Eyepiece advice, Vixen NPL

[fizzydx]

I'm looking for a bit of advice on eyepieces, eg: brand and focal length, i've been looking at the Vixen NPL's, i've read on the forum that these ep's are pretty good, but how good are they compared to the Celestron Omni ep's, listed below is what i'm thinking of ordering from FLO, i'll be mostly looking at the planets but i would also like to view Nebula's, etc.

Scope is a Celestron 130EQ > 650 focal length.

The eyepieces i'm looking at are the Vixen NPL, 25mm, 20mm and 8mm, i will be using these with a 2x barlow which will also give me 12.5mm, 10mm and 4mm, would this be the right choice? also, i would like some good advice on which 2x barlow would be best, Vixen 2x barlow? if so, which one? or some other brand?

Or would i be better off going for something like Vixen NPL 20mm, 15mm, 10mm and 4mm without using a barlow?

[paul schofield]

I just ordered a 15mm Vixen NPL yesterday, so I hope it will be a worthwhile investment, only cost me £20 delivered (used). Going by reviews on SGL they seem to be slightly better than others in the same price range, £30-£40. Never tried Celestron Omni's. Also the BST Explorers are worth a look for £41 delivered they come in 5, 8, 12, 18 and 25mm with a 60' FOV. Good luck with your search.

[hemihaggis]

hi fizzy where abouts do you observe from ??

[Tinker1947]

FLO sell these and there supposed to be very good for the money....

First Light Optics - Tal

[fizzydx]

I must apologise for the late reply, i've been really busy lately.

@hemihaggis, i normally observe from my garden which is in Middlesbrough (North East), i do have plans to start going out to find dark skies, such places as Sutton Bank on the A170 and the Hole-of-Horcum on the A169, very dark skies indeed.

@Tinker1947, thanks for the suggestion, i've been looking into these, they do seem pretty good, i've also been looking at the Vixen barlow for around £40, it's hard to say which would be the best, the Tal or the Vixen.

I have also decided to go with the Vixen NPL ep's, i've just ordered the 6, 8 & 10, i'll get the 15, 20, 25, & 30 eventually, at the moment i seem to be viewing the Moon, Saturn & Jupiter quite a bit so the other eyepieces can wait a month or so as i still have the standard Celestron 15mm ep, also, the reviews i've read and the opinions on this forum helped a great deal in choosing the Vixen ep's.

@paul schofield, did you recieve your 15mm Vixen NPL? if you did then what do you think of it?