Eyepieces

[Carl83]

Hi everyone!

I have asked about eyepieces recently and have had some excellent advice in steering clear of a set until I know what my viewing preferences are.

I'm aware that the eyepieces supplied with my Skywatcher 127 are a bit questionable, particularly with the 10mm EP.

With that in mind, I'd like to buy a Celestron x cel eyepiece priced at roughly £70. I'd probably go for a 9mm ish EP and keep the standard Barlow lens and 25mm EP for now.

Anyone think I'm going the wrong way about it before I spend some money??

Thanks

[Ian123]

IMO thats a good choice, i got the 25mm and not had much chance to use it yet.

Should of gone for the 9mm like yourself first as the 25mm stock is not that bad.

[Carl83]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your post! Did you get the x cel EP too? If so would you say it's worth the money?

Cheers

[proflight2000]

I ordered my new BST 12MM the other day, i went down the shops earlier and the blumming postman left a card, its typical of this hobby, nothing is ever straigh forwards.

[Damo636]

Excellent choice

[Parus major]

I just ordered a 25mm X-Cell LX from America on ebay, works out at being £52 including postage so even if I get hit with customs I'm still in the money. Worth thinking about.

[stevetynant]

I had bids on a 21mm X Cell last night on ebay- gave up eventually - it went for £29 after I'd given up at £27 grrrrrrrrr

[AWR]

Sounds a good choice. Not looked through an X-Cel but they have a good reputation. 9mm is a good length in a 127 Mak. (It's a shame that WO don't do a 9mm SPL!)

Andrew

[twotter]

Steering clear of a set is excellent advice?

I'd disagree with that. Eyepiece sets contain eyepieces suitable for a range of targets and viewing conditions. Some nights poor conditions can mean your higher power eyepieces give a mushy view...when a 9mm is too much a 12mm is just right. Tricky to do with a limited range of eyepieces and that's the advantage of a set. A good set of plossls may be all the eyepieces you ever need, or a set can show you which eyepieces you use the most and which to upgrade.

[Ian123]

Some Celestron X-Cel LX EP's for sale on Ebay.

£40 plus £10 postage from the states, the seller has different focal lenghts as well.

Never bought from the states myself but other members have,

don't know where you stand on lost or damaged items though.

>EBAY<

[John]

Some Celestron X-Cel LX EP's for sale on Ebay.

£40 plus £10 postage from the states, the seller has different focal lenghts as well.

Never bought from the states myself but other members have,

don't know where you stand on lost or damaged items though.

>EBAY<

They usually arrive undamaged but you face the strong possibility of getting caught for import duty etc which, with the handling fees, can add 25% onto the cost

[MjrTom]

In some cases even with the import duty and VAT it can be noticeably cheaper. Just do your homework and check before ordering.

[Parus major]

Some Celestron X-Cel LX EP's for sale on Ebay.

£40 plus £10 postage from the states, the seller has different focal lenghts as well.

Never bought from the states myself but other members have,

don't know where you stand on lost or damaged items though.

>EBAY<

That's the ones I mentioned I went for. Even nailed with customs you're ten quid up.

Looks to be good since he already left feedback.

[Capricorn]

Small items although they can be less from the US after postage and duty etc can get hit by the Post Office.

They can/do charge something like £12 for charging you the duty etc. It is their "handling fee".

That tends to hike the cost up.

It may depend on who delivers.

[Parus major]

Small items although they can be less from the US after postage and duty etc can get hit by the Post Office.

They can/do charge something like £12 for charging you the duty etc. It is their "handling fee".

That tends to hike the cost up.

It may depend on who delivers.

So worst case scenario is that it costs £39.97 + VAT at 20% + £10p&p + £12.

Still in the money but odds on it's just be under £50. After standard UK vendor postage I'm either saving £4 or £24. Worth the gamble since you won't lose anything.

[Tinker1947]

I found this with a "Google" don't see out sort of kit listed..??

New Import Duty & VAT Calculation | DutyCalculator

[Parus major]

I found this with a "Google" don't see out sort of kit listed..??

New Import Duty & VAT Calculation | DutyCalculator

According to that I'm £14 down on the lowest UK vendor list price including UK postage.

[Zachariah]

I have a skymax 127 and I have just bought SW 32 mm plossl for £30, tried it last night and it was excellent. Also got a celestron lx for £69 12 mm. Looks the part very heavy ep with large exit pupils. Thats very good aswell.

[Parus major]

The Celestron Omni plossls that seem to bounce up and down in price are very good, at least in my F8. They're odd i that they jump around in the range of £18-£50 almost day to day.

[Karen]

9mm is a good choice for the 127 mak, not over ambitious for the magnification. I suggest you get a 32mm next and this will barlow to 16mm. Then fill in the gaps later with about 21mm or 17mm or 12mm.

[Capricorn]

Only mentioned the Post Office charge as it is not known of unless you have had something via the PO.

For a small amount it can be a reasonable proportion that gets added on unexpectedly. I know as I found out one day on some rod building accessories. Nearly said to send it back.

Enjoy the eyepiece and let us all know the ultimate cost.

[benjii]

The royal mail charge around £14 for customs and handling on items like that if they're under £150.

[Parus major]

Thought I'd report in on the US order I made for an X-Xel LX.

No customs charges, the value on the declaration was $25 (likely because that's the stock price) and ticked as a gift. That's £20 saved.

[rwilkey]

Well done, the Excel LX are excellent ep's

[Parus major]

Aye, it does look to be a class act. As soon as I cut the box it started raining, though!