if its not broke.... and works for me

[alro]

Hello all and thanks in advance.

for me my bst starguiders work really well and i find them extremely comfortable. i have asked questions on here about other mainly premium eyepieces. TELE VUE nagler, delos, ES.

If my bst starguiders work well for me and i like and prefer the twist up eyecups over the softer plossl eyecup , am i likely to get a much better viewing experience with the premium ep s.

My scope is f10 and i believe this performs well with most eps. At my beginner level am i likeky to notice a considerable difference. In honesty it would be nice to own a Tele vue ep as they do sound like the top ones people aspire to having,

I value all comments for and against!

al

[swamp thing]

If you're happy why worry. 

When the day comes that you aren't, then seek to change.  

Thats what I'd do.

[Tinker1947]

If you think you might go the DOB way some time in the future then getting some good glass now won't hurt, if not then stay happy with what you have....

[ronin]

You may but perhaps not as good as you expect or presume.

There is a post over on CN from someone that bought better and more costly eyepieces, never used his Paradigms again for some time. They had "better", however when they one day returned to the Paradigms they found that actually the Paradigms matched the more expensive ones and in one case they said bettered them. The better ones were top end TV's.

I do wonder if that when you get a new shiny item the tendancy is to see it as better. It takes a lot to buy a £350 eyepiece then say:

It matches my £50 one but that is about all, the wider view is pleasant but I suppose I am looking at extra empty space around the object in the centre.

Also when the BST/Paradigms first came out quite a number in the US said they bettered some of the TV's, and certainly did not get shown up by the TV's.

A lot to do with "better" eyepieces these days are width of view. So is an 82 degree eyepiece better then a 60 degree eyepiece if the image produced for say Jupiter were the same?

If I recall something said that above 68 degrees you have to move your head to see the "outer" bits. If correct there is a good arguement that above 68 degrees you are not gaining anything.

Unless someone wants to donate me a set (complete) of 82 degree eyepieces or 100 degree ones from ES or TV I will stick with the BST's also. Actually need to contact Alan.

[John]

I think the best thing is to try for yourself sometime. Ideally see if you can use someone elses eyepiece so you have not personally made the investment and biased yourself as ronin suggests is possible.

If you try some one elses and like it then you can make the decision whether the difference is worth the cost of changing. If you are not too keen then you can say "thanks very much" and have the internal confidence that what you currently have is ideal for you.

There is NO substitute for finding out for yourself though, in my humble opinion

[Floater]

If Charic, my pal from 'up and round the corner', doesn't come in here I'll be surprised. :-))

[Charic]

Hi Gordon.

Air.......hi there. You have my first and second choice of EPs? I wanted to build a Plossl kit and my first choice should have been the Meade 4000s, but I was insistent on getting the [JAPAN] variants, but they were hard to obtain at the time, especially as I wanted a full set. I looked long and hard at what is supposed to be the best, Tele Vue, but their prices were above a restriction that I self imposed, although funding was not the issue? Could an eyepiece that cost more than my present telescope make the scope any better?

I was certain that I could still have great results for far less, and from reading the hype about the BSTs, I now promote the hype, they are great EPs, but not for everyone or system. I also looked at two TV Plossls recently, and from just one test of the 8mm I said no to my self, as that EP alone was not comfortable in use for me compared to my BST. Im happy with the comfort and the quality of image provided by the BST,yet still want to build a Plossl set! So why do I own four of the cheapest EPs on the Planet? Like John mentions, you will only know if you try something yourself. But these Plossls work very well, clean bright image, and the 9mm with its 6mm eye-relief feels more comfortable to me, yet its about the same spec/size give or take 1mm to the 8mm TV. Ive no doubt the TV opitics are great, but to me, my £9 Plossl does the job admirably.

I have already earmarked three TV EPs for my 12" Dob, should I take the plunge, knowing that they will work well, and my BSTs may not, but without testing, I dont really know. Im really not bothered if my image is off at the edges, as I can track very smoothly, on-axis, so If my present EPs worked well on a 12" then the TVs will be just a pipe dream.

The transmission of light through the system and into the eye has to be perfect. There are so many pitfalls, even on brand new telescopes, that will effect this transmission. Despite how the image is formed by the telescope, the most important part to me is what my eyes are capable of seeing, and what my mind percieves as just right. I will test/try some of the more expensive premium EPs, and so many folk say I wont regret the upgrade, but no-one else can use or see through my eyes. Thats where the buck stops.

[Moonshane]

Here's my take on a similar question

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/166265-cheap-vs-expensive/

[YKSE]

Keep it is what I'll do too.

Eyepieces are much more personal preferences, and we have all different ones, some prefer wider field, some must have long eye relief, one or another likes light weight, some likes pin-point stars to the edge, some prefer sharp on-axis view, and so on. Trying as John supposed is an excellent way to find out your own preference, reading is another way.

if you're not sure, keep using the ones you have, the ultimate objects of this hobby is explore the sky with stuffs you have, and have fun.

