Celestron eyepiece set

[DaddyBear]

Hi Guys,

Last year I got a set of Celestron eyepieces from the Science Museum. The set comes with an aluminum case, and includes eyepieces in this range: 32mm, 17mm, 13mm, 8mm, 6mm, and a 2X barlow and 6 filters. The eyepieces were labelled as plossl. I'm now using this set with my new skywatcher 200p. Can't really comment on them as, these are really the only ones I have ever used. The 32mm one feels weighty in hand and quite handy when starhopping but I almost never have a chance to use the 6mm one. Has anybody have any experience with these eyepieces and any comments?

[triton1]

I,m sorry to put a dampener on things the eyepiece set was,nt the way to go but you do have a great scope,I have the same.The trouble with the eyepiece set is that there not much better than the ones that came with your scope.Also sw200p is a f5 ( fast) scope which eyepiece sets will struggle with.I would have been better to buy 3 higher quality ones like the bst starguiders at£49 each.The 6mm one you would only use on the moon and a couple of planets and then that would also depend on seeing conditions.The 32mm one should be ok as a finder eyepiece.However as you have got the set keep using them and you will find which ones you most use,these then I would sell and upgrade,you a least have got a case.I hope you persevere with your hobby clear skies

Jonn

[John]

While the Celestron set might not be the best choice you should find the eyepieces work well enough to see what the scope can do at various magnifications and on different types of objects.

I was using an 8" F/5 newtonian (same optics as yours I think) a couple of nights ago and found the standard Skywatcher 20mm and 10mm plossls and the 2x Skywatcher barlow lens provided some fine views including the supernova in the galaxy Messier 82, nice details on Jupiter at 100x and 200x (the latter was using the 10mm plossl and the 2x barlow lens) and the hard to spot E & F stars in the Trapezium group embedded in the Orion Nebula. I also managed to split a close binary star, Eta Orionis.

I think the Celestron plossls in the set are as good as the standard Skywatcher plossls that I was using so you should be able to do some good astronomy with them and they will inform your decisions when and if you decide to move to higher quality eyepieces in due course.

So not the best but quite capable of giving some enjoyment     

[Naemeth]

I've owned a Celestron plossl, gave quite nice views and I expect you'll get a real feel of where you want to go with your observing if/when you decide to upgrade . You may find the 6mm plossl is unusable due to short eye relief though.

[Pig]

I couldn't agree more with the posts above, use the whole set, including the Barlow,  to determine what sizes will suit you best going forward 

The set you have does seem to sell pretty well on Ebay so you will get quite a chunk of your cash back.

[Tonys]

I have the Revelation Astro EP set, probably similar to the Celestron, and for me the EP's (plossl) are substantially better than the Skywatcher Modified Achromat ones that are usually bundled with their scopes. The barlow works well too. It may only be a 2 element design, but I haven't noticed intrusive colour fringing. As others have said, it's a good way to see which focal lengths you use most often.

[Reeny]

The Revelation Plossls are very different animals - don't be fooled by the price.

They should be much better than the normal bundled eyepiece kits.

I use a barlowed 12mm Revelation Plossl to get excellent views of Jupiter at around 220x magnification.

The narrow 52 degrees doesn't bother me on planets, but it is too restrictive on the moon and clusters.

The £23 Revelation gave better views than the 11mm Explore Scientific 82^o which was too much at 240x.

Horses for courses.

In the meantime, I am saving up for a 6mm to replace it when the funds are available.

[Tonys]

Not sure who make the Celestron ones. The Revelations are GSO I think. I purchased the set because I read a review by Chris Lords in which he did a comparison of GSO plossls versus much more expensive ones (of the same type) in the field and the GSO's compared favourably. I am now also convinced of the benefits of good quality wide field eps for visual impact and am saving up for one or maybe two.

[Avocette]

I think the Celestron plossls in the set are as good as the standard Skywatcher plossls that I was using so you should be able to do some good astronomy with them and they will inform your decisions when and if you decide to move to higher quality eyepieces in due course.

So not the best but quite capable of giving some enjoyment

I'd like to second what John says above. I've got the same set as you, and although I've got a few 'better' eyepieces nowadays (6mm BGO and a 16mm MaxVision for example) I find the imitations of my observing sessions are almost invariably the 'seeing'. The Celestron Plossls are similar to the Sky-Watcher Plossls which come somewhat randomly with scopes and better than the Sky-Watcher 'Super' eyepieces which come with others. I'm still making use of the range of eyepieces in the Celestron set!