Startravel st120 eyepeices

[mikemabel]

Hello all

can you advise a good high power eyepeice suited to my telescope ?

Scope is Skywatcher ST120 D=120mm F=600mm,  F5

i have a 7-21mm zoom, celestron xcel-x 5mm and a 28mm 2" skywatcher LER eyepeice for DSO's

My main interest is planets

i have considrered the skywatcher swa 3.5 mm, william optics SPL 3mm or at a push a vixen lvw 3.5mm eyepeice if this is worth the extra money

my budet is £200 max

Mike

[rwilkey]

Hi Mike, the trouble is with high mag ep's is that they get rarely used. In my mind an eyepiece that gives about 150x would be best, so that means something like a 4mm, in which range there are not many good choices. The Vixen LVW range is a good one, but they only do the 3.5mm. if it were me I would go for the Explore Scientific 82 Degree series 4.7mm which will give 127x, a very satisfying mag and good sharp stars right across the field, also a snip at £99 from FLO.  Link: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-82-degree-series-eyepieces.html

[damnut]

Hi There,

Can only echo Robins advice above. I have a st120 too and never use more than 120x .. The 5mm BST explorer works really well with the scope and the ES 4.7mm that my colleague has is a class act. The beauty of the 120 is the widefield views it offers.

[mikemabel]

Thanks Robin

I saw the post from FLO concerning the new Explore Scientific range too late ! , but is the celestron 5mm just as good ?

i agree that  a 4mm eyepeice would give that bit extra oomph, but seem to be rare at least in high end brands . 

i dont want to replace this but i am looking for the "ultimate" eyepeice for my scope that good seeing conditions and budget

will allow

3.5mm ives about 170x mag ,which would be the top end of my scope i would think

just incase it makes a difference the scope is fitted with a 2" diagonal

Mike

[Moonshane]

You would enhance your planetary views greatly by spending your 200 on a 6" f8 skywatcher dob.

[mikemabel]

funny you should mention that but astroboot have a used 8" dob for £165 

but i just dont have the space for it. i am loathed to sell the st 120 after so much deliberation

[Moonshane]

I'd keep both but acknowledge space issue.

[damnut]

The ST120 is my grab & go scope. It travels in the boot, roofbox or the back seat. Impervious to welsh roads, the northern highlands, snow, sand and dog slobber. No way could I consider treating a dob  like that...

[Macavity]

Often (ultimately?) there is a certain inevitability about owning more than one scope.

Fast achromats are (unfortunately) at their best on DSO's. If space is the only issue,

*do* keep the ST102 and (later) pair it with similar aperture Maksutov for planets? 

Ever home should have an "ST" though!  I recently treated mine to a new focuser.

It is an irony that FAST Achromats are the most demanding of eyepieces though.

There is e.g. a consensus that (my!) Baader Hyperions are "best" in slow scopes.

But there are positive votes for many of the above eyepieces in fast scopes... BST's,

Explore Scientific(?) etc. You could try the well-known ST "aperture stop" to see

if that sharpens up any planetary image. I must admit I never really checked... 

[Macavity]

OOPS... Dodgy contact bounce on my mouse button!

[damnut]

@ Macavity, Agreed!.

So on 7 objects the ST120 is not so good, accepted..A bit of CA, now then what happened to the rest of the sky. I don't believe the amount of dis to these scopes and bst's. Or non apo /  televue users.

[rwilkey]

Thanks Robin

I saw the post from FLO concerning the new Explore Scientific range too late ! , but is the celestron 5mm just as good ?

i agree that  a 4mm eyepeice would give that bit extra oomph, but seem to be rare at least in high end brands . 

i dont want to replace this but i am looking for the "ultimate" eyepeice for my scope that good seeing conditions and budget

will allow

3.5mm ives about 170x mag ,which would be the top end of my scope i would think

just incase it makes a difference the scope is fitted with a 2" diagonal

Mike

Hi Mike, I think the Celestron LX 5mm would be pretty good, judging by the reviews on this forum, give it a critical view and I sure the view will be pleasing. The Ex Sci 4.7mm is a luxury item but suits rich field telescopes like yours.

[mikemabel]

Hello all

The second scope is an inevitable fact of life i think , a dob probably !

The focuser does seem to be the weak link of the scope, it has some vertical play which is annoying

but does not affect the scope in normal use

The law of diminishing returns would seem to apply in upgrading it

but as Brown Dwarf says it seems to be a great grab and go scope

I think i will go ahead and purchase a 3 or 3.5mm EP and report back 

Thanks for all your advice