Timebandit

If you already have a set of BGO , then these are top quality and If the fov and tight eye relief does not bother you then is it really worth getting the Nag zoom?( even though I understand they are good. If you want ortho type sharp visual performance , but more comfortable eye relief and wider fov , the go for some Pentax XW 3.5 and 5mm . like an ortho but without the draw backs.

That does look like a seriously heavy duty pier. Talk about future proofing, I think you could sit a 20" newt on that and not worry about weight issues. ☺ But better to do once and do properly 👍

Hello . If you already have a TV , then just give it a go and see how you get on. As above just be careful that you do not accidentally tap the mirror. My experience with the TV diagonals, are that they are extremely well made externally and internally, and mirror quality is top notch. The only downside these days is the cost of a new one. Luckily I got a really good condition one from a fellow SGL member a few years ago at reasonable money. And have never thought or wanted to change. Hope this helps

Don't Zoom eyepieces do that these days 🤔 Now I have gone and done it 😀 🙈🙊🙉

Very Nice indeed. I do like a nice quality refractor. The views I find are just so sharp and clear . 🔭 I would also treat yourself to an Obs in the garden as soon as possible. You are going to do yourself an injury if your not careful lugging that set up out night after night(or do the scope an injury). And now you are retired then no excuses for not having the time Enjoy 👍 🔭

Go with quality in my opinion, and go second hand. Buy once, Buy well and Buy cheap☺(not always possible even second hand, but way cheaper than new). For DSO then you can get away with 3 eyepiece's. But if like me you do lunar and planetary, then you do need more at the higher power mags. I go from 4mm up to 7mm in eyepiece's for lunar, planetary, as depending on seeing conditions I try and push power to the limit in 1mm jumps, but still needing a sharp viewing experience. So I have ended up with second hand quality in Pentax XW ,second hand BGO and a few second hand TV. I have completed my eyepiece collection and not needed to or felt like I am missing out to purchase another for around 18month now. Nothing has tempted me. More than happy with my little collection☺🔭

Woow 😞. I think I purchased my shed for less than £156 (it was end of line so had great discount) . My scope lives in their . And so do I when need to retreat to my man cave 😀

I am surprised by Louis observations when using the 7mm XW , just a great sharp eyepiece to the edge in the 120ed frac at around f/7.6. And just as sharp in the dob at around f/4.7. I suppose we all have our own experiences . But from my experience in my scopes the Pentax 7 XW for sharpness, combined with great eye relief and a nice wide angle is the best 7mm I have used. As for Pentax v Delos. I have not done a direct comparison (John from SGL maybe the gent to give a better reply on this). But from what I know of the Pentax 3.5XW to the 10XW are just top tier, after the 10mm up the XW range seem to get a mix reviews then. The Delos seem to get good feedback also. So probably in reality very little to choose between them. But the Pentax XW are probably a little better😀 . But I would say that as an owner of them .🙉🙊🙈

Hey stop poaching our members by suggesting Cloudy Nights 😀😀😀😀😀😀 Turning to the OP , ever thought of the Pentax XW . If you like Ortho sharpness of views , but with great eye relief and a wider angle view . Then IMO the Pentax XW are up there with the best eyepiece's. I don't have a Tak , but I do have a 120ed frac ,and a range of Pentax XW 5mm, 7mm and 10mm , and I am more than happy with them. Had the Pentax XW for years and as an eyepiece are real 'Keepers' Hope that is some help to you 🔭

Hello. Mostly everything I have read or seen of the HR eyepiece have been positive. They are not cheap but the quality is there. I suppose the best way to think of them is like a modern day ZAO . When top quality viewing of items of planetary and lunar is required. When you put a HR in a top quality refractor then you really are getting top quality views(seeing conditions permitting)

Hello. You can have the most fancy and highest cost eyepiece's out there. But for the faint DSO , to get the best out of your scope , you really really need to go to a dark site. The highest cost eyepiece is not going to alter the fact or cure the problems of seeing faint DSO in a light polluted area. My 8" newt at a true dark site with a decent eyepiece in will best my 14" with a TV nagler in a light polluted area. So get to a dark site as you will really see the difference on the fainter DSO , compared to light polluted areas.

Hi , I was going to suggest the sw 200p as a great all round first scope. But I think you have already have your heart set on the skymax, so I will let other members advise on this. When it comes to the fainter objects ,DSO. Then these can be picked out sometimes in light polluted areas. But in my opinion you just do not get the true woow factor with faint DSO in light polluted areas. For the fainter DSO you really do need to go to a dark site to get them to pop to your eyes. Many faint fuzzies I can just make out in light polluted areas can be a bit of a let down. But in a dark site location then just pop to the eyes and the difference in viewing experience is just Sooo much better. It really is worth a trip to a dark site now and again if you really wish to get the best out of your scope on the fainter objects. Good luck

Hello. Difficult to say exactly how much an eyepiece price is lost without the box. But in my opinion it certainty effects the value. Personally if the eyepiece is an expensive one , then I really really like to see the complete package, eyepiece, box ,papers , as I think it shows the previous buyer has looked after their purchase more. Obviously the main concern when buying an eyepiece is the optics and body condition, as eyepieces are know to be scratched by cleaning or dropped. But personally I would look out for and more likely to buy a complete package eyepiece, and do pay that bit more for this, but all a personal choice .

