Best eyepieces to buy for skywatcher 130p??

[steve69]

Finally got my skywatcher 130p out for the first time last night after skies cleared for the first time since my delivery a week ago!!!..it was great fun fiddling around & had a good view of the moon.I only have the delivered eyepieces which i know aren't the best!!...could someone please advise me as a novice on which sizes & make would be the best to buy for my scope to get the best out of it??? also brought a 2xbarlow which was cheap....was this a mistake???

[DirkSteele]

Do you have a budget in mind? One can spend £40 or £400 on an eyepiece quite easily.

[steve69]

Do you have a budget in mind? One can spend £40 or £400 on an eyepiece quite easily.

Would it make much difference due to the quality of the scope???dont want to spend a fortune on a eyepiece that would be to good for the scope!! if you know what i mean!!!

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

Take a look at Alan's BST-ED's:

http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/bst%20ed%20eyepieces.html

[AndyWB]

I'd second that question for a Skywatcher Heritage 130p. Beyond the stock 10 & 25mm eyepieces, what would be good to add, including, I presume a barlow? My budget is up to about £150. I've read that cheaper scopes benefit the most from good eyepieces, and if I ever get a bigger scope, well, I'd still have the eyepieces. I'd been wondering about an 8mm and a barlow? (I'd been thinking about planets - if I've worked it out right, that should be about x160 times).

[damnut]

Best buy for budget are the BST Explorers, ed glass great eye relief, also consider the celestron xcel, then one step up Baader Hyperions. Beyond those = deep pockets.

There is a great guide to eps by Warthog on the forum.

Cheers

[E621Keith]

Would it make much difference due to the quality of the scope???dont want to spend a fortune on a eyepiece that would be to good for the scope!! if you know what i mean!!!

According to a certain review about a 76mm mini dob. A TV Nagler will makes a significant improvement for the moon. http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2440

Anyway, BST explorer will be a sensible choice.

[Special K]

BST's work great for my 130P. Excellent FOV and doesn't break the bank. Note that the 130P has a parabolic primary mirror and for its size is quite a good instrument. Therefore, good eyepieces to supplement it will provide optimal capability. Keep your 25mm handy though as it is not a bad little piece of equipment. It is dead handy for spotting things and finding your way around.

+1 BST

+1 Warthog's guide

Get a medium EP 12-15mm, and a high one 5-6mm. If you've got the cash, you can then go for the 2x Barlow to get yourself up to max 260x with the 130P. Note, though, that I hardly ever use mine as 260x is rarely feasible. When I want 130x I just use the 5mm, rather than the 12mm plus Barlow as it is a lot of weight and I have issues getting good focus when using the Barlow. My initial logic for buying the Barlow was that it would effectively double my EP collection, but I have since found this is not really the case in practice! I shelled out for a good one too

happy hunting

[AndyWB]

Thanks guys, I think that's set out a plan for me. I like Special K's idea of 5 &12 mm lenses - I have been wondering about whether barlows are that good and idea. It's another element in the system, lots of people seem to have issues with them, it seems most of the highly regarded cheaper models are no longer available, and maybe it'd make more sense just to get another eyepiece instead. The BST Explorers look good, too.

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

I'm no expert, but don't barlows also increase the focal length of the scope and the viewing distance from your eyepiece?

Anyway, it idd is also an extra element, but for lunar and planetary work this doesn't have a great impact, these objects are bright enough. For dso its another story.

i have a cheap TS barlow and I like to use it with my hr 7 planetary to get some extra power on the moon and planets. I wouldn't buy a 3,5 mm since i'm not going to use it.

hope this helps somehow.