For all us Skywatcher newbies

[Julian Hands]

Please see the attached photo that compares my new BST 8mm Eyepiece vs the original Skywatcher 10mm eyepiece.

The BST not only looks quality but the feel and weight also give you a really good feeling that this is no toy.

Wish the weather would clear so I can use it, but I would highly recommend to any Skywatcher newbie to buy these BST eyepieces as an alternative to the supplied cheap Skywatcher eyepieces you get.

I know that the 10mm and 25mm eyepieces that I got with my Evostar 120 do get you started but the 10mm was disappointing and really glad I've made this £49 investment.

The 25mm will next be replaced with the BST equivalent.

[mondeoman]

I too replaced my originals with bst's totally agree a very nice bit of kit,the 8mm is next on my list.i have tbe 18mm and 12mm at the moment.

[Charic]

Astrotech Paradigm

Agena Starguider

TS N-ED

Olivon ED

Orion Epic 

BST Starguider

Photon ED

BST Explorer

Any of the above would be a good upgrade over the Standard supplied eyepieces. ED glass, 60°afov, fairly flat field views  and respectable eye-relief. I dont think there is any reason to compare the EP specifics, as they are basically all the same, bar the Branding, and possibly  the sequence of the colour coded/focal length rings?

That said, unless on the second hand market, £49 for a BST Starguider very competitive, although any cheaper, I would have bought the set even quicker after getting my first 8mm. I truly like them all, I dont sit working out the power, I just frame to get the best view. I only worry about the power at a later date, if / when trying to make a report?

I'm told there are better quality optics out there, but with my f/6 scope and my eyes, its a no brainer for me, and a win situation with the results I achieve.

[Julian Hands]

I too replaced my originals with bst's totally agree a very nice bit of kit,the 8mm is next on my list.i have tbe 18mm and 12mm at the moment.

Do you get much signifcant difference between the 18mm and 12mm, what was the reason you selected these sizes, I'm tempted to go for something in between, say 15-18mm but would like to get the 25mm first so that I can find may targets in the 25mm and change to the 8mm without having to get to involved in re-focusing, which with the skywatcher 25 and 10mm eyepieces, they do require alot of adjustment on the change over.

[wookie1965]

I have the full set and i love every one.

[JG777]

They are very good, I have the 8, 12, 18, 25 and all are very decent. The 18 is the jewel though.

[ronl]

I also have the set, except for the 3.2mm, still waiting for someone to review it,

the Starguider range I find to be very good, they suit me perfectly, and they suit

my scope also, I get great views, and being parfocal you only need a slight adjustment

with the focuser, when you use your 8mm for the first time, adjust the screw up eyecup

to suit your viewing comfort, I find my comfort zone to be around 3/4s up, but if you 

wear spectacles, then don't adjust it at all, leave it as it is, I hope the weather is 

kind for you soon, then you can give a report on your results with it, I do hope you

enjoy using your 8mm if you do your next should be the 18mm, use the 25mm

because it is useable, then you can get an in-between size after the 18mm.

Good luck and Clear Sky's  

[alro]

I got the 8, 12, 15 and 18.

the views are stunning, really comfortabe and look the part.

im new to this also, but what im lead to believe is that with the 18 having a larger fov than your 25, and a greater magnification, you may get the similar view , but bigger, brighter and clearer with the bst.

Im sure someone will jump on this with a better explanation , or probably correct me. No offence taken if thats the case.

Al

[Julian Hands]

I got the 8, 12, 15 and 18.

the views are stunning, really comfortabe and look the part.

im new to this also, but what im lead to believe is that with the 18 having a larger fov than your 25, and a greater magnification, you may get the similar view , but bigger, brighter and clearer with the bst.

Im sure someone will jump on this with a better explanation , or probably correct me. No offence taken if thats the case.

Al

18mm it is then, skies are supposed to clear at midnight, chucking it down at present. May have a snooze and go out to 2am to do some viewing.

I have a 2" BST 2x Barlow, will this be to strong for the 8mm eyepiece as I'm not sure if using the Barlow with the 8mm eyepiece efectively makes it a 4mm, this would give 250x magnification and my scope only calculates out to  240x magnification?

I got the Barlow to see if I can get better views of Jupiter, but this maybe overkill?

[darth vader]

have had my skywatcher 130m for a little over 2 weeks now and have also replaced my 10mm with the 8mm starguider and have also bought the celestron xcel lx 18mm.

just need the weather to improve so i can get to try them out

[alro]

Did you get up to do any early observing.

have you already ordered your other bst yet, it is really worth contacting alan directly at skys the limit. i strongly believe you will get a better price that way. An even better deal when you buy multiple!! I usually contact him via email. He is really helpfull and will be better placed to give you advice on which size to go for with your scope even at weeekends!

With your barlow, it halfs your focal length, so your 8mm becomes 4mm, 18mm becones 9mm, 25mm becomes 12.5mm.

And it doubles your magnification, so if you got 125 magnification with 8mm. If you barlowed up it would give you 250 as you said,

Im not sure what your view would be like, it may work for you. Ive not really used barlow yet.

just another thing to consider as you alteady have the 8 mm and you get the 18, with barlow this will give you 4mm 8mm 9mm 12.5mm 18mm and 25mm that includes your SW.

Once you get 1 bst, you will get more! They really to look the part as you already know.

hope this hasnt confused you anymore.

al

[Charic]

Did you get up to do any early observing.

have you already ordered your other bst yet, it is really worth contacting alan directly at skys the limit. i strongly believe you will get a better price that way. An even better deal when you buy multiple!! I usually contact him via email. He is really helpfull and will be better placed to give you advice on which size to go for with your scope even at weeekends!

