Jump to content

Planetary Eyepiece recommendations


Bertfry

Recommended Posts

Hello again, thanks to all the advice from the members here, I've been the proud owner of a Skywatcher 8inch flex tube auto telescope since July and have been enjoying the views (weather permitting!).

With Jupiter now up in the sky I've been looking at getting a planetary eyepiece to upgrade the ones I have now. These consist of 10 & 25mm (plossls I think) that came with the scope and a 20mm eyepiece I got with my Celestron Travel Scope 70 (the travel scope also came with a 10mm but its pretty poor). I also have a 2X Celestron Ultima Barlow.

Having done a bit of background reading I've narrowed down the options to:

7mm Baader Genuine Ortho

8mm Baader Hyperion

8mm Celestron X-Cel ED (on offer at FLO)

7mm Celestron X-cel LX

At the moment I'm drawn more to the Hyperion because of the eye relief (I don't wear glasses but prefer longer eye relief) and wider FOV but would consider one of the others if there is a good argument for it - if I can save a few bob for accessories that would be great! I'm in two minds about the X-CEL ED - the eye relief sounds good but I've heard mixed reviews about it.

I'm also unsure about the two 7mm EPs as I wonder whether they would be too powerful for my scope when barlowed as they would take me to 342X whereas the 8mm would be 300X, which having read around seems to be the max you can reasonably expect to reach in the UK in good conditions.

In short I'd be interested to hear the views of others who might have some experience with these EPs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I have owned both the Baader eyepiece's you have listed. The 8mm Hyperion is an excellent eyepiece, sharp, comfortable to use with its nice wide 68 degree fov and ample eye relief. It was my favourite Hyperion and i had most of the range. The 7mm ortho is a step up again in quality and out of your short list simply won't be beaten as a dedicated planetary eyepiece. The trade off of course is the narrow fov and much tighter eye relief although the 7mm is actually not too bad. As your dob is the auto version it will make things easier with this eyepiece. HTH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second Damo. I have an 8 inch skywatcher dob and nothing comes close to a planetary eyepiece like the Baader orthos. Great contrast, sharpness and clear colour balance. They trade off is the eye relief which may be a problem for you, and the fov which shouldn't be a problem if you have a tracking dob (I am jealous!)

The 8mm is a great usable size for an 8 inch dob and the 6mm for when you have those gobsmacking nights where this ep will never leave the eyepiece :p

If you would like any more personal experiences with the eps ask away or send me a pm. I have recently purchased the 12.5 and 18mm versions too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have experience of 3 of those eyepieces, and if you want the extra eye relief, I can seriously recommend the new Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. They have a slightly smaller FOV than the Hyperion, but the great thing they have over the Hyperion is the extendable eye guard to control the eye relief and help eye placement.

As for the 7/8mm debate, either eyepiece barlowed is not going to get much use in our usual seeing conditions, really. On the planets, I always feel I want a bit more magnification at 170x, so perhaps neither is suitable? About 200x with a 6mm would get most use, so maybe consider a 12mm that you could barlow, or just a good 5-6mm and do without the barlow?

Andrew

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll have to agree with Andrew on the Celestron X Cel LX eyepieces, I have 4 of them and as Andrew states, they do have a slightly smaller FOV but the eye relief is very good as is their contrast, their very affordable IMOH they are one of the best all rounders I have used in the budget range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've also got a few of the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. Amazingly good for the price, and still perform well in faster scopes. I think they would actually compare favourably with the Televue Radians.

BTW Tried the old X-Cels and couldn't stand them. Would never recommend them to anyone.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have just bought some BST explorer scientific ED EPs and I cannot rate them highly enough. I think they easily perform as well as the Hyperions at half the price.

Amazing quality for the value.

i will second that, only have the one but seem rather good

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice guys, its very helpful. I was inclined to go with the orthos in the first instance but then had a more careful look at the hyperions. Another reason why I thought they would be a good option was the fact that you could use the fine tuning rings which if I got the 8mm would give me the the option of 8mm, 6mm, 5mm and 4.3. I could then use the Hyperion with my 2X barlow for 4mm when conditions permit.

I'm quite attracted to the versitality of the Hyperion but from what people have said, in terms of image quality I would be better off looking at the orthos or the celestron X-Cel eyepieces. Presumeably if I want to go for versatility I would have to trade this against image quality but how much image quality would I loose going for the hyperion?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Presumeably if I want to go for versatility I would have to trade this against image quality but how much image quality would I loose going for the hyperion?

Tiny amounts of difference. But in terms of visual astronomy, the small details are everything. I was using my orthos on jupiter and kelling and more than one person did ask why my views of jupiter were so good compared to theirs with okay eyepieces and MUCH better scopes. This is all my opinion though :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tiny amounts of difference. But in terms of visual astronomy, the small details are everything. I was using my orthos on jupiter and kelling and more than one person did ask why my views of jupiter were so good compared to theirs with okay eyepieces and MUCH better scopes. This is all my opinion though :p

I agree with Adam. The differences in performance are pretty small and some will trade the ultimate performance of orthos for more viewing comfort of eyepieces with a larger field of view and more eye relief. Thats a personal choice I guess, unless you wear glasses when observing in which case orthos are just not a practical proposition. Fortunately there are good alternatives around these days ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with the point about barlows - but a Powermate ain't a barlow - believe me it's an awesome piece of kit that will magnify totally transparently - you don't even know it's there. I was so impressed with how it handled my 13mm Ethos at Kelling - you really have to get a look through one to see what I mean :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with the point about barlows - but a Powermate ain't a barlow - believe me it's an awesome piece of kit that will magnify totally transparently - you don't even know it's there. I was so impressed with how it handled my 13mm Ethos at Kelling - you really have to get a look through one to see what I mean :p

Totally agree with this - a Powermate only adds the magnfication, otherwise it just "gets out of the way" ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a Powermate only adds the magnfication, otherwise it just "gets out of the way"

For the most part yes - although the 2.5x does add a faint but annoying internal reflection on bright objects like Jupiter. Nonetheless I would always use it in preference to a normal Barlow...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a 7mm Nirvana as my main planetary eyepiece. I realise its not really a dedicated planetary ep but i find it gives fantastic views and with the 82 degree fov the planets stay in view for longer. I picked it up used for a little more than a new Celestron X-Cel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a 7mm Nirvana as my main planetary eyepiece. I realise its not really a dedicated planetary ep but i find it gives fantastic views and with the 82 degree fov the planets stay in view for longer. I picked it up used for a little more than a new Celestron X-Cel.

I've been using a 4mm Nirvana for highest power viewing lately and, when the seeing conditions allow, I've been pleasantly surprised how well it works :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see a 4mm Uwan (identical to the Nirvana i think) on ebay at the minute. The starting price just a little to high but will keep am eye on it all the same. Would be ideal for those rare nights that the seeing allows it to be used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not used anything better than Baader Genuine Orthos on planets. I have had the 7mm, 9mm, 12.5mm and 18mm and all are excellent if you can use the short (but better than plossl) eye relief. I like them so much that although I sold three of them to fund a mount purchase, I'll be buying at least two back when funds allow.

My other eyepieces are all TV.

I like the powermates but the extra weight and projection from the OTA made them a little unwieldy for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.