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Good but decent priced EPs

nmoushon

By nmoushon
in Discussions - Eyepieces

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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I'm getting my first visual only scope. A 114m F8 newt. Its not big but for $40, second hand, I couldn't pass it up as I keep saving for a 10-12" Dob. I currently have a 25mm and a 9mm Plossl and a 2x barlow. They were cheap so nothing special about them. I'm looking at trying to find some decent EPs to go with my new scope and eventually work with with the bigger dob I plan on purchasing. As I've only ever viewed through my ED80 I'm not sure what is going to work well with scopes of the size of these two. I don't have the budget of a TV so unfortunately, as great as I hear they are, are out of my reach at this time. I'm looking to speend between $20-50 per eye piece...second hand of course. Would like some suggestions on sizes and brands. Thanks.

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John

John

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I think for your budget the best eyepieces you can get would be:

- Vixen NPL's (which are nicely made plossls)

- GSO plossls (nearly as good as Tele Vue Plossls by all accounts)

- Meade 4000 plossls

- Orthoscopics - the "volcano top" ones also known as Circle-T's are within your budget.

- Skywatcher UWA / Orion Expanse - good value, 66 degree field of view.

- Burgess / TMB Planetaries - would be in budget on the used market.

Do look on the used market in the USA as you will get better quality for your $'s.

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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Thanks for the list. I'll definately look towards some of those. I was thinking of getting 2 EPs for now. One being a wider FOV than my 25mm and then a mid range one. So combined with my barlow I'll have a decent range of EPs.

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Qualia

Qualia

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Many astronomers - myself included - follow quite a predictable path when it comes to buying EPs. For whatever the reason, we start out buying new and cheap stuff but soon arrives a day when we want to upgrade but now we find ourselves in a situation where we have one quality EP and a case full of relatively cheap and shoddy EPs that on the secondhand market are pretty worthless. So I'd say premium eyepieces are never a waste of money, especially if you buy them used. These EPs might become 'lifers', so you never have to upgrade on them or you could always re-sell them without losing much - if any - money, especially if you have already bought them secondhand. Premium eyepieces, then, simply hold their quality and value and market appeal more than cheaper ones.

With this in mind, I'd advise someone starting out in visual astronomy to buy secondhand Televue Plossls (TVP) which offer sharp, flat fields and excellent edge performance. These are superbly executed eyepieces and the only reason they are generally not considered quite 'premium-premium' eyepieces is simply because they lack the important and expensive features of premium EPs, viz, wide fields and better eye-relief. You can pick up a TVP for around £50 to £65 secondhand and if you ever decide to sell them on, you'll receive about the same money.

As a general rule of thumb, buy the best optics you can afford - even if you have to save a little longer - and they will stay with you for a long time.

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Schorhr

Schorhr

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+1 for the tmb/hr Planetary (45€) and the uwa (32€), especially if you can find them cheaper used, They will work on the 114mm well, and especially the planetary will be good for a faster scope too.

The uwa will perform similar to the Plössl, but show a larger field, and that's not going to be sharp all the way at f/5, but for their price still acceptable.

Also +1 for the 32mm Plössl, I have a 30mm €17 orbinar/Seben, and I use it on all my telescopes with 1.25" focuser as overview eyepiece. Before that a 40mm Plössl, but it just has a smaller aparent field of view.

The 114mm is a nice telescope, that shows a lot more then, say, a 76mm newtonian.

But really, the eyepieces and barlow you have at the moment will already give you useful magnifications if you need to save.

If the short eye relief of the 9mm Plössl bothers you, a 9mm uwa plus barlow or the 6mm stand alone will be great for planets and shows a larger field.

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Pig

Pig

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Many astronomers - myself included - follow quite a predictable path when it comes to buying EPs. For whatever the reason, we start out buying new and cheap stuff but soon arrives a day when we want to upgrade but now we find ourselves in a situation where we have one quality EP and a case full of relatively cheap and shoddy EPs that on the secondhand market are pretty worthless. So I'd say premium eyepieces are never a waste of money, especially if you buy them used. These EPs might become 'lifers', so you never have to upgrade on them or you could always re-sell them without losing much - if any - money, especially if you have already bought them secondhand. Premium eyepieces, then, simply hold their quality and value and market appeal more than cheaper ones.

With this in mind, I'd advise someone starting out in visual astronomy to buy secondhand Televue Plossls (TVP) which offer sharp, flat fields and excellent edge performance. These are superbly executed eyepieces and the only reason they are generally not considered quite 'premium-premium' eyepieces is simply because they lack the important and expensive features of premium EPs, viz, wide fields and better eye-relief. You can pick up a TVP for around £50 to £65 secondhand and if you ever decide to sell them on, you'll receive about the same money.

As a general rule of thumb, buy the best optics you can afford - even if you have to save a little longer - and they will stay with you for a long time.

Great advice, the astronomy hobby is as evolutionary as the universe itself. :smiley:

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Stargazer_00

Stargazer_00

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It would be a stretch outside the OPs budget but worth it in the long run. One tends to lose money buying cheap then upgrading. Might as well come in at the affordable end of premium.

