Revelation Photo-Visual Eyepiece kit

[huggiebear]

Hi all

Does and anyone have/recommend this http://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/revelation-photo-visual-eyepiece-kit.html

Seems like good value but are these EPs good quality?

[zxlp]

I would want to know more about the barlow.

[Prador]

I have not used this set but I have never seen anything bad written about it either.

I contemplated getting it as a budget starter as it was recommended by several sources (Sky at Night Magazine for one). The only reason I didn't was due to a minor increase in cash-flow allowing me to get a slightly more expensive set of eyepieces.

If I was to buy a budget (but reasonable quality) set, the Revelation would be the one I would go for.

[Prador]

The barlow in the Rev set is of no consequence as huggiebear has a Tal barlow

:envious stare:

[Tinker1947]

PM sent.....

[huggiebear]

Thanks Tinker but i can find your post in th FS section.

I'm looking to know what i quality is like of the EPs or if i should either buy the Seben zoom that got really good reviews or just use the money for other EPs. The Revelation set just looks like a lot for the money BUT it doesn't have to be this.

[russ.will]

Yes they are good quality, but I tend to wonder if better value can be had than the kits. There's a pile of filters and photo stuff in there that you don't need and yet you pay for anyway. Plossls, which tend to get over looked in the rush for wide, but frequently mushy, wide field views are great little EPs that can be picked up heavily discounted. They stay sharp to the edge of their field in F5-6 reflectors and the minimal amount of glass delivers good contrast. The only issue is the decreasing eye relief at the shorter focal lengths and I find much below 10mm a bit of a pain, even though I don't waer glasses. I have a random Skywatcher 25mm Super Plossl which can be had for £15 new and it's a great little unit.

However, assuming you have the standard Skywatcher moddified achromat (Super MA)eyepieces, then I think you may getter either better value by choosing individual EPs to augment/replace them. Your 25mm EP isn't bad (especially if you're sure your collimation skills are up to scratch)so I'd look at replacing the 10mm with the likes of the 8mm BST Stargudier and then adding the 12 & 18mm from the same lineup. They're £47 each and frequently crop up mint condition second hand for £30-35. These do offer a slightly wider field of view, better eye relief and nice wide occular lenses that make them relaxing to look through. They fare well in F5 scopes, so your F6 should be even sharper at the edges.

Russell

[russ.will]

PS. Forget the Seben Zoom. I know it's cheap, but I've looked through better and more expensive examples and didn't think much to them, even compared to the BSTs. Worse still, the field of view gets narrower with increasing focal length; Right where you want the lowest mag, widest FOV for finding faint fuzzies, your view is constricted to effectively looking down a toilet roll and they're dire at the edges too.

Russell

[huggiebear]

Thanks Russell. The point of the question was to find out if the Revelation EPs are good EPs and if the kit was good value seeing it comes with 5 Plossl EPs and moonfilter which i don't have. The rest is just a bonus i suppose.

I've only used the EPs that came with the scope and feel its now time to get more so advise is what i am after here.

[Prador]

How about Vixen plossl's like these http://www.firstligh...-eyepieces.html

and a ND filter like this http://www.scopesnsk...oon-filter.html

You could consider four ep's and a neutral density filter for around the same price as the Rev set

Dave

[Memory Bliss]

I have this set and I'm quite pleased with it. The ep's all get a good use and give a nice clear view of what I'm seeing. The barlow I found is pretty good, especially combined with the 12mm or 15mm ep. Haven't really used the filters though, except the moon one. I can't remember where I got mine from, but it was under the £100 mark

[huggiebear]

Thanks Dave for taking the trouble to find me these links. I'll take a look at these. I take it these are better than the revelation ones?

[E621Keith]

The Revelation kit is has good quality plossl that is a step better than the kit eyepiece found in many beginner scope, like the ones that comes with Celestron SLT. The barlow is better than the basic Skywatcher, but CA is still clearly visible.

Since the OP have a TAL 2x barlow, I think he will be better off buying several Vixen NPL or a mix of NPL and BST to match his need.

[brucen]

I can only compare them with the basic ones which come with Skywatcher scopes and can confirm that they are much better. Nice selection, good Barlow and the 32mm eyepiece is one I use more than any as it is brilliant. There are bits you may use rarely or, perhaps, never but I think the kit is good value. There is quite a bit of space in the case and I have cut extra holes for the skywatcher eyepieces and my Tal barlow.

[rwilkey]

Hi Huggiebear, you will not be dissappointed with the Revelation set, it is the best out there for the price, the 32mm ep is stunning by the way.

[JamesF]

I have the previous version of the kit which had marginally different contents. I still use the 32mm ep a good deal even though I've replaced some of the others with BGOs. They're not at all bad eyepieces for the money if you want a wide range. If you know what you want or don't really want that many then there are perhaps better deals to be had elsewhere. The moon filter is reasonably decent and I use it from time to time, but I've never even taken the coloured filters out of their boxes.

James

[LukeSkywatcher]

How about Vixen plossl's like these http://www.firstligh...-eyepieces.html

and a ND filter like this http://www.scopesnsk...oon-filter.html

You could consider four ep's and a neutral density filter for around the same price as the Rev set

Dave

While this EP set gets good reviews and i have never seen anyone who has it say a bad thing about it. I think Dave is giving great advice.

You could buy the EP kit, but in a yr or so you might want to upgrade to something of better quality (we all do). So for the same price (ish)................why not start off with those better quality EP's such as the Vixen NPL. They really are amazing EP's.

But honestly..................i'm not trying to talk you out of it. If its what you want then you can do so in the knowlege that it is a really good EP kit.

My first good EP's were the Celestron EP kit. The 32mm (which i think the Revelation kit also has) was/is and will always be my favourite EP.

All of the EP's in the kit are VERY usable sizes. The barlow may even be pretty good. You even get the T-ring adapter for camera (they cost about £30 alone). The Moon filter will be of SOME use. The colour filters....................you might try them for observing planets but they really are not that much help so they may gather dust.

[Admiral Crispy]

I have the set and I have to say I have not regretted buying it. I use it in my Skyliner 250px and the views are significantly better than the MA eyepieces with the scope initially. The 32 mm EP is awesome, and only surpassed in my view by wider angle eyepieces. I like the versatility of the set, especially in terms of EPs. Sure you will use some more than others (I use the 12mm more than the 15mm say), but the option is there, and I do like to use the filters for planetary work, not just because they dim the brightness of them! They have great contrast, and the edge correction is good to about 80% or more of the field of view at f/4.7, in all eyepieces, and much better in others.

[twotter]

I couldn't afford an eyepiece kit when I started out, but built one up over time - a mix of GSO Revelations and Meade 4000s. Having a selection of good quality eyepieces, like the Revelations, means you'll have an eyepiece for whatever target you are observing, and since we have such variety in our viewing conditions there will be times when the 9mm gives a mushy view and the 12mm gives a clearer view. Over time you'll see which eyepieces you use the most and you can then upgrade those focal lengths for something more exotic if you wish.

If you want higher quality in a plossl you're probably better off looking at the Televue range.