badhex

Thanks for all the replies. I've been thinking it over for the last few days. I do think it would be an interesting experiment and I always like to see things first-hand and in practice, especially since quite a number of people have had good experiences. I also have a load more questions that probably illustrate my lack of detailed knowledge about optical physics. Having said all of that, I've now also cancelled my existing delayed order for the widefield scope and ordered a Zenithstar 73 which will be here in the next week or two, so it's probably not worth me rushing out and buying a brand new Celestron reducer, but rather grabbing one second hand if the chance arises. Thanks again all for the interesting and informative replies!

Yes this was essentially what I thought - a bit of variety but at the unfortunate cost of everything being perhaps unnecessarily heavy in some cases, which is a bit off putting. Perhaps it was a silly question really, as we continue to often look at the same patches of sky for many nights, so a different setup is sometimes welcome to, and we amateurs have our own particular preferences. Still, very interesting to hears other's thoughts as always.

I have both the 10mm and 6mm myself - both lovely EPs and fantastic in a slow scope like a Mak or SCT. Eye relief too tight for my F6 frac though!

Is the moon expanding at the same rate the GRS (Gnu's... Er... Great Red Spot) is getting smaller?

Hello all, Might sound controversial which is certainly not my intention, but how useful actually is a 2" barlow in most cases? I own a Revelation 2" barlow and although it seems to reasonably okay quality, I rarely seem to use it. The thought had been idly occurring to me for a while, and the more I mused upon't, the more it started to feel like there are only really edge cases. Given that 2" EPs don't exist really below a certain FL because after that there's no point having the larger diameter, is it just about having the huge eye lens, and having a bit of flexibility with your kit? What am I missing? I'm sure there must be summat. Just musing really, but it has had me thinking.

Thanks @vlaiv - I'll try this over the next few days without the reducer (as I don't have one!) for a baseline. Thanks @michael.h.f.wilkinson - I'm looking to see if I can squeeze a bit more versatility out of the scope rather than full maximum FOV, but I know it will always be a bit of a compromise without 2" being possible.

Thanks again all for the info. I've read through most of it and I have to say I'm still a little unclear as to a definitive answer, but unless I'm misunderstanding, it seems that there's one thing most people agree on - quote from http://www.waloszek.de/astro_ce_c5_2z_e.php So my takeaways are: On paper it is problematic, but some real-world reports say they have a good experience If using an EP with a field stop smaller than/equal to the baffle tube diameter, I should not experience vignetting. Need to find/take measurements for my 24mm 68˚ Maxvision, my longest FL 1.25" EP 2" accessories not useful (was not planning to use anyway) A reducer may cause effective stopping down of the scope if the full objective cannot be viewed when the reducer is attached per @vlaiv's test Does that sound right? Thanks Joe

Oh, one other point - I hadn't intended to use 2" accessories, just in case that wasn't clear - I can't see how that would be possible with this reducer anyway, unless I'm missing something.

Thanks for the replies! A lot of stuff to digest but I'm a bit braindead right now from work so will have to have a read through in detail tomorrow. Very high level scanning though, seems that there's still a bit of a lack of consensus between real world usage and data. @Ags if you ever get as far as checking the exit pupil I'd be glad to know but don't go to any trouble on my account! @vlaiv thanks for the links - will have a look. The CN link seemed to have some hard facts, but again not and obvious consensus but I'll have to read in detail. I actually read some stuff recently on the site you linked with the photos and discussion on 2“ accessories, as I was looking to see if it was worth bothering.

I've got a Baader pre-made solar filter for me ED80 which I recall will also fit 70mm scopes I'm hoping to use that but haven't got so far as checking just yet - will report back when I have a look in the next couple of days.

Nice. Would be great to see some pics and a first light report once you're reunited and set up!

Always nice to be reunited with an old friend! Any details on what this scope might be?

Hello all, Due to the long delivery time of my widefield scope I'm considering making my C5 a bit more multi-purpose with the use of a reducer for visual use only (at the moment). I know a few people like @Ags have had successes doing something similar and some reports seem to suggest that the overall outcome is actually slightly better optically speaking. So far I know of two which work well the C5: - the Celestron branded 0.63 reducer - the TS-Optics 0.63 reducer The TS one is about 20eur cheaper and available in Germany direct from them, as opposed to having to import the Celestron from Amazon US. Can anyone say whether one is better than the other, or if there are others I should be considering? Some reports seem to suggest that many of these reducers are actually the same optical components with specific branding. Can anyone confirm any of this? Thanks!

