#381  
Old 13-08-2023, 06:42 PM
Hans Tucker (Hans)
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Originally Posted by entr0py View Post
Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?
I have a big collection of eyepieces Takahashi, Televue, Pentax XW's, TMB Supermonocentrics, Zeiss, Docter 12.5mm and newly acquired Nikon Nav's but I seem always to come back to the Takahashi LE's for viewing Planets. I am eager to try the new range of Takahashi TPL's.
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  #382  
Old 14-08-2023, 01:30 PM
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Rainmaker (Matt)
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Originally Posted by entr0py View Post
Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?
Pairs of Tak LE 5mm and 7.5mm in Zeiss binoviewer at the back end of TOA130NFB…..
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  #383  
Old 19-08-2023, 07:42 AM
EpickCrom (Joe)
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Originally Posted by entr0py View Post
Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?
Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.
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  #384  
Old 19-08-2023, 09:08 AM
croweater (Richard)
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Originally Posted by EpickCrom View Post
Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.
Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard
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  #385  
Old 19-08-2023, 09:16 AM
EpickCrom (Joe)
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Originally Posted by croweater View Post
Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard
Hi Richard, I heartily agree! They are very good "bang for your buck" eyepieces. I too like the 60° AFOV they have and yes those screw up eyecups are very nice. I also have the Cielo HD 4.5mm and 2.3mm, they are also good for planetary and lunar observations and come close to my 6.5mm for sharpness . I'm glad that you are enjoying yours as much as I'm enjoying mine

Clear Skies
Joe
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  #386  
Old 19-08-2023, 10:37 AM
Dave882 (David)
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In my binoviewers I only use 2 pairs for pretty much everything:
Denkmeier D21mm FMC for Solar and Lunar
Burgess 9mm TMB Planetary for major and minor planets or Lunar if the conditions are excellent

These give me around 200x and 450x in the c14 (bit less with the powerswitch) and found both to be great contrast and really sharp. Although I’ve got my eye out for something around the 5-6mm for those nights of exceptional seeing.
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  #387  
Old 21-08-2023, 08:08 PM
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JeniSkunk (Jenifur)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by entr0py View Post
Surely this has been asked many times but what are everyone's "go to" eye pieces for planetary observations? i.e. if you had to do it again what would you not buy or buy differently or sooner?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EpickCrom View Post
Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).
Quote:
Originally Posted by croweater View Post
Hi Joe. I, too use cielos and xl. I'm very happy with them. They give nice sharp views and 60 degree field which suits me as I dont like to have to move my eyes around the field too much while observing. I can just stare. Comfortable 16mm eye relief which is right in my sweet spot. Also very nice screw up eyecups. Good value eyepieces.
Cheers, Richard
Another Saxon Cielo HD eyepieces user here, I've had mine since Pete at Astro Anarchy first started stocking them. I've three eyepieces in the range, the 25mm, 12mm, and the 6.5mm. I posted about what ones I have, in post number 357 in this thread.
The 6.5mm is my go to for most tasks, with the 12mm being used mostly as a general viewing ep. The 12mm is my immediate go to for general lunar viewing. At dark sites I can get transport to, that's when the 25mm gets its most use. It's good for constellations and nebulas, which you simply can't see in urban light pollution.
I don't have any Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces, but I wouldn't mind trying some out to see how they compare to the Saxons.
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  #388  
Old 24-06-2024, 07:54 PM
MTregz (Michael)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EpickCrom View Post
Hi, in my admittedly small time in this hobby (4 years) the best eyepiece for me so far for planetary observations has been my Cielo HD 6.5mm ( I believe it the same as Celestron X Cell).

This eyepiece always gives me a razor sharp view, Jupiter and Saturn look like they have been etched with a very fine pen! I have compared it with my other eyepieces, same night same conditions and it always comes out on top for planetary observations.
I'll have to look into that, thanks for sharing
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  #389  
Old 16-09-2024, 07:15 AM
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Crater101 (Warren)
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I have most of the Celestron X-Cel LX 1.25 eyepieces (2.3, 5. 9, 12, 18, & 25mm) and I find them great for planetary viewing, and quite good for general observing. They're accompanied by X-Cel LX 2x and 3x Barlows.
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  #390  
Old 16-09-2024, 11:12 AM
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OzEclipse (Joe Cali)
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I have a homemade 6"f7 Newt, optimised for visual obs with a 3.5% by area secondary. It only takes 1.25" eyepieces. My other scopes 18" dob, 8" Vixen cass and 80mm and 100mm refractors all have 2" focusers.

Over the years I have assembled an excellent set of mostly premium eyepieces. Most of the premium eyepieces have been purchased second hand here on IIS.


2" eyepieces
GSO SV 42mm (54 deg)
31mm* & 17mm* Naglers (82 deg)

1.25" eyepieces
Unitron 40mm Kellner
Meade 25mm & 12mm Orthoscpic (45 deg)
Denkmeier D21mm* and D14mm (65 deg)*
University Optics 16mm König (65 deg)
Explore Scientific 11mm (82 deg)
Pentax XW10* & XW5* (70 deg)
Nagler 12mm* and 7mm* (82 deg)

* Purchased 2nd hand

For some reason, the Denkmeiers are resold at very discounted prices. They are really superb eyepieces in fast newts and longer f ratio scopes. Many members of my circle of friends all own the 14mm and 21mm Denkmeiers.
The Naglers, Denks and Pentax are the jewels in this set. The others are good eyepieces, just not superb eyepieces.


