Ep upgrade

[barry f]

I am using a 1.25 celestron 12mm x-cel  LX on a nexstar 6 se and wondering if i would benefit from going up to a 2" ep and getting a better quality ep as i find the one i have not as clear as i was hoping for. As the 25 mm plossl is fine  i realise i will need to sort out the 25 as well  i was just hoping of  finding a way to make my viewing a bit clearer than i have at the moment especially   when looking at planetry objects  but also want something that would suit deep space 

any help pls

[LukeSkywatcher]

Stick with what you have for the moment. No point spending money until you are absolutely sure what you want/need. The view could be down to rubbish seeing/transparency. Yes 2" EP's do have benefits.

A really nice range of eps that work well with the SE scopes are Vixen NPL's. I have an 8se (can take both 1.25" and 2") and i am still using the 1.25". 

[laudropb]

I have found the X-Cel Range to be very good eyepieces. I think you should give it a chance. I may very well be down to poor seeing conditions.

[Dave In Vermont]

It will depend on what deep-space objects (DSO's) you plan on hunting. For extended objects like nebulae, you'd want a wide-field EP of 70° and bigger. But for seeing fine detailing on Jupiter's equatorial cloud-belts, you'd be better off with a smaller field-of-view (FOV). Just like telescopes, eyepieces, too, are good for certain types of viewing - while not so good on others. This is the reason I have several orthoscopic EP's for planetary viewing as ortho's tend to be in the neighborhood of 40° give-or-take.

Your choices for an extended object like the Veil-Nebula, as viewed through your F/10 SCT, would benefit from EP's with about a 70°, and higher, FOV. If you can afford just one TeleVue® eyepiece, look into the TV 24mm Panoptic eyepiece. I'll bet that the 24mm Panoptic would excel in a 6" F/10 SCT like yours. Or you could hunt for something wider still in a 2" format.

Happy hunting -

Dave

[LukeSkywatcher]

17 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

It will depend on what deep-space objects (DSO's) you plan on hunting. For extended objects like nebulae, you'd want a wide-field EP of 70° and bigger. But for seeing fine detailing on Jupiter's equatorial cloud-belts, you'd be better off with a smaller field-of-view (FOV). Just like telescopes, eyepieces, too, are good for certain types of viewing - while not so good on others. This is the reason I have several orthoscopic EP's for planetary viewing as ortho's tend to be in the neighborhood of 40° give-or-take.

Your choices for an extended object like the Veil-Nebula, as viewed through your F/10 SCT, would benefit from EP's with about a 70°, and higher, FOV. If you can afford just one TeleVue® eyepiece, look into the TV 24mm Panoptic eyepiece. I'll bet that the 24mm Panoptic would excel in a 6" F/10 SCT like yours. Or you could hunt for something wider still in a 2" format.

Happy hunting -

Dave

I'm a Nebulae guy and i love the views i get with my 8SE and 1.25" EP's (50 degrees FOV). I have no doubt that 2" EP's with a wider FOV would be better......but i just cant see myself buying 2" EP's to replace all my 1.25". In that regard...........i'll probably always be a 1.25" guy.

I'm happy,i enjoy the views..............thats all that matters.

Astronomy is not about what gear you have..........its all about what joy you get out of the gear you have.

[Ricochet]

At f/10 your scope should work well with all eyepieces. If a 12mm (125x) isn't clear then I can only imagine that you need to give the scope more time to cool down before using it. 

[Dave In Vermont]

There's no set-rule for using a wider FOV EP for such entities being better. If the 1.25" format is what one likes - by all means stick to them. And the TeleVue 24mm Panoptic is a 1.25" one. I too mostly stick to the 1.25" EP's. I think the 24mm Panoptic is the nicest 1.25" in my ridiculous collection of eyepieces!

If there was a miscegenation-law regarding eyepieces - I'd have been a lawbreaker a very long time.....

Cheers!

Dave

[barry f]

2 hours ago, laudropb said:

I have found the X-Cel Range to be very good eyepieces. I think you should give it a chance. I may very well be down to poor seeing conditions.

Its just that since i git the se i seem somewhat dissappointed with what i am seeing  i had a skywatcher eq90 before which seemed ok but obviously the image size wasnt as big and thats why i changed 

i just want to be able to see the planets a bit clearer and thought maybe because tje x cel wanat the moat expensive could it be down on quality 

at a loss as to what i should do???

[barry f]

2 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I'm a Nebulae guy and i love the views i get with my 8SE and 1.25" EP's (50 degrees FOV). I have no doubt that 2" EP's with a wider FOV would be better......but i just cant see myself buying 2" EP's to replace all my 1.25". In that regard...........i'll probably always be a 1.25" guy.

I'm happy,i enjoy the views..............thats all that matters.

Astronomy is not about what gear you have..........its all about what joy you get out of the gear you have.

I Also would like to see more nebulas and not sure what to get both my wife and i always look at m42  orion nebula and would love to find some more but also enjoy the planets i know i need different ep for both but want to know what i need to get