high mag eyepiece

[algol]

Hi guys, I've been looking at flo today for a good planetary eyepiece and found these by skywatcher

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html

Which would be best for a 130 newt with 650 fl

I already have a 10 & 25 that came with the scope plus the standard Barlow. Mainly interested in planetary and lunar work

[SW130p]

I have the same scope and have had great views with the BST Starguiders in 5mm & 8mm better with a good Barlow to get them down to 2.5mm & 4mm. I find I use most is the 8mm with Barlow @4mm but when conditions allow the 5mm Is good.

[Digger1895]

I use the 4mm on my Heritage 130 and am really pleased with it, nice crisp view and plenty eye relief, you wouldn't want to get the higher power 2.5 though it would be too much. I was was using it when I took the photo below through the EP with my iPhone.

[algol]

Nice pic there mate, hmm so the 4 mm is good, I'm trying to see some of the smaller planets better, ie mars and the outer planets

[AndyWB]

Well, Mars is pretty much gone for the next couple of years. My 10" struggles to get much of a view of it now. Also, while Uranus and Neptune are quite possible in a 130p like that, mostly they will just appear as 'not stars', rather than lots of detail. It's going to a be a quiet time for planets.

For Jupiter & Saturn I tend to use 5 and 8 mm BSTs in my 130p. I have used the 8mm  x2 barlowed on occasion, but that's rare. Normally the seeing isn't good enough, and focusing is a right pain, though. 

[jetstream]

I have the SW 20mm and the SW UWA 5mm that came with the 120ED.The 20mm is actually not that bad but the 5mm UWA does not perform that well for me,to my eyes.If spending on a new eyepiece I would not purchase one.My 5mm and 7mm KK Fuji orthos are excellent but with tight eye relief and the Badder BCO line is very hard to beat at their price point.Any of these orthos are "keepers".If you think you may stay into astronomy and acquire further eyepices,the 3-6 Nagler zoom is an expensive,but great addition.I use mine regularly in my scopes for specific things(not DSO) and performs great for its designed purpose.

[ghostdance]

I have the 2.5mm UWA, but haven't used it much yet as my viewing conditions need to be a lot clearer (or I need a larger aperture, lol) - I'm waiting for darker skies before making a judgement on the ep. It's nicely built from what I can see so I'm hoping it will get some use over autumn & winter. At the moment, it sits in the case doing nowt, but for £37 I thought it worth the gamble...in retrospect I probably should have gone for the 5mm, but I got mag-greedy! 

[YKSE]

Since your're mainly interested in Lunar and planetary work, I'd like to suggest Baader Classic Ortho(BCO) 10mm and Q 2.25x barlow here:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-q-225x-barlow.html

This combination gives you effectively 10mm, 7.7mm and 4,4mm equivalent focal length. It should cover your viewing nice.

Planetary work is more about having less scatter(bright flare around the object), better through-put, Abbe ortho are one of few most suitable designed EPs with these characters.

Optically, this combination will be among the top-notch, better than many EPs cost many times more.

[timwetherell]

The Nagler 3-6 and 2-4 zooms are excellent for very high magnifications - good eye relief and variable magnification to match seeing conditions - but they do cost a fortune

Plossls are great but below about 9mm the eye relief becomes so tight, I personally, find them uncomfortable.

Maybe something like a University Optics Orthoscopic 6mm ? I've found they're really good EPs for lunar and planets and they're not ludicrously expensive - about 50 pounds if you order them direct I think

all the best

Tim

[alan potts]

I do not have any experience with these but I am wondering are thay a clone of the TMB's.

Myself I use a combination of Radians, Delos, Nagler 3-6mm zoom and BG, Orthoscopics, only downside COST!!!! :embarassed: