Made the jump - bought a C11 - advice on eyepieces

[bdlbug]

So after making a commitment to myself to get more serious about this hobby(obsession ) and been drooling at the truly amazing instruments available on the market these days, apologies but I've been using a > 20 year old Vixen SP102M on a manual EQ mount for oh, about 20 years.....I decided that it is so easy to spend vast sums of money on such things I listened to my inner self, Scottish, and dived into the second hand market and have just returned from a trip into deepest Suffolk to buy a year old c11 from a guy who is focussing ( yep pun intended),on astrophotography and has an amazing setup with an Atik and ED Skywatchers under dark sky with a dedicated roll off roof shed .

So I have 11" of SCT aperture sitting in my front room, I will put it on a NEQ 6

It has come with both a vixen dovetail and a losmandy running full length of the tube, think I will use the Losmandy mounting, but open to any comments that advise to the contrary.

So my reason for the post, eyepieces, I have a couple of 1.25" vixen LV, 20mm and 9mm. The 9 is way to small for the c11, the 20mm may work, but I have read that wide field eyepieces are a good match with SCT. I have read that Nagler pan optics are recommended, but they seem expensive.

There may be an archived thread that I can be pushed to if anyone has the link that explains eyepieces in more detail. Basically I need some help in buying a couple of eyepieces that will get me up and running with this new C11,

thanks,

Bryan

[bdlbug]

Sorry, forgot to add it also has a 2" diagonal, with a reducer for 1.25"eyepieces, so is there any merit in buying 2" eyepiece ?

Bryan

[nicks90]

2 inch eyepieces at longer focal lengths, like 40mm, can give a larger FOV. A 1.25" 40mm largest field of view is around 43 degrees. A 2 inch 40mm can have 62 degrees or more FOV. This is really handy for the longer focal length scopes like yours.

you could also invest in a large quality 2" barlow and get all your desired mags, with lovely comfortable eye relief and FOV.

shameless stolen from a post i found on here....

[faulksy]

you havnt mentioned your budget ? but a lot on here love the explorer scientific range, i would reccomend the nirvana range they are excellent and nagler performance. for planatery viewing othos are the best if you can get them especcialy the bgo,s but there new classic range are cheaper and readily available from the forum sponser flo. also consider ts hr eps from modern astronmy i fing these almost as good as the bgo,s but a lot better eye relief

[bdlbug]

Ah, sorry yes I did not mention budget, basically having just bought a C11 OTA I don't want to screw up what is a high quality optical instrument with a cheap as chips eyepiece, however I am also not a millionaire so cost is a factor here. So I think spending a couple of hundred pounds on a quality wide FOV would make sense, but the televue Naglers at £3-500 seem a bit of a stretch, so I think I will look at the explorer range, Telescope house seem to stock them, anyone know if there is anyone else out there supplying these eyepieces as well ?

thanks for the help and comments so far, much appreciated,

Bryan

[kerrylewis]

Hello

I'm just down the road from you and like you I've just invested in bigger scope - a Celestron 9.25 SCT ( for my alleged retirement!)

I have always gone for really good eyepieces on the principle that they can go from scope to scope and again like you I didn't want to spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

I love the Radian 6mm for when the seeing is good and the planets can take the magnification. When I bought the scope (only just over a month ago) I then invested in a 2" Panaview 38mm ( as recommended by FLO) and that give lovely wide angle views though I hav won't given it a really full work out yet.

Best of luck with the c11. You should get some great results with it

Kerry

[bdlbug]

thank you Kerry, useful regards the Panaview eyepiece , I will add it to my list to investigate, must pick up the phone to FLO as everyone has nothing but good things to say about their helpfulness and range of quality products,

There does seem to be quite a few of us in this neck of the woods getting back outside to observe, shame about the light pollution despite the council switching off half the lights My neighbours were all complaining and lobbying to get more switched back on, me I'd have them all off

thanks

Bryan

[damnut]

Hi Bryan,

Great scope the longer focal lengths with a wide fov in 2" will b e magnificent. As you have an sct with itself having a decent fl then it is far more forgiving on ep's. Some of the best views I had with my 10"sct were with a moonfish 30mm 80deg from a dark site!.

