Eyepieces for a newbie with 250mm reflector

[Jinx]

Hi folks, first post post so bear with me, I have just got the whole astronomy bug having spent the past 2 months plotting and making a fibre optic ceiling of relatively accurate star maps for our new addition to our family.

I have picked up a Celestron C6 reflector on the C5 goto mount, as well as a new Skywatcher explorer 250p explorer OTA to mount on it. Lenses supplied include Celestron 10 and 25mm, Skywatcher 10 and 25mm and 2x Barlow lens. All are 1.25" diameter. I have no other accessories (filters etc)

I am predominantly interested in faint fuzzies, but would of course like to see the best possible planetary detail with the scopes I have. As such i am looking for advice regarding lenses in priority order to maximize my enjoyment. Whilst I am not looking to spend thousands, I could stretch to £200 worth of extras every 3 months or so. Any and all suggestion are welcome. Long term I would like to get into astrophotography with my Pentax Kx, but again have no idea or kit to accomplish it.

Thanks all for reading,

Alec Jenks

[John]

Hi Alec and welcome to the forum.

The scope that is the subject of this thread is the same spec as your Skywatcher 250 OTA so the suggestions made in it would be valid for your scope too:

http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-eyepieces/171648-250px-flex-eyepiece-advice.html

[Carbon Brush]

Hi Alec. Welcome to SGL.

Good pointer from John.

I would only add, think about used eyepieces.

Eyepeices are very much a personal choice. What suits one person doesn't always suit another.

If you buy used and don't like, you can often sell on for little loss.

On the standard SW eyepieces, my 10mm is a good dust plug!

[Jinx]

Thankyou John and David for your posts, glad its not just me regarding the 10mm, the post referenced is very helpful and seems to be fairly behind the 32mm panaview and the BST 18mm, but I still have many questions.

I live on the Staffordshire / Shropshire border and watch from a nearby field with no surrounding bright lights, but there are the dreaded orange glows on the horizon to the south, south-east and north-east.

Is the priority for me to get a good light pollution filter - if so which do you recommend? Is there any point in me purchasing other filter types any time soon?

What if any is the difference between using the 2" and 1.25" diameter lenses?

Are so called planetary lenses worth it / recommended for noticeably improved views of planetary bodies compared to the lenses I may purchase for viewing DSOs?

What sort of lenses would be suitable for cometary viewing, or am I being too ambitious.

Finally is there a crib sheet or rule of thumb for the best lens sizes / type (not manufacturer) for each scope type / size for each type of observable phenomena.

I am finding the lens sizes very overwhelming, and feel I could potentially waste money totalling more than I paid for the explorer!

Thanks once again,

Alec