Joe
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  #391  
Old 16-09-2024, 07:32 PM
Matthieu (Matt)
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Originally Posted by Crater101 View Post
I have most of the Celestron X-Cel LX 1.25 eyepieces (2.3, 5. 9, 12, 18, & 25mm) and I find them great for planetary viewing, and quite good for general observing. They're accompanied by X-Cel LX 2x and 3x Barlows.
I also have a few of the X-Cel LX's (25, 12, 9, 7 and 5mm). They serve me well in a 16" f/4 dob which is no mean feat. I liked all of them aside from the 5 but that's probably because 360x is too much mag most nights. Also, a couple of them had the known issue of small bits of metal on the inside which were very visible on the moon until I cleaned it. I'd be curious to hear whether the Saxon Cielo have better quality control.

I've started upgrading eyepieces so have an ES 68° 40mm (for my frac), a few Ultima Edges (30, 18 and 15mm), an ES 82° 11mm and the SvBony sv215 3-8mm zoom. So far, I've only properly compared the zoom to the X-Cel LX's and the zoom seems both brighter and sharper to me than the 7 and 9 X-Cel Lx's which are my favourite.
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  #392  
Old 16-09-2024, 07:35 PM
Matthieu (Matt)
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The Naglers, Denks and Pentax are the jewels in this set. The others are good eyepieces, just not superb eyepieces.
It's a great set, even the B team eyepieces are well rated.
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  #393  
Old 30-10-2024, 06:48 PM
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JeniSkunk (Jenifur)
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Finally started adding to my eyepiece family.
Today I bought a Saxon Cielo HD 9mm to add to my 25mm, 12mm, and 6,5mm
The LEGO set in the background was also bought today.
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  #394  
Old 01-11-2024, 05:21 PM
EpickCrom (Joe)
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Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post
Finally started adding to my eyepiece family.
Today I bought a Saxon Cielo HD 9mm to add to my 25mm, 12mm, and 6,5mm
The LEGO set in the background was also bought today.
Nice additions to your eyepiece family! I have the Saxon Cielo 6.5mm, it's the sharpest eyepiece I've yet looked through and will be staying with me forever!
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  #395  
Old 02-11-2024, 11:25 AM
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JeniSkunk (Jenifur)
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Originally Posted by EpickCrom View Post
Nice additions to your eyepiece family! I have the Saxon Cielo 6.5mm, it's the sharpest eyepiece I've yet looked through and will be staying with me forever!
The 4.5mm is the limit I could effectively use in my P130 telescope. The 2.3mm is simply too powerful to be usable in it with a magnification in my telescope of 282x.
I bought the 9mm as I was after something with slightly more magnification than the 12mm, but not as much as the 6.5mm.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get the 18mm, as I don't use the 25mm anywhere near enough, and I fear that the 18mm would get even less use than the 25mm.
For my little telescope, the Saxon Cielo HD are a very good upgrade series of eyepieces, from the stock eyepieces SkyWatcher supply with their telescopes.
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  #396  
Old 29-11-2024, 07:08 AM
refractordude
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Hello There


Meade 56mm Plossl/52 Degrees/30mm Eye Relief


Celestron 30mm UFF/70 Degrees/22mm Eye Relief


Olivon 22mm/70 Degrees/20mm Eye Relief


BST Paradigm StarGuider 15mm/60 Degrees/20mm Eye Relief


Stellalyra 9mm, 6mm, 5mm/55 Degrees/20mm Eye Relief


SvBony 7-21mm Zoom


My first eyepiece upgrade was the GSO 20mm Superview. Way better than the stock eyepieces that came with my first two scopes. I also have a few of the Red Line and Yellow Line eyepieces laying around and about in plastic bags. I also have a bunch of eBay plossl cheapos.


My favorite is the Olivon 22mm. It is now sold under a variety of names. https://astromaniaoptics.com/product...riantsId=10092
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  #397  
Old 30-11-2024, 06:05 AM
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My set is somewhat pedestrian, and all of them have hundreds of pics on-line.
Used in scopes of 12.5" f/5 (f/5.75 with Paracorr) and 102mm f/7 triplet apo.
30mm APM Ultra Flat field
22mm Tele Vue Nagler Type 4
17.5mm/14mm/12.5mm/9mm/6.5mm/4.5mm Morpheus
11mm Tele Vue Apollo11
7mm APM XWA
6mm Tele Vue Ethos
3.7mm Tele Vue Ethos SX.
The last 3 are not glasses-compatible, but fortunately, I do not need glasses with those focal lengths.
Magnifications range from 61x to 493x in the 12.5" and 24x to 193x in the 102mm.

I have a custom 16" coming shortly, and the same eyepieces will yield magnifications of 58x to 474x
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  #398  
Old 01-12-2024, 04:44 PM
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Anth10 (Anthony M)
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My keepers for the 10”

I originally started my Astro pursuit with an 8 inch hand crafted Dob and later upgraded to a 10” where it was used for visual obs.
My set consists of 5mm and 7.5mm LE MC Takahashi eyepieces/
25mm Masuyama, / 16mm 82deg UWAN / 28mm 82deg UWAN/ and regular plossl set

Since then I have reconfigured the 10” into a scope used for astrophotography however on the most clear nights I do still use the eyepieces to gaze into the heavens and particularly the planets when seeing is perfect.

My favourite is the 7.5mm Tak(nice color and sharp image) and the 28mm wide field really brings that space feel to the subject which is most amazing using my f5 light bucket.

Cheers
Anth10
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