Eyepieces for Astro meetings - ideas?

[CeeDee]

I want to put together a set of reasonable quality (but cheaper than TeleVue or Pentax) eyepieces to take along to Astronomy club meetings and star parties. I don’t trust taking along my looovely set of Pentax XWs! Basically, what I am looking for is a set of three:

1x 27mm to 30mm

1x 14mm or 15mm

1x 7mm or 8mm

Need to have decent (>17mm) eye relief and a wide field of view….AND not bust the bank!

Any ideas folks?

[West End Wendy]

Regarding the 27mm option, I would highly recommend the Skywatcher Extra Flat.

Its FOV is not much to write home about (53°), but it is very well made (a sort of 1.25" version of the excellent Panaview), has long eye-relief (23mm) and great image-quality to the edge of the field.

All this for fifty quid.

The Panaview is also an excellent option if your looking at 2" eps, with a wider FOV than the extra flat.

Tim

[JamesC]

I love the Meade 5000 series. It's all I own in the longer focal lengths and I'm very happy at f5. I've never looked through a Televue or Pentax in the longer focal lengths mind you.

I recently got the 28mm SWA (2" barrel) from astroshop at a very reasonable price. It was kind of slow arriving but they give you a tracking number so you know exactly where it is. It's quite a heavy and chunky eyepiece but optically it's great.

The 24mm SWA is an excellent eyepiece too. Don't get the 16mm SWA - the eye relief is too tight. I use the 14mm UWA which I think is excellent.

[Moonshane]

different people have different ideas on budget. what would you like to spend per eyepiece?

[Capricorn]

How about the 7mm, 15mm and 25mm TMB Planetry Clones from Sky's the Limit, 58 degree view, £36 a piece.

Similar looking set so not 3 different ones and looks a little better. If they did a 30mm I would said that one over the 25mm but they stop at 25mm.

[JamesC]

different people have different ideas on budget. what would you like to spend per eyepiece?

Ha ha! Yeah, OK, Meade 5000 is not budget - but they are a bargain!

[damnut]

Echo Comments above have found the BST Ed's excellent at £38 ea from Skies The limit.

[Moonshane]

my only concern is that if you are making the effort to go to darker sites then surely you should make the most of the events and use your good eyepieces?

assuming not then given your top quality kit, will you then be satisfied with lesser quality?

maybe a compromise are the WO SWAN range First Light Optics - William Optics SWAN eyepiece. they have a good range, decent eye relief and the build quality and view is really pretty good above f6.

[CeeDee]

I do really take the point that 'show 'em the best view' is undoubtedly the right thing to do. I should have explained more concisely that when we gather in Regents Park in the centre of London for our monthly Baker Street Irregular Astronomers meetings I have to lug the mount, scope and case of eyepieces along 150m not well lit pathway through the park....just don't want some miscreant jumping out and snatching what looks like an expensive camera case!

I think that I may have the answer myself...The Mark III Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Clickstop Zoom.

All the reviews look very positive even though it loses FoV as you widen the focal length! Good eye relief and being variable it may just save time when people want to see the object in view just that little bit 'closer'. One eyepiece can fit into my kit box rather easily and won't break the bank if it suffers a bit.

Any experience with that eyepiece yet guys?