Bresser AR-152L - eyepiece recommendation

[adh325]

Hi all - I have a Bresser AR-152L coming for Christmas. It'll be for visual work only, mainly DSO. Can anyone recommend a good mid-price-range low power eyepiece that will give some nice wide field views?  I've looked at a FOV calculator and it looks like a 40mm would do a good job - but is there a type particularly well matched to this scope? Thanks.

[nightfisher]

first of depends on your budget and how many ep`s you want to source

[adh325]

6 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

first of depends on your budget and how many ep`s you want to source

Hi, I already have a 2in 28mm Skywatcher that came with an ED100 and a 7mm Cel-x for planetary. I'd prefer not to buy too many, I'd be happy with just one for now. Would just under £100 get a reasonable one?

[ronin]

Here "lies" the problem:

A 32mm plossl will give the same or very nearly identical field as the 40mm plossl, the field stop on a 40mm plossl reduces the actual field and the 2 come out the same at the end of the day.

Then throw in that a 25mm BST Starguider will again give an identical field as the 30mm plossl. So you end up with 3 options all delivering very much the same.

One aspect of a plossl that many find a bit of a problem is that the eye relief is around 2/3 of the focal length so on a 32mm you are having to place your eye about 20-22mm away from the eyepiece. Your head can be sort of hanging about in contact with nothing and so drifts around a bit so seeing something can be a problem. Your head/eye may just not stay in the right place.

[nightfisher]

I think you might struggle to get a 40mm that works well in F5 scope for under £100, the 25mm BST could be a good option

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The 152L is F/8, so that is a lot easier to manage. An excellent EP I used to have was the TMB Paragon 40mm. This is no longer made, but there is a good quality clone in the form of the TS Paragon EP:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p2333_TS-Optics-PARAGON-ED-40mm-2--Superweitwinkel---68-Grad---6linsig.html

At current exchange rate this is a bit more than  £100, but well wirth the money.  The Skywatcher Aero is reported also a good clone, and at £105 only just over budget.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-aero-ed-swa-2-eyepieces.html

These EPs are very comfortable, have almost zero distortion, and almost no kidney beaning. The cheaper Panaview 38mm should also work, but I don't think you will regret stretching to the Aero.

 

Edit: the Paragon and clones have an eye relief of 20mm, which with the rubber eyecup up is comfortable to use for those without glasses,and with eyecup down are perfect for those with glasses. The Panaview 38mm has a massive 28mm eye relief, which is really high. I do not know whether the eyecup can adjust for that (haven't used one myself).

[Putaendo Patrick]

I think this is the long tube version with a focal length of 1200 and hence approx f8.

I think the limiting factor is mainly price - there are some lovely wide field EPs in the 40mm range, but expensive. One that might be worth considering is the Skywatcher Panaview at 80 pounds: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-panaview-2-eyepieces.html

Be aware though, it has a long eye relief of nearly 30mm.

 

[alacant]

Hi. I've the 4 element 152s, a bit more critical at f5 but the 32mm Explore Scientific which came with it gives superb views. At f8 should be even better. Either way, whatever you use with it, you're in for a treat:) HTH.

[adh325]

Thanks for all the advice - I've gone for the SW Aero ED 40mm, I'll see how I get on with that.  It looks massive from the pictures I've seen on here, almost the same size as a baked bean tin!

Will be interested to see how the Bresser performs too - I've always been swayed by a refractor (Newtonians just don't do it for me - I know there's nothing wrong with them and brilliant value, just personal preference I guess), and did a fair bit of research on the best 6" for the money.  The SW Evostar 150 definitely seems to be the most popular, but it was the better quality focusser that pushed me toward the Bresser - and the easy up-grade to dual-speed in future (plus the 4-optic design - which is supposed to control CA better...).  It looks like a monster though, I've ordered an extension for my HEQ5 which will almost certainly be maxed-out with this tube!

I'll post a follow-up when its all set--up, I've found all the information on here really useful and it would be good to be able to contribute.  In particular its good to get an idea of what can actually be 'seen' with a particular combination - however appreciate this is somewhat subjective and dependant on many variables! 

Thanks again.

[John]

I hope you enjoy the scope

The Aero ED40 is a good choice for that scope - it will show around the widest field of view that a 2" format eyepiece can and in an F/8 scope will be pretty well corrected.

I thought the Bresser AR152L was an achromatic doublet design rather than a 4 element ?

There was a 4 element design of the same aperture that has a doublet objective and a 2 element corrector / flattener at the opposite end of the tube to the objects but that is a different scope I think - the Bresser 152S:

http://www.bresser.de/en/Astronomy/Bresser-Messier-AR-152S-760-Hexafoc-Optical-Tube.html

I used to have a Meade AR152L which is more or less the same scope as the Bresser AR152L. It was certainly a large, heavy scope !

 

 

[alacant]

1 hour ago, adh325 said:

(plus the 4-optic design - which is supposed to control CA better...

 

1 hour ago, John said:

the Bresser AR152L was an achromatic doublet

Hi everyone. Yes, the 152L is a doublet. If you have a choice, I'd go for the 152S. Not much more expensive, its an f5 quadruplet with the correcting pair toward the eyepiece. With its f10 objective, colour is IMHO just as good as an ED. Be warned though, it's even heavier than the longer version. HTH.

[adh325]

1 hour ago, alacant said:

 

Hi everyone. Yes, the 152L is a doublet. If you have a choice, I'd go for the 152S. Not much more expensive, its an f5 quadruplet with the correcting pair toward the eyepiece. With its f10 objective, colour is IMHO just as good as an ED. Be warned though, it's even heavier than the longer version. HTH.

Ah - I didn't spot that about the 'L' version.  I did look online and saw the 4-optic thing and assumed they were both the same.  I guess the longer focal length of the 'L' makes it less prone to CA.  It does seem to be very similar to the SW Evostar then, albeit best part of £50 less.  Don't understand why such a large scope only comes with a 1.25" diagonal though.  Doesn't matter much to me since I already have a 2" from the ED100 already.

Here's hoping for some clear skies over the Christmas period - I've got access to a dark-sky site for 4 nights, fingers crossed!

[John]

You will need that 2" diagonal - the one supplied with the scope is pretty basic.

The CA on these 6" F/8's is not too bad - the Meade I had was about the same as the Skywatchers that I've had in that respect.

For deep sky observing CA is not really an issue anyway.

 

[alacant]

20 minutes ago, adh325 said:

the longer focal length of the 'L' makes it less prone to CA

Hi. No, it's more prone than the shorter model; the 'S' has a f10 objective. In either case, it's minimal and infinitely better than having four spikes sticking out of every star! HTH.