Eyepieces for 12" Dobsonian - Advice Needed

[TangoCharlie]

Greetings!

My desire is to purchase an Orion 12 inch Dobsonian (details below) and as an eye glass wearer I am both interested in Eye Relief but also good FOV.  What additional eyepieces would you recommend in the Good to Very Good quality range (mindful of expense) to be used for lunar, planetary, and DSOs?  Secondly, would you use more than one 2" eyepiece - if so what size and make?  Thanks!  I read alot of posts but wanted to provide my telescope details:

Orion SkyQuest XX12i IntelliScope Truss Dobsonian Telescope

Focal Length 1500 mm  and Focal ratio f/4.9
Includes dual-speed (11:1) 2" Crayford focuser
9x50 finder scope
35mm Deep View- 2" eyepiece
10mm Sirius Plossl-1.25" eyepiece

[Piero]

Hi Charlie and welcome to SGL  

G/VG eyepieces + long eye relief + "good" FOV + fast telescope is not a cheap equation. To give a crude answer generally people go for Tele Vue Delos or Pentax XW when those features are all requested. 

Unless you are reasonably astigmatic, you don't need to wear spectacles for observing. If so, this could relax the above equation a bit. Another thing is what you actually mean by "good" FOV. I assume something like ~70 deg afov.  If so hopefully some member might comment on BST eyepieces on a F4.9 telescope and whether these are still fine at that focal ratio. If eye relief is absolutely required but FOV is not, and you still want VG eyepieces without spending a fortune, you could also consider the Vixen SLV eyepieces. 

Regarding your second question, a 2" ep is only required if you want more fov than the maximum fov offered by 1.25" (which is a field stop of 27mm). I don't have any 2" eyepiece so you need to wait for other members for this. Many user just owe only one low power 2" ep unless there are specific requirements (e.g. ownership of multiple telescopes with different focal lengths). In your case, a 2" eyepiece of about 25mm focal length could be all what you want. It would be sufficiently low power, but still with a reasonable exit pupil.

I would definitely not get a 35mm unless you observe under a totally black sky.

Piero

[skfboiler]

I'm happy with the Orion Stratus EP's.  I have the 24mm, 17mm, 8mm, and 5mm.  The APOV is 68° and the eye relief is 20mm.  They are in the $130 USD price range.  For some reason Orion does not sell the 24mm EP anymore.  I thought is was a decent EP.  Anyhow, the cool thing about these EP's is that they are designed to be used in both 2" and 1.25" focusers without adding or removing any parts.  Therefore, they can be used with your 35mm DeepView EP without removing the EP holder 2" adapter.  In my fast scopes there is still some coma around the edge of the FOV.  But they are a lot better quality and wider FOV than the Sirius Plossls that come with the Orion scopes.  I would keep the 35mm DeepView and try try the higher power Stratus EP's.

Here's what the 17mm Orion Stratus looks like.

http://www.telescope.com/Accessories/Telescope-Eyepieces/17mm-Orion-Stratus-Wide-Field-Eyepiece/c/3/sc/47/p/8245.uts?ensembleId=59

 

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks for both replies.  I appreciate the advice from those who have been doing astronomy for years!  I will see what else is suggested.

Been in Indiana once passing through.   And I have been in England back in the 70's before the Chunnel.  Enjoyed my stay there even those

it was limited to London and going out to Stonehenge.  Doing my family history also and our

family we believe was from Ickford in Buckinghamshire

near Long Crendon.  Tango Charlie came from my days in USAF communications.  Thanks again!  

TC

On 2/21/2011 at 12:10, Ad Astra said:

 

[Louis D]

What's your budget for eyepieces?  Do your eyes have strong astigmatism?  Do you have any experience at all with eyepieces previously to have developed a particular preference for certain viewing characteristics (even if it was in spotting scopes, binoculars, camera viewfinders, or microscopes)?

[TangoCharlie]

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

What's your budget for eyepieces?  Do your eyes have strong astigmatism?  Do you have any experience at all with eyepieces previously to have developed a particular preference for certain viewing characteristics (even if it was in spotting scopes, binoculars, camera viewfinders, or microscopes)?

Louis,  No I can see without the glasses.  Have to put them back on to look at Stellarium or Star Charts though.  No experience with eyepieces so that is why I am asking experienced star gazers.  Budget well it is a stretch just getting the Dob scope.  So I am looking for eyepieces that are good quality but not break the tank.  As was stated before to me- that could be a tall order asking for decent quality, not exhorbitantly expensive, above FOV of 50 degrees and eye relief.  What would you recommend.  Appreciate the input.

