New Eyepiece Help and some more...

[EasyFlier]

Hello all!

I am new to the forum and have spent many hours going through this gold mine. Many thanks to all who contribute to make us a little less ignorant each day!!!

This is where I stand: I have received as a gift a Paralux 114/900 refractor. It is, from what I see, the basic beginner's setup and I am quite happy with it, except for the eyepieces it came with, namely an 8mm and 20mm (I don't mention the Barlow x2 nor the "SR4" as they are flimsy and seem completely useless).

From what I have been able to observe so far (Saturn and a few other things), the sharpness and field of view is nice through the 20mm. The 8mm gets a bit blurred, which I understand is normal as the image gets bigger.

All this leads me to the following question: being interested in observing planets and deep sky objects within the limits of this refractor, is it possible to obtain with a better quality 8 mm eyepiece or so a clear image as the one I get with the 20mm or is the mirror size the limiting factor?

I was thinking of buying both an 8mm and 13mm Hyperion eyepiece. Is this overkill for this type of refractor or should I look for something different (staying within this price range or less)?

Many thanks for all the advice you may give which will teach me a lot!!

Cheers!

[swamp thing]

Hi

The Baader Hyperions would be a huge improvement over the standard eyepieces.

However their genuine orthos would be a cheaper option.

Regards Steve

[brantuk]

I've seen some great images of Saturn and Jupiter taken with a webcam using that scope - maybe worth a try. Also an 8mm Hyperion would be nice I reckon - try to borrow one from a friend at your local astro soc to see what you think first

[david o]

Hi EasyFlier, first up... welcome to the forum

If you haven't already found them, you may find these threads :

- [thread=80772]"Eyepieces - the very least you need"[/thread]

and

- [thread=63184]"Understanding and choosing eyepieces"[/thread]

a help in guiding you through the ins 'n' outs of choosing EPs.

I'd be tempted not to spend too much for now. Maybe get yourself a few Plössl EPs? Something along the lines of these Skywatcher SP Plössls.

A bit more expensive, but a set like the Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece Kit is another option. It would give you a range of focal lengths to try in your 'scope and find out what works best for you. Or even TeleVue Plössls if you want to spend more for better quality - they occasionally come up 2nd hand at reasonable prices.

HTH

PS - I am a confessed eyepiece junky. But honestly, I've got my addiction under control ...

[Ags]

Hyperions are lovely and very imposing. They weigh about half a kg each. Your scope is about F8 so you might want to consider BST Explorers as a cheaper option - these are widely recommended on the forum.

[ronin]

The hyperons would be nice and should be good but the limiting factor may be the scope. If the scope has a spherical mirror then the mirror is the limit. Cannot find out much about the scope and at close to f/8 it could be either spherical or parabolic.

I would also suggest finding a decent plossl, even planetary eyepiece at a reasonable cost. They come in at around the £30-38 area. Sky's the Limit do planetary's search for GSO plossl's. Did read that someone has an offer on the GSO's at present, they are, on offer, about £28.

The planetary's will give better eye relief, if you wear glasses this is something to consider.

Both options will have focal lengths in the 8mm area.

365Astronomy: Discovery for every day! have GSO's at £25-27

[EasyFlier]

Many thanks to all!

I think the best bet would be the reflective eyepiece kit indeed. Numerous good reviews are everywhere therefore I don't think I can go wrong.

Interestingly, I found out that the EP's offered in the kit under the reflective brand are made by Guan Shen Optical...i.e: GSO lenses.

Meade is their biggest customer, so as far as quality goes, I am sure it stands close to all but is just branded differently.

Another question: my finder is an awful flimsy plastic tube, which no matter how carefully I align it never points at what I want to look at. Any recommendations for a fair priced one which is hassle free?

Many thanks to all for your help!!

[Ags]

You could pick up a basic red dot finder for ten pounds or so (a nice one for 30 to 50 pounds). They are much easier to use than a finder scope.

