Do I actually need anything here

[bomberbaz]

Ok so my main scope is 1500 FL - F5. A 22mm EP gives me 68x viewing, a 42mm with an over large exit pupil which to be fair is mainly a finder or very large DSO EP gives me 35x. DO i really need something in between or am I going ott. My mind says ott, my heart says yeah, course you need it. 

The 31mm axiom in sig gives me 48x but is rarely used, so should I release it?

ps, I will not hold anyone responsible for any potential irresponsible decisions I make as a result of comments in this thread 

Steve

[Floater]

Course you need it

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Why do you not use the Axiom? I had some really nice views with the 31T5 with Olly's F/4.1 scope, so I would guess a similar EP would be great in your F/5. Decent exit pupil and great FOV. Which 42 do you have (the LVW?). If you do not get along with 82 deg, then a MaxVision 28mm SWA   68 deg EP fits the bill nicely without breaking the bank. My 24mm is superb, and held up pretty well in the aforesaid F/4.1 scope.

[Grotemobile]

Course you need it

[Dude_with_the_tube]

well its easy to spend someones money isnt? lol

so here we go.based on your signature i would:

Ditch the skywatcher EP`s,ditch the TMB`s and Celestron X-cels,maybe as well the Axiom and replace them with :

in 20mm range :either Pentax XW 20mm or Nagler 20 or 22-24mm,or 20mm ES in 100 deg or 21mm Ethos, in place of Axiom would get: 31mm nagler or 30mm ES  82deg.Also to raise some funds,ditch all the other cheap barlows etc whatever you have there un-used.

Money well spent lol.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

ohh forgot,might also get a few orthoscopics for those "ortho" nights for planetary.

[swamp thing]

Judging by your eyepiece collection No, you don't need anything. In fact I'd be flogging half of them off.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

ohh forgot,might also get a few orthoscopics for those "ortho" nights for planetary.

With that collection of Delos EPs, I would not go for an ortho (especially not if you need long eye relief).

[Dude_with_the_tube]

With that collection of Delos EPs, I would not go for an ortho (especially not if you need long eye relief).

he didnt mention anything on long eye relief

[alan potts]

Baz,

I think I would use the 31mm the most on that F/L. The only scopes that see my 41mm Pan are the 2700mm Mak and the 3048mm LX where more often than not something bigger would be welcome if there was such a thing. Please don't say the 55mm TV Plossl, it give the same AFOV at lower power.

So I would use the 31mm and if anything move the 42mm.

Just to be different.

Alan

[bomberbaz]

Having a chuckle readng some of the spend, spend, spend replies (as expected  ) but I am looking at maybe going for a baader aspheric 36mm and losing the 42 and 31. Nothing wrong with either but I feel I am tying money up that can be better spent. (Did I mention I have just ordered a Baader MPCC) 

I realise that quality wise the Axiom shines but I can't seem to get to like it thats all, I think the weight of it puts me off and so it isnt getting used although it is a beautifully crafted eyepiece. The Skywatcher 22mm is seeing plenty of use and so is the 42mm with slightly washed out views. I feel something a little smaller in size than the 42 and up from the 31mm will see the dark of night more often and also afford better views at 42x with almost 2 degrees of view.

Also there is the WO Swan 33m which FLO have on offer http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/william-optics-swan-eyepiece.html  I realise this isn't that much different than the Axiom in terms of size and in fact smaller fov but the weight and eye relief are more accomadating for me. (Yes I do wear glasses, well remembered Michael   )

Think I will wait for the MPCC and see how my cheapish 42mm revelation behaves then I may take the WO Swan clearance option if its ok or go for the aspheric if not.

Judging by your eyepiece collection No, you don't need anything. In fact I'd be flogging half of them off.

btw swamp thing was that a hint, haha but erm, no!

steve/baz

[John]

I owned a Baader Aspheric 31mm for a short while recently Steve / Baz. I was a bit underwhelmed with it when I used it in my F/5.3 12" dob to be honest. I was expecting some astigmatism but the Aspheric showed quite a bit more than I

bargained for.

I don't think the SWAN 33mm would be any better even with a coma corrector in the system. You would need an

astigmatism corrector I reckon !

[Scott]

Since when has "need" had anything to do with Astronomy?

[alan potts]

Baz,

Look at the quality you have at the short to mid range of things, surely the case is crying out for either a 31mm Nagler or 35mm Panoptic. Oh and maybe a 22mm Nagler just for good measure. I recall a thread some time ago where you were asking advice on which high power eyepiece to buy, next I see you go out and buy 6mm & 8mm Delos and 5mm & 7 mm Penta XW, I really think you would be happier with these humble investments, they are awfully good eyepieces

[Floater]

Y'see? Didn't I say 'course you need it ...

[bomberbaz]

Thanks for your thoughts Alan and John. I did look at a panoptic Alan but the exit pupil is 7mm and thats pushing it. The nagler isnt that much different in weight from the Axiom and that puts me off it.

Thanks for the heads up over the Aspheric John, think I will leave that option on the shelf then.

Another option is maxivision 34mm which actually ticks most boxes spec wise but  at 6.8 exit pupil maybe a little tight. http://www.explorescientific.co.uk/en/Eyepieces/Explore-Scientific-68-Ar-Eyepiece-34mm-2.html 

The swan I referred to is about perfect in terms of ER, exit 6.6 and not too heavy, its just what is the performance going to be like as it is only really a mid range EP. 

I have ordered one anyway on approval, maybe it will be acceptable with a coma corrector although astigmatism could be the big problem as John says, but we shall have to wait and see.