TC

[jetstream]

Hi TC, welcome aboard!

The ES 82 deg series is an excellent eyepiece series that is on sale now. I'm not sure if these are glasses friendly, but the 2 I own seem comfortable to me and the optics are great. For the 12" f5 dob I would try the 24mmES 82 for widefield use-nebulae with filters in particular. This EP will also be a great finder eyepiece.

I prefer a narrower FOV style eyepiece for lunar/planetary and many say the Vixen SLV series work really well- a 10mm SLV with its 50 deg TFOV might be VG. I Use a 12.5mm Tak ortho and a 10mm Baader Classic ortho in this role myself. The 10mm in your scope will double for lunar/planetary and also for the fainter galaxies and bright planetary nebula like M57 "the Ring" etc.

Good luck with your eyepiece acquisitions!

Gerry

 

[Joe12345]

Cheap, long eye relief, Large fov; you can only have 2. If you drop the fov, vixen slvs are great, very well corrected, and often perform just as well as top of the range eyepieces when you ignore the fov. If you drop the eye relief, the explore scientific EPs are pretty good (although aren't as well corrected as the slvs). If you drop the budget, the baader Morpheus ones are okay, but the delos are even better.

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks Jetstream and Joe for your suggestions

 

[MrBill]

Another vote for the Explore Scientific sale, only $99 for their 82 degree 1.25 inch series.  Great glass, work well with fast scopes.  The 24mm, 14mm and 11mm plus a barlow would give you a pretty complete set of magnifications for all purposes for about $350, or you could skip the 14 or 11 if needed, but this is a great opportunity to pock up some good eyepieces that will  last you a long time.  I just bought a pair of the 14s and a pair of the 11's to replace my BST sets for my binioviewer and while the BST are really good for the price the ES eyepieces are a definite step up in quality for not much more money.  Couldn't really afford it, but figure after the end of the month when the prices go back to $160 they'll be worth what I paid if I sell them used, can't lose on that deal.  

Talked with a vendor last night, he said he's almost sold out and it will be mid summer before ES can resupply him, the sale is a huge success for them.

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks Mr. Bill for sharing your insights!  Appreciated !

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Hello TangoCharlie. I had a 10 inch Dob for many years and used the best eyepieces TeleVue Ethos in 8mm, 13mm and 21mm. About 2 years ago I bought an Orion (UK) VX8 which had 1/6th wave primary mirror - the quality was excellent and whilst at Astrofest (European Astronomy Festival) I bought an Explore Scientific 18mm 82 degree EP - it was very very good in my Orion scope. I decided to buy the 4.7mm, 6.7mm, 8.8mm, 14mm, (had the 18mm) and 24mm. I was so pleased I sold my TeleVue EPs. Earlier this year I bought a 12 inch Revelation Dob f/5 and again really pleased with the scope.

I am using the ES eyepieces in this Dob and they are very good in fact I am thinking of buying the 11mm to make up the set. You will see from my signature that I enjoy viewing DSOs and I have no complaints with the ES EPs. I don't use these EPs in the Dob to view the Moon or Planets because I have a 4 inch APO Frac which does the job better although again these EPs work great in the Frac.

Good luck with your purchase and if you decide to buy the ES range you should be happy with the FOV and eye relief.

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks Mark

[Dave In Vermont]

The Orion Stratus-series looks to be the same EP's as the Baader Hyperions - which aren't recommended for very fast scopes. I'm unaware of reports on the Stratus in F4.9 - optics though. Some very nice EP's that do work fine for wide-field views of 70°, which would be good for extended DSO's like some nebulae and open-clusters like M45 etal, are these:

http://www.universityoptics.com/2inch.html#WS70

University Optics carries some very nice things. They've been around about as long as the cosmos, too. A good bunch! Another place worth a visit, at least, is Gary Russell's website. He also maintains a page or two on eBay. He makes some things that few people even know exist. Always write him first before ordering anything. Many of his productions depend on his ability to get the finest lenses from various sources. Lives in the desert in Arizona - 20 miles from the post-office!

http://russell-optics.com/index.html

   &

http://stores.ebay.com/Russell-Optics

Happy hunting -

Dave

[John]

I didn't find the edge field correction of the Hyperions / Stratus particularly good when I tested them at F/5.9. F/4.9 isn't going to improve things.

 

[TangoCharlie]

Thanks Dave and John for responding.