An equipment question or two

[pipnina]

I'm basically set on a 12mm Vixen SLV, I think it'll fill a good space in terms of magnification and exit pupil, probably for the moon & smaller galaxies. But I don't know what else to consider afterwards, do I barlow the 12 to get a 6mm SLV but without the edge distortion mentioned by John in his review? Or would that give me too much mag for manual movement of the scope (200x) or maybe even push the exit pupil out too far(To the point of vignetting)? (It's 20mm in the SLVs, would a 2x push it out to something like 22? 25?) If I barlowed, which one would I get? The celestron x-cel? Bit stuck on that one, too.

I've also just noticed that my 2" to 1.25" adaptor doesn't have a filter thread... So I couldn't use 2" filters with my 1.25" EPs? This would be a right pain as the 12mm might be useful for observing planetaries. Alternatives to the current adaptor perhaps?

 

Thanks!

    ~pip

[John]

The "edge distortion" that I noticed when I reviewed the SLV's was only noticed in the 6mm and right at the very edge of the field of view where the image became a little less than sharp. Otherwise it was a superb 6mm eyepiece and one that I'd be glad to own. It competed head on and equalled the Baader Genuine Ortho that I compared it with and thats high praise.

Personally I'd not barlow the 12mm SLV, I'd buy the 6mm one !. A barlow or extender good enough to do these eyepieces justice will cost as much if not more than an SLV anyway I reckon.

 

[pipnina]

Just now, John said:

The "edge distortion" that I noticed when I reviewed the SLV's was only noticed in the 6mm and right at the very edge of the field of view where the image became a little less than sharp. Otherwise it was a superb 6mm eyepiece and one that I'd be glad to own. It competed head on and equalled the Baader Genuine Ortho that I compared it with and thats high praise.

Personally I'd not barlow the 12mm SLV, I'd buy the 6mm one !. A barlow or extender good enough to do these eyepieces justice will cost as much if not more than an SLV anyway I reckon.

 

Well, I was proposing the 12mm as a way of getting both 100x and 200x, not specifically as a way to get 200x.

This is part of my overall plan to get my setup "Finished" by January or mid February next year. I'm getting it one piece at a time. So if a barlow would not be the best option for getting both a 12mm and a 6mm, I could just get both but likely one now and the other later.

[Joe12345]

Well, I have and regularly use a 12mm slv, although I don't think I would want any more eye relief. Although I do Barlow it, I use a powermate so the er isn't affected. I use a 2.5* Barlow so it gives an effective 4.8mm, which although my scope doesn't like, I still use . I think you should get the 12mm then save up for a powermate, just my opinion but my view is that if you're going to get a Barlow, get a proper one. Otherwise save up for a whole set, which in some ways is more satisfying.

[pipnina]

35 minutes ago, Joe12345 said:

Well, I have and regularly use a 12mm slv, although I don't think I would want any more eye relief. Although I do Barlow it, I use a powermate so the er isn't affected. I use a 2.5* Barlow so it gives an effective 4.8mm, which although my scope doesn't like, I still use . I think you should get the 12mm then save up for a powermate, just my opinion but my view is that if you're going to get a Barlow, get a proper one. Otherwise save up for a whole set, which in some ways is more satisfying.

Hmm, I may have to decide where I stand in a year. I think I will get the 12mm SLV now and decide between a powermate & more EPs in January.

Thanks Joe and John!

    ~pip

[Piero]

I would not buy a tele-extender if you are a bit tight on money and are looking for SLV. As John said they can cost as much as one eyepiece at least (e.g. Bresser SA 2x). 

For saving with your 250mm (if I'm not wrong), I would get a 10mm (125x, 2.1mm e.p.) as middle power and a 6mm (200x, 1.3mm e.p.) for planets. You only need a low power (which I think you already have) at about 4-5mm e.p . 

