Which type of EP

[Steve55]

Having an Orien 6i it came with the Standard 25 and 10mm sirius Plossi ep's, i purchases a 2x Barlow  shortly after getting the telescope . Having read the post on ep's it recomended a 18 and an 8 to be going on with.  Rather than a multi coated Plossi ep's is there something of better quality  since i would rather buy a better quality first time than lower and want to replace them later.  Many Thanks in advance.

[ronin]

In order of cost:

Vixen NPL plossl - £35 at FLO

BST Starguider - £49 at Sky the Limit

Celestron X-Cel - £64 at FLO

TV Plossl at somewhere that sells TV EP's about £70,

I think the Sirius plossl is generally considered not as good as these.

Must go for the BST's, good performance at the cost.

60 degree view and they have the 8mm and 18mm.

[bingevader]

What kind of budget were you thinking of?

[Steve55]

What kind of budget were you thinking of?

Now there is a question, i cannot say i really know what i would spend, i suppose it depends on what am getting for the money and how much i would benefit with the equipement i currently  have.  Not understanding how much a particular ep would  improve things leaves me a little disadvantged with the how much question, I guess it is tell me what you think and i make a the decision.

[bingevader]

However, you must have a rough idea!

Personally, however lovely they are, I can't afford the £250 for a Televue Delos EP or the £450+ for an Ethos EP!

The TV plossls are very good though.

The Explore Scientific 68° and 82° range are a notch down in price and still very good eyepieces.

I don't know if there are many Maxvision EPs left, but they were stonkingly good value.

I can vouch for the X-Cel LXs too.

And if the other Williams Optics SPLs are as good as the 6mm then they're fab also.

[Reeny]

The 24mm and 16mm Maxvision 68^o eyepieces are available from 365 Astronomy.

http://www.365astronomy.com/eyepieces-317mm-125-explore-scientific-eyepieces-c-4_25_453.html

And the 60^o BST starguiders.

http://www.365astronomy.com/eyepieces-317mm-125-planetary-eyepieces-c-4_25_321.html

There will be postage to add on to these prices.

I have those two MaxVisions, and use the 16mm in a Barlow most of the time.

You will appreciate the extra 8-degrees of view from the 16mm, for the same price as the BST equivalent (15mm or 18mm).

The 24mm is also a good-un.

But it is a chunky piece of kit, weighing in around 400g.

Beyond that the 82-degree Explore Scientific EPs are excellent at around £100ish.

And the Televue range of course - £200 plus each for Naglers or Delos.

The cheaper TV Plossls will be OK with your tracking scope as well.

But the novelty of nudging every 30 seconds will soon wear off if you go for a big dob later on.

[YKSE]

Steve,

Have a read in this thread, it may give your some ideas:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/217907-first-eyepiece-upgrade-what-you-wish-you-had-done/page-2?hl=%2Bfirst+%2Bupgrade+%2Bwish#entry2362172

[Steve55]

Done some reading up and looking at prices and value of the many ep's available, just mind boggling, actually i am coming to the idea of the Baader hyper zoom, not cheap but if with a 2.5 barlow gives me a large combination of sizes and of course a very good make, seems to be to me anyway good value . Field of view from my miniscule knowledge seems to be very reasoanle( feel free to slap me if am wrong ). Can anyone say why i would not be wise to make this choice ?.

[jetstream]

I have heard very good things about Baaders Hyperion MKIII zoom, from some experienced observers. It may suffer at the edges somewhat with faster focal ratios, like my f4.8 or your f5. I would read more about it and then seriously consider it. Coma will be in there, but it doesn't bug me much.

[John]

The Baader 8-24 zoom is a pretty good eyepiece. The field of view is reasonable at 20mm (50 degrees) and generous at 8mm (around 68 degrees) but it's rather narrower than the spec says at 24mm - around 40 degrees. I think the zoom complimented with a 32mm plossl for low power and a 6mm for higher power, would be a good working set for your 6" F/8 dobsonian (assuming the Orion 6i is a dobsonian).

[Astro Imp]

BTW I was looking at Rother Valley Optics and noticed that they have reduced the Celstron X-Cel LX eps to £58

[Reeny]

FLO have had the Xcel's down to £59 for a while now.

I need a cheap 7mm for the 3" scope sometime, and keep checking the clearance offers.

To be honest, for an extra £33 quid, I would rather get the ES 6.7mm to use on both my scopes.

A winning lottery ticket would come in handy with this hobby.

[bomberbaz]

The Baader 8-24 zoom is a pretty good eyepiece. The field of view is reasonable at 20mm (50 degrees) and generous at 8mm (around 68 degrees) but it's rather narrower than the spec says at 24mm - around 40 degrees. I think the zoom complimented with a 32mm plossl for low power and a 6mm for higher power, would be a good working set for your 6" F/8 dobsonian (assuming the Orion 6i is a dobsonian).

I think its an F5 John, can't seem to find details of it being an F8 which is a shame, would be excelent with the Baader zoom. 

But good advice Steve55, I have owned the SW 32mm plossl and it is a lovely eyepiece for your scope. The SW UWA at 6mm or maybe the 5mm might also be worth a look. Both those are reasonable priced to add to your zoom and would provide more options than the zoom you mentioned. (both available at sponsors FLO)

steve

[John]

I think its an F5 John, can't seem to find details of it being an F8 which is a shame, would be excelent with the Baader zoom. 

Sorry Steve - I thought the 6i was the dobsonian.

[Steve55]

Sorry Steve - I thought the 6i was the dobsonian.

Yeah the starblast 6i is a dobsonian, well it says it in the discriptions i have read anyway. f5 . F/L750mm . Another thought which kind of made sense  for the choice of the Baader was a little  future proofing . May come that i never take it further than where i am now with equipment and will be all i need. But if i do go larger/slower? , (getting a headache)  then it will still serve me  well if not better by some accounts. With the Plossi 25 and 10mm's with a 2xBarlow plus the Baader 8-24 zoom with a 2.5x barlow, for now, i think it would give me enough to start getting used to using the scope and bed in with some reassonable viewing and  quiet alot of learning of where things are . It would be nice to learn where some things are without always using a a computer.  So Many thanks for the advice on the different Ep's from everyone it was very much appreciated.

[John]

Oh, it's the Starblast. I always think of the XT Orion dobs !. Hope you enjoy your purcases

[alan potts]

However, you must have a rough idea!

Personally, however lovely they are, I can't afford the £250 for a Televue Delos EP or the £450+ for an Ethos EP!

The TV plossls are very good though.

The Explore Scientific 68° and 82° range are a notch down in price and still very good eyepieces.

I don't know if there are many Maxvision EPs left, but they were stonkingly good value.

I can vouch for the X-Cel LXs too.

And if the other Williams Optics SPLs are as good as the 6mm then they're fab also.

Ben  and I both know Meade Series 5000 eyepieces are very good indeed and though I have not tested them I would have thought they were a little better than BST's. Since the advent of Maxvision which came on the back of a cancelled or unpaid order from Meade their eyepieces have become fairly cheap on the secondhand market. The Meade ranges of S Plossl SWA and UWA were fairly expensive though not as dear as TeleVue and Pentax.

Take the 24mm SWA which I have even seen printed it better than the 24mm Panoptic from TV, though I am not so sure myself about that claim, but I have both here now and am awaiting weather to make tests. This eyepiece was once on the market at about 160-170 pounds and can now be owned for 70 quid or thereabouts, superb value at this price and it is a similar story with others in the range.

Alan.