Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Celestron eye piece kit

craigfoot

Recommended Posts

craigfoot

craigfoot

Posted
Posted

Hi

I know there are lots of threads on this subject and its probably a subject with many varying opinion, but anyone know if this celestron kit is any good?

Celestron AstroMaster Accessory Kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004KMC0UC/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_BQI.tb0WJB271

I've got a skywatcher explorer 130 with the standard 10, 25 and 3.6mm eye pieces and from looking around I get the impression I would be better off upgrading these?

Thanks for any advice

Craig

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Herbig

Herbig

Posted
Posted

Hi, this kit look fairly good value at £48, however you only get 2 eps one Plossl and one Kellner, so not much better than what you already have I suspect? If the Barlow is ok it would be useful and possibly the filters.

To be honest I made the mistake of buying a cheep kit and youd be better spending your money on a BST Explorer or decent Barlow

Link to comment
Share on other sites
astro man

astro man

Posted
Posted

Hi 

I agree with Herbig I brought a selection of low end eyepieces and now they aren't much use with my dob . Best advice buy some higher quality eyepiece's right from the start. They may be more expensive but you wont have to replace them a couple of months down the line.

Hope this helps

Astro man 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ronin

ronin

Posted
Posted

Upgrades to eyepeices depend on you budget, and to an extent the scope, which 130 ?? Think there are 2.

"Worst" case is the 130P, it is simply faster.

The known and talked of upgrades are:

1) Plossl's in the GSO, Revelation range. nice enough and they come in around £25-30

2) Vixen NPL plossl's, always get a good review, outer is described as "plasticy" but the glass inside is good. (FLO).

3) BST Starguiders, probably the best performance/pound around, they just work well, £49 at Sky's the Limit..

4) Celetsron X-Cel, performance as per the BST's, little better focal lengths at the short end, £64 FLO.

FLO also do Skywatcher Planetary's, somewhere arounf £35-40 I think, not many focal lengths.

Rother Valley do Antares eyepieces that are good, have a look at their plossl's.

There are others and as many "brands" are actually rebadged items they can be identical, but different costs.

Could also wait and see what appears on the used market, ABSUK often get someone clearing out their cupboards, same here when you get the posts required.

Reality is plossl's or BST/X-Cel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
orley

orley

Posted
Posted

Yep, +1 for BST's. They are rather good value and a good step up.

Also, consider that the fact that in that kit you would get several items together for the same price as one BST. That doesn't bode well for the quality of those items. Even against the normal RRP of £80 you have to be suspicious...

The flip side is that you get to try out various focal lengths and filters quite cheaply and from there can work out where you want to go next. Cheap way to experiment, but not a long term purchase. Personally I'd go for quality over quantity, but that's just me. Decisions decisions :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
craigfoot

craigfoot

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Craig, always best to buy your astro-gear from dedicated astronomy suppliers, like the forum's sponsers and get great service at the same time.

Yeah I'd like to, but they don't have a 6x30 raci. . the telrad is a good price though and I will have a browse through the eye pieces on offer though not sure my money is best spent upgrading the ep just yet
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
craigfoot

craigfoot

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, I've been checking out some of the recommended EPs and not sure if its the tight Yorkshireman in me but £50 for 1 ep seems a lot! Will I really get any benefit out of it?

What for example would a 25mm bst give me that my current skywatcher 25mm doesn't?

Or should I get a better quality ep at a size I don't have, I.e. 8mm or 33mm??

Really not sure what's best option, I bought the 3.6mm to get more magnification to see saturns rings which worked, but would a better quality 3.6mm give a better view of Saturn??

Also now wondering how the f rating of my scope will impact this and discussing in another thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

The best way is, if possible, to try some other eyepieces for youself. Making the additional investment is easier and more comfortable if you have personally experienced the difference rather than having to take others word for it !

That said, I can't say I've read many reports on here where folks who have invested in, say, a BST Explorer / Starguider eyepiece or something of similar quality, have said they prefer the views with the eyepieces that are supplied with the scopes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

Know what you mean, but hard to try without spending. .

I know what you mean. When I was starting out I read as many reports and reviews as possible and made buying decisions on the basis of that. I looked for a concensus to start to emerge and gave more weight to feedback from ordinary owners rather than magazine reviews. Overall I've found this approach works although it takes time and thought.

If it's any consolation the performance gain, in my opinion, going from the "stock" eyepieces to £50 ones of the sort mentioned already is more substantial than moving from the £50 niche to the £100 one and above.

A good set of eyepieces will work with virtually any scope you may own in the future - scopes can tend to come and go more often than a good eyepiece set changes !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
craigfoot

craigfoot

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah I understand, and I know you get what you pay for. . this is just be coming a very expensive hobby! :)

If I were going to buy one good bst ep, any recommendation on which size yo go with to compliment my skywatcher 130 scope and the existing 3.6, 10 and 25mm EPs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stevend

stevend

Posted
Posted

There is a huge difference between my stock 9mm and the BST 8mm, and a noticeable difference between the stock 25mm and BST 25mm, and I am referring to contrast and quality of the viewing area (not just to fov itself, but that the view is clearer away from the centre of the EP).

In most sessions I usually end up with two EPs, one in the scope and one in my pocket, my 15mm (100x) EP is almost always one of them, I think 100x is a common alternative magnification for either what I am viewing (eg planets), when (twilight/dawn) or conditions. YMMV but I can confirm the 12mm and 15mm are of similar quality and I have no doubt the 18mm is likewise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CJE

CJE

Posted
Posted

There is a huge difference between my stock 9mm and the BST 8mm, and a noticeable difference between the stock 25mm and BST 25mm, and I am referring to contrast and quality of the viewing area (not just to fov itself, but that the view is clearer away from the centre of the EP).

In most sessions I usually end up with two EPs, one in the scope and one in my pocket, my 15mm (100x) EP is almost always one of them, I think 100x is a common alternative magnification for either what I am viewing (eg planets), when (twilight/dawn) or conditions. YMMV but I can confirm the 12mm and 15mm are of similar quality and I have no doubt the 18mm is likewise.

The 18mm is my favourite in my SW150 ... very good value.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
craigfoot

craigfoot

Posted
  • Author
Posted

My eyes are hurting from looking at eye pieces now! Lol

Do I spend 50 on a bst 15 or 18mm and get some good observations through a quality ep

Or

The same amount and get the Antares polossl 17 and 32mm which may give me more options with my current setup and more targets?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rwilkey

rwilkey

Posted
Posted

My eyes are hurting from looking at eye pieces now! Lol

Do I spend 50 on a bst 15 or 18mm and get some good observations through a quality ep

Or

The same amount and get the Antares polossl 17 and 32mm which may give me more options with my current setup and more targets?

Hi Craig, I think you will find the BST's much more comfortable to use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.