Eyepieces - what do you REALLY need?

snowyskiesau · #1 24-03-2006, 05:25 PM

I'm just getting a C8 ready for use after a number of years neglect. No cleaning of scope required (as far as I can tell). Mount regreased and adjusted, motors fitted etc.etc.

Eyepieces I have are a 30 mm plossl and a 7.5mm ???, both Celestron and a 3x barlow.
What would be a good next eyepiece (or eyepieces) to add to these?
Any recommendations for brand and supplier would be welcome.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #2 24-03-2006, 11:35 PM

I am not the best suited to answer this question but I will share my thoughts...

First, learn to use what you have...after you become proficient with your scope and learn a bit about what you like and don't like (try other peoples stuff as often as possible) then start shopping in earnest...Too many people, myself included jump in and start buying stuff without gaining the knowledge and understanding to appreciate the hobby...there is no way to beat experience at the old eyepiece...having said that I will climb down from my soap box and say...

You need 3 eyepieces and a good barlow...

1 low power, 1 medium power, 1 high power...power being magnification and what that works out to in your scope I don't know off hand...and a good quality barlow

I tend to try to have fewer eyepieces of higher quality rather than many "average" ones...this means I buy them one at a time a couple of times a year...

Makes and brands will depend on your scope, your budget and what you intend to look at...today and in the future...again I beleive that quality will last and also hold it's value if you decide later to exit the hobby...

I will now bow to the more learned collegues from IIS...

davidpretorius · #3 25-03-2006, 04:56 AM

snowy, what do you like looking at, planets, planetary nebaula, wide open clusters etc.

At the moment I am fascinated by planetary whilst Jupiter is sooooo big, hence I have a 5mm vixen LV and soon I will be getting a 4mm TMB planetary. That is where the investment has gone.

Later in the year, I will be looking at either medium or low power. The best view I have had of an object was the orion nebula in a 24mm panoptic in a c9.25.

My gut feel is a 22mm - 27mm panoptic is next on the list. Although the LVW vixens in this range are getting good feedback.

After that I will fill the hole in the middle ie 12 - 18mm

snowyskiesau · #4 25-03-2006, 09:18 AM

All of the above! At least to start with.
I'm sure I'll develop a particular interest and select accessories to suit.
I'm observing from suburban Sydney it that's a help.

janoskiss (Steve H) · #5 25-03-2006, 10:13 AM

C8 is an f5 8" Newtonian...?
30mm plossl is good wide view eyepiece and finder.

For starters, I'd add two plossls or orthos: a 15 and a 10mm approx. And a 2x barlow. Brand? How much do you want to spend? cheapest: SPs from myastroshop, best: Televue plossls from Bintel or University Optics HD orthoscopics from Frontier Optics. Barlow? Televue 2x or maybe the GS 2" ED if you have a 2" focuser (both from Bintel).

davidpretorius · #6 25-03-2006, 10:14 AM

John Bambury is the man (ausastronomer)

Two recent threads

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ead.php?t=8022

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ead.php?t=7380

I would take a lot of notice of any of his suggestions, but try and get along to a viewing session and try for yourself.

What brand are the current eyepieces you have? Do you have a budget??

davidpretorius · #7 25-03-2006, 10:16 AM

oops, based on steve's thread, i assume the c8 was similiar to a c9.25???

janoskiss (Steve H) · #8 25-03-2006, 10:30 AM

Could be Davo..

People often state a model name and everyone will know what they are talking about. Best to state type of scope with aperture and focal length/ratio. The Meade model names and numbers are especially confusing for the uninitiated. For ages I thought LX200 was an 8" scope (200mm), LX90 was a little 3.5" (90mm). After all, their ETX's seem to follow that convention. There is definitely a C8 Newtonian, but probably an SCT as well considering C11 and C9.25. Ah forgetit. It's too hard. I'll stick to Dobs: 8" Dob, 10" Dob, 12" Dob, 16" Dob ... plain and simple.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #9 25-03-2006, 10:36 AM

C8 SGT = sct fork mounted

C8 NGT = Newt Eq mounted

Going by the intital thread

Quote:

Mount regreased and adjusted, motors fitted etc.etc.

I would hazard a guess at the newt on a CG-5

snowyskiesau · #10 25-03-2006, 10:58 AM

Sorry, it's a Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain C8 200mm on a Super Polaris GEM mount.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #11 25-03-2006, 11:02 AM

Well there I go. Half right again in both cases

asimov (John) · #12 25-03-2006, 11:03 AM

Whats the FL of it then? F/10?

[1ponders] (Paul) · #13 25-03-2006, 11:06 AM

If its an f/10 then you definately don't need Naglers or really expensive eyepieces. Yes it's nice to have them but you don't need them. Slower scopes are generally more forgiving on eyepieces than f/6/5/4 scopes

snowyskiesau · #14 25-03-2006, 11:17 AM

I guess what I'm looking for is:

1. Good quality so I'm not disappointed with what I see and end up putting the scope back on top of the wardrobe.
2. Price - I'd rather spend a bit more to get good quality so if I want to upgrade to a better/bigger scope, I can use what eyepieces I've got.
3. A range that will let me see different objects with a appropriate magnification and FOV.

janoskiss (Steve H) · #15 25-03-2006, 11:38 AM

If I had a scope like yours, I'd probably go for something like the University Optics Königs: 40mm MK-70 for wide views, 25 MK-70 for low-mid power deep sky, 16mm for mid-high power. And to top it off, a set of HD orthos (7,9,12,18mm) for planets and smaller/fainter DSOs (galaxies, planetaries). Nice.

Frontier Optics sells UO stuff: www.frontieroptics.com. See also: www.universityoptics.com.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #16 25-03-2006, 12:56 PM

I'd recommend a read from Telvue's website on eyepiece recommendations...

http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?cat=2

I don't necessarily know that you need TV quality eyepieces in your scope (do any of us?) or if your wallet can afford them but, I think that the recommendations and the experience that goes into the recommendations make them worth reading/heeding...

There are many makers of good and great quality eyepieces around and you will hear and see many different opinions from their owners/users...there is no "perfect" eyepiece and while there can be measurable differences in performance between them, once you get to a quality range (in terms of comparable quality eyepeices) it will be the subjective attributes that I beleive will impact more on your happiness than not...

I encourage to get out and look before you leap if at all possible...

janoskiss (Steve H) · #17 25-03-2006, 01:00 PM

The Televue 'EPs for 8" SCTs' page is limited to scopes with 1.25" focusers or diagonals. Not relevant for most people with that type of scope. But the recipe of three EPs for low, medium, high powers is sensible.

casstony · #18 26-03-2006, 10:35 AM

Snowy,
I'd reccommend you get a Celestron or Meade f/6.3 reducer to screw onto the back of your scope. This will give you lower, more useable magnifications with your current eyepieces and you'll have a wider field with the 30mm for finding objects. The magnification with the 7.5mm would drop from 266 to 168. Though going very much against majority opinion, I'd also reccommend a Vixen 8-24mm zoom eyepiece - very convenient and easy to use, saves swapping eyepieces in and out. See http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/catalog.php?categoryid=3 for equipment reviews by users.

Tony