First accessories/ eyepiece advice

[welshrob87]

Hi all.

I'm wanting to get some new eyepieces for my 200P. Been reading threads on here and looking at different sites and I've think I've narrowed it down to 4 options. The ones I'm looking at are William Optics SPL and Celectron X-Cel LX from FLO and the BST Eplorers and TMB Planetary II from Sky's The Limit. Would these all be suitable in the 200P?

The first thing I was wondering about is if there is much difference in using a barlow or a proper shorter eyepiece? I'm wanting to view at a bit higher magnification than the supplied 10mm and 25mm eyepieces can give. Am I correct in thinking that the biggest practical magnification is about 200x? So wanting to know if you would recommend getting 6mm eyepiece or would a 12mm with a 2x barlow give comparatively reasonable views?

I have a few more questions but I won't overload it all at once. Thanks in advance.

[brantuk]

Single ep's are usually better cos there's less glass in the way than using a barlow. The only time I found this to be untrue is with a Powermate - they just magnify then disappear lol.

Around 200x is a practical limit in UK seeing - you can achieve higher but ocassions arre few and far between. The 200P is f5 if I recall correctly - so if you do go for a 6mm the better quality you can get the better. Fast scopes are less forgiving of low quality glass.

[welshrob87]

Thanks. It's as I thought then really. I think the 200P is f6 (1200/200) if that makes a difference? So would the Williams Optics and Celestron X-Cel eyepieces be better in the 200P than the BST or TMB?

[hemihaggis]

i like the bst explorers , espically for the money , im sure the other ep`s you mentioned are just as good , skies the limit do a kind of "try then buy " deal ..they send you out a few ep`s for a week or two to try ... and if you like `em ........

another option is a badder hyperion zoom ..........

[LukeSkywatcher]

My birthday is in 4 weeks. I am going to buy myself a BST just to compare it to other EP's i have. I have heard so much about them.

How do they compare to the Vixen NPL's?............................say in an 8se.

[welshrob87]

Reading this review http://stargazerslounge.com/discussions-eyepieces/170185-bst-explorer-12mm-first-light.html is pushing me towards trying the BST. Shame they don't have a 6mm version.