Eyepiece recommendations needed

[Frostyvegi]

Hi all,

Current gear comprises of:
Skywatcher Carbon Fibre Newtonian 10 inch (1000mm focal, F/4)
Skywatcher HEQ5 mount
Imaging with a Canon 450D

I am looking for eyepieces to go along with this scope for the times I want to just view, as well as if I feel inclined to do some EP projection. I have previously been using my sisters 1.25 inch eyepieces, which were, from memory, a couple of modified achromat (I think a 25mm and 10mm) and I think one Plössl which I think was around a 6mm. These were probably 15-20 years old (judging on the age of her 12 inch Dob). She also had a 2 inch barlow. I had good experience with using these very basic eyepieces, but now need to invest in my own as well as probably get some better quality ones to go along with my scope investment.

I’m interesting in both viewing and imaging all sorts of targets from the celestials to DSO’s, really need to try and cover off all bases, but I’m not experienced or particular enough to need a perfectly even, flat, coma and aberration free images (at this early stage). My budget is open but would prefer not to go nuts until I get more experience and perhaps more particular with my viewing desire. (basically want a cost effective jack of all trades kinda options with eyepieces)

I had been looking at getting 2 or 3 of the Baader Hyperions for the fact that they appear to be suited to EP Projection as well as modular to slot straight into the 2 inch focuser (although I am aware this changes the eyepiece focal length as well as reduced image quality), and the fact they are readily available in Australia (although with the online marketplaces, location shouldn't really be an issue) at a good price. Are there any other suggestions that I should be looking at, and I would also appreciate a good suggestion on a barlow (or alternative) to go along with.

Cheers in advance!

[ronin]

Hyperons are generally not recommended for fast scopes, fast being f/6 or less and yours is f/4. So I suspect they could perform badly in your scope.

At f/4 it is usually the TV's that are recommended. I know the TV plossls are good at f/4 and I assume that the other TV match. Will add in that "good" may be relative. As in the TV plossl's may be good compared to others.

Not sure about the ES range, usually hear good reports about them, but again it is the speed of your scope that raises the questions. The ES eyepieces come in 68, and 82 forms (ignoring the 100's at this time), the 68's and 82's are about the same cost.  For information ES are bringing out a range of 62 degree eyepieces but you will have to wait. ES say "New" but JOC/ES were in partnership with Meade and the focal lengths match the Meade eyepieces, mind you they were good Meade eyepieces. Just a bit odd the exact match.

There are the BST range, BST Starguiders are the usual name, that I have read perform OK at f/4.5, however not sure about f/4. From distant memory people seem to say Yes and No in about equal numbers, but the numbers are small. BST's would be about A$80 I guess. Overall they are good price to performance eyepieces..

From an odd statement I would leave the William Optics eyepieces out of consideration. WO used to advertise the majority of their eyepieces as suitable for f/6 and slower. Then one day the recommendation disappered. Suspect someone pointed out it was not a good marketing idea.

The Celestron X-Cel LX's (make sure they are LX) are said to equal the BST's but I have not read of performance in a fast scope, so a little blank on that.

Personally I would be tempted by the BST's (equally I have the complete set used in an f/5 scope) owing to their good performance and the cost, will repeat that f/4 may be a bit outside their range. Otherwise it would be the ES 68's or 82's. Reason for not the TV's is the plossl's perform well but (terriable to say) look unimpressive. Also the eye relief of a plossl has to be taken into account and the shorter ones can be uncomfortable.

[Timebandit]

 

Hello and welcome to SGL. The scope you have is a f/4 and this is very fast and therefore will be demanding on the eyepiece choice. So unfortunately if you wish to get a quality eyepiece that will work well in your scope then unfortunately this will cost.

I could go through eyepieces like the Explore scientific but my understanding these are recommended for scopes above f/5 . There is also the William Optics uwan , skywatcher Nirvana. But again at f/4 this is really pushing the capability of these eyepieces.

