New scope - Eyepiece advice

[Kevin C]

Hi All

I have just been bought a Celestron Omni XLT150 reflector scope by the good lady wife and it comes with a 25mm eyepiece (unknown type or quality). I'm not sure what this is going to be like, but I dare say it's going to be pretty cheap and possibly worthy of an upgrade?

I also realise that this scope being 750mm f/5 will require a much shorter eyepiece to view the moon or planets properly and will have to be of a good quality due to the fast aperture. (I know this scope is not really best for planets but I will want to look at them sometimes).

I also wear glasses and require a longish eye relief and have been looking at the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces.

I'm basicly looking for recommendations, but have been tempted to order a 5mm and a 12mm from FLO to compliment the 25mm that comes with the scope.

I'll obviously see what the 25mm is like and if needs be I will replace this also.

Would a 2x barlow be a better idea with just a 12mm or similar?

Also, am I 'jumping the gun' here and should I just see what the 25mm will resolve before buying anything else? Although I know I will need something shorter.

I've been using the 'Field of View calculator web site and think I'll need at least a 9mm to be happy!

Am I pushing the limit of the scope too much with these short (5mm ish) focal lengths?

Sorry about the number of questions in one post!

Thank you

Kevin

[Capricorn]

The X-Cels are good and get good reviews.

So basically would suit you well.

Alternatives are the BST Explorers. not SkyGuider's (or similar) from Sky's the Limit at £47. They seem to be good at f/5.

Then are the TMB Planetary's again from Skys the Limit at £39.

BST+TMB's have 15-20mm eye relief.

BST's come in 5mm, 8mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm and 25mm.

TMB's have more at the lowr end and a few below 5mm, if you feel adventerous.

The 25mm you have hould be OK, they usually are, but you will not get much magnification. If it only came with 1 eyepiece I would have said that 18mm would have been a better single option, just my opinion.

[Mr Spock]

The 25mm should be of reasonable quality, but you will need something else. On good nights the scope should hold up at x200.

You don't need too many low magnifications, so I'd be thinking (Celestron X-Cel LX) of a 9mm, 7mm and x2 (Tal) Barlow. That gives, with your 25mm, x30, x60, x83, x107, x166, x214 - a nice spread of useful magnifications.

[Kevin C]

The X-Cels are good and get good reviews.

So basically would suit you well.

Alternatives are the BST Explorers. not SkyGuider's (or similar) from Sky's the Limit at £47. They seem to be good at f/5.

Then are the TMB Planetary's again from Skys the Limit at £39.

BST+TMB's have 15-20mm eye relief.

BST's come in 5mm, 8mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm and 25mm.

TMB's have more at the lowr end and a few below 5mm, if you feel adventerous.

The 25mm you have hould be OK, they usually are, but you will not get much magnification. If it only came with 1 eyepiece I would have said that 18mm would have been a better single option, just my opinion.

Thanks for the alternatives, I'll have a look at those.

The 25mm should be of reasonable quality, but you will need something else. On good nights the scope should hold up at x200.

You don't need too many low magnifications, so I'd be thinking (Celestron X-Cel LX) of a 9mm, 7mm and x2 (Tal) Barlow. That gives, with your 25mm, x30, x60, x83, x107, x166, x214 - a nice spread of useful magnifications.

I originally thought a 7mm and a 9mm would be too close, but when you do the maths they are not.

I've been reading a sticky about eyepieces (maybe I should have read that first!) and take the advice on-board about not going too high a magnification with eyepieces and using a 2x barlow.

Many thanks for the replies