Another Eyepiece question?

[Stevo69]

Apologies if I'm doubling up on topics here.... I need some ideas for two eyepieces to start off with my 18" Dobsonian project. I can really only afford two at this stage. I guess 1 x low power and 1 x high power? What would other forum members buy for a similar scope? My price range would be approx $100-$200 each?

hoo roo

Steve

[monoxide]

at f4.5 id be putting a paracorr at the top of the list, probably cant go wrong with most ep's in the premium range after that.
i'd go for a low/medium power combo before low/high but thats my personal preference as i find myself rarely using high power in comparison.

but im no expert to give you numbers and tell you whats best since i think its more a preference thing

[casstony]

Some time ago http://www.astro-optical.com.au/ had a special on Vixen LVW eyepieces where they cost $260 each if you bought two. These are very nice eyepieces at that price but the longest focal length is 22mm. You could call them to see if they're still selling at that price.

[Stevo69]

I should have mentioned I don't have a preference to what type of observing I plan to do; anything from planetary to DSO's. I don't know if that means much when it comes to EP's.

Originally Posted by monoxide

...i'd go for a low/medium power combo before low/high but thats my personal preference as i find myself rarely using high power in comparison.

thanks monoxide, I don't want to go to "high power" straight away. BTW, what do you have for your GSO 12" Dob?

Originally Posted by casstony

Some time ago http://www.astro-optical.com.au/ had a special on Vixen LVW eyepieces where they cost $260 each if you bought two. These are very nice eyepieces at that price but the longest focal length is 22mm. You could call them to see if they're still selling at that price.

Cool, thanks for this, casstony. I've just checked their site. Have they come a long way since the quaint little shop in the Mid-City Arcade, Melbourne, in the 1980's? I'll ring them next week.

I've been advised that Nagler's are suited for Dobsonians. Is there any truth in this or just a sales pitch?

hoo roo

Steve

[monoxide]

i get the most use out of my 24 panoptic and 10mm pentax xw which gives me 62x and 150x in my 12", both excellent ep's from my point of view.

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Stevo69

I've been advised that Nagler's are suited for Dobsonians. Is there any truth in this or just a sales pitch?
Steve

Naglers are good in a Dobsonian but so are many other eyepieces that can handle the steep light cone (fast f/ratio). Naglers and Pentax XW are two of the most coveted eyepieces for Dobs, but you may find that you only like certain focal lengths of each brand due to their greatly varying characteristics. I feel that a new Vixen LVW at $260 is a good blend of price vs performance and most people won't find any characteristic of this eyepiece horribly objectionable - it copes well with fast f/ratios, has long eye relief and 65 degree AFOV.

[ngcles]

Hi Steve,

I have had an 18" f4.9 for virtually 5yrs now all my eyepieces have a Televue stamp on them. The Naglers and Panoptics are brilliant eyepieces. There are other brands out there that are of very high quality but despite the expense, the Televues are simply the best and cope with the steep light-cone brilliantly with almost no edge-of-field aberrations.

So, my advice might seem strange but ... don't buy two eyepieces, get one top quality one. I know the wait for the next one is frustrating but is worth it. Maybe think about the William optics 82deg FOV UWANs -- very, very high "Nagler-like" performance. I've seen through the 28mm and 16mm in my 'scope and they are simply stunning.

For what it is worth my first Nagler was a 9mm, I bought 2nd hand and used it with the 12". Once I had the 18", 'scope I acquired the following _in this order_.

9mm, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 7mm, 26mm, 4.8mm.

I also have two Barlows -- a Proxima 1.5x 2" and a Celestron Ultima 2x 1.25".

Hope this helps.

Best,

Les D