Baader or BST

[tibbz2]

Hey Guys,

With my 200p dob arriving next week (hopefully) I was looking at a more powerful planetary/lunar eyepiece for it when I can. I noticed BST eyepieces get a lot of good press, however I saw that the Baader classic orthos are a similar price, are they any better?

I was looking at the genuine orthos but they might be out of my budget range for a while, that's all, unless they're really worth the saving.

[Spec-Chum]

It really depends if you need eyerelief.

For the most sharp and contrasty views go BCO, for eyerelief and a touch more FOV, go BST.

They're both good, but in different areas.

[tibbz2]

I wear glasses, but I usually move them when viewing because I don't like having them between me and the eyepiece! So I don't think eye relief is too much of a problem, certainly not if I can get a better image.

[John]

I've not used a BST but I've had quite a lot of use of the Baader Classic Ortho's lately and they are excellent eyepieces.

From what I know of the BST's I reckon Spec-Chum has summarised the characteristics of the two eyepiece types well though.

The Baader Genuine Ortho's are out of production now and virtually impossible to buy new. Having compared the Classic orthos with the Genuine ones over the past couple of weeks I can say that the optical qualities of the Classics compare very well indeed. Their build and finish is simpler though but completely efficient.

[tibbz2]

I've not used a BST but I've had quite a lot of use of the Baader Classic Ortho's lately and they are excellent eyepieces.

From what I know of the BST's I reckon Spec-Chum has summarised the characteristics of the two eyepiece types well though.

The Baader Genuine Ortho's are out of production now and virtually impossible to buy new. Having compared the Classic orthos with the Genuine ones over the past couple of weeks I can say that the optical qualities of the Classics compare very well indeed. Their build and finish is simpler though but completely efficient.

Thanks John, I will certainly pick one up when I can

[tibbz2]

I was just looking around and saw the Meade 5000 hd-60 range, are they any good? I found a used one (6.5mm) for the same price as a BST?

[Conna]

I had decided on a BST 15mm but now am a bit confused as the BCOs are the same cost, my question is do they do a 15 or 12mm BCO? Haven't found one yet but am only looking at eBay at the moment

[tibbz2]

Pretty sure they only do 6, 10, 18 and 32 mm eyepieces

[John]

The Baader Classics comprise 6mm, 10mm and 18mm orthos and a 32mm plossl. Used with the (excellent) Baader Q-Turret 2.25x barlow you get additional focal lengths of 14.2mm, 8.8mm 4.4mm and a, probably-not-to-be-used-too-often, 2.7mm. You can also use just the optical element of the barlow screwed into the eyepiece barrels which gives an amplification of 1.3x so thats a further set of 24.6mm, 13.8mm, 7.7mm and 4.6mm although I find this a fiddly thing to do in the dark !.