Eyepiece Set

[George!]

I have decided I want an eyepiece set because there a lot easier to play around with. Does this one look good or should i buy the other one?

ScopeTeknix 7 part Photo-Visual eyepiece and accessory kit by GSO

vs

First Light Optics - Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit

Many Thanks for replies,

[Nova]

I have not yet had the oppertunity to look through any of these eyepieces but from what ive read on here anybody who owns the revelation kit is not dissapointed

[George!]

I have not yet had the oppertunity to look through any of these eyepieces but from what ive read on here anybody who owns the revelation kit is not dissapointed

Thanks!

[Carbon Brush]

Hi George you are only a few posts away from access to the 'for sale' section.

If you buy individual eyepieces there you get the chance to see what suits you and what doesn't. Anything you don't like can be sold on for (hopefully) no great loss.

The only eyepiece set I ever got was a Meade plossl set. At the time I thought it looked great. Very solid looking eps in a nice ali box. Then I realised that I only used half of the eyepieces. Then I wanted other types......

A few years on my Meade set hardly ever comes out, but plenty of other different eyepieces do. I'm not saying the Meade are no good. Eyepieces are very much a personal choice, besides having to suit the scope. I like my wider FOV eyepieces and need longer FL for my 'slow' scopes.

[crazyjedi]

I reckon you only really need 3 or 4 good quality EP's and a good barlow rather than a whole set. Although having a nice set in the hard case does look rather cool you'll probably only use half of the EP's in the set.

You may be better off selecting a good High, Medium and Low power lens and going from there. There are lots of very good EP brands out there and you don't have to stay loyal to one brand but pick what suites your needs and budget. Have a look through some reviews to help you decide what's best for you. Try Telescope Reviews | Cloudy Nights for reviews

[great_bear]

Hi George!

I have decided I want an eyepiece set because there a lot easier to play around with. Does this one look good or should i buy the other one?

In a way, this is a continuation of your previous thread, but I'll summarise the points made there, and respond to some of the comments made here.

Firstly, both of those kits are from the same original manufacturer (GSO) the only difference being that one includes a 12mm eyepiece and coloured filters, and the other one doesn't. All other components are identical.

One way to save money would be to buy the second set, and buy the missing 12mm eyepiece from SGL member MikeWilson who is currently selling one here <click> - the coloured filters you don't really need.

Regarding the quality of the eyepieces, GSO are one of the most respected names in the far east optical industry. All of the main astronomical manufacturers use components made by GSO. Meade, Celestron, Orion, Sky-Watcher - all of those brand names purchase GSO products and put their own brand names on them.

I reckon you only really need 3 or 4 good quality EP's and a good barlow

erm... That's exactly what the second set is...

Although having a nice set in the hard case does look rather cool you'll probably only use half of the EP's in the set.

No problem there then - since the unused eyepieces can be sold off at £20 each, as regularly happens here on SGL.

On the flipside though George! it is worth bearing in mind what kniclander said in the other thread - that as a Dobsonian owner you might instead want to purchase eyepieces with a wider field of view, so that you can keep objects in the view for longer at high magnification, and see larger areas of the sky at low power. Finding good widefield eyepieces that you like however, can be a lengthy process, especially for the longer focal length widefields, which can be very expensive for good ones. You can always experiment with purchasing second-hand super-widefield eyepieces later - and sell them on losing only the postage (about £3 or so) if you don't like them.

Choosing eyepieces can be a very difficult and lengthy process and it can take forever to make a purchasing decision or waiting for the right one to turn up second-hand. Since you can sell off the contents of the Revelation Kit second-hand and easily recover most - if not all - of the cost of it, I just went ahead and bought the kit myself and then augmented the collection with more specialised ones over time. I didn't even bother selling off the unused eyepieces, since I find them useful for test purposes from time to time. At one point I bought even more of the kit eyepieces - for use in a binoviewer - but i use different eyepieces for that purpose now.