I think if you wish to purchase a eyepiece that will give results,then you wihave to buy televues. I would not purchase a plossl as I think you may be disappointed in the fov 50d and eye relief. Therefore I would look at the delites, with 62d fov and 20mm eye relief. There is the wider view of the Delos with a 72d fov and 20mm eye relief. Or go for the Nagler with a 82d fov. With all these eyepieces my understanding televues test down to f/4 and therefore will be suitable for a very fast scopes as such as your f/4. These eyepieces are not cheap but they will work in your scope and you will only need to buy once. You may get an alternative ,but you may need to re buy as the f/4 is demanding. Therefore IMO you will be best buying televues and the Delos is a middle of the range televues eyepieces and very popular, so this may be the eyepiece for you.

I hope the above helps☺

[John]

Hello and welcome to the forum

One thing I'd definitely say is NOT to got for Hyperions. They are nicely put together but are not well corrected in faster scopes and yous is fast !. Stars in the outer parts of the field of view will be distorted by the eyepiece astigmatism.

You might want to consider a coma corrector if you want wider fields of view. The really well corrected eyepieces such as the Tele Vues will not show astigmatism but they will show the coma that the scope optics are generating - a coma corrector will address this.

 

 

 

[Davesellars]

Look on the second hand market for Televue Plossls.  They keep their value remarkably well if you can find them you'll be able to sell them on later for little or no loss as long as you take care of them.  While, as John mentioned the coma will still be there to some degree at least they should be free of other optical aberrations.  Perhaps later you can look for used coma corrector but it's not completely essential while you're starting.

[Putaendo Patrick]

An f4 scope is fast and to get really optimum results, you need to consider the premium eyepieces - Televue, Pentax etc. These are expensive! But you will have a certain peace of mind that you can't get better EPs even if you have to live on a diet of beans for a few months .

There are some EPs to avoid - Hyperion, which are great, good-value but just don't work well in fast scopes, for example. But there are also quite a few EPs which will work reasonably well - and here the problem is defining reasonable for you. What one person considers good enough might be quite unacceptable to someone else.

So you really do need to try before you buy. I would recommend getting in touch with a local astronomical society and bringing your telescope to a viewing evening - you should have the opportunity to try out some of the members' eyepieces and see what works for you. Here's a list of Queensland clubs: http://www.clubsofaustralia.com.au/Astronomy/Clubs-in-Queensland.html  and this is the link to the Brisbane Astronomical Society: http://www.bas.asn.au/

 

[Frostyvegi]

Another forum I asked on and was strongly suggested the Vixen LVW's. Seems I can source them for about $320 which are a bit more reasonable priced that the TV Delites or Delos. Anyone have experience with these?

 

As mentioned in my initial post, curious if any options are very compatible for EP projection astrophotography?

[John]

I've used and reported on the Vixen LVW's although it was quite a while back (where did those 5 1/2 years go ? ):

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/blog/vixen-lvw-vs-baader-hyperion-review.html

Having since owned and used Delos and Pentax XW's I'd say that the LVW's are excellent but not quite as good but I've not had the opportunity to compare them "back to back" so to speak. I did compare the 22mm LVW and the 24mm Panoptic and found little to separate them apart from the extra field width of the Panoptic and the additional eye relief of the LVW. I've not used a Delite as yet. If the LVW's are available at a decently lower price than the Delos / Delite I would probably consider them.

 

 

 

[Dave In Vermont]

I believe the best way to go here is 'Used.' Us astro-nuts tend to take meticulous care of our gear, and this can be the best way to find the right eyepieces for your personal taste and budget. With a rough standard price of 2/3rds. of the new, you can easily toss one's back on the market if they don't ring your bells. Between the used - market and a local astronomy-club, you can refine your choices at little-to-no financial risk to your money.

I, too, have a F/4 Rich-Field Newtonian reflector of 200mm primary. Perhaps my favorite eyepiece, so far, is a 24mm TeleVue® Panoptic at 1.25" size. I also enjoy the views I get from my older (circa. 2001) Vixen LV-series eyepieces, though you might not like their 45° field-of-view - though it doesn't trouble me. There really is something wonderous about the Vixen use of lanthanum in one of the glass elements. I also use good Plossl EP's and Orthoscopics.

Here's a little something you may find of interest below - a chart of the lens' arrangements of some commonly encountered (or not) eyepieces you may run into.

Happy hunting! I love my big, black F/4 Newt -

Dave

 

 

[N3ptune]

The XCel-LX  they do a great job on my F5 Newtonian, the 25mm, 18mm and 5mm. I don't have much to complain about these eyepieces especially for the price, the views are clean, almost coma free. You can ask the seller to try the eyepiece for a few days and if you accept the result with your fast scope then you keep it. Otherwise you take it back in A1 condition.

