New Telescope on the way - barlow/eyepiece required?

[JohnJ]

So I have a Skywatcher 150pds on the way with HE5Q Synscan (Excited!!)

I intend to do some DSO imaging in the near future with my Cannon 1100D, I have been told that my telescope only comes with a 25mm eyepiece. However, I would also like a good look at the planets as I learn my telescope.

My questions are;

- would you recommend me picking up a second eyepiece now (if so what size mm and brand?)

- would a Barlow be a benefit to me?(if so what size and brand?) When I do get around to imaging would I have the Barlow attached?

thanks

[Zul]

Congrats with a new great setup! I would recommend you to get a ~4mm eyepiece for observing planets.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

should come by default with 2 eye pieces 25mm and 10mm. but if you only got 25mm then for viewing purpose getting another high power EPs like 8mm will be beneficial to start you off Later down the road you can always pick up more Eps if needed.Also try and purchase a good quality Eps from known brands.there are plenty of reviews in this forum so it should be easy for you to pick out the best one for your needs.i personally find Barlow a good thing to have and if i can i will use it. a good quality x2 barlow should be just fine.

I can not comment on photo side of things will barlow work there or not as this is too early for me ,still learning the skies and at present stage observing is my priority.

have fun with your new scope

[Spec-Chum]

The 150pds is quite a smallish scope at 750mm so yes, I'd recommend a 4 or 5mm eyepiece.

You've not mentioned a budget but you could do a lot worse than a 5mm BST especially as your scope is reasonably fast at F5, so needs quite decent eyepieces.

These are £47 and are available from here

If you went the Barlow route, then snap up a 8mm BST and a 2x Barlow instead.

Most Barlows will be fine, but I can personally attest to the quality of a TAL 2x (if you can find one) or a Revelation.

[stem1989]

Vixen NPL's are great little relatively cheap eyepieces, I would get a 6-8mm one somewhere in that region, and get a barlow as this is a must really for any sort of planetary viewing / imaging.

[Spec-Chum]

Whilst I don't doubt the NPLs are great, a 6 - 8mm Plossl would be very tight on eyerelief so you must proceed with caution on that one, especially if you wear spectacles.

If (like me!) even the ultra short eyerelief of a 4mm Plossl doesn't bother you, then yes, that's certainly another option

[JohnJ]

I'm thinking the 5mm BST for £47 could be a good option based on your comments.

[Spec-Chum]

Good choice

[brantuk]

"- would a Barlow be a benefit to me?"

The benefit of a barlow is that it doubles the magnification of your eyepieces - effectively each one becomes two eyepieces. Your scope has a focal length of 750mm so a 10mm eyepiece yields 75x magnification - a barlow will double it to 150x mag. A comfortable range for viewing planets like Jupiter and Saturn is 150x to 200x - you'll get plenty of detail from a dark site with good seeing at that. I use around 180x mostly.

But there are other factors to bear in mind. Average UK seeing conditions impose a typical limit on magnification of circa 200x in most scopes - only on a really good transparent night can you ramp it up a bit. In poor conditions it will magnify atmosphere and cause the object to become faint and grainy. Also at short focal ratios like f-5 in your scope - clarity is improved with quality of eyepiece. Longer ratios like f-10 are more tollerant of lower quality optics. Also - the more glass you put in the light path the more the view will deteriorate unless you're using prime quality eyepieces.

The eyepieces that come with a scope are usually enough to get you going but they're not brilliant. It makes the scope use'able out of the box at least. My best advice is to join a local observing group or astro soc and go to a few sessions. Most folks will be happy to let you try different eypieces and barlows from their collection. Then you'll get a good idea of what's suitable for you and your scope.