At the end of the day though, it's your money and only you can decide - but you should definitely budget to save up for more eyepieces in future whatever route you go down.

[crazyjedi]

What I was trying to say was rather than buy a whole set pick and choose the best EP's for your scope and viewing habits - such as wide angle lenses.

Until my post was rudely picked apart!! Thanks great bear. I wasn't giving bad advice just an idea.

[ollypenrice]

I'm not much into EP sets myself. I'd rather have one good one at a compromise FL than two mundane ones. This is doubly so with Dobs where a wide field is essential and where anything giving a high power in a tiny field is going to be a pain.

Olly

[great_bear]

my post was rudely picked apart!!

No need to take offence there, it's just that when you say "You may be better off selecting a good High, Medium and Low power lens and going from there" it's a great suggestion - but only with the benefit of hindsight.

It's incredibly difficult in the absence of experience to choose the right wide-field eyepieces - especially if you're confined to budgetary constraints and/or have to wait whilst twiddling your thumbs waiting for the right eyepiece to turn up for sale second hand.

The chances of getting that choice right first time around is really very small. When you have a choice of focal lengths to play with, you can get a really good idea of where you would want these more sophisticated eyepieces to lie, and what other attributes are important to you.

[great_bear]

doubly so with Dobs where a wide field is essential and where anything giving a high power in a tiny field is going to be a pain.

Trouble is though, on a tight budget the options are really very limited. For manual tracking I don't feel that ~60 degrees (as in the TMBs or Meade 5000 Super Plossls) is that much of an improvement.

So what's out there?

a) The Hyperions I guess

PanaView by SkyWatcher for the longer focal lengths?

(not tried them, so I can't say really)

c) The shorter of the SkyWatcher Ultrawides

Actually, the SW Ultrawides are probably a worthy contender here - the 6mm and the 9mm, at £29 a pop you can't really go wrong - although the eye-relief is so great that you really need to use replacement eye-guards I found...

[RobH]

I reckon you only really need 3 or 4 good quality EP's and a good barlow rather than a whole set.

Agreed

I've been looking through scopes for (roughly) 44 years, and have had, and still have, sacks full of eyepieces.

What I have found myself using are a 30mm, 20mm, 13mm and x2 Barlow. (give or take a mm or so depending on model)

The eyepices that are used have changed over the years, but have always been near enough these FL's.

Pretty well all bases are covered here, except for sub 6mm FL's for really high mag planetary viewing, but, TBH, most of the time seeing doesn't allow these to be used anyway, and I seldom go below 6.5mm (13mm with barlow)

Rob.

[crazyjedi]

No need to take offence there, it's just that when you say "You may be better off selecting a good High, Medium and Low power lens and going from there" it's a great suggestion - but only with the benefit of hindsight.

It's incredibly difficult in the absence of experience to choose the right wide-field eyepieces - especially if you're confined to budgetary

Yes Offence was taken and with good reason. It is with hind sight that i am passing on this suggestion. In order to save someone else doing what i did. Budgets are very important in this day and age and i'd heartily recommend hunting around on the second hand market and reputable dealers for bargains. It is also why i suggested a good web site for reviews.

All i meant was do your research and buy the best EP for your scope and at a price that you can afford rather than buying a whole set and then slowly replacing them with more suitable EP's later on (whilst trying to explain to your wife why your spending yet more money). I'm just trying to help. I find helpful comments better than just stomping on someone's opinion.

[crazyjedi]

[quote name=

What I have found myself using are a 30mm, 20mm, 13mm and x2 Barlow. (give or take a mm or so depending on model)

Pretty well all bases are covered here, except for sub 6mm FL's for really high mag planetary viewing, but, TBH, most of the time seeing doesn't allow these to be used anyway, and I seldom go below 6.5mm (13mm with barlow)Rob.

