William Optics EPs with an f4.8 10 inch dob

[kev100]

Hi,

Just starting to think about possibly upgrading my eyepieces, from the Revelation plossls I currently use. Although I'm happy enough with the Revelations, I do notice the distortion around the edges and, especially on the 20mm, a sort of 'ballooning' as I pan across the sky. I like the 32mm, but with the 9mm objects have to be kept dead centre in the fov to stay clear and sharp (which means a lot of nudging).

I thought the William Optics looked ideal, budgetwise as well as quality, and was thinking about the following as possible upgrades:

6mm SPL or 7mm UWAN (the latter much more expensive, obviously)

20mm SWAN

I'm just into general viewing (planets, galaxies, planetary nebs, globs, etc)

Does anyone have any experience of these in a fast scope like mine?

Any thoughts welcome.

Cheers,

Kev.

[kev100]

Been doing more research and have seen some good reviews of the Explore scientific 82-degree 14mm. I reckon this might be a good step up. It'll give x85 mag (x214 barlowed). 

This and the 25mm SWAN from William Optics might cover most of my bases, assuming they work ok in the fast scope.

[Bart]

Kev

I have a 10" f5 and a 16" f4.5. The ES 14mm is an excellent EP, I had one for a couple of years and it is excellent. I could see little or no difference between it and a Televue nagler. I have some TVs and ESs and there is almost nothing in it. The ES are very, very good value and in some cases found they were easier to use than TVs as the odd one suffered from kidneybeaning more than the ESs. I haven't used one, but I believe the SPLs are very good as well.

Barry

[ronin]

The WO site used to say they did not to recommend their SWAN eyepieces for scopes faster then f/6.

Which I think is good as they are pretty honest.

So in a scope of f/4.8 I would tend to avoid the SWAN eyepieces.

I notice on the SWAN page that this has been removed but I recall it on those as I have the set of 3 at 1.25"

[kev100]

Hiya, and thanks for the input. My feelings at the moment are leaning towards the ES 14mm. I read a review here that it performs well in fast scopes, and also when barlowed. 

[John]

The UWAN's are excellent as are the Skywatcher Nirvana's which are the same eyepieces. I've owned the 4mm, 16mm and 28mm in those ranges and compared them with their Tele Vue counterparts and they are very close indeed, even in fast scopes.

It's a pity there are not more focal lengths in the UWAN / Nirvana ranges.

[kev100]

Hiya,

I contacted FLO about the William Optic SWAN EPs, and their suitability for my scope. They confirmed that they wouldn't be ideal (though probably better than the plossls I've got now).

Definitely looking at the ES 14mm.

Cheers,

Kev

[rwilkey]

The ES82 14mm is a great ep though I have not tried it in a scope as fast yours.  I also use the 6mm SPL regularly and that also is a cracking ep for planetary at f/5.

[bomberbaz]

IF you got the 28mm and 20mm ES ep's and used a 2x barlow this would give a great range in your scope. 10,14,20,28. 

[kev100]

Thanks for the feedback. The ES EPS definitely look the business. The point about the Barlow makes sense. I've got a 2.5x revelation Barlow, so the 20 & 28mm EPS would give 8 & 11, tho the 14 would go to 5.6, which, on a good night would be good for planetary viewing (214 x mag). Too much?

Cheers,

Kev

[AndyWB]

Too much? Nope. At Cwmdu I was viewing Jupiter at x200, and it was lovely; I can't remember if you looked at it through my scope. I got the 6mm Vixen SLV specifically for that kind of thing.

Get the ES; I'm curious to see what they're like! You heading back to Cwmdu again?

[bomberbaz]

Thanks for the feedback. The ES EPS definitely look the business. The point about the Barlow makes sense. I've got a 2.5x revelation Barlow, so the 20 & 28mm EPS would give 8 & 11, tho the 14 would go to 5.6, which, on a good night would be good for planetary viewing (214 x mag). Too much?

Cheers,

Kev

so the three with a revelation 2.5 barlow gives you 28,20,14 and B'd to 11,8 & 5.6. A range with good spread from x43 to x 214 is a great spread imo. (Agree with AndyWB, on a good night 214 is ok)  The 20mm would see the most light with and without barlow but again thats my opinion (60 n 150).

Let us know what you decide upon

Steve

[kev100]

Hi Bomberbaz, and thanks again for your thoughts. The 14mm ES is still looking like my top choice at the moment, and it's currently on my Amazon wish list. Will add the 20 and 28, too, thought it'll be a little while before I actually spend the money. 

