Coolhand1988

Yes I've been reading up on this. A 2" diagonal needs more backfocus, however if the diagonal is a prism type, there should be no additional backfocus compared to a mirror type. I've also seen some scopes have a detachable tube extension to make BV more friendly for mirror type diagonals. Decisions decisions! Thanks

Lol. I bet Barnard's star has moved a couple of arc minutes since 1995?

I had a break from this hobby when I started it 1982 to 1995. Nearly 30 years later and a very soon well deserved early retirement, I'm getting back into it again. It's been so long, I can't even remember what happen to my 6" eq reflector and 60mm eq frac! I've had quite a few hobby's since and it's amazing how your free time flies. But I cannot wait to start observing again and catching up with what I have missed. Thanks

Many thanks. It good to hear other observers experience with floaters and different eyepieces on DSO, lunar, etc. One or two of my floaters are also visible in dim light. Have to test this properly very soon. Thanks

Thanks. I was reading a guide on eyepieces and must of had brain overload on my part. I understand eye floaters can vary from person to person. I was trying to get a rough understanding on exit pupil size of the eyepiece, where floaters becomes unbearable. Thanks

Thanks. I'm hoping to get this range of eyepieces for the good eye relief as I wear glasses. So that 2023 spreadsheet has a few errors for the 17.5mm version. And according to the Baader website, this eyepiece is slightly off for parfocal, to the rest of this range. Just getting all the facts before I buy. Thanks

That's what I was thinking. It seems the best approach. Good point. Guess I did not want to start newer threads. Referring to post 3 of this thread? With my eye floaters, a 4mm EP in an F8 scope is the smallest FL to ( hopefully ) view comfortable with an exit pupil of 0.5mm? Thanks

If you can post the brand of your refractor? It's most likely they will have a dedicated reducer for your purpose and to avoid vignetting on certain sensor sizes and other errors. If not, TS-Optics have a large selection to cater for different brands of scopes and have a medium size budget as well. Thanks

Thanks, I was quite curious on this as my preference will be visual as before, but EAA is really popular these days and a step up from visual. I have another newbie question on eyepieces. If you have more 1.25 inch EPs than 2 inch, is best to use a 2inch diagonal then use an adapter for 1.25, or just use two diagonals to fit the size of the eyepiece being used? Thanks

Yes, I had an older version(2018) of that spreadsheet. I did read that the Orion LHDs are practically identically to the StellaLyra range. I do some digging on weight and price. Oddly enough, the new spreadsheet on the Baader Morpheus EPs, gives slightly different smaller eye reliefs on the smaller focal length EPs from the 2018 spreadsheet and the FLO website. Also I think the 17.5mm version has either been misquoted or it's been redesign. It's very interesting to hear about filters for visual. Astrophotographers swear by them. I take it these visual filters are not suitable for AP and vice versa? Thanks

Many thanks for that. I found the 2018 version via google search for that link to CN. I pay more attention next time. Thanks

Thanks all for those replies👍. Guess I needed to know how observers with long sighted vision ideal method for eyepiece viewing. The ES 92 degree eyepieces have an ER of 19 and 20 mm. Also, that eyepiece excel spreadsheet has all the eyepieces ranges up until 2018. It looks like the StellalLyra UWA EPs are fairly new! So "axis = 10" relates to how much correction is needed for astigmatism(10) in degrees. Only my right eye has this( typical, viewing eye as well). I had to start wearing glasses about 5 years ago. Didn't think anything about my prescription details before then. I definitely do now. Many thanks for the replies on this thread. I now have a good idea what eyepiece range to go for, as well as my budget! Thanks

Thanks for that explanation and ideas. I just checked my prescription and the right eye has -0.25 under CYL. I hadn't really bothered what the CYL meant on my prescription. Have to now look-up what "AXIS" = 10.0 means as well. Yeah I read most observers with very big refractors swear by binoviewing. It can be very expensive getting quality eyepieces twice. That does make sense about DSOs with binos. I remember I had to always use adverted vision on mostly all of them, but I only had a 6" reflector to view them back in the early 80s. There is something else I have been meaning to ask. Do visual observers still use filters for light pollution , etc, for planets and DSOs.? Thanks

Wow, the stellaLyra UWA have the same ER as the Delos but have a wider 8 deg AFOV and 50 to 60% cheaper. I have to find a review on these! The ES 92 degrees EP does mention long ER but unable to find the actual length. Shame there are only two focal lengths and they are more expensive . Have to use the FLO calculator to see if the extra 12 deg AFOV is worth the extra! Thanks Edit Found an excellent information excel spreadsheet on every eyepiece there is via a link over the pond at Cloudy Nights. Will be studying this tomorrow!

