Premium Eye Piece Recomendation For 12" Dob (DSO)

[Davekyn (David)]

I'm still using my GSO Plossels & would like some help in purchasing the apropriate Premium EP's.

My telescope is a 12" DOB & I mainly wish to view DSO, but will also eventualy choose a planetary EP as well.

What do you 12" Dob owners use on M42,M1 & also the very small ring nebula?

I guess some people like having more depth to thief FOV than others. What do you regard as an all-rounder & lastly what do you mainly use for Jupiter.

Remember, my scope is a GSO 12" F5 Dob. Is an EP over $399:00au over kill for such comercial products.

Cheers Dave

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

I have a 10" f5 dob and bought a 13mm Vixen LVW - never looked back and have subsequently purchased an LVW 22mm also. For Jupiter on a good night I've got a LV 4mm. This is really pushing the magnification and some more LV's with longer FL would be useful.

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by Davekyn

Remember, my scope is a GSO 12" F5 Dob. Is an EP over $399:00au over kill for such comercial products.

No but it probably helps if the mirror is a good performer and the scope collimates well.

[desler]

I was lucky enough to acquire a 13 mm lvw (Thanks Silvie)and haven't looked back.

This would get my vote.


Darren

[Davekyn (David)]

As I am an absoloute beginner, what is a 13mm lvw?

[Jooster]

Davekyn,

I hacve a 12 Bintel and was fortunate to be able to buy a Nagler type 4 17mm. It is an awesome eyepiece. I was looking at the Orion Neb the other night and it looks 3 dimensional. I also have an Orion Lanthanum 9.5mm and it gives excellent eye relief anf field. I tend to go for high end eyepieces, as they are just as important as your mirror.

[desler]

Vixen LVW series eyepieces.


Link; http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...ProdID=MAS-075


I'm not recommending the business, just showing a link with info on the eyepieces.



Darren

[Davekyn (David)]

Thanks for the extra info. I'll be sure to check it out. The big thing for me, is deciding what magnification I will be happy with. Between my 4,6,9,15 & 20...I find myself using the 20 a lot with M42. To complicate things I sometimes think the 19mm flat field EP that came with my AOE 80ED makes M42 stand out better. I guess I will have to experiment a little more to see what mag frames the object better, as the difference between every mm may just improve the picture dramatically. I wish I was not such a perfectionist!

I really love the review on the new Ethos 13mm...sound absoloutly awsome! It kind of confuses me how they talk about the amount you can see in the EP at that magnifcation, but I guess it depends on the so hey. I really don't k ow what I'm talking about there...

I guess I can use my 2xED GSO barlow to get a little more out of a premium. I guess anything around 20mm will work well with a 12"mirror & M42. I have an AOE ED2 12.5mm that does a good job on the moon & globulers + when used with my barlow gives good veiws of Jupiter. Might be a reasonable size to consider?

M1...any of you 12" dob guys have a prefered EP for getting the best out of the crab when in dark skies?

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Dave,

Not sure where you are located but get along to one of these star parties if you can and have a look through a few eyepieces. That's what I did.

Peter

[Davekyn (David)]

Yep, I have been avoiding that FACT!. I live in Toowoomba & believe Brisbane presents a star party opurtunity. I simply don't have any friends or family that enjoys the hobby as I do. In fact many think I a mad spending the money & time I do looking into the stars.

But your right Pete...I should get myself along to a star party. I think I can con at least one of my mates to come Mabe I can set my dob up with a sign, "What can your Eye Piece do; Show me"

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Come along to Astrofest later this year. Plenty of IIS members attend and the vendors are there with all types of eyepieces to try.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Pentax 10mm XW is THE medium power premium eyepiece for dso viewing in an f5 dobby

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

Best medium power DSO f/l EP is generally considered to be one that provides ~2mm exit pupil, which in your scope is 10mm.

There are many 'premium' choices around this focal length, starting with the Pentax 10XW, considered by many as perhaps the best. Others include, yes, the 13mm Ethos, Pentax 12.5XF, the various Naglers and then at 14mm are the Pentax 14XW and the Denk 14mm.
All excellent EPs with varying FOVs, eye relief etc and price tags.

Get along to some observing nights if you're nervous about outlaying $200,$300,$400 or more - I don't really recommend a newbie spending $400 on an EP sight unseen, but I also think an effective strategy is to purchase a few (ie 2-4) quality EPs, rather than 8 or 9 ordinary ones.

[bobson (Bob)]

JethroB76 and Starkler (Geoff)

Could you please tell me this:

If you could buy only one eyepiece between Pentax 10 XW and Ethos 13mm; which one would you buy?

I also have Bintel 12" Dob and basic set of eyepieces. Plus 10mm TeleVue Plossl
I've got good Barlows: 3x TeleVue Barlow and 2x 2" Japanese made Barlow.

What about Ethos 17mm? I was hooked to get that one before any other 'cos its 2" and even bigger FOV then 13mm Ethos. With good 2x 2" Barlow I thought would be a kill

Davekyn,

I hope you don't mind me asking this questions on your topic

cheers

BTW

DSO as major interest

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

I've said before that if I had to take only one EP, it would be the Ethos 13. Not real interested in the 17 myself, but would go a 20-22mm version.