Hi Andy, yes, I'll be at Cymdu again this month, and am actually hoping to do some more eyepiece research there, so I doubt I'll have anything new to try before then. You going to Cwmdu?

Kev

[AndyWB]

Indeed I am, although now I've gotta convince you to get an ES 14mm first so I can have a gander... 

[kev100]

  I'd love to, but you know how it is. Hard to justify it at the moment (what with my bike's MoT, tax, and servicing to consider this month) ...  Incidentally, I'm also looking at the ES 70-degree EPs ... much cheaper, still a pretty fine wide fov.

I'm so looking forward to Cwmdu. Hoping to get to try out some EPs in my scope over the weekend (I've never had the chance to compare EPs, which is why I'm taking so long to decide, and doing so much research beforehand). I know pretty much anything will be an improvement over the plossls I have now, but I have to consider the money.

If/when I do go for the 14mm, we'll have to arrange a viewing session, somewhere in between Dorset and Reading, so you can try it out

[AndyWB]

Well, funny you say about the 70 degree EPs - my largest field of view eyepiece is 68 degrees, and I don't think I'd want to go much bigger. I've not tried an 82, or a 100 degree one, but even at 68 I find there's a bit of eyeball swivelling. I read this - http://www.astro-baby.com/reviews/ES1400/Explore%20Scientific%20ES1400%2014mm%20100%20degree%20FOV%20Review.htm - and I did find myself recognising some of the stuff in the verdict. I did start to think that maybe around 70 degrees is pretty close to a sweet spot, for me.

But hey, I'll probably try a really wide one and fall in love.

And yes, a rendezvous sometime could be fun - but there'll always be more camps anyway!

[Paul73]

I've gone the MV 68° route which will work really well in your scope. Maybe spend the money on the ES 82° at the 30mm end of things. The pupil size becomes an issue in anything much longer.

Paul

[kev100]

Hi Andy,

I read that piece on fov too, and I agree it makes a lot of sense. I may be wrong, but because fast scopes will always have some distortion at the edges, a wider fov will give you more room before it kicks in. I find that with my EPs, especially the 20mm one for some reason, its only in the very centre of the fov thats 'useable'. It's very frustrating. Id rather buy decent eps than a coma corrector.

Still got a lot of research to do!

[kev100]

Hi Paul,

MV 68. Thanks, ill take a look at them.

Kev

[Paul73]

Re. the distortion at the edges. I believe that it is the controlling of the distortion when you go for the extra Fov is the issue. That is why it is more expensive to buy wide view eyepieces. The narrower field eyepieces tend to suffer less.

Paul

[bomberbaz]

jst to shake things up[ a bit have any of you tried this: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/sky-watcher-swa-70-eyepieces.html

Now I used to own a MV24mm 82 degree and didnt really get on with it, so I got me one of these at 22mm and to me it is at least as good if not better than the MV24mm.

Moonshane and I recently compared this to a nagler 16mm ep and the results were that the SW SWA 22mm shaded it. And at less than £90 a pop its got to be given consideration. By all accounts the 32mm sucks but the 22 is a gem.

my review : http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/224102-skywatcher-swa-22mm-eyepiece-review/

steve

[kev100]

Hi bomberbaz,

As a matter of fact, I was looking at those EPs only yesterday, after reading your review. I'm not sure. While I don't doubt the quality, I've got a 1.25 inch barlow, and don't want to have to buy a 2 inch one (EPs are expensive enough).

Choosing EPs really is a minefield (especially if you want to get it as right as you can in the first place, and not be disappointed/itching to upgrade again in a couple of months time - this is my problem at the moment: I'm a bit obsessive like that – it's not lack of choice).

Cheers!

Kev

[rwilkey]

Hi Kev, always get your astronomy equipment from dedicated astronomy suppliers, not Amazon.  I recommend Telescope House for Explore Scientific, delivery usually the next day and great back-up service.  Link here:http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Explore_Scientific_Eyepieces.html

[bomberbaz]

hAVE YOU CONSIDERED UPPING THE SIZE FROM 14 TO 16MM. http://www.explorescientific.co.uk/en/Eyepieces/Maxvision-68-Eyepiece-16mm.html

barlowed this gives you 6.4mm or x 188 in your scope which you may find useable more often than a magnification of 219 i think it was.

Other thing is they are £55 when shipped direct from Explore scientific and if your budget allows, add the 24mm for another £60.00

24mm = x50

16mm = x75

B24mm = x125

B16mm = x188

There you goes, its all worked out for you, now just spend the money 

[kev100]

Hi bomberbaz, thank you! If only everything in life was so simple!