Have to agree with this. I have a 5mm Meade 5000 that is only used on the best of winter nights because otherwise the view is just too shimmery The lens is good but my scope is fast and i live in suburbia so it's not the best combo.

I think some of the Meade 5000 SWA lenses are being sold off pretty cheaply right now. Are they being discontinued? Shame if they are they're good for the money and would suite a dob nicely

[great_bear]

No offence was intended Rob.

My experience is clearly different from yours, and opinions naturally may vary.

However it's a statement of fact for me to say that buying the Revelation Eyepiece Kit need not leave one financially disadvantaged in the long run, since the individual components, when sold second-hand later (i.e. when no longer required), can - and indeed does - recoup the original cost of the kit.

Nonetheless I do apologise for the style of my original reply, it was blunt and insensitive and I should not have replied in such a manner.

[crazyjedi]

Opinions do vary. Something we should all respect.

[todd8137]

they are both the same eps and bits i brougt the revelation photo set they are ok eps to get ya going ,the 32mm is about the best one out the kit they all work well in both my 90mm frac,and 12" reflectorthey blow the standard 4000 meade series out the water

but they made by the same people or so am. told the case comes in handy,how you get in on with them ?

[spaceboy]

Often the trouble with forums, emails, social networks and text messages is that what can be taken offensively when reading text can often be accepted as simple debate in conversation if talking in person. I honestly don't think GB meant any offense by his post CJ. I am forever getting in trouble on this forum as I have difficulties getting into a manageable post what it is I'm thinking. While I know what I am trying to say if my wording isn't perfect it can be read wrong. Some people for example can give lost people directions. Although I try to help I often give directions that see the lost person drive back past me several times

The problem I have found in particular on this forum is while everyones advice is valid, what works for one dose not necessarily work for another. With so many accessories and scopes to choose from with so many different levels of LP etc it can be hard for all to agree on what is a unspecific question. I'm sure if the OP had only asked 200p owners with Meade 5000 EP's living 2 miles from Manchester city then the replies may have been more harmonious.

[great_bear]

I used to think the Meade 4000s and the Revelations were made by the same people (Guan Sheng, i.e. GSO) - however someone pointed out on CloudyNights that there are sufficient differences to suggest that it's more likely that the Meades are made by Jinghua (JOC) instead.

I'm pretty sure however that both Celestron and Orion have marketed Plossls based on customised versions of these GSO ones.

In most cases however, finding out the definitive truth on such matters is nigh on impossible.

[foundaplanet]

It is very true what you say there spaceboy and a good point to be made. I was never one for using smileys in text and mails until a particular incident with a good friend made me see that they do have a very good purpose to help us understand tone and expression and context of what we are saying. I thought they were for kids but they can be a very useful tool and especially for use on a forum.

[cgarry]

I bought the Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit shortly after buying my first scope, a 6SE. They did their job perfectly, allowing me to play with a variety of different focal lengths, barlows and filters. I thought the 32mm in this kits was fantastic.

This kit taught me a few lessons, but these may well just apply just to me so the learning process is vital. In particular:

* The colour filters do not make much difference.

* Light pollution filters are not much use for visual.

* I do not like using a barlow.

I actually would recommend this kit when starting out as it allows you to figure out which focal lengths work with your setup and then these can be replaced by more expensive EPs over time as they become available. Once you have replaced enough of the EPs you can sell the set on, either individually or as a complete set to recover some of the cost.

I think going straight to a few premium second hand EPs would be a more tricky route as you would not be sure which focal lengths would be best for your setup and you personally, though with a lot of chopping and changing (which can be fun in itself) you can get to a suitable set of EPs that way too.

Cheers,

Chris

[crazyjedi]

Spaceboy speaketh the truth.

[ponte carlo blue]

I have just bought the Revelation set for exactly the same reasons Chris has said. We have a starter scope that will be upgraded, but we wanted to crack on and learn and see what worked and what didn't. And the 32mm is brill.

Thanks

Rich