Impressions of a BST StarGuider

[kalasinman]

Yes, thanks so much. I just ordered a 27mm BST to match the view of my imaging camera in a GSO 150mm f/5.

[Charic]

Phew! the 27mm  is not a Starguider? Wallet back in pocket

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Never mind the 27 mm Charic, Have you had further thoughts on the new 3mm BST. I am tempted.

[mapstar]

I had the 25, 15, 8 and 5mm BST's and for the balance of price and views I think they're very hard to beat and a fantastic upgrade to the standard eye pieces that come with most scope's.

Well designed and as you say extremely comfortable to use. I was using them in an 8" F5 newt.

Some have said the 25mm is the weakest of the range I found it nice to use.

Highly recommended from me

[Timmyc300]

Hi good review I've been looking to buy bst as my first upgrade to the standard eps. Just to clarify, are people talking about the bat explorer or planetary eyepieces? Cheers

[Timmyc300]

Bst not bat, auto correct lol

[alro]

Bst starguider/explorer.

For me these have been fantastic

al

[Charic]

Timmyc300.......BST Starguiders. There was a name change from BST Explorer, but they are physically the same eyepiece.

Unless the site states specifically otherwise, you should receive the  BST Starguider  ED branded eyepiece.

Sirius Starwatcher.......The latest 3.2mm is  Starguider branded. I'd hope that one would become available straight after Christmas, used, as the magnification will be very high for the 200P., but that never happened? but at 375x power, the 3.2mm works fine on the Moon, but  you'll need to track fast and smooth to keep up on a Dobsonian, but the quick test  I  had was good for my use on the Moon.

To be honest, this last few Months, I've often  wondered why I ever bought a telescope, as the weather has so much prevented my use of the telescope?

[Timmyc300]

Thanks for clearing that up where's the best place to look for used bst eps? Thanks again

[Charic]

........that seems to be a problem? I have only  ever found one, my 25mm? There will always be some negative reports around, no matter what the eyepiece brand? and from some of those reports I've read, I expected more BSTs to be available for me, at the lower second hand price spectrum ( I like something for nothing?)  however those that own them, love them, those that don't, just assume?  and I really haven't seen many for sale since my 1st BST purchase. I wouldn't advise them for scopes faster than f/5 if your worried about coma off axis in a Newtonian telescope, but they work very well for  my f/6  Pu-To scope?

Edited March 8, 2015 by auspom

[alro]

After reading all this, i think i have convinced myself i need 25mm starguider.

i do want to get a premium/prestigious ep at some point and after the advice ive had and reports ive read i think it will be a tele vue delos 17.4mm, but im going to probably wait until i have a little more experience and get the right size for me!! At the minute i do a lot of ep hopping!!

That is nothing against my starguiders though, for me they are fantastic and robust, plus i have not looked through a premium ep.

al

[KevUU]

Thanks for clearing that up where's the best place to look for used bst eps? Thanks again

Yes, as the others have said it's the Explorer /Starguider EPs I reviewed.

They're fairly rare second hand as people tend to hold on to them, but at £49 incl. delivery they're very good value new, especially as many consider them to be in the same league as eyepieces in the £100-ish price range

[Timmyc300]

Iv heard mixed things about the 25mm in fast scopes, think mine is f4.7 (10" dob) has any1 used the 25mm in anything similar? Iv got a budget of £200 so thinking of buying 4 bst's but unsure which focal lengths to buy. Iv recent got a revelation x2 Barlow if that makes a difference to any1 offering advise on which eps to get

[Timmyc300]

It's Revelation 2.5x 3 element Barlow, my mistake lol

[Charic]

Iv heard mixed things about the 25mm in fast scopes, think mine is f4.7 (10" dob) has any1 used the 25mm in anything similar? Iv got a budget of £200 so thinking of buying 4 bst's but unsure which focal lengths to buy. Iv recent got a revelation x2 Barlow if that makes a difference to any1 offering advise on which eps to get

......... the further  of axis you go, the worse things will appear or may appear to some folk?  as a result of the telescope's  faster focal ratio, unless corrected in some way!   The BST's are rated down to f/5. 

You can always send the eyepiece back if its no good for your needs. 

