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Can anyone recommend me some eyepieces

Steve-O

By Steve-O
in Discussions - Eyepieces

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Steve-O

Steve-O

Posted
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I am a total newbie when it comes to this so go steady with your replies lol

I have a Celestron Omni XLT 150 and i'm looking into investing in some new eyepieces, I've currently got a 10mm and a 25mm which appear to be from a generic starter kit and would like to upgrade to somthing better. Also I could do with some advice as to what magnification I would need as well.

I am mainly wanting to look at the planets for now and probably moving on to some of the more interesting stuff as I get more experienced.

I have heard some of the second hand sites are a good place to look, could anyone recomend any to me?

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ghostdance

ghostdance

Posted
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Second ABS, great place.

Also Ebay but caveat emptor - check the listing details and compare values & reviews through Google, and there are comprehensive and informed reviews on SGL of course!  

On Ebay, beware of too-good-to-be-true bargains & low -priced sets (sets of ep's coded H for example, meaning the old Huygens design - not highly regarded in comparison to others like Plossls. Ramsdens are pretty out of date too from what I read).

Also, here in Classifieds...lots of well-looked after kit + you're buying from fellow enthusiasts. It's a toyshop out there - have fun :)

Magnification? Simplest is 1 widefield (30-32mm; 1 mid 12-20mm; 1 high power 7-9mm (all ish).... BUT loads of variations possible, zooms etc. And  let's not even get into good 2-3x Barlows, lol.

I'll bet you'll end up with more than three :D

ps - notice how I don't get into brands as per your thread title? Because, as experienced eyepiece reviewer John pointed out in another thread - it's a real Pandora's Box. Each Lounger will & does have favourites, everyone has a different budget, tolerances & expectation....time to read the many threads on this!

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Steve-O

Steve-O

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Second ABS, great place.

Also Ebay but caveat emptor - check the listing details and compare values & reviews through Google, and there are comprehensive and informed reviews on SGL of course!  

On Ebay, beware of too-good-to-be-true bargains & low -priced sets (sets of ep's coded H for example, meaning the old Huygens design - not highly regarded in comparison to others like Plossls. Ramsdens are pretty out of date too from what I read).

Also, here in Classifieds...lots of well-looked after kit + you're buying from fellow enthusiasts. It's a toyshop out there - have fun :)

Magnification? Simplest is 1 widefield (30-32mm; 1 mid 12-20mm; 1 high power 7-9mm (all ish).... BUT loads of variations possible, zooms etc. And  let's not even get into good 2-3x Barlows, lol.

I'll bet you'll end up with more than three :D

ps - notice how I don't get into brands as per your thread title? Because, as experienced eyepiece reviewer John pointed out in another thread - it's a real Pandora's Box. Each Lounger will & does have favourites, everyone has a different budget, tolerances & expectation....time to read the many threads on this!

I've never seen a clasifieds section on here, I'm presuming it's because i'm a new member so I don't have access yet.

I'm slowly trawling through the many threads, probably more confused than I was before I started reading them lol

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ghostdance

ghostdance

Posted
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I've never seen a clasifieds section on here, I'm presuming it's because i'm a new member so I don't have access yet.

I'm slowly trawling through the many threads, probably more confused than I was before I started reading them lol

My mistake. You're right. Apologies for mentioning it.... :)

Take your time with the threads....there's a whole lot of experience and good advice here.

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3rd_rock_resident

3rd_rock_resident

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Hi

You could do a lot worse than look at Meade 4000 series plossls, they now go for "peanuts", but are fine eyepieces.

I'm currently watching a few on ebay.

I must say that the level of confusing names and rebrands in the eyepiece market is ridiculous.   As a total beginner I don't have a clue and googling isnt always helpful.

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John

John

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I must say that the level of confusing names and rebrands in the eyepiece market is ridiculous.   As a total beginner I don't have a clue and googling isnt always helpful.

