Inexpensive Plossls: Celestron, Meade or Vixen?

[enigma]

Can anyone advice which is the best choice between the Celestron Omni, Meade Series 4000 and Vixen NPL Plossls?

[rwilkey]

I would say the Vixen NPL Plossls, as the have a very high reputation hereabouts.

[Kwizxi]

I'm a newbie, and I have no experience of the other EPs, but I just got myself a shiny new 15mm Vixen NPL to add to the standard 10mm and 25mm that came with my 'scope. I'm really pleased with it, especially for the money. It's pretty cloudy out there tonight but I got some nice clear views of Jupiter and the 4 Galilean moons. I also got some nice cloud free moments of lunar viewing too.

[rwilkey]

Kwizxi, a very wise choice and good middle focal range ep. I have a 13mm Vixen and very pleased with the performance.

[Andymac79]

Vixen for me

[twotter]

The Meade 4000 series are a good EP, though I prefer the GSO Revelations. New they're £30 a go (preloved they come for sale around £15), great views & build quality.

Recommended

[cs1cjc]

I can recommend the Vixen NPL also. They are sharp to the edge, but be aware that, on my measurements of the 20mm and 30mm, the claimed AFOV of 50 degrees is only 46 degrees (so 50 to one significant figure)...

[Adrian]

In another post you were talking about f8 to f10 scopes - if this is the case then you probably won't see much/any difference between the plossls optically so it will come down to price & comfort of each eyepiece.

[great_bear]

Can anyone advice which is the best choice between the Celestron Omni, Meade Series 4000 and Vixen NPL Plossls?

Now the Meade Series 4000s have dropped to £29 in the shorter focal lengths, it's a no-brainer - they're the ones to go for, but bear in mind that all Plossls except Tele Vue, can show distorted stars at the edge of the view in an F5 scope.

[enigma]

Now the Meade Series 4000s have dropped to £29 in the shorter focal lengths, it's a no-brainer - they're the ones to go for, but bear in mind that all Plossls except Tele Vue, can show distorted stars at the edge of the view in an F5 scope.

Why would the Meade Series 4000 Plossl be a better choice than the rest?

[great_bear]

The 4000s are a bit better optically than the GSOs (which is what I believe the Omnis are). As for the Vixens, I believe (though I've not tried them myself) that they are actually rather good from an optical standpoint - but the build quality makes them a little less robust than the Meades.

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Vixen NPL get my vote. I have a couple of them and love them.

[andrew63]

For me sharpness is what wins out and so the vixen would be my choice.

andrew