I will let u know how I get on.

[Charic]

bomberbaz......Hi, for your age, and your 12" telescope, the minimum magnification  you can use without losing light is 50x power with a 30mm eyepiece, and for optimal use  between 75x-150x powers  would equate to somehting between 20mm to 10mm. Do you really need something between  the 22mm and 42mm ?

Your 31mm Axiom is just outside the minimum limits, so you could lose that one, and your 42mm  exceeds the  limit even further, so maybe release that too.

So now you need something between 22mm and the 30mm limit, practically speaking.

Staying within the limits and midway between 22-30 would be a 26mm, so maybe losing two eyepieces in favour of something between 24-28mm. 

Your call from here on?

[John]

The 28mm UWAN / Nirvana's are very good and can be picked up for quite low prices on the used market. Large and heavy eyepieces with performance definitely in the Nagler category.

Just another thought !

[bomberbaz]

tis a very good call that John, the extra wide fov and smaller exit pupil means slightly higher mag but no loss in tfov, could be a good call and something very much worth considering, thanks

[Don Pensack]

Ok so my main scope is 1500 FL - F5. A 22mm EP gives me 68x viewing, a 42mm with an over large exit pupil which to be fair is mainly a finder or very large DSO EP gives me 35x. DO i really need something in between or am I going ott. My mind says ott, my heart says yeah, course you need it. 

The 31mm axiom in sig gives me 48x but is rarely used, so should I release it?

ps, I will not hold anyone responsible for any potential irresponsible decisions I make as a result of comments in this thread 

Steve

No, you don't need something in between.  Since most DSO viewing will occur as 100X and higher in your scope, you really only need one eyepiece with a magnification below 100X.

At f/5, I would have recommended a widefield or ultrawide field of roughly 28-31mm.  I can think of several.  That would eliminate the need for the 42.  Frankly, your next eyepiece up in power could be a 14-16mm and the 22mm is somewhat unnecessary (unless you keep an ultrawidefield 22 as the low power).

With a 300mm scope, magnifications of 70-140-210-280-350 would cover most of the bases.  Add a 105X and a 175X and you have all the eyepieces you would ever use.

That would be a range of: 21.5-14.5-10.5-8.5-7-5.5-4.5mm.  I can even think of a type of eyepiece that comes in all of those focal lengths (LOL).

Actually, it comes in 21-13-10-8-6-4.7.  Another I can think of comes in 14-10-8-6-4.5, and you could keep your 22.

Lots of choices, but lots of choices are unnecessary at really low powers.

[bomberbaz]

Thanks Don but as you can see i already have all the higher mag ep's are covered and I am not about to give them up. I often switch quickly between ep's when viewing dso's  especially open clusters as I like to roughly fill 70% of the fov so my range of ep's may be excesive to some but to me they are essential, heheh.

The 22 btw is an excellent ep. By all accounts the 32mm is apparently not anything like as good. I swapped the 22mm for a maxivision 24mm and imo the 22mm is by far the better option.

Back on subject, I realise I have opened a real tin of worms here. However the question needed asking but when charic tells me that as I am old and decrepit that my eyes will only go to 6mm dilation, well thats quite a surprise.

Watch this space as this EP dilemma will be resolved shortly 

Maybe 

Oh and yes Don, the Axiom will go, the 42mm may be kept for sky scanning as its basically how its used now.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I do not quite agree with Don. I frequently tweak magnification at the lower end, and have found that very useful in matching exit pupil to sky condtions and object. I rarely jump from my beloved 31T5 "Panzerfaust" to he 17T4 (also well used), but more often put in the 22T4 first, and only then move to a higher mag, if desired. I sometimes even miss a 14mm between the 17T4 and 12T4 (luxury problem, I know). With glasses I find the 31T5 very comfortable, and despite its weight and bulk like it a lot. It posed no problems balance-wise in Olly's 20" F/4.1 Dob this summer, but it might in yours of course. I certainly get along with it. I looked through a Hyperion 36mm Aspheric and was not overwhelmed, even at a slow F/8, the TMB Paragon 40mm I had at the time was better.

A slightly shorter focal length you could consider using the 26mm Nagler (still sufficient eye relief for me with my glasses) which is a lot lighter than the 31T5, or even the 22T4, which I find is superb. The MaxVision 24mm 82 deg is also a steal at the moment. These latter EPs would mean the 22mm you have will be redundant.

[Moonshane]

I was just about to post "26mm Nagler"

The offer of trying the paracorr (and now 26mm Nagler) stands

[bomberbaz]

Ok what about this then, the Maxivision 30mm/82 degree. http://explorescientificusa.com/collections/82-series-eyepiece/products/82-30mm

I have found lots of info on 24mm and 28mm but nothing about this bad boy. It fits the bill nicely and at a 1/3 less in weight than the axiom is where it should be to me.  (my scope is a goto and simply doesn't like the weight of it)

Any info will be gladly recieved.

[russ.will]

I had one of those when I had a 300p and it was a cracking eyepiece. I still regret selling it in some ways, but it didn't really get used other than as a finder - It was too much money to tie up for that sort of use, plus it turned out I'm not really an UWA fanatic - YMMV.

In all honesty, I'm happier with the MV 28mm in that role in my ES 305 Dob and even then, I spend way more time with the MV 24mm. It's one of the sharpest EPs I've ever owned and saves faffing with removing 1.25" adaptors. As it stands, I could only see it making way if TV ponied up a longer Delos. Even that would only start to make sense as I slide into increased wearing of my glasses.

Russell