Yep, that's the one I understand from @John and others that these were supposed to be originally based on the TMB Paragon - the 30mm and 40mm at least - so I wondered if there was a vague link there. Regardless, it's an unusual choice of naming!

Exactly - hence my thinking that it's just generic branding rather than specifically chosen, but 🤷

You are correct. This came from Teleskop Service but I don't know if it's a model name they chose or what, probably just from the factory like that?

Indeed! I did a double-take when I opened the box! Note the trademark-defeating single R at the end 😉

So in order: I have never used it but the Utility > Identify function will let you point to a random area of the sky and it will tell you what is nearby but you must do alignment properly first and there are a couple of other things to consider, see below The pre-selected stars are usually the brightest i.e. easiest to find/identify stars in your region, but you can technically choose whatever you want to align to. I have found the north-level alignment to be really good, because broadly speaking once the app knows the time, your location and which way north is, it will usually be pretty close to whatever stars you choose for alignment and only need minor adjustment. To do a north-level alignment: Make sure the app can find your location (lat/long) properly using the GPS feature of your phone - on android you may have to manually allow the permission as it doesn't seem to prompt you to enable it first time you open the app With the mount ALT clutch disengaged, level out the scope to be horizontal, then re-engage the clutch Disengage the AZ clutch, then point your scope as close to north as you can manage, then re-engage the clutch Select north level alignment in the app and follow the prompts - you will be asked to level and point to north which you've done already, then pick two stars from the list to align to IIRC the list is in order of apparent magnitude (i.e. brightness), so the first few on the list should be easiest to find It will tell you the compass direction, azimuth and altitude of the stars; not sure if it makes much difference but I try to pick two in different areas of the sky as I assume it will be a bit more accurately aligned After slewing to a star, it will ask you to manually centre (i.e. using the directional keys in the app); try to be as accurate as possible - turn down the manual slewing speed if needed Once you've completed alignment, if you want to be able to point the telescope manually at any point by disengaging the clutches, there's a setting in the app you should enable This will enable a sensor in the mount which allows it to know the position of the axes, so it can understand where in the sky it is pointing and maintain alignment Turn on under Settings > Advanced > Enable Auxiliary Encoder Be aware that this slightly lowers the accuracy of the mount pointing for that session/while enabled, so you might need to do a touch more adjustment when slewing to a new object Hope this helps!

Final update: Sadly my scope has been delayed for ages (mid July earliest) but I managed to find competitive pricing on a 35mm Aero ED (the TS-flavour) so I decided to take the plunge, as well as the above mentioned Starguiders. Everything arrived in the last two days, so the lightweight kit is now complete! Worht noting that I was pretty much bang on in my estimations of final cost for the BSTs after customs and shipping etc - they came in at EUR66 each, compared to the best price I could find of EUR82 each from mainland Europe. I actually also did a quick calculation of what they've have been to import from @FLO pre-brexit, which would have been EUR65 - so in the end only one euro difference!

Completing my lightweight/travel EP set are these two! Order Monday night from @FLO, through all the German customs guff, paid the charges online yesterday and arrived on my doorstep this morning 🙂

Great, thanks for the update - looks great!

Curious to know how you get on with the L bracket. What will the setup consist of?

Just arrived from TS via the postie! A lightweight/travel friendly lowest-power EP for my travel kit... Shame the scope is now delayed until mid July 😱

The Morpheus 17.5mm is a great eyepiece - I have the same and it does not disappoint! As it happens, the first expensive EP I bought was a Meade 18mm UWA, quite similar to the Morpheus (but not as good I might add!). I did the same as you, and built up from there.

Hello @Stephen_M Lots of great advice above, and you might find the below post helpful as a good rule of thumb to get you started in terms of what focal lengths to select when building up your kit. I found it extremely useful when starting out and having very little money to spare. RE fixed EPs vs zooms, as @Tiny Clanger and other mentioned it's often personal preference. Some people love them, some people don't. I have one but find I don't use it much at all. So, if you're planning on looking into getting one you might not want to splash £350+ on a top-of-the-line zoom only to find you don't really like it. If it works well for you, you can always upgrade later. Of course, this is true of all astronomical equipment to some extent!