barrels budget eyepieces around the 50 degree field of view the upper useful limit is 27-28mm focal length, at which point the field stop is limited by the inside diameter of the barrel.

Examples include the Edmund RKE 28mm, various plossls around 27-30mm. Longer focal lengths are pointless unless you can use 2" eyepieces.

[Don Pensack]

I own the same OTA, and though the image is dimmer than a 32 Plossl, I use a 24mm Widefield (68 degrees) as my low power eyepiece.
The true field is the same size as the 32 Plossl, but the extra magnification makes most DSOs stand out more.
there are a couple 1.25" eyepieces with just a trace more true field:
--the 35mm Orion Ultrascopic/Parks Gold Series/Antares Elite/Baader Eudiascopic/Celestron Ultima/Omcon Ultima/Tuthill Super Plossl. You might find one used or new. The field stop is about 29mm instead of the normal maximum of 27mm for a 1.25" eyepiece. They do this by putting the field stop slightly above the barrel (so it requires a lot of in-focus, not an issue in your scope). The edge is a tiny bit vignetted, but hardly severely so. This eyepiece would yield the brightest image in your scope.
--the Baader Hyperion 24mm. This eyepiece has about a 28.5mm field stop, also above the barrel. It would yield the higher power of the widefield 24s but with a little extra true field.

Just a note: the real aperture of that scope is about 121mm and the real f/ratio about f/12.8 using the provided visual back. If you shorten the visual back by cutting off the threads, and use a star diagonal with a shorter-than-average light path, you can also sneak a little extra true field because it shortens the focal length a trace.