Recommended eye pieces for an f5 telescope

[Spooked]

Apologies as I am sure this has been asked before.... I am new to all this so please don't shoot me down.

I have aquired a Explorer 150p with a 750mm focal length.

I haven't got any eye pieces for it and wondered what you guys might recommend. I'm pretty budget conscious at the moment what with Christmas coming up and this being a new hobby. It looks like I will also need filters.

I'm hoping to use the telescope for deep space and also looking at planets if I can. Dependant on my skills and learning curve.

I just don't really know where to start with it all and I don't and can't afford to waste money.

Hope you guys can help.

Appreciate any assistance

[Chipela]

Based on my very limited experience (just started observing myself), the 28mm eyepiece that came with my Skywatcher 150PDS 750mm telescope is very convenient. The eyepiece is Skywatcher 28mm LET to be exact. At least for nebulas and clusters it's 27x magnification is very good (in some cases 30x...35x might be a bit better).

I think I finally believe what people have been saying on forums that for many targets one doesn't actually need a lot of magnification.

[rockystar]

Hi Spooked, do you have a budget in mind? Eyepieces vary in price from a few 10s of pounds to a few hundred pounds. Generally speaking the more you pay the better glass\construction you get (not always true, but it's a guide) however just because you spend lots of money it doesn't mean they will suit you.

I wouldn't worry about a filter for the time being, start viewing first and then see if a UHC or OIII filter comes up on the used market. They are only really good for nebulae, so won't give you any better on galaxies or clusters.

[Knighty2112]

A good area to start would be with a 32mm EP for wide views of DS0's (M31, M42, M13 etc) and maybe a 10mm for close ups of the moon and major planets. You could always add a good 2 x Barlow later on and this would give you a 16mm and a 5mm EP when you use both the 32 and the 10mm EP with the 2x Barlow (in effect 4 different EP's). This would see you for quite a while. Skywatchers plossl EPs are pretty good, and not to expensive either.

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-sp-series-super-plossl-eyepieces-125.html

[alan potts]

It may well help if you could give an idea of how much you would like to spend. Your scope is fairly fast so will show poor eyepieces up for what they are with a collection of abberations towards the edges. You will also see some coma which makes the stars look like little comets toward the edge, this is the scope and not the eyepiece.

Off the top of my head I would say have a look at Maxvision eyepieces, which are in fact Meade Series 5000 eps rebadged or ExSc eyepieces which are fairly good at F 5 and good value for money though not very cheap.

[ronin]

Many run off and get the BST Starguider eyepieces at £49 each - I am one of the people that did.

Work fine at f/5.

The one sort of hiccup is that they come in 5mm, 8mm and then 12mm and a few others.

The jump from 5mm to 8mm may be a bit big.

The 8mm in your scope is fine for Jupiter but may be a little low for Saturn when it is well placed in June. Jupiter is an evening object sometime around March I think.

They are from Sky's the Limit and Alan that runs StL is very good.

You say you have none if so then try the 8mm and the 25mm = (medium/high and low mag), if you have a workable 25mm from the scope then maybe the 8mm and 12mm = (medium/high and medium Mag).

When Saturn appears then perhaps the 5mm or you could look at the William Optics 6mm SPL (planetary something).

Oops, forgot this bit: StL

Then Eyepieces ans then 1.25" eyepieces.

[Spooked]

That's great. Thanks for the links. I have to be honest that I didn't really know what the going rate for an eye piece was. Just had a look at some of those you guys have suggested.

Will start as an 8mm and a 25mm.

Each month I will look to acquire a new one as I go.

So am I right in saying the higher the mm of a lens the wider and less magnification it has? I was going to start moseying around the moon and take it from there. Try and work out what everything is doing.

I apologise to you all by the way. I buy a new telescope and its all cloudy..... Typical

[rockystar]

I think we've all bought something new recently, contributing to these clouds, I got a new eyepiece last week and haven't had a chance to use it yet

[Spooked]

I've got mine on the middle of the front room floor. I'm happy just to look and admire it's shinyness. I need to finish collimating it but I haven't got the right size Allen keys which is typical.

[rockystar]

Shame they are not the same size keys as all the Ikea furniture, everyone has about a dozen of those...

I've got a Cheshire collimator on the way, so that will keep me busy during next weeks storms...

[Knighty2112]

That's great. Thanks for the links. I have to be honest that I didn't really know what the going rate for an eye piece was. Just had a look at some of those you guys have suggested.

Will start as an 8mm and a 25mm.

Each month I will look to acquire a new one as I go.

So am I right in saying the higher the mm of a lens the wider and less magnification it has? I was going to start moseying around the moon and take it from there. Try and work out what everything is doing.

I apologise to you all by the way. I buy a new telescope and its all cloudy..... Typical

Yes, the longer the focul length of each EP (i.e. 25mm) the wider is the field of view and lower the magnification. To work out the exact magnification for your scope and EP divide the focal length of your telescope (750mm) by the focul length of the EP (25mm) = 750/25 = 30x. If we do the same for an 8mm EP we get nearly 94x. This works out that the 8mm is 3x more powerful than the 25mm, which will be much better for close up views of the moon or the planets. The 25mm will work best for DSO's like I said before.

If you get a 2 x Barlow and use these two EPs with it you will get (for the 25mm EP) a 12.5mm focul length EP with a power of 60x, and (for the 8mm EP) a 4mm focul length EP with a power of nearly 188x. As your scope has a highest practical power of 300x this should be OK with it, but remember the higher the magnification used the more unstable the image will be as you look through the EP due to turbulence in the earths atmosphere. High magnifications can only really be used when the seeing and the sky is very steady.

[Spooked]

Cheers Knighty. It's all just clicked. I need to sort a mount and tripod out as well. Certainly keeping me busy!

I'd get murdered if I got another telescope. Saying that.... She hasn't seen this yet. Upstairs in bed with our daughter. I sneaked it in after they went up

[Charic]

ronin mentions the 5 and 8mm BSTs. A 5mm should easily match your f/5 scope, providing an achievable 150x power for your high power views of the Moon and some of the Planets.

Most other targets may require wider field, low powered eyepieces.

There are two GSO Revelation Plossl EPs on Astroboot, a 9mm and 12mm only £15 each. They work just fine, with I think a 52° affective field of view, but the BSTs are wider at 60° with better eyerelief.

If you say you have no EPs, then a 12mm GSO will do you fine as one option. Just pick and choose from the replies you receive.