Adjustable eyepiece

[Dom1961]

I am a beginner and I dont have a lot of money to spend on eyepieces, the telescope im thinking of getting has  10 & 20 mm ep's. Instead of buying a kit, is it cheaper to buy an adjustable ep? also what is the image quality like in these?

[Stu]

Welcome to the forum.

Which scope are you thinking of getting? There are some reasonably priced zoom eyepieces around but they tend to work better in scopes with a longer focal ratio. Let us know the scope and then you will get better advice.

Stu

[101nut]

There are some excellent zooms out there but you should be aware that to get the quality you have to spend money. If you want cheap but good, Starguider eyepieces are well reviewed (available on ebay) and decent plossls can be had second hand. Personally if there's not a lot of money I wouldn't buy a zoom.

Whatever you think, I'd join a local Astro Society and look through some eyepieces before spending your money.

AndyG

[Dom1961]

The scope im thinking of getting is the Celestron 130eq without the md and it has f/5 also any opinions on the scope? I want to look at planets , the moon and maybe nebulas if this scope lets me, any decent zoom eyepiece brands or model that you know of?

[bingevader]

The Seben, 8-24mm zoom (around £60) used to get good reviews, but I haven't heard it mentioned much recently.

[Dom1961]

What about the £20 seben zoom eyepiece? Im only a teenager so im not really earning much xD

[Dom1961]

And do you guys think its worth getting a 2x barlow?

[Stu]

The scope im thinking of getting is the Celestron 130eq without the md and it has f/5 also any opinions on the scope? I want to look at planets , the moon and maybe nebulas if this scope lets me, any decent zoom eyepiece brands or model that you know of?

F5 is quite fast, nothing wrong with that as such, but it is more demanding on eyepieces. I don't think the Seben Zoom (which was one I was thinking of too), will be very good at f5.

Do you need the EQ mount? A Dob is cheaper and easier, perhaps a 150p which I think is f8 and would probably be fine with the Seben. What is your scope budget?

[Dom1961]

Under £150

[John]

I believe the cheapest Seben zoom has some plastic lenses in it. Not good !

Personally, on a really tight budget, I'd have a go with the eyepieces that come with the scope and then keep an eye out on the UK Astro Buy & Sell website and maybe even e.bay for some low cost used plossl eyepieces which can be picked up for between £10 and £20 each. The Astroboot site also has them at low cost from time to time.

[Dom1961]

What type of eyepieces do you think i should be looking for? E.g.plossls,kellners? The scope is a newtonian f/5

[John]

It depends on your budget. The lowest cost ones that will perform decently in your F/5 scope would be the plossl design. I'd avoid AH's, Kellners etc although the stock eyepieces are of that design to get you going.

Budget-wise plossls seem to start around £20 new and go upwards. As I've said above, the secondhand market is a great way to make your money go a little further.

[Dom1961]

What sizes do you recommend? I will be getting a barlow aswell probably

[bingevader]

John's advice is always good.

The Vixen NPLs are a good place to start.

I would recommend a barlow for the shorter focal length eyepieces as they eye relief can get a bit tight.

But you will want a long focal length, like the 30mm, for a wider view and to help with finding objects.

As BigSumo has said however, if you are yet to purchase, the Skyliner 150p might be a better option.