They could do the job and you keep a truckload of money.

 

[Frostyvegi]

Thanks for the further response guys. Still trying to throw up my options.. also might attend a swap meet at my local Astronomical Society weekend in a couple of weeks time, see what's floating around.

 

Still need some suggestions on eyepiece projection astrophotography, although further reading/research suggest that just using a Barlow should be good for celestial body photography rather than bothering with EP-P. Which extends to the question of which Barlow should I be looking at with my scope if I was to get the TV Delos/DeLite or the Vixen's?

[Frostyvegi]

Kicking myself.. missed a local Tele Vue sale that had 20% off.. was seriously considering a mid power and barlow/powermate until I found out that it ended midnight last night, just a few hours after I realised the sale was on.

Guess I'm waiting for the local swap meet on the 10th of December...

[Frostyvegi]

So, I'm actually having sleepless nights trying to work out what to get..

I have settled on the TV range for at least a starting point, and looking to get one each of a low, medium and high power eyepiece (gradually) over the next 6 months and one Barlow.

Cost wise, I really cannot go past the DeLites, as I can source them either locally or on eBay for a price I am satisfied with. That will give me my high power (looking at the 5mm) and medium power (15mm or 18.2mm). Issue here, is that they don't go past 18.2 and therefore I'm missing out on a low power eyepiece in this range.

Options I see are:

• TV Plossl and live with the lower FOV (happy to do, like I said previously) for a lower price
• Vixen LVW 30mm for around the same cost as the DeLites
• TV Panoptic 24mm (struggling to push this into the low power category) for approximately $60AUD more than the LVW

Then, judging on the above range, is what Barlow to get.. probably aiming towards the 1.25" in either 2x or 2.5x PowerMate if it gives me more flexibility with the above eyepieces.

All of this has to be taken into consideration that I do have a 2 inch focuser and feel slightly like I'm 'letting the team down' going for predominately 1.25" eyepieces.

Please give me some direction so I can clear my head! 

[MarsG76]

Hello and welcome to SGL,

After using and owning a bunch of EPs, ranging from Celestron 5mm X-Cel, to LV 7 & 40mm to Televue 11mm, 17mm and 31mm EPs. I think that if I had to choose a good all round kit, I can not go past the 31mm T5 Nagler, the 17mm Ethos and the 11mm T6 Nagler, along with a Televue 2X Powermate. These EPs and Powermate will cover all of the magnifications for various uses and magnifications, from wide nebula views to high power planetary views. 

They are very good in my f4.6 dobsonian as well as in the NexStar 8SE. The 31mm and 17mm TVs are 2" eyepieces and in my experience I can not recommend them enough for quality, they are simply awesome, crisp and bright nearly all the way to the edge.

For the rare nights of very excellent seeing I have the 5mm X-Cel or the 7mm LV but 90% of the nights the kit I described above is great. 

[Mr Spock]

I have quite a few LVWs and can recommend them at f4. They have been discontinued so I don't know how available they are. I had to get my 22mm second hand as new ones were sold out.

As many have said, f4 is very demanding of eyepieces. For wide field you will need a coma corrector too. Coma will be a nuisance without one! You will also need one if you plan wide field imaging through the scope.

I'd recommend for your scope a 22mm T4 Nagler - x45 and almost 2° field of view - as your widest. Having used one myself it works well with coma correctors. Sky brightening at lower magnifications makes viewing difficult unless you have really dark skies - I assume Brisbane has a fair amount of light pollution.

A 2" x2 Powermate would be a good option to reduce eyepiece costs, though Powermate + Nagler is a heavy combination! The 22mm + x2 would give x90 which is very useful for galaxies. 

You'll need something for planetary, a good 9mm would give you x111 and x222, and a 7mm (x143, x286) to complete a nice spread of magnifications.

Another good eyepiece at f4 is the Pentax XW range.

Although f4 is difficult, you still have plenty of choices

[Louis D]

The Pentax XW line are good for eyepiece projection with their wide fields of view, long eye relief, and the top screws off to reveal a 43mm thread.  They also perform quite well in fast scopes.