Opinion on eyepieces

[Chadnich13]

Just trying to get some opinions on eyepieces. Ive been looking at the 32mm plossi vs the 24mm or other models and also opinions on the 6mm and 8mm plossi vs others? 

 

Thank you all!

 

Chad 

[Putaendo Patrick]

The Plossl eyepiece was designed by Georg Simon Plossl in the mid 19th century, but only began to become popular for amateur astronomy around the 1980s. It is a good performer, although with two negative points - the field of view is limited to about 50°, and higher magnification models have very tight eye-relief.

Plossl are made by most manufacturers and there is a very wide difference in prices and quality. Perhaps you can tell us the brands you are looking at and the approximate budget you have available .

[brantuk]

Hi Chadnich - as PP says, it's hard to give an opinion on the size of an eyepiece alone. You choose the size to suit your scope and the  magnification you require by dividing the eyepiece size into the focal length of your scope. However - if you were to ask opinions on the difference between say a Skywatcher 24mm and a Televue 24mm eyepiece, or the differences between a plossl and and erfle, I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions. Hth

[Louis D]

If your focuser only accepts 1.25" eyepieces, you'll definitely want to pick up a 32mm GSO (or similar quality) plossl for widest field viewing.  If you've got the money, a 24mm TV Panoptic accomplishes the same true field of view at a higher power with better edge to edge correction.  Plossls only have 80% of their focal length eye relief.  Thus, you probably won't want to go below 10mm (8mm eye relief) for a plossl.  The BST Explorer (Paradigm, etc), Celestron XCel LX, and Meade HD-60 are all better choices for not a lot more money when choosing shorter focal length eyepieces.  They all have a 60 degree apparent field of view vs 50 degrees for plossls.  They also all have a constant 16mm of eye relief.  Correction across the field is better as well.

Let us know your budget, what eyepieces you already have, what sorts of objects you enjoy viewing most, and the type of telescope you use to help us narrow down your options.

[Chadnich13]

I was looking mainly at comparing the televue plossi to others... and i was curious if the televue plossi is a good brand at the 6 or 8mm range or if i should go with a different model. Dont really have a budget except waiting on saving. I hear in these forums eyepieces are so important so im trying to save for the best but also not trying to spend 3 or 400$$ for one eyepiece just yet. Hope the extra info helps. Thank you all for your replies!!

 

Chad 

[Chadnich13]

Louis D,

 

Very good info... I'm currently very into DSO's and would love to get the best quality image for those. But i also would love to be able to get up close and personal on the moon because the other night on a clear night the way i saw it was amazing through my orion 4.5 with the regular 16mm and 6mm that came with the scope. Lets just say im into the whole spectrum of things in the sky and looking to spend the money to get basically the best out of everything over time. I just wanted to pick your brains now to get a headstart. Ive been researching everything non stop since christmas between learning the sky how to find objects, what to look for, when to look and its all been a very fun and fascinating journey so far. Just trying to learn as much as possible but when it comes to eyepieces and scopes and filters the talk is still gibberish and im almost left cluess. If you have any tips on good filters as well it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Chad 

[ronin]

The TV plossl's are the best of the bunch, although you will not get a 6mm in them as they stop at 8mm.

For a plossl they eye relief is about 2/3 or 70% of the foval length - both values get given and I suppose it depends on where the measurement is taken from. So for an 8mm that gives around 5mm to 6mm which if wearing glasses is not really enough and even if not some may find it a bit close.

Alternative plossl's: Consider the Vixen NPL's as they get good reviews, in general they are excellent in the optics but some people do not like the outside casing as it tends to be a hard plastic and is often said to look "plasticy". Easy solution is to take good care of them and not rough them up in use. Next are the GSO plossl's, generally good reports but they are in some ways not special but good. No real reports on the next as we do not have them but also the Astro-Tech Plossl's (Astronomics). AT seem to have a reasonable quality or selection process so I would expect them to perform well.

Non-plossl: The Astro Tech Paradigm (also sold as the Agena Dual ED or ED2 eyepiece).

