Recommended 82 degree eyepiece for skywatcher 200p f/6 dob.

[woodmeister]

Looking for a decent 82 degree eyepiece for viewing nebulas, galaxies, clusters and wonder what magnification and brand would be good value for money.

As I only have a 1.25 UHC filter would I be better off sacrificing a bit of FOV and getting the largest 1.25 I can find, or just get a 2 inch eyepiece.

I saw a 23mm Celestron Luminos for about $200 and was wondering if that was a good investment. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[alan potts]

I think the Celestron 23mm is a 2 inch eyepiece. I believe the largest 1.25 inch UWA made was the Meade 18mm UWA, the only one I never had, but the rest were very good so that bodes well, to pinch a phrase. I know there are membes that can advise on the Celestron for you but I would not allow a filter to dictate what eyepiece you buy.

The 16mm TV Nagler is a fine eyepiece which I have and that would serve you well but there are cheaper on the market that are almost as good, like the UWAN 16mm form WO and Sky Watcher Nirvana.

The latter two would work well as the scope is not the fastest at F6 though I have never used them myself, however many site member have and do.

Alan

[Dude_with_the_tube]

Completely agree with Alan,filters should not be the deciding factor.as for the choice,well that's down to yourself.

Contenders are:

Celestron Luminos

Meade UWA 5000 series

Explore scientific 82 deg

Skywatcher Uwans

All these will perform fantastic in your scope and reviews have been positive.

Alternative and a slightly more costly with possibly slightly (difficult to prove):Televue Naglers.

I personally had meade 5k and ES and both are great.

[John]

I've used a 16mm UWAN / Nirvana (they are the same) in a 200P dob and it was excellent. I "upgraded" to a 16mm Nagler but there was precious little difference in performance terms in the F/6 dobsonian. 

[A McEwan]

I use the 23mm Luminos and it's an outstanding eyepiece.

TeleVue Nagler 17mm T4 is also superb. Really superb.

13mm Nagler T6 is also very good.

For these sorts of views it's definitely worth investing in good glass. These "mid level" magnifications tend to be the ones that get used most.

Ant

[rowan46]

The maxvision 24 hasn't been mentioned so i thought i would mention it. it is still available

[woodmeister]

Thank you everybody for your helpful advice on which eyepiece to get, always nice to get good advice on decent eyepieces.

This eyepiece is going to replace my stock 25mm that I got with the scope and like the thought of wide angle eyepiece.  

[Moonshane]

not cheap but my recommendation is a 26mm Nagler. about £300 used but worth every penny.

[woodmeister]

Managed to narrow my search down to either the 23mm Luminos or the 20mm Meade 5000 UWA. Now I am stuck on which eyepiece to get , Meade or Celestron?

[A McEwan]

I can't say anything about the Meade as I haven't used one, but I have the 23mm Axiom LX (which is the old name for the Luminos).

It is a very very nice eyepiece. The twist up eye guard is quite firm but does a good job and helps to hold your eye in position.

The eyepiece is quite heavy at nearly half a kilo, but feels extremely well made.

The optical quality is very good. I find it sharp and contrasty with good edge correction, though of course that varies with which telescope you use it in.

The coatings are very nicely applied.

Overall, despite the lower price, it "feels" like a top brand eyepiece and I'm not ashamed to have it next to my Nagler 17T4 in my eyepiece case!

I got mine for less than £150 used and in mint condition. They quite often appear for that sort of price, as do the other focal lengths.

Good hunting!

Ant

[woodmeister]

Finally took the plunge and ordered the 23mm Luminos eyepiece. I did hear about some minor edge field brightening with these eyepieces and ghosting on bright objects which does not sound great. However I can't complain at an 82 degree eyepiece for $200.

Now I just need to wait until 21st-31st to get my hands on it and try it out

[bingevader]

Best of luck! Let us know how you get on. 

[woodmeister]

Well my eyepiece finally arrived today and I knew that the eyepiece was going to be rather big but it's like a grenade! Unfortunately I must have ordered free clouds with my order

Apparently the man who came to deliver my eyepiece thought It was a good idea not to walk up and knock on the door, instead he opened the porch door and left my parcel on the floor and left.

HOPE THESE CLOUDS DISAPPEAR

[A McEwan]

Just be glad he didn't throw it over the fence! I've heard of that happening too...!

Congratulations. Actually the clouds are drawn to follow vans that are carrying astronomical equipment. It's some kind of charge field that they generate. It wears off eventually... unless somebody else in the area orders something too, of course...

Ant

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I am very curious to hear how you get on with the Luminos. It is definitely not the same as the previous Axiom LX (different eye relief, for one). Reviews are few and far between.