Edited March 31, 2015 by Charic

[damnut]

Great revisited thread, I have used the BST's in all my kit and they are uniformly great. If you get them new and order from Sky's the limit, Alan will always accept the ones you don't need back.They are the only ep's I have bought new as they only rarely appear used.

[John]

At F/4.7, away from the central area of the field of view, there is going to be coma (scope produced) and maybe some astigmatism (eyepiece produced) or a combination of both. Eyepieces that are well corrected in fast scopes, ironically, help to show off the coma that the scope produces !

The wider angle eyepieces show more off axis field so, apart from any astigmatism that they produce, you will also see more coma. Unless you decide to use a coma corrector of course.

Coma tends to make stars look a little comet shaped with the "tail" pinting away from the centre of the field of view. Astigmatism tends to extend star images into an enlongated "seagull" shape with the "wings" appearing to point around the edges of the field of view.

The degree to which some people notice or are bothered by these issues does vary I think

[KevUU]

Iv heard mixed things about the 25mm in fast scopes, think mine is f4.7 (10" dob) has any1 used the 25mm in anything similar?

FWIW, AstroTux has the same (1200mm fl 10" dob) and I think said he had heard something similar, but he bought the full set of BSTs for his and rates them well

[ronin]

The 25mm got a "bad" name because of the habit we have of identifing the "worst".

The 25mm is a good eyepiece, very good eyepiece, but someone somewhere at sometime said it didn't seems as good as the rest.

Maybe it is not, but it is still good.

I use mine in an f/5 scope and it is one of the half set I take everywhere, 5mm, 8mm and the 25mm.

Consider this if the 5,8,12,15,18 were 100% perfect and the 25 only 99% perfect is the 25 a bad eyepiece.?

They are also still "budget" eyepieces.

[Roysten]

Great thread! Is good to hear people's experiences as they get the new eps. I had noticed with the standard eps that came with my scope that refocussing was required everytime I make a change. I just assumed that this was normal but it sounds like how much you have to do this is a useful little metric for determining the quality of an ep?

I have a 10 and 25mm that came with my SW 150P and a 4mm that came with my Celestron Travel 70. The quality difference between them is quite obvious and I know thanks to Warthog's ep post that 4mm+2x Barlow is a bit much for my scope. Thanks to this thread though I'm thinking that a 8mm BST Explorer plus my Barlow may help get some good viewing.

[John]

Great thread! Is good to hear people's experiences as they get the new eps. I had noticed with the standard eps that came with my scope that refocussing was required everytime I make a change. I just assumed that this was normal but it sounds like how much you have to do this is a useful little metric for determining the quality of an ep?

I have a 10 and 25mm that came with my SW 150P and a 4mm that came with my Celestron Travel 70. The quality difference between them is quite obvious and I know thanks to Warthog's ep post that 4mm+2x Barlow is a bit much for my scope. Thanks to this thread though I'm thinking that a 8mm BST Explorer plus my Barlow may help get some good viewing.

Some eyepiece ranges are "par focal" which means they reach focus at about the same point. Some are not though. It's not a judgement of quality though because some of the ones that are not are superb quality and included ranges like the Tele Vue Ethos and Delos and Astro Hutech orthoscopics. It's more an issue relating to the optical design - some times the designer can make a range par focal and sometimes thats just not possible while maintaining the other desired characteristics of the range.

[Roysten]

Some eyepiece ranges are "par focal" which means they reach focus at about the same point. Some are not though. It's not a judgement of quality though because some of the ones that are not are superb quality and included ranges like the Tele Vue Ethos and Delos and Astro Hutech orthoscopics.

Ah I see, thanks for the correction.

[Mrbloke]

A bit of a thread resurrection, but this mini-review really helped me determine where to start my EP collection.   I now have the 18mm and 8mm of these and am very happy with them.  It is certainly a significant upgrade over the stock EPs and make viewing much more immersive.

[Charic]

Having owned some Starguiders for some time now, I have discovered that they have one serious issue ?

I've tried cleaning them, cooling them, warming them, even swearing at them, almost to the point of sending them back for a full refund ?

Yes their great value and very comfortable in use, yet they still can't see through these persistant stinking pesky clouds, thats the only issue I have with the BSTs. ;-) Am I really asking too much lol.

[steviegall]

dang it, i knew i should read all the reviews before i buy something

cant even see through clouds