25mm or low power EPs

[RMcCallum]

I currently own a couple of BST EPs a 5 and 18mm and I love them, the quality of views compared to the stock EPs is remarkable.

I'm currently looking to upgrade my 25mm stock.

Previously I would have dived into the 25mm BST, however, I have read some not so great reviews about the quality compared with the others in the series.

So I'm looking for something in a similar price range such as the Celestron X-Cel LX or Vixen NPL.

Are the BST reviews fair? How do the Celestron X-Cel LX compare? Are the VIxen NPL's any good? Are there any other EPs of similar price and quality?

What would people recommend?

Thanks for reading.

[rwilkey]

Hi Rupert, I think the BST Explorer/StarGuider 25mm is a good one, but it will not beat the TV Plossl to be fair. The poor review stemmed from the article on Cloudy Nights about the AT Paradigms when the 25mm was called the 'runt' of the litter, but I find it a good ep myself.

[RMcCallum]

Robin, thank you for a swift reply. I do like the BSTs so I think I'll get one and put more up to date review up.

[rwilkey]

Hi Rupert, what I have noticed recently is thier incredible flat FoV, and in fact, the Teleskope Service version in Germany are calling them 'flat field' ep's

[Moonshane]

the BSTs are excellent but for another £10 or so you could get a used TV 25mm plossl. You cannot go wrong as Robin says.

[nightfisher]

I have the 25mm BST and it is a superb eyepiece, out of the televue or BST i think you would be more than happy with either

[RMcCallum]

Choises, choises there are so many!

[RMcCallum]

Forgot to thank everyone for taking the time to comment.

Thanks, adivce is always appreciated.

[fredster]

Just to add to this, i have been asked by a friend to suggest a 25mm eyepiece for his Startravel 120. He's on a strict £50 budget. And my first thought was a secondhand 25mm TV Plossl and push him to increase his budget slightly. But very few are coming up recently and those that do are wanting more than the usual £50-60 for a 25mm. Plus he needs an eyepiece sooner rather than later. He only has one eyepiece, a 9mm, and becoming a tad frustrated. So telling him to wait patiently for days/weeks/months will not go down well.

So my next thought was the BST Explorer ED 25mm for £47. Perfect, in budget, great reputation.. Then remembered the 25mm got a bad review initially. I see Jules loves his but his scopes are both slow F10+ jobbies and not really pushing the eyepiece. Does anyone know how the 25mm works at F5? I have tried the BST range from 5mm through to 18mm and all were very good, even at F5. But that 25mm has me worried.

[RMcCallum]

Just received mine today, I have an F6.92 (to be precise ) an intermediate/slow scope, and will take if for a spin next time the skies clear and do a write up. Its not an F5 but I hope it will clear some of the misgivings of the 25mm, for everyone else.

[Bender]

Sterling plossl with their 55 degree fov get rave reviews on CN. I was interested in a pair for my binoviewer but unfortunately due to the way the lens sits in the barrel they magnify more in a barlow than the name tag suggest, making them unusable for my targets.

[oldfruit]

Just to add to this, i have been asked by a friend to suggest a 25mm eyepiece for his Startravel 120. He's on a strict £50 budget. And my first thought was a secondhand 25mm TV Plossl and push him to increase his budget slightly. But very few are coming up recently and those that do are wanting more than the usual £50-60 for a 25mm. Plus he needs an eyepiece sooner rather than later. He only has one eyepiece, a 9mm, and becoming a tad frustrated. So telling him to wait patiently for days/weeks/months will not go down well.

So my next thought was the BST Explorer ED 25mm for £47. Perfect, in budget, great reputation.. Then remembered the 25mm got a bad review initially. I see Jules loves his but his scopes are both slow F10+ jobbies and not really pushing the eyepiece. Does anyone know how the 25mm works at F5? I have tried the BST range from 5mm through to 18mm and all were very good, even at F5. But that 25mm has me worried.

The BST 25mm is a good eyepiece in my opinion, but it does not perform so well in fast scopes. I had one until recently. When used in my f5 reflector there was some distortion towards the outer part of the field of view (about 20%) but the image in the centre of the field of view was lovely and sharp. With the apparent field of view being 60 degrees i found i could live with it.

When used in a f8.3 refractor i had until recently, the 25mm BST performed much better with hardly any distortion noticable, at least to my eyes. The view was sharp for almost the whole field of view.

[fredster]

Sterling plossl with their 55 degree fov get rave reviews on CN. I was interested in a pair for my binoviewer but unfortunately due to the way the lens sits in the barrel they magnify more in a barlow than the name tag suggest, making them unusable for my targets.

I had thought about one of the 25mm Stirlings. I have the 12.5mm and love it. But i read some reviews on CN and they said the Stirling does some funny things at F5 or faster. Couldn't work out if they were talking about field curvature or edge distortion. Basically when looking at the moon using the 25mm you end up with an odd shaped moon as the image gets bent and distorted towards the edge. But it is only £36 delivered from the US.

The BST 25mm is a good eyepiece in my opinion, but it does not perform so well in fast scopes. I had one until recently. When used in my f5 reflector there was some distortion towards the outer part of the field of view (about 20%) but the image in the centre of the field of view was lovely and sharp. With the apparent field of view being 60 degrees i found i could live with it.

When used in a f8.3 refractor i had until recently, the 25mm BST performed much better with hardly any distortion noticable, at least to my eyes. The view was sharp for almost the whole field of view.

That sounds very encouraging. You know that doesn't sound bad at all really. I think he would be fine with the outer 20% being a bit soft. I guess there was some coma mixed in there with it being an F5 Newt? Which the F5 refractor would not suffer with?

[Stargazer_00]

I replaced the stock 25mm for a 25mm bst. I Already had the 18mm bst and haven't regretted it. I'm now slaving all my eps for 82' afovs but for some reason I love the 18mm bst. Its a great ep.

[fredster]

I replaced the stock 25mm for a 25mm bst. I Already had the 18mm bst and haven't regretted it. I'm now slaving all my eps for 82' afovs but for some reason I love the 18mm bst. Its a great ep.

Yep you can't beat a big afov, i love my ES 82's. Great optical quality and lovely fov. But the BST is a great ep for the money.