SkyWatcher Heritage 130 - Eyepiece advice please

[GagneDouze]

Hi all,

I haven’t ventured out of the two eyepieces that came with the telescope just yet and as I had a voucher (London Camera Exchange) for my birthday to acquire some better EP’s, and despite some research, I am a little overwhelmed with the choices on offer.

I currently have a x2 Barlow lens also and am looking to upgrade the eyepieces to something a little more than what I had with the scope.  I have a budget of £150 to get a few/couple and was wondering if anyone could recommend some for me please.

I am interested in seeing some nebulas, planets and the moon and the sky in general in greater detail.

Thank you.

Dave

[Sandraj]

£150 is a nice budget to start off getting a few eyepieces, there are quite a few users of your scope on here who will no doubt be along later today and will give you some great advice.

[ronin]

If I recall the scope is f/5, and as just about everyone wants something called magnification - and I do at times - I would leave the plossl's out. The eye relief is short at the lower end, additionally they are generally not parfocal, not that big a problem but more convenient if they were.

If you were happy with plossl's then look at the Vixen NPL range from FLO, seem to recal they are about £35-40 each.

In general the next step up is generally the Celestron X-Cels or the BST Starguiders.

Both perform much the same, actally almost identical and no one is clearly better.

The difference is cost and focal lengths.

BST's are £49 and come in 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 25.

X-Cels are £64 and come in 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 25.

For £150 it is 3 BST's or 2 X-Cels.

Decision time.

If BST's I suggest 5mm, 8mm and either 18mm or 25mm.

If X-Cels then try 5mm and 9mm - assumes your 25mm is OK at present. (little unsure of this combination).   Half of me says 5mm and 7mm and use the present 25mm for wide.

Actually selecting 2 X-Cels is difficult, either they are close to each other or miles apart.

I have kept the 5mm of both as that will give 130x and is good for Saturn. That being the next major viewing item to be floating around.

You could go 5mm and 12mm on X-Cels, might even make more sense.

If you added to budget for 3 X-Cels then 5mm, 7mm and again 18mm or 25mm.

The idea of the 7mm or 8mm is that they will work if conditions prevent the 5mm being useful.

Generally they are the 2 options for a first step upgrades, and the "common" eyepieces after that are more costly = TV, ES etc.

[bingevader]

The Maxvisions would be worth a look too. Both the 16mm or the 20mm have been very popular.

[alan potts]

Excellent advice from Ronin and Bens Maxvisions are good as well, I had the full set of these eyepieces but with Meade badges and paid more than double.

Alan

[rwilkey]

Hi Dave, if you are considering the Celestron X-Cel LX's then I would recommend the 12mm to start with, it's a good medium range ep to start out with and will give you a feel for the quality that is available in this series here: http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/New/Celestron-X-Cel-LX-12-mm-Eyepiece_3813.html  The only small niggle about these ep's is that the rubber guard bit on the twist-up eyecup can sometimes come a bit loose. Unfortunately the LCE does not sell the MV's.

[bingevader]

Just been mulling this over whilst cooking the tea!   You say you'd like to look at the moon. It'll take lots of magnification!

You might be better off with 2 eyepieces (EPs) and a 2x Barlow.

A barlow has the effect of doubling the focal length of your telescope and so doubles the magnification of any EP that you put in it.

You're going to struggle to get decent short focal length EPs on a budget, but with a barlow , you could get, for instance, an 8mm plossl giving you a magnification of 81x, which with the barlow would give you a magnification of x162!

Just some more food for thought, sorry!

[GagneDouze]

Food for thought. Thank you all for your advice and tips Really appreciated!

[Naemeth]

The Maxvisions would be worth a look too. Both the 16mm or the 20mm have been very popular.

The weight of those Maxvisions is a problem. There is sag when you put in an eyepiece that weighs above about 160g, to a point where you will be slightly out of collimation with a heavier eyepiece  (and some collimators as they themselves are over 160g!). For less than 160g, you are looking at plossls, and perhaps the BSTs.

I'm not putting a downer on the scope - I think it's great for the money, but it does have flaws.

HTH . 

[GagneDouze]

Yes, the scope was bought as an intro into astronomy so I don't expect it to hold the heavier eyepieces

[bingevader]

The weight of those Maxvisions is a problem. There is sag when you put in an eyepiece that weighs above about 160g, to a point where you will be slightly out of collimation with a heavier eyepiece  (and some collimators as they themselves are over 160g!). For less than 160g, you are looking at plossls, and perhaps the BSTs.

I'm not putting a downer on the scope - I think it's great for the money, but it does have flaws.

HTH . 

Ah, good point, well made. Best to stick with the Vixen NPLs, BSTs or the X-Cels and possibly a 2x barlow then. 

[SW130p]

I have the BST 5

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[SW130p]

Sorry I have the BST 5 mm and 8 mm, the 8mm is great with the Barlow too and 5 mm when seeing is good

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[happy-kat]

The Maxvisions would be worth a look too. Both the 16mm or the 20mm have been very popular.

I use the 16mm in my heritage and am very pleased with it (it has a flat top design that twists up) my other most used eye piece is a GSO 32mm great for locating the area of sky you want to look in.

The 16mm maxvision weights 152 grams (it is the 20mm and up that get heavier)

[GagneDouze]

Thanks again for the recommendations!

[AstroJon]

Sorry this reply is a little late but I can give you my experiences with this telescope and some of the eyepieces mentioned (I have no barlow though).

The BST 5mm will provide some lovely views of Jupiter, Saturn and the moon when the seeing permits. Since you have a barlow you might want to consider the 8mm though and barlow when seeing permits, thus giving you more options for the same price.

I also have the Maxxvision 16mm and 24mm. I can't comment too much on performance as I haven't yet had chance to use them properly but I haven't found the weight of the 24mm to be an issue. There is some give in the focuser that causes the eyepiece to settle in a different position when viewing at low angles but I get this with the BST too (again, I really need a good observing session to test though). Initial testing suggests the 16mm could be my favourite of the 2. Since you have a barlow the 20mm might be a better option. Also, it is worth remembering that the 25mm that comes with the Heritage is actually rather good, much much better than the 10mm.

Short version - 8mm BST and the 20mm Maxxvision would be an excellent choice, giving you magnifications of 33, 65, 81 and 162. Adding the 5mm BST would give 130.

[AndyWB]

Sorry, this is even later, but I wanted to agree with AstroJon - if you've a x2 Barlow, go for the 8mm.

I mostly went down the BST route, though I'd read a few people saying that the 25mm was a bit soft, so I went for the 30mm Vixen NPL. It's my most used eyepiece - a bit plasticky, but it works well, and is a few quid cheaper. 

I don't know what eyepieces the London Camera Exchange have, but I'd say with that budget you should be able to get 3, and I'd suggest lengths of 8-9mm, 30-32mm, and 12mm.

I got the 5 and 12mm BSTs, and then realised I wanted something lower and wider - so I got the vixen. Then I felt that the 5mm was a bit too much for a lot of things, so I got the 8mm.