birthday money

[bottletopburly]

right got a dilema got sixty pound to spend do i get a better barlow 2x or 3x or do i get an eyepiece or do i wait and get stuff s/h off astro buy and sell and get more for my money ,thoughts please all my current eyepieces etc on my signature cheers peeps.

[astrofox]

Well 2nd hand of Astro B&S is always attractive on price.The 200 explorer is a cracking scope and would show the benefit of good lens. You dont say what your interest is. If its planets I think you will find eye relief on the 6.7 mead very tight. If you can get one a Baader 5 or 6mm Genuine Ortho will stand you in good stead for the future. Barlows are OK but I will no doubt be slated for saying this but at best they only magnify the eyepiece and any imperfections in that lenes design.

[Carbon Brush]

Another recommendation for a decent eyepeice.

I like the Hyperions. They are just in your budget for used price.

They give good eye relief in the short FL variants, and good views to the edge in my SW200.

The big and heavy lump of eyepiece doesn't cause any balance problems with the SW200/EQ5 assembly.

But if you have a bias towards planetary, then an ortho costs and weighs a bit less.

My Hyperions tend to be first out of the box most nights.

But remember free advice is not always worth more than you pay for it.

Also eyepiece choice is a very personal thing. No real wrong or right choices.

However, if you buy a used eyepiece and don't like it, you can usually sell it on with little loss.

[astrofox]

David makes a very valid point. Buy new then change you mind usually costs a lot. Buy secondhand and you most likely will recupe your costs if you decide to sell. If you can stick with a quality manufacturer like Baader you would have no trouble selling it on. The only downside is they don't stay on the bulletin board long when advertised.

[rwilkey]

If you are looking at range, you need to plug a gap with either a 12.5mm or a 13mm ep. To be honest I tend not use my Barlow even though I have a good one, so my advice is look at your eyepiece collection and fill one or two gaps, a 32mm plossl would go well in your 200P, get a decent one like a GSO or a Celestron, cracking ep's, and better than your standard 25mm.

[bottletopburly]

Thanks for the suggestions new s/h eyepiece it is then i was thinking of someting around 12mm i have a 32mm celestron that i got off astro buy and the 6.7 meade i was given ,not really got a preference as what i look at although i really want to see jupiter this time through the 200p.

[Carbon Brush]

A Shameless plug in the Hyperion direction.

If you buy one, you can end up with a versatile eyepiece.

You can modify the FL by fitting the low cost 'tuning rings'.

Installing a 2" filter in the EP has a similar effect.

Then you can remove the 1.25" part from the bottom end to give a longer FL.

For exmple a standard 13mm EP can become 8.1, 9.2, 10.8, 11.7mm by using tuning rings, or a 2" filter.

By removing the 1.25" bottom section it becomes a 2" barrel 30mm EP, though not the best at the edge in my experience.

All of the Hyperions 21mm and shorter have this facility.

[sologuitarist61]

Hyperions are good for 2 other reasons as well. 1, for just over a tenner you can get a ring that affixes to the top and allows you you but your camera plus T ring direct onto the lens for easy imaging. 2, get the two ext rings 14 and 28mm, which will give you three smaller focal length if fitted individually or together - my 13mm Hyperion then becomes a 10.8mm with the 14mm, 9.2mm with 28mm, and 8.1mm with them both on. Three lense for the price of one (and a bit)

[Prador]

Do you have a nice pair of bino's?

£60 would buy a nice usable 10x50 (or 15x70 if you have big arms) set for low power sky scanning and lunar viewing. You may already have a set but thought it worth mentioning

Dave

[bottletopburly]

Thanks for the advice never thought of bino`s but think i will go for the eyepieces .

[bottletopburly]

now got a 13mm hyperion s/h

[Carbon Brush]

That explains the deterioration in the weather!

[Spec-Chum]

I'm afraid I've ordered a new EP too, and that's not being delivered till probably Friday!

Sorry guys

[bottletopburly]

eye relief on the hyperion is superb

[LukeSkywatcher]

Looking at your EP collection, if i had £60 in my pocket burning a hole i would be looking at buying a couple of EP's to replace the 10,25mm Skywatcher EP's you have with something like this range:

http://www.firstligh...-eyepieces.html

The SW range is fine but the Vixens are so much better. They are extremely sharp almost to the edge of the FOV and the contrast in them is simply amazing.

[Pete Presland]

eye relief on the hyperion is superb