Need a Good Planetary Eyepiece

[Richardisgreat]

Hi

With Christmas just around the corner people have started asking what i would like, lucky me to have such an expensive hobby I have a Skywatcher 200p and the best highest power eyepiece i have is a BST Explorer 8mm eypiece, this gives me about 150x magnification i also have a tal 2x barlow, but i was wondering if i should ask santa for a 6mm ep for planetary viewing this should give me 200x magnification. I know the Baader genuine orthos are highly rated and lots of people speak highly of the cheaper TMB planetary eps. Just wondering if anyone can give some good advice on decent high power eps for planetary viewing for this scope.

Thanks for any comments guys

Richard

[Damo636]

Richard. The Baader Genuine Orthos are among the best out there for planetary viewing. If you don't mind fairly tight eye relief and a fairly small fov, a 6mm would be a fine addition. The biggest problem with the BGO might be finding one as they have been discontinued. These are more than likely the same though...

http://www.teleskop-...e-in-Japan.html

Some folk, myself included, prefer the volcano top ortho. These are also excellent......

http://www.lyraoptic.co.uk/Eyepieces.html

I doubt you will see any optical improvement on the BST with the TMB Planetarys.

[Capricorn]

I the 8mm BST's work well just get another, you seem to have the 8mm and 18mm so a good idea of their performance in your scope, the only option less its the 5mm.

The TMB's are I think the same cost as the BST's now, and the BST's take a fair bit to better for the cost.

[Dunkster]

If you can lose a few degrees FOV then the Baader Classic orthos might be worth looking out for once they hit the shelves. With 50 degree FOV they're more plossl-like but if their performance is nothing like the BGO they could be a winning combination

[John]

..... if their performance is nothing like the BGO they could be a winning combination .....

I guess you meant to say "anything like" here

[Mr Moff]

+1 for the BGO's. The 7mm I use most on planets and the moon.

[Dunkster]

1350848982[/url'>' post='1678113']

I guess you meant to say "anything like" here

LOL thanks John, yeah anything... stoopid autocorrect

[nightfisher]

Myself and a colleague made a comparison at peak star party with 7mm BGO and 7mm circleT from lyra optics viewing Jupiter in a very good 6" f5 dob (orion optics 1/8) the views were stunning in both ep`s but we both felt the BGO gave a SLIGHT improvement in light transmission, you will struggle to get a BGO, but if you get a circle T i fully believe you will like it a lot

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If you need more eye relief (like I do), the Vixen (N)LV are very good. more expensive options are the TV Radians, or better still the Delos (comes in 6mm) or the Pentax XW (5 or 7mm). These latter offer ortho-like performance over a large FOV with much much (much) better viewing comfort (I really, really really hated the short eye relief of my 5mm Circle-T Ortho, the 25mm was fine, however). The added comfort of the XW, Radian, and Delos EPs does come at a hefty price.

Again, if long eye relief and wide FOV are not needed an ortho is a very good choice indeed

[Richardisgreat]

Thanks for the feed back guys i really appreciate it. It has given me lots to consider. I have found a few sites that are still advertising the gbo eps, namely FLO and Harrison Telescopes, i may have to drop them a email and see if they still hold them in stock. Are Orthoscopic eyepieces the best for planetary views? and if so why?

I have seen the Baader Eudiascopic eps, can anyone help a newbie and tell me what these are, and are they any good like the orthoscopic?