Planetary Eyepiece for SW 200p Dobsonian

[David55]

Hi everyone,

I have a Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian (f6). I've found that the combination of a Panaview 32mm 2" eyepiece with a Rigel Quickfinder enables me to find most of the deep space objects I want, but I'd like to get a high power eyepiece for planetary viewing. I have 26mm, 12.5mm and 9.6mm Meade Plossls plus a x3 Barlow, but I'm thinking that a dedicated 5mm or 6mm eyepiece would give me the optimum view at x200 or so. Id like to have reasonable eye relief so a Plossl is out of the question at this focal length. The lower price the better and I certainly don't want to pay more than £100.

What do people recommend?

Thanks, David

[ronin]

5mm BST Skyguider at £47 or the 5mm Celestron X-Cel at £65,

If that was too much magnification then the Celestron X-Cel at 7mm.

Not aware of a convenient 6mm.

[Ryan_86]

I own a 200p & a 6mm Williams Optics spl gives me great views of the planets pending the conditions.

[TwoPi]

I've got an f/6 200P and am very pleased with my Williams Optics SPL 6mm for planetary observing - £69 from First Light Optics. 20mm eye relief so very comfortable to use and I find 200x is good for the generally slightly dodgy seeing.

Gav.

[Luke]

You might just about get a second hand Tele Vue Radian 5mm at £100. 20mm eye relief and I find it very comfy. You might get your money back if you sold it later.

[ronl]

The BST Starguider have gone up in price they are now £49.00

and are very good for planetary, and are a 60 degree wide angle,

they are very good value for money, and easy on the eye.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/380679674710?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item58a246db56

[David55]

Thanks for the replies. Lots of options I'd not considered. How about a Baader Hyperion 5mm, or do you think it would be too much magnification?

[bingevader]

It is the skyliner you have and not the explorer isn't it?

The focal length is slightly different.

I have the WO SPL 6mm and it's great.

There are times I'd like a little more magnification on the moon and so I have the Celestron X-Cel LX 5mm for that.

Cheers

[David55]

Yes I have the Skyliner 200p with a 1200mm length.

[rory]

I honestly think the bst/ starguider will be as pleasing as the hyperion for less money. those starguiders are amazing value for money. however theres a gap to consider, they come in a 5mm focal length then a 8mm followed by 12mm . I had the 8mm and sometimes I wanted to get a little more magnification on good nights . the 8mm gave me x 150 which was fine most of the time ,but 6 or 7mm ( x 200, x171) worked nicely on good nights. the celestron x-cel lx do a 7mm and 9mm f/l. nothings simple eh ? good luck with your decision and clear skies.

[TwoPi]

Another option you could consider if you're thinking of the 5mm Hyperion but worried about issues with seeing is the 8mm Hyperion with a Fine Tuning Ring. The 14mm FTR would give you 6mm effective focal length, the 28mm would give you 5mm effective focal length.

Does come in at slightly over your £100 budget though (~£110), but you effectively end up with 2 eyepieces (or 3 if you buy both FTRs!).

Not got personal experience of this combination, but have heard very good things about it. I do have the 24mm Hyperion and really like it.

Gav.

[John]

Hyperions are nice eyepieces in F/8 and slower scopes but get ragged in the outer parts of the field of view at F/6 and faster. Tele Vue Radian's are excellent and are appearing reasonably frequently on the used market for around £100 now plus you would get most if not all your investment back if you decide to sell on in the future.

[alan potts]

As the gentleman that replied before me switched me on to Orthoscopic eyepieces and we are both Televue fans, why not consider a 6mm or 7mm Hutech Ortho from FLO, absolute class if you don't mind the small FOV.

Alan.

[Chris]

I was also going to vote for orthoscopic as these will give you the sharpest and brightest views, but then I notice you wear glasses so eyerelief might be a problem if you need your specs for observing. Also the FOV is quite narrow at around 40-45 degrees which would mean more frequent nudges to keep on target. So either the BST or WO SPL might be better, I know the 60 degrees of the BST is rather nice and its a good quality 60 degrees for the money. I've heard that the 5mm and the 25mm BST's are the weaker of the bunch so if you do go BST I can whole heartedly recommend the 8mm If you want more mag then maybe the 6mm SPL would be a better choice.

However, if you want the best quality view in the centre of the FOV and don't need your glasses then +1 for Ortho. Actually the new Baader classics might suit you as they have a larger field of view and eyelens, I think the eye relief might be better than some orthos as well? back over to John

Chris

[Andy_E]

Another firm vote for the Radian here. However the BST starguider (explorer) is awfully tempting at £49.

[twotter]

Another option you could consider if you're thinking of the 5mm Hyperion but worried about issues with seeing is the 8mm Hyperion with a Fine Tuning Ring. The 14mm FTR would give you 6mm effective focal length, the 28mm would give you 5mm effective focal length.

Does come in at slightly over your £100 budget though (~£110), but you effectively end up with 2 eyepieces (or 3 if you buy both FTRs!).

Not got personal experience of this combination, but have heard very good things about it.

I've used the 8mm Hyperion and both fine tuning rings in my 200P dob on quite a few occasions and they make for a good combination, certainly to my eyes anyway. I've also got a 5mm but this only gets used once in a blue moon (ahem). No need to pay full price as Hyperions come up 'pre-loved' from about £65.

[Mr Spock]

You could try the Vixen NLV. It's a bit over budget, £115 for a 6mm and £125 for a 5mm, but they are worth it.

I have a 10mm NLV and 10mm Radian. The differences between the two are slight and down to personal preference. I usually use the NLV as the colour is a little more neutral.

[Jules Tohpipi]

Another thumbs up for the WO 6mm. Works a treat in my 200p. Sharp to the edges and lots of ER for my spectacles.

[David55]

Many thanks again for all of the advice. From what's been suggested it seems that the Williams Optics 6mm are a good choice as they are available in the right focal length, have good eye relief, are proven to work effectively on my telescope and cost just £69, leaving me just about enough for a laser collimating- something else on my wish list. If anyone has any major misgivings, please let me know, if not then I think my choice is made. Thanks again.

By the way, I hope you all managed to see some of last night's meteors. I counted about one every 90 seconds at 10.30pm. And with 25 million light years of eye relief and at about 20 centigrade, it was particularly comfortable viewing. Unfortunately having to get up by 5.15am rather limited my viewing time.