Eyepiece recomendations

[Sneezy24]

Well, I've got my lovely Dob (Revelation 8") and I'm having lots of fun cloud dodging!!!!!

Just a few short session so far.

I've got the standard EPs - Rev 9mm 1.25" and Rev 26mm 2".

Both give nice views at (I think) x133 for 9mm and x46 for the 26mm.

I have a Meade 2x Barlow (#126 2x Telenegative Barlow according to the box) - this gives a poor image of Jupiter compared to the 9mm alone. I expected the image to be somewhat larger, but it doesn't seem to be, and it is 'fuzzy'. Is this a bad Barlow? Poorly matched to the Rev 9mm?? or are my expectations too high?? I know that increased magnification does not necessarily improve the image, but I would expect a slight improvement with the Barlow.

Jupiter with just the 9mm is great! More than justifies buying the scope!

I can't try the Barlow with the 26mm as it is the wrong size.

So, I need recomendations as to what to spend my money on!

Interested in DSO (I think the 26mm is fine for this), but also planets and moon.

Suggestions please! I will spend up to £150 at present (or more in stages if I can hide it from the finance director (AKA wife!)

Mick

[wookie1965]

BST starguiders get very good reviews on here i have 4 myself at £49 you could get three as you already have a 9mm the 8mm BST would be a waste of money if you think you are getting good views from it so you could go with the 5mm giving you 240x a 12mm giving you 100x and an 18mm giving you 66x the Celestron X-Cel`s get good reviews as well they are around £65 you could buy two  maybe the 5 and the 12.

[Charic]

I used my 5mm at  360x last night and clearly saw the shadow of the Moon Io (eye-oh)) as it passed across the surface of Jupiter, then eventually seeing the Moon as it exited the face of the planet. The best seeing Ive had since getiing this telescope (Oct 2013)

I just used the lens, unscrewd from the Barlow (Skywaycher 2x deluxe) and attached directly to the EP. A perfect black circular shadow, like I say, the best I've ever seen. I then came in for some hot Tea! I peek outside and the rains inside the scope and camera, already setup to capture the GRS(Great Red Spot) which has eluded me so far. ( seems bad weather, bad timing are the reasons, but fortunately finding the right lens combination worked last night. Was also great with the 8mm lens, but managed to get a result with clarity , as stated with the 5mm)

You can buy BST's from Alan at Sky's the limit. Buy more than one(contact him first and chat) and then compare them. If there's one you don't like, return it for a full refund, no quibble. The perfect try-before-you-buy (so to speak) situation.

[Pyrodave]

+1 for the BST's I have the 8 and 18mm and will be getting more when funds allow 

[Sneezy24]

Thanks. I was thinking BSTs.

I suppose a good EP alone will always beat an average EP with an average Barlow!

[DRT]

I would recommend the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm MkIII Zoom. I bought one second hand recently and it is excellent in both my 200p Dob and the CPC1100.

It is £30 more than your current budget but if you sell your 9mm and 26mm on Ebay or AstroBuySell.com you will get all or most of that difference back.

I have had the Celestron X-Cels, which I really liked, but would say the Baader is a step up in quality and has the added convenience that you don't have to keep swapping EPs in and out.

[rwilkey]

Hi Mick, you will struggle to get better than 133x on Jupiter, I find 150x hits the sweet spot, so look around this mag as the optimum. An 8mm BST Explorer/StarGuider would do the job for you at 150x, a highly recommended ep from 'Sky's the Limit'.  This ep would also be exceptional on the lunar landscape.

[jimbooz]

+1 again on the BST. I bought the 18mm last year and love it. The twist up cap means you can rest your eye on the eyepiece for easy viewing.

[Donkeiller]

+1 for the Baader 8-24mm Zoom.

Every bit as good, optically,  as my BSTs and Xcel-LXs and no fiddling with different EPs.

Makes goto alignment a doodle too- find your alignment starts at 24mm, zoom up to 8mm and align.

[Sneezy24]

Can I use a zoom with a Barlow???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[DRT]

Can I use a zoom with a Barlow???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Yes - you can buy a 2.25x Barlow that goes with the Baader Zoom with gives you it range of 3.5mm-24mm. If you buy both together you can get a £30 discount!

They are marked as currently unavailable but that might be because that offer was only launched recently so they might have been snapped up. I'm sure they will be getting more soon or you might find that other retailers have matched the price and have availability.

[Sneezy24]

Looks like an ideal solution, thanks!

Now, how do I get this past the missus!

[DRT]

Now, how do I get this past the missus!

Order it first, then think of an excuse before it arrives

[Bart]

Order it first, then think of an excuse before it arrives

Yes, the added pressure enhances the creative thinking process!

Barry

[rory]

id do a little reading up before deciding on the zoom. I had one briefly . it did show fairly crisp views I agree ,but the lower powers are very tunnel like in my opinion. I couldn't get along with that.

 so I had the zoom along with a 31mm aspheric (2") for a  nice wide low power option. 

 where the zoom excels is getting a low power view of the desired object and being able to zoom in/out to get the mag /view that suits without interchanging eyepieces. make a good travel set up.

  the hyperion zoom  has also had reports of stiffening working parts ,and some that seize completely ,again this might not be as common as some might suggest ,but worth noting.

 they come up second hand now and then at about £120 mark . but in all honesty if I did go for one id go new ,as at least youll have warranty if there is a problem with stiffening.

personally id opt for fixed f/l eyepieces. as mentioned the x-cel lx and bst starguiders are probably the best value and work well in the f/6 dob you have.

 strictly only my opinion

how you finding the revelation anyway ? looks neat .