[rwilkey]

According to Celestron, they are the same eyepiece, just different branding.

[jetstream]

Well my eyepiece finally arrived today and I knew that the eyepiece was going to be rather big but it's like a grenade! Unfortunately I must have ordered free clouds with my order

Apparently the man who came to deliver my eyepiece thought It was a good idea not to walk up and knock on the door, instead he opened the porch door and left my parcel on the floor and left.

HOPE THESE CLOUDS DISAPPEAR

I have the 23mm Luminos as well,I am looking forward to your fisrt light and review!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

According to Celestron, they are the same eyepiece, just different branding.

Odd that at least the 15mm has distinctly different quoted eye relief (something I always watch when considering EPs).

[YKSE]

TS has both the Axiom LX and Luminos here:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/language/de/cat/c85_Okulare-----2--Gro-feld.html

Assuming the specificaions are given by Celestrion, the ER for Luminos looks fixed, anf for Axiom, scaled. there're weight differences too.

I wouldn't make any bet on Celestron's numbers though, here's someone got suprised by the weight of Axiom LX:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2126

[rwilkey]

Odd that at least the 15mm has distinctly different quoted eye relief (something I always watch when considering EPs).

Yes, indeed, I actually wrote to Celestron at the time, manufacturers often quote different things in different adverts I find, and they are never accurate.

[alan potts]

I don't know if you meant something else but the Meade 20mm UWA was only ever advertised in the US, I am not sure it ever existed though as I noticed adverts were pulled by OPT after a few months they posted them.

I have never seen anything writen like a review.

Alan

[woodmeister]

I used the eyepiece last night and I was blown away by the FOV of the eyepiece. Locating targets is a lot easier in this. I only gave the eyepiece a quick test so I am not going to write a review about the optics yet.

I have a question about astigmatism though. Both this and my 25mm stock plossl usually show astigmatism in the center of the field and it changes direction depending on where I place my eye unless I place it in the a certain place and it seems to disappear. Considering my eyes are not fully dark adapted as my viewing site is next to a street light would the exit pupil cause it to hit the iris if I did not position my eye correctly and cause an astigmatic image or just degrade the brightness, or is it just my eyes  (I wear glasses but I do not view with them on).

As for the eyepiece I shined a torch down and the coatings seem very will distributed and could see the internal parts of the eyepiece without bad reflections. The eyepiece weighs around 835 grams which is about the same as the manufacturers stated weight. The eyepiece feels sturdy and finished to a high standard (I would not like to drop it on my toe).

I look forward to using it again as the FOV is awesome. Any advice on ways to give this eyepiece a good test of the optics would be appreciated. 

[John]

Astigmatism that is generated by the eyepiece is seen towards the edges of the field of view rather than in the centre. Is there any chance that you have some astigmatism in your observing eye ?

[Reeny]

I had astigmatism in the scope before I did the initial collimation from new.

There is still a little bit left over - but it is much better now.

The east / west blurr changes into a north south blur as I achieve the correct focus adjustment, then over run through to the other side.

As John says - the stretching was mostly at the edges.

Although I'm still not 100% sure what coma and the other stuff looks like.

The target object should be round and blurry in the middle (once the eyepiece is correctly in focus to balance the astigmatism).

My stars looked like planets or discs.

They were a long way from being pin points of light.

Collimation has made the errors tolerable to the point that I don't notice them anymore.

[jetstream]

I used the eyepiece last night and I was blown away by the FOV of the eyepiece. Locating targets is a lot easier in this. I only gave the eyepiece a quick test so I am not going to write a review about the optics yet.

I have a question about astigmatism though. Both this and my 25mm stock plossl usually show astigmatism in the center of the field and it changes direction depending on where I place my eye unless I place it in the a certain place and it seems to disappear. Considering my eyes are not fully dark adapted as my viewing site is next to a street light would the exit pupil cause it to hit the iris if I did not position my eye correctly and cause an astigmatic image or just degrade the brightness, or is it just my eyes  (I wear glasses but I do not view with them on).

As for the eyepiece I shined a torch down and the coatings seem very will distributed and could see the internal parts of the eyepiece without bad reflections. The eyepiece weighs around 835 grams which is about the same as the manufacturers stated weight. The eyepiece feels sturdy and finished to a high standard (I would not like to drop it on my toe).

I look forward to using it again as the FOV is awesome. Any advice on ways to give this eyepiece a good test of the optics would be appreciated. 

In my f7 refractor there is no noticeable astigmatism, @ f4.8(newt) it shows quite a bit but only at the edge of the FOV.It is an interesting view as it is also combined with coma.I like this EP,and like my 21E would benefit from CC in my dob