budget eyepieces

[tim carson]

I am a novice astronomer with a go to  6 inch newt . I noticed a tremendous improvement in going to  a modestly priced eyepiece  ( Williams optics swan 20 mm) over the ones supplied with the telescope.But my question is : can you get decent views  any  reasonably priced eyepieces or  should you buy the pricey nagler , televue,  panoptics ?

[John]

You can get excellent views from sub-£50 eyepieces such as the BST Explorers, Vixen NPL plossls and Baader Classic orthoscopics. If you want much wider views which are sharp right to the edge of the field of view even in faster scopes then the premium brands such as Tele Vue and Pentax come into their own and the price goes up !

 

[Karen]

"Modesly priced" wide angle 72degree eyepieces usually fine for telescopes over  F6. It is when using fast telescopes they produce distortion.

For Swan eyepieces note:

"They are remarkably good all-round eyepieces when used with telescopes with focal ratios up to f/6 and above."
 

[Mak the Night]

The BCO's are remarkably good for the money.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

[AWR]

I'm a big fan of the Vixen NPL plossls.  Only 50º, but clear, sharp views.  A definite step up from the "supplied with" eye pieces.

Andrew

[Charic]

I favour the BST Starguiders, which you can purchase for £49 each. Buy them through ebay. They have  60° effective field of view, good eye relief and a good sized eye lens. If they don't satisfy, return for a refund.