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  #1  
Old 10-09-2012, 11:09 PM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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Beginner looking for eyepieces.

Hey Everyone,

New to forum and quite new to astronomy. I am looking to get some new EP's.

I have a Saxon 8" f/6 newtonian reflector on an EQ4 mount. 10mm and 25mm standard plossls.

I want to get some new eyepieces so I can see the planets and nebulas up close. I can get pretty good views of mars and saturn with the 10mm plossls but I think it can improve if I buy some higher powered/better quality Ep's.

I was looking st some of the eyepiece kits such as the Meade 4000 and Celestron Kits, But I don't know that I would need all of them. I am leaning towards getting a couple decent eyepieces instead of a whole kit. But maybe a kit would be good for a beginner? I'm not sure.

The question is, what would be some good eyepieces to get nice views of the planets and deep sky objects with out breaking the bank, of course?
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  #2  
Old 11-09-2012, 12:44 PM
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Varangian (John)
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Hi Simon, welcome to the forum, nice dark skies up there around Albury. I would grab a 4-6mm TMB Planetary eyepiece from eBay ($70 posted from the UK), or grab a 2x barlow for your 10mm plossl (it will double your magnification from 120x to 240x. 240x is a good level of magnification for planets, you can increase this only when seeing conditions are good. As a rule you can use 50X magnification per inch of aperature of your scope, so theoretically you can go up to 400x with an 8" scope but this is seldom possible due to atmospheric disturbance.

An 8mm TMB planetary and a 2x barlow will give you 300x, a nice level of magnification that is not too high as to spoil your view (detail on planets etc.). In order to work out magnification (if you haven't already) simply divide the length of your scope (1200mm) by the focal length of the eyepiece you are interested in. Example below;

1200mm length of scope / 8mm eyepiece = 150x mag
1200mm length of scope / 6mm eyepiece = 200x mag
1200mm length of scope / 30mm eyepiece = 40x mag

You get the idea. As for Nebs you should be looking at larger focal lengths like 15-30mm eyepieces. For nebs and galaxies remember that low magnification (40-80x) with wide field of view (68-80 degrees) are preferable because they take up a large section of the sky and need low mag and a wide field of view to capture the whole neb. For star clusters I like to use 8mm-12mm eyepieces, depending on the cluster and for planets/lunar viewing I like to use anywhere from 3.5mm-8mm eyepieces. remember that the higher power the eyepiece is the less bright the image will be in the eyepiece. So nebs really need low mag to show up.

I would recommend a 4mm, 5mm or 6mm TMB Planetary II eyepiece from eBay for $70 posted to your door (most posters on IIS will recommend this eyepiece at this price) and a 30mm GSO superview from Andrews Communcations (look them up online). They are based in Sydney. The 30mm GSO will cost you about $60 delivered to your door. Alternatively consider something around the 15-17mm range with a wide field of view. The Hyperions are good and can be found second hand in the classfieds sections for around $100. Please note I have included the really bottom end prices for fairly good eyepieces, the GSO and especially the TMB really punch above their weight. For the next level up ($130-$200) I would be looking at Explore Scientific eyepieces ( there is a new Australian dealer for these and people seem to be happy with both the eps and the dealer), Baader Hyperion eyepieces (I sue these and am happy with them, they usually get snapped up quickly as well). Other posters will give you some of the other reasonable brands in this price range.

I would look at getting a second hand laser collimator or even better a cheshire collimator and learning how to use them. There are plenty of videos on You Tube on how to do this. More important than any eyepiece is a realtively correctly collimated scope.

In summary, the TMB and the GSO are good eyepieces delivered to you door for well under $150 but you should keep an eye on the IIS classifieds for really good eyepieces at reasonable second hand prices.
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  #3  
Old 11-09-2012, 03:20 PM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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Hey Varangian

Thanks for the response. Yeah the last couple nights have been very clear and it looks as if tonight will be another good one as well.

Thanks for the info! The TMB's look good and they are in my price range. I am just trying to think which one would be the most versatile. Maybe the 6mm? Should I get a barlow? And as for the Nebula EP I like the sound of a 15mm wide FOV EP.

I had a look on the IIS classifieds and there is some good stuff. Thanks for telling me about that.

Cheers,

Simon
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  #4  
Old 11-09-2012, 03:38 PM
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Varangian (John)
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Ultimately I would skip the barlow, I prefer not to add more glass between my ep and the object., but they are well priced and can be useful. They make the planet bigger through increasing mag but you do lose detail. If it was me I would get a 5mm TMB, this would get you 240x, a nice usable mag for planets and the moon.

Remember that Jupiter is in opposition in Nov-Dec and an 8" Newt with a 5mm TMB will give you a super view!

All the best.
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  #5  
Old 11-09-2012, 08:42 PM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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Great. I may get a barlow sometime in the near future just as they are not overly priced and could be useful. But I will focus on dedicated EP's first.

I saw some Vixen LV eyepieces (6mm and 20mm) on the IIS forum here which got me thinking. Have you any idea what they are like?

Simon
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  #6  
Old 11-09-2012, 10:53 PM
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Varangian (John)
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Have never used them Simon sorry. Apparently they are comfortable to use and are reasonable performers, restricted FOV though (I think about 50 degrees by memory?).