It is confusing but you can always ask on here. Lots of people who have been in the hobby quite some time, know whats what and are only too happy to share experience :smiley:

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Andy78

Andy78

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For a barlow, i use the Revalation Astro 2x. You can screw the lense off it and screw it onto your EP which gives a barlow power of 1.5x so take a 15mm EP... you get 3 EPs... 15, 10 & 7.5. Ive got a 150 scope and i use a 5, 15, 18 & 25mm EPs, all BSTs. Great for the price and very comfortble use in fast scopes.

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Akiainavas

Akiainavas

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I'll give you the same advice I got from Steve @FLO - skip the starter eyepiece sets. They temp you with 6-7 eyepieces for 99£ etc. but the upgrade you will get is marginal and in most cases not worth it.

It might be a good idea to look at modular eyepieces ( eg. Baader Hyperion and others ) becuase with those, for a really affordable price ( the tuning rings are 12-14£ ), you can change the focal length to a few different points while still having a fixed focal point lens. With the Hyperion lens and 2 rings you get a superb quality EP with 5 different FLs for a little over 100£.

Generally, you probably want a set that contains a 17-25mm wide-fields eyepiece, a high-power 5-8mm one and probably a barlow.

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alro

alro

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Hello Stevo-O

I was asking these same questions and still am.

although a lot of people on here with more experience than me advise not to get an eyepiece/filter set, i got the meade sp 4000 series anyways and do not regret it. It just gave me a variety of different sizes to work out fir myself what works for me.

Telescope House have revelation eyepiece set on offer at 100 at the moment and it contains 5 or 6 ep, 5 filters a barliw lens and a box. I have no experience with revalation astro plossl, but a lot of them on here hold them in high regard and i was told after my purchase that the rev astro box is probably the best set to get. On astroboot there is a gso 12.5mm (15)new and gso 20mm(10) new plossl. I have been told gso make rev astro.

in my opinion i do prefer my bst starguiders due to the twist up cap and if you do go for bst starguiders, contact alan at stl direct as he is open to negotiation. I do find these comfortable to use but i have no complaints with my plossl s.

i can only provide my findings from an f10 sct.

good luck

al

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John

John

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Cant decide John if their 18mm is a Paradigm, Lacerta or Starguider, quite a mix of names for a Paradigm image, yet their 8mm shows a Starguider!

It's probably whatever came off the boat. I think thats the problem Alan has - until it docks he does not quite know whats in his consignment !

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John

John

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Alan or Zoltan?.....different websites.

I was under the impression that there was only one outlet for the BST Starguider. I'll have to call to re- confirm

No. Anyone can buy a load from Barsta and sell them on. If I bought 500 I could have my own name printed on them :smiley:

I believe their wholesale cost is a a bit under £20 per unit although you need to buy quite a few to get that price.

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Charic

Charic

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Absolutely right John.

I just wrote a whole page, but the edit failed, here is my shortened version.

Alan at StL is still the accepted main point of contact the UK for the Starguider brand. He initialy sold EPs here under the Paradigm branding, but that name was used in USA, so adopted Explorer, same again, used elsewhere?

Starguider was adopted and is still in use without any issues!

The BST logo is from the manufacturer/company's name, BarSTa.

Just seemed strange seeing the EP image branded Paradigm, yet labeled Lacerta, Ed, Starguider?

All I can suggest to anyone kit building on brand alone is to just make sure the names are all the same, for continuity, whether thats a Paradigm, Olivon, Explorer, Starguider, Orion, others?

Branding aside, either EP makes for a decent upgrade on f/6 or slower telescopes.

I also have no issues with Zoltan at 365, he has a good site, and has served me well in the past.

There is more, but thats all?

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Steve-O

Steve-O

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Hi

You could do a lot worse than look at Meade 4000 series plossls, they now go for "peanuts", but are fine eyepieces.

I've actually been looking at these, will they be any good on my scope though as I believe it's F5, I thought they were better suited to slower apature scopes?

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