baader starter kit

[owenjsidge]

Hi,

I was previously looking at the click zoom, and now my eye has been turned to the 4 piece starter kit with case. Has any one got any options before I splash out. I'll be using in the skywatcher 200p dob

[John]

The fixed focal length Hyperions are great slower scopes but show a fair amount of edge distortion in an F/5.9 scope like your 200P dob. The ES / Maxvision eyepieces are a better choice in such a scope I feel and the Hyperion zoom does better for edge correction.

[owenjsidge]

OK I'll go for the click stop zoom then thanks for the advice anything has got to be better that the 10mm it comes with.

[rwilkey]

Hi Owen, yes, John is right about the fixed focal length Hyperions, best avoided at f/5 or f/6.  The zoom should work well enough.  ES eyepieces are also highly recommended.

[owenjsidge]

Baader mark III Hyperion 8-24mm click stop zoom ordered and being delivered on Saturday. This is the moment where I usually panic and wonder if i am going to notice any difference but with my confidence in you guys a little less so.

Thanks again.

[stadaik]

Baader Mark III zoom is a must. Also has a good resalable value. Its a win-win.

[F15Rules]

Great,versatile eyepiece at the price. The Barlow accessory is excellent too for high power:-)

Dave

[owenjsidge]

i went for the option with the Barlow as my thinking is that it should gave me so many options. my next buy (im trying not too look) will be a lens 24mm+. 

so far this has been a very expensive venture. but hopefully my son will get a lot out of it for many a year especially when he gets to see the moon.

Thanks again

[F15Rules]

I think you will be very pleased with your choice: simple to use, flexible and really nice optics. You are right to look at an eyepiece of above 24mm to supplement the Baader, and something between 24 and 34 mm would be great...I am assuming that your Dob will have a 2" focuser? If so, you can use the 2" nosepiece on the Baader Zoom (it comes with both 2" and 1.25") and I'd suggest a nice 2" widefield eyepiece so that the weight of both is not too dissimliar and so doesn't change the balance of your Dob too much.

I can recommend the Explore Scientific Maxvision range as being of very good quality and excellent value for money.

Have a look here: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-68-degree-maxvision-eyepieces.html

I would say the 28mm would be ideal for your needs and at 68 degrees gives a really nice, low power view which would be sharp pretty much right to the edge of your Dob. And FLO are great to deal with.

Hope that helps.

Dave

[owenjsidge]

Yes i can use either in 1.25 or 2 inch

[owenjsidge]

well a bit of an update.

my partners sister and her husband came around. on Saturday and again we had really good skies. I had everything setup about 2 hours before they arrived and at about 11pm we ventured outside. WOW the difference with the Baader is immense. we had a good view of the dumbbell which you could make out the shape (not a blur) then the ring which was not so great really could just see a blur. and Andromeda which looked great even its neighbor galaxy showed up. Saturn was out of our field of view so that was the only let down.

I did see Saturn last night however but the cloud cover was shocking and it was very hard to focus with anything above 12-14 mm.

Hope this helps if anyone is thinking of getting one.

and this is all from a back garden and we can hardly see the milky way if at all.

Owen

[F15Rules]

Sounds great Owen!

Don't try to use too much magnification..I would only use the Barlow on the best nights. Persevere at between the 16mm and 20mm settings and as you get used to being at the eyepiece for a while gradually increase the power a bit (on suitable objects) and spend a good 10-20 minutes on interesting objects, the longer you look the more you will see:-)

And get a wide field 24mm or longer focal length when funds allow, for those winter star clusters and the Orion nebula M42:-)

Dave

[owenjsidge]

I cannot wait to see the orion nebula to be honest and yes you are also right on the zoom. I will definitely try and stay lower mag and look longer. Thanks