I have the 5mm SLV and is really a great eyepiece optically, on par with my Deloi I would say (apart from the fov, of course). There was an SLV 6mm some week ago on ABS for £62 shipping costs included. You might find yours there too if you can wait a bit.

Good luck!  

[pipnina]

3 minutes ago, Piero said:

I would not buy a tele-extender if you are a bit tight on money and are looking for SLV. As John said they can cost as much as one eyepiece at least (e.g. Bresser SA 2x). 

For saving with your 250mm (if I'm not wrong), I would get a 10mm (125x, 2.0mm e.p.) as middle power and a 6mm (200x, 1.0mm e.p.) for planets. You only need a low power (which I think you already have) at about 4-5mm e.p . 

I have the 5mm SLV and is really a great eyepiece optically, on par with my Deloi I would say (apart from the fov, of course). There was an SLV 6mm some week ago on ABS for £62 shipping costs included. You might find yours there too if you can wait a bit.

Good luck!  

I realised I had forgotten to update the equipment list in my signature haha. Just corrected that 

Your recommendations sound reasonable. I had planned to go for a 12mm and then a 6 to end up with 50x from my 24mm MaxVision 100x from the 12mm SLV and 200x from the 6mm SLV.

I have to say, though, this thread has made me somewhat more excited to become an SLV owner. Who knows, maybe they'll even fit with my glasses on (Yeah, right!).

[Piero]

To be honest, whether you get a 12mm or a 10mm, you will be fine anyway. The 10mm will show a little bit darker sky background which could possibly be a bit better on globular clusters, that's why I suggested it. Said this, they will both make a very good middle power eyepiece, and unless you develop a field of view syndrome, they will serve you well for a long time.  

 

[pipnina]

1 minute ago, Piero said:

To be honest, whether you get a 12mm or a 10mm, you will be fine anyway. The 10mm will show a little bit darker sky background which could possibly be a bit better on globular clusters, that's why I suggested it. Said this, they will both make a very good middle power eyepiece, and unless you develop a field of view syndrome, they will serve you well for a long time.  

 

I'm not too keen to get into FOV fever just yet. I need my eyes fixed first  I need to prioritise long eye relief and sharpness over wide , expansive views mainly because I have fairly strong astigmatism (3.25 dioptres). Even in my 24mm MaxVision, I don't use it with my glasses because I'm usually looking through it at fuzzy clouds... Non-broken eyes would still be nice for looking through it as even when I have my glasses off there are stars pouring out of the EP when looking into the disc of the milky way.

[jetstream]

Once you see those star clusters at higher mag you my want higher yet If it were me I'd buy the 10mm for sure and the 6mm would be used a lot for lunar/planetary and if your seeing is good the 5mm would be a great asset too. I own a bunch of 12mm's and find myself reaching for the 10mm's in my 10"....

[pipnina]

13 hours ago, jetstream said:

Once you see those star clusters at higher mag you my want higher yet If it were me I'd buy the 10mm for sure and the 6mm would be used a lot for lunar/planetary and if your seeing is good the 5mm would be a great asset too. I own a bunch of 12mm's and find myself reaching for the 10mm's in my 10"....

I'll be honest, I went into my front garden last night and used the "Super 10mm" for looking at the moon & Jupiter (Simply because it's the only "High" power EP I've got at the moment)... It basically made me change my mind between the 12 and the 10. I felt like 10mm gave a nice level of magnification and wasn't excessive for when the seeing was bad but not too low. I may have just ordered the 10 just now in fact... (I paid the money I got from selling my SW130 in about half an hour ago haha)

Can't wait to try it out!

[jetstream]

Congrats Pip! You are making some very informed purchases and the views will reflect the thought you've put into this. So many galaxies love this eyepiece in your scope... and M13 and M37 and.... throw this eyepiece at the Ring too...with and without the UHC...

[Stu]

You are getting some great advice Pip and making good decisions. I'm just enjoying watching the thread ?