GSO or Vixen or Meade or Celestron etc - Too many choices!

[lw24]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade my 10mm eyepiece that came with my telescope, but don't know what replacement to choose. I know that I want it to be a plossl, it has to work well in my f/5 refractor, cost less than £50, and have a focal length between 8mm and 12mm.

I've read lots of reviews, all giving different opinions. I had my eye fixed on a 8mm BST Explorer, but Skies The Limit have 'reached the VAT Limit' for August, and my purchase needs to take place in August. I'm not interested in buying used, so I have a few options, but don't know what'll be best for me.

9mm GSO Plossl - £30

8mm Vixen NPL - £30

9mm Celestron Omni Plossl - £31

9.7mm Meade 4000 Plossl - £42

9mm Meade 5000 SP - £49

10mm Skywatcher SP - £20

I've read both good and bad reviews regarding the GSO Plossl and Vixen NPL eyepieces, and most people rate these higher than the Celestron Omni's. I've heard that the Meade 4000 9.7mm is the weak link in the 4000 range and should be avoided, and that the Meade 5000 plossls don't work well in a fast (f/5) telescope.

Overall, I'm confused and could do with some help

[nightfisher]

I use the GSO plossl`s and find them to be very good, however my scopes are longer focal length, you could try the gso and if not to your liking sell it on again at very little loss, i have a sneaky feeling the BST might be best for you, but some other folk will help out im sure

[ollypenrice]

I just bought a TeleVue Plossl on here for about £50. It is as new and as good as Plossls get. Worth checking here and UK Astrobuysell?

Olly

[John]

Such a pity you are not interested in buying used - it would open up a whole load of options - like the one Olly has identified.

I recently sold a Baader Genuine Ortho in excellent condition for under your budget - they are optically as good as it gets for under £200.

[andrew63]

I would go along with John. You will get higher quality used - the members generally look after their stuff.

I sold a mint 8mm BST a week ago for £30 and you can get some top notch lens for quite a bit less than new.