If this is just a step too far then everything on the list John mentioned would be a good direction to go.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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It would be a stretch outside the OPs budget but worth it in the long run. One tends to lose money buying cheap then upgrading. Might as well come in at the affordable end of premium.

If this is just a step too far then everything on the list John mentioned would be a good direction to go.

Agree entirely. I wish I had bought TV in the first place, it just saves so much money, especially if you are going to end up with TV in the end :).

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Scott

Scott

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I have no idea really, but I was just wondering what 2nd hand tv plossls go for on the US market. I believe astro gear is somewhat cheaper in the states but whether this is a push too far I'm unsure. good luck with your search anyway bud and enjoy your new scope.

Maybe some of our American members might have a better idea? :).

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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Thanks for the advise everyone. I guess maybe instead of buying 2 cheaper ones I pool the money and buy 1 good TV for now and just save up again for the second. Which the brings up what EP to I go with? A wide field 32mm or a mid range thats near the middle of my 9mm and 25mm?

Scott - TVs in the USA range quite a bit. I actually see more of the premium TV EPs than their plossl ones. http://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/showcat.php?cat=17 Thats where I've been looking mostly. CN seems to have a better range on equipment than Astromart.

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RME1

RME1

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Check out the Sterling plossls at Smart astronomy which will be in your price range. I have the 25, 17 and 12.5mm and they are very good. The 6 & 4mm are bit tight on eye relief. There are reviews etc on CN. Hope this helps.

Richard.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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My vote is for Vixen NPL's, and a 32mm GSO Plossl. All of which are in the £30-40 range. Quality at a great price.

Regarding what range (size) to buy?

I think an 8mm,15mm NPL and a 32mm Plossl should keep you happy. You'll have a low,medium and high power in this case which is really all anyone needs.

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AlexB67

AlexB67

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Personally I think it is all a bit of a balancing act and depending on your circumstances and what you can afford versus what you get in return. I bough three BSTs recently that I am very happy with, would I have wanted to wait to buy one eyepiece at 3 times or even 2 times the price and wait that long to get one that provides a 20% better view ? In my case no. May be in the future, but given the price of the scope and that set of eyepieces I have now, I think overall it is a good balance of investment in my case when you consider the quality of scope I have and eyepieces to go with it and the pleasure I get in return.

I think the OP is not making a bad choice if that is his budget versus what he is willing to invest right now to buy something along the lines John suggested, bearing in mind the sort of scope he's got also. Who knows may be 6 months time he may send up selling, not liking it or something else will take over. Things like if I can get a decent quality view in 50 - 60 degrees eyepieces in my scope, the extra you can end up paying to even get another 10 degrees can be costly, not worth it, for me ... that is. If you can afford it and want to spend it all good, but it all depends on the needs/desires of the individual and circumstances.

Since I like DSO observing lot, I still maintain I rather buy a 10 inch scope at 500 ponds for next year to get more out of my observing instead of buying a lot of extra eye wear, then may be because of the extra focal length and resulting Mag I'll need to be looking at a one or two wider angles 2 inch eyepieces at some point too in the future. Someone else may not want to buy a bigger scope for practical reasons and go the eyepiece route. Different courses for different horses :smiley:

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SkyGibbon

SkyGibbon

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I have no idea really, but I was just wondering what 2nd hand tv plossls go for on the US market. I believe astro gear is somewhat cheaper in the states but whether this is a push too far I'm unsure. good luck with your search anyway bud and enjoy your new scope.

Maybe some of our American members might have a better idea? :).

Looks like between $60.00 - $75.00, although it seems they don't stay around for long.

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bingevader

bingevader

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If your budget is tight, I'd continue saving for the dob if it were me!

Are the current EPs usable? With the barlow, you have already a pretty good spread to be going on with.

Your F8 'scope will be pretty forgiving on EPs, a 10" or 12" will be less so.

There probably won't be much point buying a cheap plossl and hoping it will work in the dob later.

If you want EPs for the current 'scope then John's original suggestions would be the way to go.

If you're asking for plossls that work well in a 10" or 12" 'scope then that's probably a different question.

Cheers

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nmoushon

nmoushon

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If your budget is tight, I'd continue saving for the dob if it were me!

Are the current EPs usable? With the barlow, you have already a pretty good spread to be going on with.

Your F8 'scope will be pretty forgiving on EPs, a 10" or 12" will be less so.

There probably won't be much point buying a cheap plossl and hoping it will work in the dob later.

If you want EPs for the current 'scope then John's original suggestions would be the way to go.

If you're asking for plossls that work well in a 10" or 12" 'scope then that's probably a different question.

Cheers

Yes I agree. I dont want to go cheap now then try to explain to the wife that I need to buy more later. So I think I will combine by budget for 2 EPs to 1 EPs and go with a better quality that I can use with the bigger dob when I get it.

Looks like between $60.00 - $75.00, although it seems they don't stay around for long.

They really dont stick around for long. The mid range ones seem to last, sometimes, only a couple hours.

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