You can gave a play with fov and afovs on these sites :--

http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm

http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm

Cheers & enjoy that lovely scope.

[Stargazer_00]

if you are looking for FOV then go for the various 82' AFOV eyepieces that are out there.

Meade 5000 UWAs (I have a 24mm of these and it's great)

Skywatcher Nirvanas

Skywatcher Panoramas

Celestron Luminos (I have a few of these and they are great)

Explore Scientific 82'

Tele Vue Nagler

All apart from the TVs retail new about £150 for 1.25" each and from £200-350 each for good 2"s.

A 30mm 82" 2" eyepiece would show 93x magnfication and 0.87 degrees of TFOV spread over a pleasing 82 degrees of AFOV.

A 55mm TV plossl, about the same money, has a 50' AFOV. this would show you 50x magnficiation and 1 degree of TFOV.

I would find 0.87 degrees TFOV over 82' AFOV more pleasing than 1 degree TFOV over 50' AFOV.

You could also get these eyepieces second hand to get some savings. Or import from america and get good savings on UK prices.

[Stargazer_00]

also bear in mind the maximum TFOV of you scope.

46mm being maximum field stop for a 2" eyepiece

(48/2800)*57.3 = 0.98 degrees TFOV. That is the maximum amount of sky your scope can show with a 2" eyepiece using the absolute physical limit of field stop. I'd expect most 82' 2" eyepieces to be right on this limit to get the maximum amount of view

EDIT: the maximum for 1.25" is 26mm so for completeness the C11 maximum TFOV with a 1.25" is 26/2800*57.3 = 0.53 degrees TFOV. Not all 1.25" use all the fieldstop available simply because the focal lengths of the eyepiece would never get to use all of it anyway.

[bdlbug]

Hi,

thank you Stargazing00, your list pretty much stacks up with my research this week and the responses to this thread. The only addition I had not considered was the Meade range.

For now the 2" TV are big too rich for me, I'll top out at the 2" Luminos for now.

B

[John]

Congratulations on your new scope

For what it's worth the Vixen NLVW 42mm shows the largest apparent field of view of any 2 inch eyepiece at 72 degrees. They are not exactly low cost at £300 but not quite as much as the Tele Vue equivalent.

On a slightly different tack, does the scope have a dew shield or heated dew band ?

If not I'd make that a priority over other accessories as SCT's are dew magnets with that large expanse of glass right at the top of the tube.

[Stargazer_00]

If you can tolerate waiting for the post (couple of weeks usually) you can make same crazy savings here:

http://telescopes.net/store/catalogsearch/result/?q=explore+scientific&order=relevance&dir=desc

I've listed is on ES eyepieces but search for all the various ranges on there. ES are on special at the moment. 100' are also cheap(er than usual).

I've personally saved hundreds buying from here, even after import duty and taxes. It's up to you if you're happy to let your pound leave the country or not. Ultimately they all do anyway as nothing is manufactured here.

[Dunkster]

I use Explore Scientific 82 degree eyepieces in my scopes, and the 30mm deserves looking through in any big scope I have the Edge HD and the view is as close to exquisite as I have yet experienced. Expect a little coma in a non-Edge C11 but like in my C8, it probably won't be particularly offensive.

For the widest view, I think the Vixen LVW 42mm sounds like a good balance, but not light on the wallet either, so if you're interest in SWA at that end, then maybe the SW Aero is worth a look?

Edit: sorry didn't mean to parrot John about the LVW, he's just a faster typist than me

[bdlbug]

A ever thanks guys, there is so much out there, I have read a few of John's posts and I can see why like him it can be so easy to become addicted to eyepieces, the variation is huge and each one gives something different and appeals to each astronomer's individual preferences...

I think its a matter of starting with one, living with it for a while and decide if its the right one for me.

I do travel to USA with work a few times a year, so the idea of saving some money buying stateside is a good one, I usually go to the bay area, silicon valley, plenty of like minded geeks out there so hopefully plenty astronomy shops as well.

On a separate note to John, yes the seller bundled in a AstroZap dew shield and a heater band (I just need to buy a controller) - so yes hope to minimize dew effects.

B

[John]

.... I have read a few of John's posts and I can see why like him it can be so easy to become addicted to eyepieces....