[Scosmico]

Thanks for the question and tips!

[EasyFlier]

Many thanks to all for the help. I decided to go for the Revelation Kit as it will give me an idea of what the different eyepieces will provide. I'll give feedback once I try it sometime next week.

While I am here, got another question: with my 114/900 yesterday I had an awesome time watching Saturn and M13 (first time I see something else than a planet).

Considering I have a dark sky, what magnitude objects can I realistically see with that size mirror?

Cheers!

[Ags]

My scope has similar aperture and I have seen 10th magnitude objects with direct sight. With averted vision I can go a bit fainter. I think a driven mount helps a lot with picking the really faint targets. Also optical sensitivity differs by a magnitude or so between individuals, or so I've read.

[Ags]

By the way, your 114mm mirror has more light gathering than Monsieur Messier's scopes which were no larger than about 90mm.

[EasyFlier]

Little update: I've finally collimated my telescope for the first time. I wasn't expecting things to be so far off!! The red dot was basically at the edge of the mirror, just ridiculous.

Now that everything is nice and square, I'm eager to trying the new eyepieces which should get here tomorrow. I'll give you guys feedback as I try them out.

Many thanks again for your feedback!

[Scosmico]

8mm Baader is a good Eyepiece. You can try first a kit to choose your loved ones.

[EasyFlier]

Hello all!

Well, to complete this post I wanted to drop by to help others who would need help deciding on the Revelation eyepiece kit from FLO.

First of all, FLO has great customer service and quick answers. That being said, the case is nice and light. Keep in mind I am a beginner, and although I can appreciate how well built and sturdy more eyepieces like Hyperions can be, these are of a fairly good quality. They have a sturdy appearance and feel.

From my first observations with my 114/900, I have to say that compared to the ones that came with my scope (H eyepieces...), it is such an amazing difference!! I feel like I have a brand new telescope all together! The images are sharp and crisp with the obvious aberrations on the edge of the field of view, although it isn't uncomfortable. I especially like the 20mm and 32mm. That later is quite a gorgeous view.

For the price, you get a good bang for your buck. I am glad many recommended this as it gives me a wide range of eyepieces of good viewing quality in order to have an exact idea of what to buy in the future, without spending too much and perhaps choosing the wrong sizes.

I've taken a picture of a couple of the eyepieces as the generic images we see on the web don't give a clear view of the product.

I can't wait to discover again the very few objects I've already seen with the previous equipment!!

Thanks again!

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

[sulaco]

Hi All,

I've also got a related question here, being quite new to it all I'm having issues with my Celestron 6mm plossl.

I have the SW 130p and when viewing Saturn with this EP it seems a bit fuzzy and when used with my Revelation 2.5x barlow it's hopeless. It's not an Omni, just a standard plossl so i'm not sure if I should up grade it, the next EP up is a Vixen npl 10mm and the image is spot on as with the rest of my NPL's.

Could I be pushing it too much with the 6mm and barlow on this scope?.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Ags]

The 6mm by itself should be fine, giving you around 110x mag. On most nights the seeing should be good enough to give you a sharp image, assuming no problems with the scope (collimation) or the EP.

I think adding the barlow is too much though. Just a question - what sort of image do you get with the 10mm and the barlow?

[sulaco]

With the Npl 10mm and the barlow it's bright and sharp, the revelation asto barlow is pretty good. Thanks for the reply

[EasyFlier]

Anybody above have better eyepieces to compare to the revelation ones in terms of viewing quality. I know this is quite a subjective appreciation.

It is interesting to collect different opinions to try them later on.

[Ags]

Sulaco if you can get a good image from the 10mm and barlow (effectively 4mm) and can't get at least as sharp an image with the 6mm unbarlowed, then I would say the 6mm EP is the problem.

[sulaco]

I reckon I'm probably being magnification hungry with the 6mm especially putting it on a barlow but I also think that 6mm plossl might be a bit duff.

Thanks for the input it's been helpful.