Get the TMB but be patient with your other EPs, I think there is an astro club in Albury or Wodonga and it's listed in the clubs section here on this website, check it out, take along your scope and I'm 100% sure there will be members who are keen to show off their EPs and let you look through them. At worse they will provide good advice for EPs in your price range.
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  #7  
Old 11-09-2012, 11:53 PM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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Thanks for the advice. I will get some TMB's. I am actually in the process of joining that club. Yeah I am sure the people there will help me out.

Thanks

Simon
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  #8  
Old 14-09-2012, 01:21 PM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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I got bought 2 TMB Planetarys (6mm and 9mm) off the IIS classifieds and and in the process of deciding on a WFOV EP.

Simon
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  #9  
Old 16-09-2012, 08:27 AM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
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Hi simon , I have a set of the Vixen LV's 2.5mm-20mm and thery are very , very good in all ways , I love mine .
I dont think I have ever heard a bad thing said about them , great eyepieces and easy to look thu .
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by simes.m View Post
Great. I may get a barlow sometime in the near future just as they are not overly priced and could be useful. But I will focus on dedicated EP's first.

I saw some Vixen LV eyepieces (6mm and 20mm) on the IIS forum here which got me thinking. Have you any idea what they are like?

Simon
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  #10  
Old 16-09-2012, 09:38 AM
Barrykgerdes
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Hi Brian

This is way off topic but it is the safest way to contact you. I received a spam email from you yesterday. I think your address book has been compromised.

Barry
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  #11  
Old 16-09-2012, 11:03 AM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
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Yea I know its all cleaned out now , and a new pass word installed ,, yea this is a little off topic , sorry .
I have no clue as to how these loosers got in .
Brian.
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Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes View Post
Hi Brian

This is way off topic but it is the safest way to contact you. I received a spam email from you yesterday. I think your address book has been compromised.

Barry
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  #12  
Old 16-09-2012, 12:56 PM
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dannat (Daniel)
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I would get the vixen LV over the tmb planetary (most of the eBay ones are clones & might be made in the same factory but arent genuine tmb)

What is your price range, your choice of 15mm ep for general is prob fairly good, Get along to one of the asaw viewing nights to chek some diff ep's. One suggestion is astro tech paradigm 15mm 60 deg decent e.r. It has a few diff names (Matt at telescopes astronomy in SA sell thm but I forget the brand name

At f6 you prob don't require premium ep's, the ES are good value but are heavy, I prefer lighter ep's but you should try a few to see where your pref lies. Eg weight, fov, price, size, 2" or 1.25", eye relief

Doug mc has a good intro set for sale in the classifieds, it would cover most of your needs , & focal lengths (except the 4 wouldn't get muh use)

Last edited by dannat; 16-09-2012 at 01:06 PM.
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  #13  
Old 16-09-2012, 06:11 PM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
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yep bang on Dannat , as usual good advise .
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannat View Post
I would get the vixen LV over the tmb planetary (most of the eBay ones are clones & might be made in the same factory but arent genuine tmb)

What is your price range, your choice of 15mm ep for general is prob fairly good, Get along to one of the asaw viewing nights to chek some diff ep's. One suggestion is astro tech paradigm 15mm 60 deg decent e.r. It has a few diff names (Matt at telescopes astronomy in SA sell thm but I forget the brand name

At f6 you prob don't require premium ep's, the ES are good value but are heavy, I prefer lighter ep's but you should try a few to see where your pref lies. Eg weight, fov, price, size, 2" or 1.25", eye relief

Doug mc has a good intro set for sale in the classifieds, it would cover most of your needs , & focal lengths (except the 4 wouldn't get muh use)
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  #14  
Old 16-09-2012, 08:20 PM
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I have to give the thumbs up for the ES. I have 6.7 8.8 11 82* series and 16 20 and 28 in the 68* series, not at all heavy except the 2" 28mm 68* eyepiece. The ES are brilliant value for money and give great views IMO not far off others costing 3 times the price. If I was starting out again I would have look at ES or the Meade HD5000 series which is pretty the same as the paradigm 60* and $99 from Bintel. Really comes down to how much do you want to spend.
Matt
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  #15  
Old 17-09-2012, 05:26 PM
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Varangian (John)
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Hi Simon, don't be discouraged. A lot of people love the TMBs and many in the show us your eyepiece section of this forum put them before the Vixen LVs. The 4mm TMB Planetary is close to the best view I have ever seen through an eyepiece. As stated I haven't look through the LV but have looked through heaps at various astro clubs. It really is horses for courses mate.

Send me a PM regarding which TMBs you purchased on eBay and I'll let you know whether they are dinky di, most with the TMB stamp are genuine, there are a few getting around on eBay that are replicas of the genuine, these generally aren't stamped TMB. I have looked into this failry rigorously and have discussed this issue with various TMB sellers OS. Cheers
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  #16  
Old 18-09-2012, 08:48 AM
simes.m (Simon McClure)
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Hey everyone.

Thanks for all the responses.

Hey Dannat, I was considering the vixens but I ended up getting the TMB's instead.

I have grabbed two TMB Planetaries from the classifieds here (6mm and 9mm) and just bought the 15mm WO SWAN off Doug mc. I am still looking for an eyepiece in the 25mm - 35mm range though.

Yeah I will send you an image Varangian.

Thanks guys.

Simon
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  #17  
Old 18-09-2012, 09:00 AM
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Varangian (John)
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simes if you purchased them here they are very likely genuine
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  #18  
Old 01-10-2012, 01:17 PM
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I have an 8 ince f/6 , ended up with a meade 20mm wide field 5000 series nice flat feild
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