Quote:
Originally Posted by mook
Hey John,
Can you suggest an eyepiece or two that would compliment the TV powermate? Thought the zoom would cover all my bases, that's all. And I don't mind if the FOV shrinks at the low power, but I don't have the zoom lens yet, so I'm all ears  Would like it to be 2" though. And will probably be doing imaging once I've learned the scope.
Cheers
Mook
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Hi Paul,
There is nothing wrong with the Baader zoom if that's what floats your boat.
You need to be aware that a zoom anything in optics will never perform as well as a fixed focal length anything, at the equivalent focal length. This applies to whatever you like, be it zoom eyepieces, zoom binoculars or zoom camera lenses. The difference is "usually" more pronounced at the extremities of the zoom range. Designers and manufacturers have narrowed the gap and dramatically improved the performance of zoom optics in the last 20 years, but they are still not quite the equal of their fixed focal length equivalents. The top quality zooms are now very close to fixed focal length equivalents. The Leica zoom eyepieces have been made in varying focal length ranges in recent years and are outstanding. They cost about $1,000. The TV zoom eyepieces are good. Many claim they are just as good as a fixed focal length equivalent, I disagree and in a good scope under good conditions can easily pick the difference. The Baader zoom is a notch down from that. What you get with the Baader zoom is flexibility.
All the above having been said you then need to question the sanity of spending an arm and a leg on eyepieces for a 120mm telescope. A 150mm telescope with cheap eyepieces will show you more than a 120mm telescope with the very best eyepieces. It then becomes a trade off between cost and portability of the telescope and aperture.
Personally If you dont wish to go and buy 3 or 4 top quality eyepieces which will cost you $2,000 I think the 2X TV Powermate combined with the 8 -24mm Baader zoom is probably a very good option. I would however be adding a low power wide field good quality eyepiece down the track for rich field views of clusters which is where this type of telescope excels.
Cheers,
John B