Thanks for that info. I have only looked at baaders Morpheus range, and Televue range in depth. I did look at the Explore Scientific range, but failed to notice the 92 degree eyepieces. I was particularly looking for eye relief from 18 to 20 mm range and above for med to low FL eyepieces. I guess there are a lot more brands to suit my needs. Have to search some more on this. I keep on reading online that members selling their expensive eyepieces because it didn't suit there requirements or tried then once and never use them again? I would definitely like to avoid that over a certain amount spent! I got my information for the eyepieces above from the FLO website. I don't think they advertise all brands of eyepieces for eye relief, but I will try their site again. Thanks

Yes, I have done a bit of online research. The Badder Morpheus eyepiece range appear to have reasonable eye relief in all FL, ( with the rubber cup down ), as do the Televue delite and delos range. Once over a certain AFOV, the eye relief becomes smaller for mid to low FL eyepieces. I would like to know if spectacle observers can comfortably use AFOV between 76 and 110 degrees in the mid to low FL eyepieces? Luckly my glasses have a very thin lense and some eyepieces even allow the EP rubber cup to be use on medium and longer focal lengths when wearing glasses. I will still carry on searching the forums for more information on this! Thanks

Hi Thanks for that, I was unsure what focal length eyepieces could cause this. Binovewiers it is then! But I will try just viewing with one eyepiece to get a feel for the floaters. I then should know what double FL eyepieces to get for binoviewing. I have read that once you go Bino's, there is no way back to single viewing again. Is that true? Thanks

Yeah in practice, I would like to keep my glasses on due to blurry vision near sighted. But I have to try which is better, once I have that opportunity. Thanks for that tip on binoviewers.

Hi Once Im committed, I will buy my main equipment brand new. During Covid, a lot people started this hobby, only to find it wasn't for them after spending a good amount of money on brand new equipment and then try and sell it all. My first time with astronomy was from 1982 to around 1995. I only stopped because of shift work, long hours and other interest, but I still gaze at the stars once in a while from then and can still recognise certain constellations now. If that seller price goes lower, I will probably buy it as it will be collection only. But I don't think I stay for small talk knowing what I know. Thanks

Hi After a 30 year gap from astronomy, I'm seriously thinking of starting this hobby again, once I have relocated under Bortle 4 skies. Now that I wear bi-focal glasses( long sighted ), I know now how eye relief affects spectacle observers. Doing some research, it appears eyepieces with an eye relief of 20mm or more is best suited, but was wondering from members If there is a lower distance that is highly acceptable? One more thing, I do have a few eye floaters in both eyes, and I have read this can be an issue with certain eyepieces? Thanks

Hi All First post here and sorry for bumping this thread, but this is the second time I have seen something very familiar. I have been lurking on these forums and others for a year. I am thinking of getting back into astronomy after a 30 year gap, but not sure about buying brand new products in case the hobby falls flat and wasting a good sum of money. So the ideal of used items seems the best approach for me ATM. Last year, I nearly fell into a scam on facebook marketplace for a 6in bresser achromatic and goto mount for £500. Since then, I am on high alert when looking to find used items. There are one or two very good trustworthy sites in the UK and US for secondhand equipment and I have seen a couple of things that have caught my eye, so I have been doing my research and background on this particular seller online. This seller is legit and all, but I've found this seller buys items quite cheap from people, then sells them on up to twice or three times the amount the seller paid for it. The seller then quotes on other forums sites about equipment worth buying to use for themselfs and getting estimates from fellow astronomers on how much they are worth and then again, buys them and sells them at a higher price. It's not just a couple of times ethier. As I said, this seller is legit, but from that and your expertise, should I deal with this seller? By the looks of these items and a bit of research, they are almost approaching half price from new, so it seems a very good deal, but I'm quite cautious about dealing with someone who has a lower moral standard than mine and mostly all amateur astronomers. It's nice to make a profit and all, but not by negotiating or buying at a lower price with full intentions of selling the items for a much higher price is just morally wrong in this community. Apart from all that, I'm really looking forward and hoping to start up this hobby again after 30 years. There is hardly any change, except CCD digital cameras and EAA now at affordable prices. Thanks