upgrading standard eyepieces

[John]

I've been using the Baader GO 7mm (129x), 6mm (150x) and 5mm (180x) with my 900mm focal length scope and they do deliver excellent clarity, contrast and sharpness. As good as you can get without spending £hundreds per eyepiece. They do exhibit the usual ortho traits of tight eye relief, a narrowish field of view and a small eye lens of course, which some find off-putting, especially for use with undriven scopes (eg: dobsonains).

[paul101]

hi

i dont think the eye relief would be a problem for me, the only problem i can see would be my son whos 9, he may struggle to see through it, also the wife as she loves to look at the planets. i do like the thought of nice sharp planetary views tho, im just torn between the baader autho's and the x-cel Lx and also which mm ep to get. just dont want to make the same mistake i made with getting the hyperion

thanks again

[Damo636]

If you plan on buying only one for now Paul i would go with the 6mm. I find the best (sharpest) planetary views with my 8" scope are to be had between 150x-200x. I haven't tried the Celestron X-CEL LX but by all accounts they are excellent. Check out this members review of the 9mm.

http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-eyepieces/160349-celestron-x-cel-lx-9mm-v-baader-9mm-ortho.html

[John]

Your scope has a focal length of 1000mm so either a 6mm (167x) or a 5mm (200x) would be good for planetary viewing. You might find having both useful in fact so that you can adjust to allow for seeing conditions.

On really good nights, assuming the scope is in excellent collimation, you might find a 4mm (250x) possible (especially thinking about Mars and Saturn here that respond better to high powers than Jupiter does) but not too often I reckon.

[paul101]

thanks for all your help guys!

think i will pop over to RVO tomorrow and see if they have the Celestron X-CEL LX 6mm, think this will be best for me for now, think the eye relief will be better and more comfortable to use, ill update once ive got it and been out with it.

[paul101]

hi again, just realised they dont do a Celestron X-CEL LX 6mm, so i think ill go with the 7mm for now and maybe a 5mm ortho in the future.

[Flyingpig]

Hi Paul,

You are fine with a 5mm 200x that should not be pushing your scopes capabilities too far you do have an 8" aperture. Genuine orthos's are a very good planetary EP, but the narrow 40 degree FOV is a real bind when it comes to other targets.

Yes the Ultima LX is a 2" EP but in sizes 17mm and under they also have a 1.25" fitting inside making it dual barrel so that they can fit both 2" and 1.25" focusers; this also means you can use 1.25" or 2" filters! The Ultima has a wide 70 degree FOV. And a generous 16mm eye relief. The Ultima's can often be bought on eBay at reasonable prices. Taking a quick look it seems they are currently quite reasonably priced. The 5mm and 8mm are priced at about £70 each! That's a whopping £50 cheaper than David Hinds and most uk stockists.

Absolute Bargain!

To summarise I would say you can either purchase a trusted planetary dedicated EP such as the Baader Genuine Orthoscopics or you can have a superb multipurpose EP at a superb price.

Note if you wear glasses forget about the Orthoscopics They have terrible eye relief.

You might get away with barlowing (2x) an 8mm Ultima (250x) it's possible if the seeing is good but it's right at your limit. Of course you can easily Barlow (2x) a 13mm (154x)

Personally I would get the 5mm and the 13mm Celestron Ultima LX's especially at their current ebay price. I'd have the full range if I had the money! But it's personal choice you might prefer the orthos if you can live with its limitations.

Good luck, hope you enjoy clear skies to test out whatever you choose.

Phil

[Flyingpig]

Paul I see you just posted whilst I was writing the above post, the Ultima is much better than the X-cel LX, I've tried both head to head. You won't beat that EBay price! I suggest you get the 5mm and others too if you can stretch to it.

[paul101]

hi all

just a quick update, i went to RVO yesterday and ended up getting the 5mm X-cel LX. Got out last night one cloud had gone to check out mars, the view i had was fantastic compared to my standard ep's i could even see the polar cap at about the 4 o'clock.

Then i checked out saturn at about 1:30 am, i couldnt belive how good my view was, cant wait to do jupiter next but it goes out of view for me about 10pm.

Anyway thanks for all the great advice but im so happy with this ep.

highly recomended for the SW 200PDS!

[Flyingpig]

Glad to see that your enjoying your much improved views, out of interest how much did you pay for the 5mm X-cel LX?

PS don't forget to add your new EP to your sig!

[Shure]

Glad to see that your enjoying your much improved views, out of interest how much did you pay for the 5mm X-cel LX?

PS don't forget to add your new EP to your sig!

The cheapest I have found them for is £65 from Sherwoods Photo. From memory I think RVO is £69?

[paul101]

Hi

Yes £69 I'm very pleased with it plus Eco is only about 5 miles away