With your barlow, it halfs your focal length, so your 8mm becomes 4mm, 18mm becones 9mm, 25mm becomes 12.5mm.

And it doubles your magnification, so if you got 125 magnification with 8mm. If you barlowed up it would give you 250 as you said,

Im not sure what your view would be like, it may work for you. Ive not really used barlow yet.

just another thing to consider as you alteady have the 8 mm and you get the 18, with barlow this will give you 4mm 8mm 9mm 12.5mm 18mm and 25mm that includes your SW.

Once you get 1 bst, you will get more! They really to look the part as you already know.

hope this hasnt confused you anymore.

al

That's a new one!

[alro]

It is true though Charic.

So they are fantastic value and real solid ep s

You only need 1 more for a full set i see,

[alan potts]

Julian,

Don't let the weight of an eyepiece fool you, a Baader Genuine Orthoscopic 5mm weighs a tiny amount and one has to spend hundreds of pounds to better it, I have also seen heavy eyepieces that are far from good.

Alan.

[Tim]

So they are fantastic value and real solid ep s

Depends how you define fantastic value I suppose. For me, "fantastic value" is when you get more than your moneys worth, eg: a 50% off sale, not just picking up cheap stuff at a cheap price.

[Julian Hands]

Was up to 2am last night and from 7:30pm to now I've had clear skys and I'm dellighted with my purchases.

First off all I would highly recommend to anybody that it is worth buying from Bristol Cameras the Polar scope Illuminator, with the best price and free delivery, this item is worth every penny.

Was able to set with ease the polar alignment that for the whole of tonights observing was then done with ease, due to good alignment from the start. Without the illuminator I really struggled using this polarscope.

Once I had the alignment I was again able to use Jupiter to setup the finderscope and started my evening on Jupiter. The 25mm Skywatcher Eyepiece, although not brilliant is okay, I enjoy using this eyepiece in conjunction with my finderscope to ensure that all is aligned before going further with greater magnification. once all was set and tracking nicely I swapped over to my 8mm BST for the first time and was truely blown away, the quality of the image is like chalk and cheese. Now I see the need for filters as the image was so bright, but I could clearly see the lines in Jupiter. I then thought [removed word] it and why not try the BST 2X Barlow with the BST eyepiece.

This truely blow me away as all of a sudden Jupiter had a 3d image which I had clearly defined with a slight shadow at the bottom of Jupiter, which would be the top of Jupiter in reality, The Barlow really showed this planet as a spherical object and not just a disc, the rings of Jupiter and its eye were now clearly seen.

I thought my scope wouldnt cope with this level of magnification but I'm happy with the observable images I can see using the 2x Barlow and the 8mm BST on my Evostar 120.

After spending an hour viewing Jupiter, I then went to Orion and M42,M43. Again this was now a really beautiful image using the barlow with both the 25mm Skywatcher eyepiece and the 8mm BST eyepiece. The gas cloud is now clear as day and the clarity of the stars clustered in the center is now really clear, before with the10mm Skywatcher eyepiece I could make out the dust cloud but not with any real definition, this now with the 2X Barlow has been rectified.

I'm only observing and not using my scope for photography, but I love this bit of kit as beginner, it is amazing and absolutely delighted with the purchase.

So pleased with this evenings viewing, cant wait for the next clear night that I dont know when will next emmerge as it is overcast all week from what I have seen on the Met office.

Chuffed I made the effort to capitalize on the clear moments I've had now.

For any Skywatcher newbie like me I highly recommend the BST range to get going and the 8mm is a magnificent replacement for the Skywatcher 10mm.

[CJE]

I have the full set and i love every one.

And me!

[hgjevans]

I too have just got some BSTs, and they do seem to be excellent value for money. My only real criticism of them so far (and it's a trifling one) is that they can be difficult to tell apart in the dark (though I guess that would apply to many ranges of eyepieces). I'm going to have to think of a way of marking them - like elastic bands around the barrel, or something.

[hgjevans]

Nice report, Julian - glad you're making good use of those dark Carmarthenshire skies!

[Charic]

I too have just got some BSTs, and they do seem to be excellent value for money. My only real criticism of them so far (and it's a trifling one) is that they can be difficult to tell apart in the dark (though I guess that would apply to many ranges of eyepieces). I'm going to have to think of a way of marking them - like elastic bands around the barrel, or something.

I  keep mine in  numerical order, in a Starguider case from the same outlet. I also have some  glow in the dark adhesive stickers, that need illuminating first, but they don't last long, before requiring a re-charge?

They do say the coloured BST colour coded rings are to identify the eyepieces ( What in the dark?)

I suppose the good old dymo tape lettering system with its raised  font would also work. 

[Siriusmeg]

Yes that is the only downside - really nice EPs.  My favourite is the 12mm, it gives really clear contrasty views with enough magnification for many purposes.  I do end up using the red torch to tell them apart though, especially when my daughters are observing with me  - we share eps and I can never track down the right one  

[alro]

Nice 1 Huw,

glad you also consider good/excellent value!

al

[rwilkey]

Hi Ron and others, I have also used the BST StarGuider 3.2mm just the once, on the Moon, and was dead impressed.  As good as the others in the series quality wise.  Not had chance to try it on anything else, but the views it gave of the Moon's surface were stunning.  For planets I think the transit time would be very quick (too quick), I am happy to use it just for the Moon, which makes it a luxury item to be sure.

[ronl]

Thank's Robin, the 3.2 will soon be in my possession.

[Charic]

ronl.....looks just as good as the rest, but no time now,  plus with the imminent weather heading my way,  maybe a few days before any details,  but I've no doubt, its will be just as usable as the rest, regards comfort, fov and eye-relief!  my 3.2mm arrived today