Addicted to eyepieces, me

Well, maybe just a bit

[Naemeth]

Addicted to eyepieces, me

Well, maybe just a bit

My OH seemed impressed, not even lying .

Personally, I'd go for a full set of Naglers, but mainly because you'll cover yourself for any scope of any focal ratio, mind you, if you aren't getting a faster scope, go for ES 82 degree eyepieces .

HTH

[Dellis]

Hello

I'm just down the road from you and like you I've just invested in bigger scope - a Celestron 9.25 SCT ( for my alleged retirement!)

I have always gone for really good eyepieces on the principle that they can go from scope to scope and again like you I didn't want to spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.

I love the Radian 6mm for when the seeing is good and the planets can take the magnification. When I bought the scope (only just over a month ago) I then invested in a 2" Panaview 38mm ( as recommended by FLO) and that give lovely wide angle views though I hav won't given it a really full work out yet.

Best of luck with the c11. You should get some great results with it

Kerry

I can vouch for the Panaviews I have all three a 26, 32 and 38 and have used the 32 in a C8 which was superb and all three in both a C11 and a C925 again the results are far above their price would suggest. I also have an Explore Scientific 82 deg 8.8mm which is fantastic, so good that I have ordered an 11, a 14 and an 18 from the US.

Dave

[Dellis]

One other point, I used the ES 8.8 in my f5 dob and it worked a treat, edge to edge pinpoint stars, very nice indeed.

Dave

[John]

My OH seemed impressed, not even lying .

Personally, I'd go for a full set of Naglers, but mainly because you'll cover yourself for any scope of any focal ratio, mind you, if you aren't getting a faster scope, go for ES 82 degree eyepieces .

HTH

I agree that ES are very good

Some of those in the pic are on loan from FLO for review to be honest - the orthos / plossls at the front

[Naemeth]

I agree that ES are very good

Some of those in the pic are on loan from FLO for review to be honest - the orthos / plossls at the front

Still a lot of black and green .

That does remind me... if eye relief is not an issue, Orthoscopic eyepieces will be brilliant on a driven mount, they can be almost impossible to beat on Planetary / Lunar observing. Moonshane even has a BGO (12.5mm) that he prefers over an 13mm Ethos. I probably shouldn't speak for him, but I'm sure he'll come in with his opinion.

[ollypenrice]

You do need something wide to open out the view. I like the 26 Nagler. I found that the 31 had some issues - notably black out zones - in my 10 inch SCT. The 26 Nagler is gorgeous. Your scope deserves it...

Olly

[Stargazer_00]

I had no idea Pentax eyepieces were that big. Look Like value for money now!

[Moonshane]

I should qualify Naemeth's quote above in that I prefer my 12.5mm BGO over my 13mm Ethos for lunar, solar, planetary and double star use. To my eyes the BGOs give a crisper view of those sorts of objects and notably a wide field is not required even at high power on a non-driven mount as far as I am concerned. I use them with most comfort with my 6" f11 which does sit on an equatorial platform. This scope is long and spindly and wobbles a lot at power. My 16" f4 is rock solid with no visible settle down period even at 400x. The bearings are super smooth so tracking even with a narrow field at high power is not an issue.

Where the Ethos comes into its own of course is wide field views putting objects into context. The view through the 13mm Ethos of e.g. M13 at 140x is just staggering and has a lovely field of background stars to set it off. Different eyepieces in a collection of different types is something I can definitely recommend.

My own experience shows that I buy based on widest field usable with my scope at low powers and with packed focal lengths at high powers (field of view being irrelevant).

This thread help you decide a little more. In the end it's about budget but with a slow scope like yours you'll find some very good options at quite reasonable prices. Personally I bought into the Televue concept and have never regretted it. Buying used is a good way to save money and that way you can also sell on for more or less what you pay. Most people put their TV etc eyepieces away at night with as much care as they do their children - (joke, but you know what I mean!).

I also agree with Olly, for wide field views at lower power, the 26mm Nagler is the best eyepieces I have ever looked through. Not cheap but I feel that eyepieces are approximately half of the optical chain as far as the final image goes.

[Dunkster]

I had no idea Pentax eyepieces were that big. Look Like value for money now!

The XW40 isn't much smaller than the ES82 30mm thankfully it's a bit lighter