Can you help me choose please

[PRICEMAN]

Meade 5000 Series 32mm Super Plossl Eyepiece 2" (£89.99)

Or

TeleVue 32mm Plossl Eyepiece 1.25" (£106.99)

Looking for the best one for DSO's

What is the benefit between 1.25" and 2" ?

Thanks guys

Leigh

[swamp thing]

Hi

Now that's a toughie.

Think the extra field of the Meade would win it for me.

Sometimes when deep sky observing the extra field can make all the difference.

Regards Steve

[CGolder]

the 32mm tv is a great ep,

what scope is it for?

[PRICEMAN]

It's for an 8" dob

[DOBBY]

or.... you got the skywatcher panaview 32mm ( 2inch ) for around the money as the meade

[crazyjedi]

I'm a big fan of Meade 5000 EP's but the TV range is very highly regarded. I would probably order the Meade and use the left over cash that you would have spent on the TV on a take away

[Telrad]

Hi

Now that's a toughie.

Think the extra field of the Meade would win it for me.

Sometimes when deep sky observing the extra field can make all the difference.

Regards Steve

Yes, I think that FOV from the Meade would do it for me too. Agree with Steve

[PRICEMAN]

I'm a big fan of Meade 5000 EP's but the TV range is very highly regarded. I would probably order the Meade and use the left over cash that you would have spent on the TV on a take away

I like your logic. A take away sounds good. I started thinking about which EP to get. Now I'm thinking about Indian or Chinese.

Leigh

[PRICEMAN]

or.... you got the skywatcher panaview 32mm ( 2inch ) for around the money as the meade

Ah man.... Now you have thrown a third one in the mix.

I'd sort of settled on the Meade. Is there much difference between the Meade and skywatcher ?

Leigh

[Moonshane]

I am a big TV fan but have also heard good things about the Meades. I think as a dob owner, especially a smaller 8" scope, you need to carefully consider eyepiece weight. the Meade is 1.84lbs in weight per the spec online and the TV plossl is 0.39lbs. Balancing the Meade could be a bit tricky in my opinion. Personally, I'd always go TV. BUT you could consider e.g. the Williams Optics SWANS which should be reasonable in an f6 scope and are quite light for 2" eyepieces.

I'd still recommend the TV though.

[Telrad]

I am a big TV fan but have also heard good things about the Meades. I think as a dob owner, especially a smaller 8" scope, you need to carefully consider eyepiece weight. the Meade is 1.84lbs in weight per the spec online and the TV plossl is 0.39lbs. Balancing the Meade could be a bit tricky in my opinion. Personally, I'd always go TV. BUT you could consider e.g. the Williams Optics SWANS which should be reasonable in an f6 scope and are quite light for 2" eyepieces.

I'd still recommend the TV though.

You're right Shane, counterbalancing is a definite consideration here. There are plenty of threads about this on SGL. I agree with the SWANS too

[PRICEMAN]

Wow. I didn't even think about the size / weight of the EP. I've got A 2"inch EP adaptor that cane with the scope. Would that help or would the above weight / balance issues still apply.

Surely people who have the same scope as me have these EP's. I've seen a photo on another thread of some sort of adaptor that's secures the EP in place. Would this help.

I really appreciate your advice guys. I'm new to this and the last thing I want to do is waste my pennies.

Leigh

[Moonshane]

there's no doubt the Meade eyepiece would work in your scope and be a good purchase visually, but the weight of it would mean every time you looked at anything that was not straight up, the scope might not hold itself in position and could sag. you can potentially make some kind of counterweight system for the scope but this seems to be adding more and more weight to the scope which could be avoided. It depends on how you view adding the counterweight system (which can be home made of course so not an expensive item). if you are happy to be making a system to balance for a single eyepiece (and bear in mind you'd need to take off the counterweight system, or be able to adjust the balance point at least) when you change back to a smaller eyepiece) then this is fine.

I am not pushing the SWANs First Light Optics - William Optics SWAN eyepiece but they are also 2", have a larger field than the Meade and weigh half as much.

I have never used the Meades but I have used the SWAN in an f8 and a f5.3 scopes. the view was a lot better in the f8 than the f5 but at f6 I'd think it would be about as good as the Meade.

The other thing to consider with the TV is that although the field is a little narrower than the others, it's a completely sharp field with no deterioration towards the edges. to me this means it's really the same view.

finally, do remember that in a few more posts, you will have access to the members only for sale and wanted sections so you could potentially save a lot by buying used from members which is a much better environment to purchase used from and you can place an ad for a used one of either. that way you can try them and if you have 'issues' either way then you can sell on and try again with the other. the only cost of this is postage which is cheaper than the risk of buying new and then having to sell for the same reasons.

[PRICEMAN]

Thanks for your post. Definitely give me a lot to consider and potentially saved me a lot of money.

I can't believe that those EP's are so big and weigh so much. Thought they would have been equivalent to the ones that came with my scope. Just serves to re-enforce that fact that I'm still a novice.

Thanks again

Leigh

[Telrad]

Thanks for your post. Definitely give me a lot to consider and potentially saved me a lot of money.

I can't believe that those EP's are so big and weigh so much. Thought they would have been equivalent to the ones that came with my scope. Just serves to re-enforce that fact that I'm still a novice.

Thanks again

Leigh

Leigh, I would prehaps consider counterbalancing the scope if you do get heavier EPs I use a magnet, and counterweights to balance mine. Does the trick!

[Moonshane]

totally agree that counterbalancing is not a major issue but just something to be aware that you'll need to do. I'd hate for something bad to happen when you add your shiny new EP to the focuser!

[russ]

Meade 5000 Series 32mm Super Plossl Eyepiece 2" (£89.99)

Or

TeleVue 32mm Plossl Eyepiece 1.25" (£106.99)

Looking for the best one for DSO's

What is the benefit between 1.25" and 2" ?

Thanks guys

Leigh

I too would be veering away from both of those and towards the SWAN 33mm, Panaview 32mm or even the Adler 32mm. The Meade 5000 Plossl isn't renowned for it's edge of field performance. I've read a number of reviews to this effect. We have the 20mm 5000 Plossl and it's quite a poor performer in the F5 dob. Will be better in your 8" F6 but i think you would be better served by another eyepiece with more impressive specs that will suit your DSO observing. I used the Panaview 32mm and Adler 32mm with my 200P and they worked equally well. Stunning wide views of The Veil, M31 and M45. Last 20% of the field was a bit soft but you have to pay a lot more money to sort that out.

[crazyjedi]

The Meade 5000 series do happily admit to being best suited to fast ratio scopes. My scope is an F5 and my Meade EP's perform very well. As has been stated though, they are rather weightier than the standard EP's commonly supplied with a scope.

I have always used an EQ mount and had no idea that Dob's suffered such balancing problems with heavier EP's. I had considered a Dob for deep sky observing. The really wide angle low power lenses are really big but best for such work. Do Dob mounted scopes often require counter balancing?

[Moonshane]

hi Rob

they do need balancing quite often when using a heavy eyepiece and observing at low elevation. it gets worse with smaller mirrors as there's less weight at the tail.

one of the many things I like about OOUK dobs is that they use rings which allows you to change the balance point by moving the tube up or down to suit your eyepieces, finders etc.

personally, I used spare tube rings as counterbalancing weights as they spread the weight more evenly.