[Davekyn (David)]

All excellent info, thankyou very much. I just had a really good veiwing session tonight with a mate whom seem interested enough to start viewing himself. I'll be sure to atend the star party you mention about the members atending. Would be good to see first hand all the gear on offer.

Back to eye pieces ...I was really impressed with my 12.5 ED2 EP...with my GSO 2XED Barlow I was able to see what apeared to be a companion of Rigel? I may be wrong as a newbie BUT ... I still went WOW as I picked out a small pin point of light nicely tucked along side Rigel as it was blaring away and seemingly masive by comparison.
SATURN was also amazing with this EP combo... Eat I've seen it anyways. I could pick out what I thought to be two moons & the very thin ring system was extreemly precise! The razor sharp edge seem to make the planet look much larger than normal. I thought I was looking at Jupiter for a moment and imagined I could see very thin wispy lines on the yellow sphere. Whatever I was seeing, I was very impressed & also picked out a few other sites I could not Identify, but enjoyed some nebulosity around various star formations.

Given some of the info here & tonight success with a 12.5, I think I will confidently shell out a few hundred for around that sized FL eye piece.

I think M42 could be framed slightly larger in a plossel larger than 19/20mm. Does a premium EP of the same focal length give a wider field of view? This is were I get a little muddled up; hence the need to see myself

Night all...
Dave.....ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Prickly]

In my view, in the end it comes back to price a lot.

The LVWs are great - very sharp and quite nice wide field of view and work well in GSO dobs (friend of mine has a 10inch f5). The pentax and ethos may be slightly better but you pay a lot more (not sure of current prices though which are effected by exchange rate - they were around $280 and you might even pick one up 2nd hand on IIS). The main difference between ethos and LVW is dramatically wide field on the ethos which does give a very nice "space walk feel". Mind you the 68 degree field of an LVW is probably pretty close to the max of the eyes field of view. Try some out at a star party to see what you prefer.

Having said that Sky at Night magazine did a review on eyepieces (forget focal length ?8 or 13mm) and decided the LVW was surprisingly the pick of the crop.

I own LVWs and am very happy. I think the 22mm is hard to beat and the 13mm also has an excellent reputation within the LVW range. The 8 is also great and I own one of these too. High power (5mm or less) if I had my time again I'd be inclined towards nagler type 6 but the LVW is still extremely good.

If you are looking for an all in one you might consider the hyperion zoom 8-24, but Im yet to try one. Purists wont like them but Ive read some very good reports. Add in a televue barlow and you would have a very wide magnification range.

Cheers
David

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Here's my two bob's worth - firstly, I think its a good idea to go to star parties and check eyepieces out, although I didn't before I upgraded to premium eps for the 12' gso dob that I had. And I have no regrets. What I would recommend is working out what focal lengths you want, so you can make a plan for a range of good eyepieces - once you upgrade one, you won't want to stop. The way I went through the process, I ended up with a 17 mm Vixen LVW and a 24 mm Pan which are not, IMO, different enough to warrant owning both.

If I was doing it again, I would have been very happy with my 9mm Nagler, 24mm Panoptic and a good 2x Barlow. In a 1500mm fl scope, this gives mags of 62.5, 125, 167 and 333 (for nights of exceptional seeing). Its an enjoyable luxury to have the 13mm Nagler for the extra fov and the ease of not barlowing, but I found the 24 Pan barlowed was fantastic for smaller galaxies, GCs etc.

I agree with Dave (prickly) about the Vixen LVWs - my 17mm is an excellent ep. And I defer to those who laud the Pentax 10mm - I would have bought one, but the 9 mm Nagler was quite a bit cheaper at the time I bought it.

Anyway, all that is really just to suggest that you allow for a long term premium eyepiece strategy. You will love good eps in your scope!

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by bobson

JethroB76 and Starkler (Geoff)

Could you please tell me this:

If you could buy only one eyepiece between Pentax 10 XW and Ethos 13mm; which one would you buy?

Davekyn,

Hi Dave,

I have both of those eyepieces and it is a very tough call to pick only one of them. The decision ultimately would be determined by a number of factors, particularly have regard to the following. How much eye relief do you need and what scopes are you using. If you wear glasses at the eyepiece and or prefer long eye relief, you take the 10mm Pentax XW over the 13mm Ethos each and every day.

If your scope is under 14" aperture and around F4 to F6 I would probably go with the 10mm Pentax XW as it gives the right magnification and exit pupil combination, in that type of scope. In F4 to F6 scopes over 14" I would go with the 13mm ETHOS provided you didn't need glasses to observe. While everyone covets the 2mm exit pupil it's not all that often we can use the 10mm Pentax XW in the 25"/F5 Obsession due to seeing limitations.

If I had to pick only one of these two for myself, it would be without question the 10mm Pentax XW, due to its longer eye relief and its slightly better light throughput and on axis performance. I can however appreciate that for some people the 13mm ETHOS may be the answer for all of their needs.

Cheers,
John B

[bobson (Bob)]

Thanks guys,

I really appreciate your time to explain which EP and why.
10mm Pentax XW is great EP. Another question if you don't mind
I have Tele Vue Plossl 8mm (50°)
Well, 10mm XW Pentax is 70°. would it still be worthwile to get this one or maybe look at Pentax XW SMC 14mm? (same price as 10mm) It would give me a bit wider FOV over 10 mm?

Since I got TeleVue 3x barlow this EP would be good for planets as well?

Thanks for your help again.

cheers

bob