Naughty Neal

One expects like a lot of us, the allure to look and want is all that is needed.

I bought the 114 used off ebay purely for the starsense unit and scrapped the rest, like many other users I have modified the unit to fit on to far better telescopes/ mounts.

I think the 127 is formally placed in the bird/jones category of optical tubes as which tbh is pretty crap, however that can't be said of the intuitive and excellent staresense unit. One would be better to try and get a starsense refractor lt80az or the one of dobsonians. For the starsense one needs a phone/s from the known list of compatible phones , one can set up the starsense with five different devices and on request from celestron get a new code in the future. StarSense Explorer Smartphone Compatibility (simcur.com) Overall the starsense is for most where the value is especially on the £200/ 300 - 350 Cad range, the unit alone is worth £100.

Uhc and or an oiii filter as an essential addition to tease out nebulae.

Sv215 zoom price's are now back to above £126 now b/f & c/m discounts are over

I found my sv215 package today having received a notice of delivery from AliExp, it was delivered on Monday but the useless postie decided to hide it behind the recycling wheelie bin. I have a old style milk cupboard which is used by most posties and quite obvious adj to the front door, except this particular one not even a left it note to say so.

Hopefully it will arrive next week, Sv on Ali say 12 days. I ordered 10 days ago.

Mine is on a slow boat from China.

For nebulae one is going to need dark sky /bortal locations or in less dark sky locations a UHC or an Oiii filter (if not both ). Don't expect to see vivid graphic views otherwise one is going to be disappointed. A useful thread to read.

Yes , as a few have done with the recent 3 - 8 zoom offers.

Out of the two EP's you already have one expects the 20mm may be the better so you would be better to buy a higher power EP for closer views. How many you can afford we don't know, but suggest an EP in the 8mm - 10mm range if only one is bought.

For £30 one is looking at the used market or the astro essentials plossl's, however the plossl's may not be better then what you have.

Tbh one isn't really gaining much except for maybe a little more weight, depending on the price one would be better off with more apperature with the 125ed like the stellamira doublet with fpl53 equivalent glass as an upgrade imv.

For planets then the svbony 3-8 zoom will cover at least six individual higher power EP's, if one can get it cheap in the sales. The 5mm bst is regarded as a nice High power EP and the 8mm as mid/high power in the range. 5mm will give 130x, 8mm/81x. For lower power the 25 or 30 npl . 25mm/26x & 30mm/21x , one would only need one or the other for wide views. On the used market Meade 4000 plossls are worth a shout if one can snag them for under £30. A meade 4000 32mm 52 degree EP will allow slightly more of the sky (fov) to be seen then a 60 degree 25mm EP.

We need a guide on the budget to go on. One may need to mix and match EP's as not all in the same range are all good. Probably the best budget wider view EP's above supplied one's are the bst starguiders which use the same glass as the celestron xcel- lx. The 25mm in the bst is regarded as being the weak link. BST StarGuider Telescope Eyepieces for Sale Online | First Light Optics Slightly cheaper are the vixen npl's but with less wide view. Vixen Telescope Eyepieces for Sale Online | First Light Optics Cheaper still are the plossl's below if one is wanting a lot cheaper. Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece | First Light Optics

I thought it was the lower power 24/25mm EP thta was being enquired about , then the OP buys a 12mm EP. I think for the 12mm then the 13mm Nirvana from OVL would have been on the short list.

My BF item is in the post, I bought direct from SVBony shop on AliEpress cost £75.21. Price obviously will vary a little depending on £/$ on the day. After th 29th the sv215 will revert to pre sale prices so well over the £100 mark.

Yes a UHC and possibly an Olll filter will increase the chances of teasing out the nebulae . Most of us will be looking at the not only #8 but also #2 from your list and be thinking lucky sod.

Shame they can't go so cheaply on UK ebay when they rarely come up.

I know latterly the 4000's went to Taiwan then China , I assumed the 3000's remained Japan made. That said I have a China & Japan 26mm 4000 and to me the seeing is identical . I keep my meade lightweight ep's for others to view through and because they still give good views.

I think all the 3k's were made in Japan , my two have the barrels inscribed /etched.

The more modern ep's though may have better improved coatings. My wide view ep is the meade 4000 32mm a china made item and tbh I can't say the seeing a part from afov is different to my japan meade 4000 26mm, from my view point they are both still sharp and nice ep's in 1.25" form. I have a an xcel lx 25mm but just haven't had the chance to compare , the afov won't be as good as the meade 32mm but the seeing might be. Though I expect it may be hard to see much or any diffeence.

Although one is after 60 fov one may also have to consider the 50 fov ep's, lt can still be said for the humble meade 4000 plossl in 32mm form. The 32mm 52 fov meade will show more sky then the 25mm celestron xcel lx or the bst 25mm.

I have the 5mm & 6.7mm, the only green and blacks I own. My 5mm when acquired showed vey little use/marks on it and the 6.7 was still sealed in it plastic bag.

In the 60 degree fov , there are few lower cost ep's . Most as already said will be challenged in fast scopes but not so in slower scopes of F10 or greater. EP's that flounder a bit at F5 are often ok once one hits F7 or more , one may have to put up with some issues with EP's at F5 . It doesn't mean they are a bad EP but simply unsuitable for fast scopes.