John

Good to see that the packaging has improved. Sorry that the courier could not be a bit more careful. I think Synta have improved the design of the lens retaining ring as well - the USA Skywatcher people said that this had happened. The retention rings of the two ED150's that I had were very thin affairs and not up to the job IMHO. Hope you enjoy using it

I recall the Burgess / TMB planetaries - I've owned a couple of those. I think the Planetary II's are a little different. Shame they still have the TMB logo on them, unless they are paying some royalties to the estate of the late Thomas M Back, which I doubt. I notice that the Agena Astro ones don't have that branding.

For less than $30 (including delivery ?) it's got to be worth a try I agree that the eye relief and tiny eye lenses on the plossl and ortho eyepieces of that focal length make them very challenging to use even if they are sharp. I think those are made by Barsta who make the BST eyepieces.

I keep my 12 inch dobsonian in the corner of the dining room. I can put it out quickly through the french windows and it does not take too long to cool. It's useable at low to medium magnifications after about 15 minutes. 30-40 minutes before high magnifications can be used to best effect.

DSO's come in all sorts of shapes and sizes so there is not one particular eyepiece focal length that suits all. Having a low power eyepiece is useful for the larger ones and also for finding the smaller ones before using higher power though. For your budget a 32mm plossl should be possible and it would work well with the scope. The 32mm in the Astro Essentials range is probably as good as any as @banjaxed mentions above: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-essentials-eyepieces/astro-essentials-super-plossl-eyepiece.html

Just another thing - the 26mm Panaview will be showing some astigmatism at F/5 in the outer half of the field of view - stars elongated a bit like seagulls. The Panoptic should not be showing this so will be more useful to detect field curvature as vlaiv says.

Further to my earlier response, having now actually weighed the things, rather than guessing () I find that the Berlebach Uni 28 weighs in at 7.5kg compared to the EQ6 steel tripod plus 8 inch pillar total of 10 kg. So that's a useful weight saving

Another alternative is the Nirvana / UWA 28mm 82 degrees: Old design: http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_accessories-eyepieces/nirvana_uwa-82_28mm_high-performance_eyepiece.html New version: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p2757_TS-Optics-2----28-mm-Ultra-Wide-Angle-Eyepiece---82--Field.html These compare well with premium 2 inch wide fields. I did a comparison a few years ago: They are quite heavy but so is the ES 30mm 82 !

I have not had an Evostar 150 for a while now so I did not get a chance to compare the 150ED to it. My feeling is that the ED is a little heavier but not much - maybe just a kg or so difference ? The ED150 is nowhere near as heavy or challenging to handle as an Istar 150 thats for sure !

Great sketch David I found the seeing very steady last night after experiencing rather the opposite the previous evening. I agree though that the contrast of the dark features on the disk were somewhat muted. Is the S polar cap growing in extent I wonder or more distinct for other reasons ?

Hi Mark, I seem to recall that you and I had Istar 150's at around the same time ?. They were heavy things I agree ! Over the past couple of years I've been attracted to all the refractors that you list at some time or another. The only one that I've actually used was the Skywatcher ED150. The examples I used were very early ones and there were a few issues as I recorded on the forum at the time but since then Skywatcher have reacted very constructively and the reports I have read over the past 6 months on this scope have been very positive. If I was in the market now for a larger aperture refractor than my 130mm, I would certainly be considering a Skywatcher ED150. Would probably go for one that had been tested by ES Reid just for reassurance but I think the scope has the potential to perform at least as well as the others you list even if the finish and accessories are not quite as glossy. Hope that helps a bit

Until the fog showed up, the views were superb !

The steel tripod that came with the T-Rex mount is a 2 inch steel legged EQ6 one. Pretty sturdy I've found. I prefer the look of the Berlebach but we will see. The BB did well tonight with my 130mm F/9.2 triplet frac on board. Didn't try and compare the tripods though - too busy observing Mars and the Moon under excellent seeing before the fog came along !

Looks like I'm about to be fogged out I've just been observing a fascinating crater on the opposite side of the Mare Humorum from Gassendi, called Vitello. This crater is 21km in diameter and has a small central peak complex which is almost completely encircled by a rille. The rille is showing as a bright ring around the central peak area this evening - quite striking. The seeing has been really first class tonight. It's a bit crazy when 300x seems to be just cruising with a 130mm aperture scope, but that's how it's been. Not that I'm complaining

I've used both the ES 2x Focal Extenders and they are really good I'm still waiting for that Thornbury haze to come down here - hope it stays away for a bit longer !

Still clear and fog-free here. I've taken my 130mm triplet up to 600x on Mars and the definition is still pretty good. Much better than I could get last night at 150x ! I've now moved onto the Moon and in particular the crater Gassendi which is really nicely illuminated tonight with the complex rille system and central peaks looking splendid. To be fair @JamesF did predict that tonight might be better than last night and he has been proved quite correct

Must be that ultra-diffuse type of fog Still nice and clear here. Many light years of visbility Cold though - have to keep popping in to warm up.

"Clear Outside" is not too optimistic about this evening. Glad that it's proving very different currently. I would not be surprised if the fog / mist showed up at some point though.

Supper consumed, the seeing is much, much better tonight 375x on Mars and the Moon = very sharp indeed !

This thread is about our favourite accessories so that's what I posted. Mine are different to yours because the way that I like to undertake the hobby is different to you We could start another thread on how technology has revolutionised the hobby if you like

Forgot to have a look at these today. Fingers crossed for some clear patches tomorrow

Got the 130mm refractor out this evening. Quick look at Mars before supper reveals a sharper, steadier, more contrasty disk than last night. Some nice detail should be visible if it stays clear Got to try not to look as if I'm rushing the food now - I'll get told off by my other half

Well done Doug

But that's exactly how I like to do astronomy Perhaps I am back in the dark ages though Room for all approaches in this hobby - that's the joy of it

130mm LZOS triplet riding on the T-Rex mount and Berlebach Uni 28 tripod. Waiting for Mars ........