[Northern Soul man]

Hi Al, nice to see your getting on with the LX mate - you have gathered a few nice EP's - its VERY HARD to comment or even pass judgement on someone else's kit and accessories - as you know we are all doing this with the same outcome - a love of the night sky - yes the same outcome but a totally different "look" on things when it comes to an individual's way they look at the hobby, for some, you can throw as much money as you want at the hobby, others, struggle to "put together" what they want - a little "time" spent observing can lead to an individual wanting more - or a very real frustration of not being able to "see" the absolute "best" or what they think is the "best" their level of equipment will allow.

I was talking to another guy on another forum regarding this - a lot of money spent on equipment and after a very short period of time - total frustration on what was being observed.

I think that everyone new to the hobby goes through this to a certain degree and feel that they "should" be seeing such a lot more - whether it be dust lanes in Galaxies or very fine detail on Jupiter - we're all using the same equipment under the same skies - I think the main problem is that we all need to take a step back and just actually take in whats really going on - using such small bits of glass to view detail over such vast vast distances running from HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of miles to TENS of THOUSANDS of LIGHT YEARS - and yet - still with our little bits of glass the amount of detail my £26 second hand Meade 4000 12mm Super Plossl shows me on the surface of Jupiter through my F10 SCT still makes me feel humbled at the experience night after night - I think that.s why I look forward to setting up on a nice clear night knowing exactly what to expect as soon as that Plossl pops into the diagonal.

Paul.

[ronin]

This appeared recently on CN:  CNEyepieces

Also when the BST's/Paradigms initially came out there were many comparisons and in many the BST's were better then the more costly eyepieces and certainly little if any worse. Quite a few people rated them better then 68 degree TV's at the time. Equally no-one ever said better the the TV plossl's.

They are 60 degree eyepieces and for some people the wider views of other eyepieces has an appeal or even necessity. A person using a dobsonian will find the object remains in view longer with an 82 degree EP, and some like the "immersive" feel of wider eyepieces. Neither of these mean necessarily better images of say Jupiter.

The BST's do their job very well and it seems the production QA seems good.

It has been said beore but someone got it just right.

The question is who??

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

My key rule of thumb for buying new EPs has always been to replace stuff only if I started to feel their shortcomings. If you are happy with the kit you have, don't worry.

[rwilkey]

Hi Al, my take is that at f/10 you will hardly notice a difference, the BST StarGuiders can out-perform most other ep's out there, so why change or spend more of your hard-earned cash, as someone else says above, if you get to try them at a star party all well and good, but otherwise save your money.

[spaceboy]

I found the BST/ starguiders to work very well but felt the longer focal lengths struggled in faster scopes http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/128026-finally-on-the-bst-firm/ At the time my most used scope was an 8" f/5 so I let the BST explorers go. I guess looking back I should have just replaced the 18 & 25mm BST's with something else and kept the shorter fl BST's. Although had that been the case I doubt I would have continued my search an ended up with my collection of ES 82° & 100° eyepieces which I very much enjoy. In your case Al your f/10 scope would probably show little difference in the views with TV eyepieces other than FOV.

As fate would have it I have again purchased BST's in the shorter focal lengths for use in my LS60Tha. At first glance the views are very close to that of my ortho in the f/8.3 lunt but are far more comfortable to use. I found in the orthos and zoom I was previously using rather fussy about eye position and would often suffer black outs or kidney beaning. I assume this is partly down to the restrictions introduced by the blocking filter ??? as I don't suffer such issues at night using the otho's. or zoom.

My views on the BST's are much the same as you say. The BST's have screw up cups so I no longer have to hover over the lens. They work great in f/8. I don't have to squint through a small lens so I find I'm more relaxed using them.

[alan potts]

Al,

If you like something why worry, at F10 you do not really need Delos and the like though they will be better but not by the same margine that they will be better at F4. 

Alan

[ronl]

Comfort, great views and superb value for money, what more can I say, BST Starguider 

[alro]

Thanks everyone so far for your response to this. You have all given me very good advice and i really appreciate your thoughts and the effort at length to answer my question. There is loads of valuable information for me in your replies and links.

Ultimately i feel i am happy with my BST Starguiders, in the few months i have had my scope these have given me some stunning views and fantastic experiences,

so

if its not broke.......,, and it works for me.

thanks

al

[Northern Soul man]

NIce 1 Al - I think we all need to take a step back from time to time and just enjoy the hobby - NO upgrades, NO worrying what Joe down the road says (sorry Joe!!), NO to time spent on here "trawling" through the reviews, No to worrying what equipment Joe's got down the road - its time to invite Joe over for a night under the stars!!!!! and just OBSERVE (with Joe!!).

Regards.

Paul

[alro]

Agreed Paul, dont think i will get out tonight though!

well put. Is that joe or joey!

there is loads of information, reviews, help at hand!

thanks

al