[Pete Presland]

i would go for a range of Televue plossl's myself. for the cost of a brand new Baader zoom you could probably pick up 3-4 TVplossl's ranging from focal lengths 8mm to 32mm. these eyepieces are absolutely "bullet proof" and they will come in smaller boxes (easier to sneak through in the post  i supose the downside is there will be more of them  )

strictly only my opinion as well    whatever you do good luck and clear skies!

[Sneezy24]

Hoe about a Seben zoom? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seben-31-7mm-8-24mm-Telescope-Eyepiece/dp/B00663XV8S/ref=sr_1_1/276-3347517-4705263?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393320634&sr=1-1&keywords=seben+eyepieces

About 1/3 the price!

I think I need to get some more scope time, and then decide. Probably make a purchase in Leamington at IAS.

[Sneezy24]

how you finding the revelation anyway ? looks neat .

Love it! Just wish the clouds would clear off!

Great views of Jupiter with just the 9mm, and the 26mm is great for the few DSOs I have viewed so far.

[DRT]

Hoe about a Seben zoom? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seben-31-7mm-8-24mm-Telescope-Eyepiece/dp/B00663XV8S/ref=sr_1_1/276-3347517-4705263?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1393320634&sr=1-1&keywords=seben+eyepieces

About 1/3 the price!

1/3rd the price for 1/10th the quality ;-)

[Sneezy24]

This thread: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/154398-seben-zoom-8-24mm-cheap-zoom-eyepiece/ appears to differ. Would 1/3 price, half as good be fair??

I am in an urban location, west of london. Orange skies, lots of thermal issues, so I think I'll probably go for a Seben, get experience of different focal lengths, then possibly get a set of fixed EPs once I work out what lengths work best for my location?

Comments???

[jnb]

This thread: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/154398-seben-zoom-8-24mm-cheap-zoom-eyepiece/ appears to differ. Would 1/3 price, half as good be fair??

I am in an urban location, west of london. Orange skies, lots of thermal issues, so I think I'll probably go for a Seben, get experience of different focal lengths, then possibly get a set of fixed EPs once I work out what lengths work best for my location?

Comments???

You will not be making a fair comparison of focal lengths but of the zoom eyepiece. Zoom eyepieces are a compromise, Cheap zoom eyepieces are more of a compromise. Add to that the fact that the FOV will be different and no exact calibration will mean that it's unlikely to give you a fair estimation of what focal length you are using. Also you will be spending the cost of an extra eyepiece on something which might ultimately not be used.

[DRT]

This thread: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/154398-seben-zoom-8-24mm-cheap-zoom-eyepiece/ appears to differ. Would 1/3 price, half as good be fair??

I am in an urban location, west of london. Orange skies, lots of thermal issues, so I think I'll probably go for a Seben, get experience of different focal lengths, then possibly get a set of fixed EPs once I work out what lengths work best for my location?

Comments???

I sold a Seben a couple of weeks ago on Ebay so have the benefit of having owned both the Seben and the Baader simultaneously. I disagree that the Seben is half as good as the Baader, although admit that my 10th as good was an exageration. If you want to try a zoom without forking out the cost of the Baader I would suggest buying a used one from Ebay (Celestron or Skywatcher perhaps?) which you will probably pick up for around £50. I would advise against buying a new Seben. When you want to sell it two months later you will lose at least 50% of what you paid.

[John]

I've owned the Baader zoom and the Seben too. The Baader is pretty good zoom but the fixed focal length Hyperions are a bit sharper, wider and show less light scatter around bright objects. The Seben was better than I thought it would be though not as good as the Hyperion zoom. The Seben still managed to show some nice lunar and jovian details though. I'd say the Seben was around 75% as good as the Hyperion though it's hard to quantify things in that way.

Both these were bought on the used market so no loss was incurred when I decided to sell them on. It's a great way to try out eyepieces practically for nothing 

There are one or two very experienced members of this forum who use the Seben zooms (amongst other eyepieces) and have good things to say about them.

For what it's worth, I reckon the Seben, Skywatcher and a number of other branded zooms are one and the same item from the same manufacturer. The 8-24 ones are quite a bit better than the 7-21 ones though.

[Caldwell14]

i would go for a range of Televue plossl's myself. for the cost of a brand new Baader zoom you could probably pick up 3-4 TVplossl's ranging from focal lengths 8mm to 32mm. these eyepieces are absolutely "bullet proof" and they will come in smaller boxes (easier to sneak through in the post  i supose the downside is there will be more of them  )

strictly only my opinion as well    whatever you do good luck and clear skies!

Absolutely TV plossls' are excellent, you will not find sharper earpieces and the build quality is superb. BST are great eyepieces and will give you a wider field of view, their not TeleVue's however. Second hand they can be picked up for the same price as a BST and would last a lifetime.

[Caldwell14]

BTW I once had a Baader Zoom, it fell apart after 3 weeks, where the nose changes from 1.25 to 2 inch and would not screw back together again. Visually on a par with BST I would say.