Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Good budget eyepieces for SkyWatcher 200P Dobsonian


mrfishyfingers

Recommended Posts

Evening all. 


 


Considering investing in a few new eyepieces with Xmas coming up. I have a few Plossl eyepieces which I purchased to replace the standard ones supplied with the scope. They seem to do a decent enough job but reading my monthly copies of Astronomy Now and looking through these forums, the better, more expensive eyepieces seem to offer the viewer a lot more enjoyment and are constantly recommended as worth investing in.


 


Doing a bit of research, the BST Explorer/Starguider eyepieces seem to crop-up again and again as a strong recommendation when posters ask for advice on good eyepieces without breaking the bank for Dobsonians. 


 


My simple question is: would investing in such eyepieces provide me with a noticeable improvement in the quality of what I can see over my Plossl pieces?


 


Many thanks,


 


Simon



Link to comment
Share on other sites

They are good, I have one and a half sets of them. (OK, a bit more)

One of the main aspects of the BST's is the eye relief, generally 15-17mm, have heard values in this range. Plossl's vary.

One aspect is that BST's come in 5mm, 8mm, 12mm, if you go planet observing the 5mm to 8mm then 12mm may be in jumps that are a bit big. In which case the Celestron X-Cel LX's might be better suited as they are 5mm, 7mm, 9mm then 12mm - smaller steps. But they cost more, about £60 last I looked.

Generally the 8mm BST gets good reviews and is a nice option for the 200P (is it the f/5 of the f/6 ?)

So you could go for that one and see what you think, also Alan has a try and return arrangement, or did have.

Which reminds me I must email Alan a question.

Really unless you go up to ES and such like the BST and X-Cel are the next step up at not too much cost.

Remember they are good but they are £50 eyepieces so don't expect Ethos performance, equally I know people have debated if their BST or their Delos are the better eyepiece.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think its f/5.9 if I remember rightly.

Finances don't really allow me to consider £100+ eyepieces though I am sure it would be a case of you get what you pay for. If the BST eyepieces are a definite improvement on the Plossls, then I think that would be the way to go. Just wondering what kind of improvement I am likely to see at the eyepiece if I replaced a Plossl with a BST Starguider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming that your plossls are of decent but not premium quality, you will see a slight wider field of view, the eye relief with the shorter focal lengths will be more comfortable, the eye cup of the BST eyepieces can be twisted up or down to find the optimum position for you and the overall quality of view will be a little crisper with a little less light scatter and possibly the background sky will seem a little darker with the BST's.

The BST's (or any other eyepiece for that matter) will not show you anything that your current plossls won't but the views will be improved in the ways I've outlined above.

The BST Starguider / Explorers are good eyepieces for their price which is why they are popular. They won't revolutionise your viewing but you will notice some pleasant differences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The BST Starguider range only go to 25mm in 1.25" format, you might want to consider a 2" eyepiece around 30mm 70 degrees ish for your low power viewing, That will let you see more sky than the narrower field of view that you have just now. You can pick these up well under £100 used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Evening all.

My simple question is: would investing in such eyepieces provide me with a noticeable improvement in the quality of what I can see over my Plossl pieces?

Many thanks,

Simon

I have some Plossl eyepieces, and the image they provide is quality, the price is even better, under £16? Its not always about how much you can spend, its the visual result that is more important to the end user.

The advantage of the BST Starguiders, is the comfort they provide? Better eye relief, good field of view, and should work well in scopes of f/5 or slower!

My first Starguider was the 8mm to replace the Skywatcher supplied Super 10mm MA. The difference to my eye was stunning.

I just wish they'd had a Starguider 6mm EP to complete the set, but that thought may change soon, depending on my latest EP addition?

If you have the f/ 6 Skyliner, a 6mm or the 12mm Barlowed gives you the 200x power that the scope is capable of producing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do apologise!

I was so busy giving recommendations that I missed the important question.

What John said!

But, will you see a difference?

At the shorter focal lengths, it's more comfort and the added drift time.

I struggle with a plossl below 8mm.

At the longer focal lengths, my goodness, if you could stretch to the 82° 24mm! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there're any Maxvision EPs still around, I'd go for them.

That would include, if you can stretch the budget by £15, the 24mm 82° flavour, yummy!

The 6mm slot is filled, very finely in my humble opinion, by the WO SPL 6mm, 'tis very good.

I ordered one from explore scientific 4 weeks ago, they still had 160 or so in stock

I do apologise!

I was so busy giving recommendations that I missed the important question.

What John said!

But, will you see a difference?

At the shorter focal lengths, it's more comfort and the added drift time.

I struggle with a plossl below 8mm.

At the longer focal lengths, my goodness, if you could stretch to the 82° 24mm! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.