Eyepiece investment

[Piers Cawley]

In photography, my rule of thumb is that camera bodies come and go, but glass is forever. So in any given camera bag with two or lenses, the lenses are probably worth more than the body.

I'm guessing that a similar rule applies to eyepieces - aperture fever can strike at any time and yesterday's "My god! Look at the size of than thing!" darling can turn into tomorrow's grab and go camping scope.

So, given that my current darling, the Skywatcher 150P f/8 Dob comes with 25mm and 10mm 1.25" eyepieces, and will hopefully be showing well in the next month or so… Do I buy a 6mm EP? A 40mm EP? Or replace the stock EPs? 2" or 1.25"?

Choices! Choices! It's all too much I tell you.

If it helps, I'm in my mid 40s, and wear specs for shortsightedness that seems to be turning into long-sightedness as well, but no astigmatism.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[John]

Hi and welcome to the forum !

You are quite right that eyepieces can form an investment for the future. Their costs vary hugely though - from £20 each to over £500 each so it's worth taking some time to learn about the different designs, their strengths and weaknesses, and then you can pick some that are good for you.

The ones that come with the scope will get you started but you can improve on those for around £30 - £50 per eyepiece.

If you have not already had a look, this primer is well worth the read:

http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/80772-eyepieces-very-least-you-need.html

My advice would be to get your scope and give it a few tries first before investing further. This will help you make better spending decisions !

[tsmith001]

Hi

same position as you.

Just bought a 200p and looked at eyepieces.

I asked a lot of questions but it eventually comes down to what you can afford.

For viewing planets i bought a 7mm celestron x-cel cost £69 and a sw 32mm panaview which is 2".

I use these in conjunction with the sw 10mm and 25mm.

These seem enough for me now but if you keep reading the forums or is it fora? You are bound to want someting else.

One thing I have found is that a lot of the shops seem to be low on stock so contact them before ordering online - you may have to wait even though they take your card details.

best of luck