Hi . if you are happy with the TV 20mm ,then I suggest you save a little longer and go for a TV 32mm. The TV plossl are really good. I have a few including the TV 32mm ,and I don't think by getting yourself another make ,will be beneficial to you. You may get the "what if" syndrome, and end up having to buy a TV 32 mm in the end in any case. In my opinion save a little more and get the TV 32 mm. They do come up second hand , and this is how I got mine. I hope this helps

Nice to see your looking forward to using your new 200p The 200mm newt range of scopes are just such good all rounders, and provide plenty of increased aperture for you. But at the same time so manageable to transport around with you. The 200 newt is what I class as a "proper" scope as it can provide you with all the benefits of quality viewing , but at a sensible price. I think you will get years of enjoyment out of this scope. To get the best out of it, take it to a really dark site from time to time for faint fuzzy hunting. You will be amazed at the difference a dark sky makes to your viewing pleasure of faint fuzzies, they pop , just amazing Enjoy 🔭 👍

I have a 4mm vixen NLV , the forerunner to the SLV. Your findings do not really come as to much of a surprise to me. I tried my 4mm NLV in my dob reflector and I was not that impressed with the results, a bit disappointing really(as this eyepiece was purchased second hand I thought I may of purchased a bit of a dud). But when the 4mm was placed into the SW ED frac I have, it was a completely different story. On planetary and lunar(when the UK seeing conditions allow) then this eyepiece really did perform. Not only was it very comfortable to use. But it had very sharp and detailed views when it came to planetary. I did compare the vixen 4mm to Ortho in the same scope, and it was right up there. So good in fact that it was nearly in the Pentax XW league. I think sometimes the eyepiece result can be a bit scope dependent, what may not be such a good eyepiece in one scope, can come into its own in a different scope.

Yes a clean cloth, but It does have to be spotless clean. As any minute grit on it will scratch the eyepiece glass. You may have to use something like baader wonder fluid if the grease is noticeable to remove the grease. Hope this helps

If its part of an astro holiday then I am sure there are numerous persons in assistance. Try the exact same holiday on your own and I think you will not find a 16" very portable If you enjoy the setting up of the scope , and tear down ,then that's great. Personally I prefer the relaxation of scanning the Sky's and the pleasure from that. I don't find the hassles of the set up pleasurable Aperture is king , but only under the right circumstances and the right sky conditions. Otherwise all that aperture can just be wasted in light polluted conditions, and then a burden if you need to travel to dark Sky's to be able to benefit from the extra aperture.

If I remember correctly the Standard VX8" is F/4.5 .So mine seems fine on my 2" Steel leg AZ4. Not sure what a F/6 would be like. Bit of a balancing trick to far I suspect

I have a standard OOUK 8". Great little scope and have never regretted buying it. It was purchased second hand and was well below 500. If you are looking for a guaranteed spec mirror and a light alloy tube assembly ,then the OOuk are the way to go IMO , but buy second hand, as new they are priced top heavy. I use mine on a AZ4 set up. Easy to handle and load in the car if need to. The 8" Newt are a very flexible and worthwhile step up in aperture, but still sensible money. Hope this helps 🔭

Hi, Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the feeling that you have not looked through many types or makes of eyepiece. So you are really not sure what certain eyepieces views or comfort are going to produce. Eyepieces can be a very personal choice, what floats the boat of one person can be a extremely disappointing experience for another. Can I suggest that to save you time and money that you go to a club , Star party or even meet up with another SGL member close to where you live ,who may have some of the FOV or eyepieces you are interested in. You can then try before you buy. Could save you a lot of time and money. Hope this helps ?

Hi Pete ,welcome as an active member ? Plossl are great for what they are, cheap nice eyepieces to get you going in the hobby and for the smaller targets. But really I think a wider field of view eyepiece may be a better option. A plossl to a wide field ,good eye relief eyepiece is like looking through a straw. My best decision when it came to eyepieces was to buy some used Pentax XW , just quality and so versatile, but these days a bit more than your £100 budget each. The other quality eyepiece I would suggest is the William optics uwan, found these great for the money ,or I understand the same eyepiece is the SW Nirvana. These are great eyepieces IMO for the cost and a great step up , but without breaking the bank. Don't be afraid of getting used kit, as some nice quality items come up for sale on the SGL site, at a considerable saving over the new price. Hope this helps ?

Very portable ? The breakdown time of the scope, needing a reasonable size vehicle to fit everything in without damaging anything(even with a truss). Setting up time when your at site, re collimation of the scope at the site. Then the same when packing away and when set up at home again. I would not say 16" very portable. I have tried a 14" at a dark site and a 8" at dark site. On a like for like dark site ,yes bigger is better(all things being equal). But as I said not always. The 8" in a dark site area with easily out do a 14" in a light polluted area. So bigger is not always better. For people who do not have access to these big scopes or budget for ,or transport. Then you can really get the best out of a smaller scope by getting to a true dark site, where it will punch above its weight when compared to a big scope being used in a light polluted area. I have no axe to grind as I have a larger and smaller scope. But Dark Sky's are where it is at(with faint fussies). And if you are working and have limited time in the evenings then you do need a quick get up and go set up. The 8" is just such a good all rounder for this type of task.

Try a 14" in light polluted area, and then a 8" at Elan. The Faint fuzzies pop . Aperture rules only when you have the Dark Sky's to benefit from all that extra aperture (for faint fuzzies) . In my opinion Dark Sky's Rule ?

Bigger is not always better with the faint fuzzy hunting. A smaller aperture under truly Dark Sky's will out perform a larger aperture in a light polluted area. The 8 inch Newt I have at a dark site will best my 14" Dob at a light effected area on the faint fuzzy . Best of all I can have the smaller newt in the car and going in a couple of minutes. The larger Dob takes Sooo much more time and effort to move. And you have the same problems at the dark site and at packing up time. A truly Dark site can really make the most of a smaller aperture .