You don't specifically need a barlow - but good ones include the Tal 2x (around £40), Orion Shorty Plus 2x or Celestron Ultima 2x (circa £80), Televue Powermate (around £200). The Revelation 2x is also acceptable in the cheaper range. An alternative to a barlow is a Zoom eyepiece.I can recommend the Baader Hyperion zoom which gives 5 eyepieces in 1 and has threads for T-ring attachment to dslr's. It's circa £170 but is much better quality than supplied eyepieces and will bring your 150P to life (like it did my 150P first scope). Hth

[JohnJ]

"- would a Barlow be a benefit to me

You don't specifically need a barlow - but good ones include the Tal 2x (around £40), Orion Shorty Plus 2x or Celestron Ultima 2x (circa £80), Televue Powermate (around £200). The Revelation 2x is also acceptable in the cheaper range. An alternative to a barlow is a Zoom eyepiece.I can recommend the Baader Hyperion zoom which gives 5 eyepieces in 1 and has threads for T-ring attachment to dslr's. It's circa £170 but is much better quality than supplied eyepieces and will bring your 150P to life (like it did my 150P first scope). Hth

First of all thank you for this informative reply.

It looks like I need to decide ; a selection of multiple eye pieces and barrows which could I could build up over time when budgets allow OR get a zoom eye piece as described with a greater up front cost.

Can I ask specifically what advantages and disadvantages there are between the traditional eye piece/Barlow collection against a zoom eyepiece ? Is quality that much better on a zoom? You mention threads to attach a dslr that seems like a huge advantage right there.

Thanks

[Pig]

John a zoom gives a very slightly less sharper image - My celestron zoom is almost as good as my e-xcel eyepieces. However, I do not do photography so not too sure on that count.

[wookie1965]

Have a read through these they are very informative

http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

[nightfisher]

If you go with more ep`s i would start of with the 12mm BST, and a barlow

[JohnJ]

If you go with more ep`s i would start of with the 12mm BST, and a barlow

Would the 12mm BST with barlow give me a good planetary viewing? I had thought 9/10mm might be a good option?

[wookie1965]

A 12mm Barlow ed will give you 6mm which will give you excellent planetary viewing

[nightfisher]

I would think a 12mm with barlow giving you 6mm barlowed , just thinking for planets the new Baader classic ortho`s are out now so a 10mm Baader and a barlow might be a better idea

[twotter]

The downside to the zoom is that they tend to have a narrower field of view at the low end. For instance the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm has a field of view of 68 degrees at 8mm (on a par with individual Hyperion eyepieces) but narrows to 50 degrees at 24mm (which is on a par with £30 plossls). Cheaper zooms have even narrower field of view. My Rigel 8-24mm has 60 degrees at 8mm narrowing to 45 degrees at 24mm. I got it as a Christmas present a few years ago to see if I liked using a zoom, but found I prefer to use individual eyepieces.

As long as you're aware of the pros and cons then, going off the various SGL threads, they are a popular purchase.

From the suggestions so far, if I was in your shoes, I would go for a 12mm BST with a 2x barlow. The BST are probably even more popular than Hyperion Zooms and if you get on with it then you could choose further BSTs to expand your collection, and a 2x barlow is a useful accessory.

[brantuk]

All good advice above - the reduced fov in a zoom is true for sure - but then you will be zooming into stuff with narrower fields so it's kinda debate'able. And compared to single stop eyepieces of same brand - the zoom looses out slightly at every click point. However - if you were considering an eyepiece set then for the extra £30-£40 the Baader zoom is a by far superior eyepiece alltogether.

The zoom is terribly convenient though for stuff like polar aligning where you can zoom in to improve pointing accuracy without changing eyepiece. It'll also improve finder alignment in a similar way, and the camera attachment keeps everything perfectly in line for afocal photography and can help focusing. Plus if barlowed you'll get a range of ten different magnifications.

It's what I call a good workhorse eyepiece that won't need changing all night unless you want to look at wider fields. Coupled with a 30mm+ 2" wide eyepiece of good quality it gives everything you'll need for a session and a respectable taste of better quality eyepieces than any set - and certainly much better than supplied e/p's. the comparison to X-cel is good. They retain around 65% of value on the second hand market when you come to upgrade (depending on age/condition).

It's just an alternative I felt you might like to consider. The TMB's and BST's etc are good - 5 of those at £40'ish amount to a similar price range - but best thing to do is get to an obs group and borrow one to try - see what you think.

[skir]

Have a read through these they are very informative

http://stargazerslou...least-you-need/

http://www.swindonst...s/eyepieces.htm

That Swindon stargazers link was exceptionally helpful, thanks.

[wookie1965]

That Swindon stargazers link was exceptionally helpful, thanks.

Your welcome I read up everywhere and spoke to Robin before i bought my BST`s.