I know the Paradigm's are $60, guess the Vixens will be aroud $45, TV's guess will be around $70+, something say $33 for the AT plossl and I guess the same for a GSO.

If you have or get a fast scope it will likely have to be the TV's, Paradigm and/or maybe the Vixens. When scopes get to around f/5 you can find yourself identifing an eyepiece that performs decently at that specification.

If you are a member of a club maybe see if you can try a couple of options out, but do not go trying $300 TV's as they are not what you are considering. Easy for someone to point out their $300 Delos works well and better then a $45 Vixen NPL, it should at the cost difference. So compare against what you expect to purchase.

[Chadnich13]

Ok perfect reply Ronin! I was hesitant to save for the higher mag TV plossi but im not really worried about the eye relief and my scope is an f/4. I want the best i can purchase and ill add to my collection slow so looking forward to going with the 24 or 32mm. Now i just have to decide if that degree is what i want or wait and save for more. Again thank you!

 

Chad 

[laudropb]

You are taking a very sensible approach. There are many different personal choices for eyepieces. At f/4 your scope will be quite hard on eyepieces. Is there a local club you could go to and try out eyepieces before committing to buying them ? This is often the best way forward.

[Chadnich13]

Thank you laudropb,

 

I do have a local club that I am in the process of trying to join. I'm curious to see how serious it is going to be because unfortunately its pretty small however maybe that is a good thing. Im excited to meet people around here that are interested in it like I am. However, That is one reason i love this forum so far. It seems like there is much more access to people very passionate about observing instead of it just being a hobbie so it has been an incredible learning experience already.I have been explaining some things to my one friend and he sounds just as excited as I am, but is also a complete begginer as well. We are looking into taking some free courses online and ive also seen a website on one of the posts on this forum that seems to have some free classes. I am however looking to actually get a degree in something involved with the sky. Most likely astrophysics if I can handle it. 

 

Thank you very much again everyone,

 

Chad 

[Putaendo Patrick]

What is the make and model of your telescope? As Laudropb says, f4 can be very demanding. Most eyepieces will work well in the centre of your field of view, but with a fast scope, many will begin to distort quite noticeably in the outer perimeter. What eyepieces do you already have? And, how do you find them?

You might also consider a good x2 Barlow - again Televue are the best but most expensive (about $120). A Barlow has several advantages. It effectively doubles the magnification of any eyepiece, so for example a 25mm will become a 12.5mm. If you chose your spread of EPs carefully, you can increase your range of magnifications economically. Barlows also maintain the original eye relief of the EP. For example, a 12mm Plossl barlowed to 6mm will have considerably more eye relief than a 6mm EP used alone. Thirdly, Barlows work by increasing the telescope's apparent focal length, essentially giving you a slower telescope where distortion in less expensive EPs will be less visible.

Another factor worth remembering is field of view. Plossls are narrow, and for Deep Sky it can be very useful to have something wider. If your mount is manual, wider FOV also keeps your target visible in the EP for longer without adjustment. Explorer Scientific do good EPs with 68° and 82° FOV - not cheap, but good value and certainly not premium prices.

For planetary observation, on the other hand, I prefer less field of view (I find it concentrates me on the target). Orthoscopics (look at University Optics in the USA) can be superb providing excellent flat, high contrast views. Eye relief is limited though - similar to Plossls.

Look out for second-hand EPs - usually very good condition and reasonable prices. In the US, http://www.astromart.com  can be a good source. You'll need to register and I think there's a small subscription charge.

[Chadnich13]

I have the orion starblast 4.5... TV 2x barlow is already on the list but considering that for later because I think right now my focus is deep sky. Just from all the good Ive heard it seems to me im going to lean towards TV throughout unless recommendations come for different brands that are talking more highly then the televue. My only concern is the FOV on the plossi. I was looking at a set that had 100º FoV the other day but they are just out of my price range for now and im more worried about the quality of the eyepiece itself. So, correct me if im wrong, but im willing to give in FoV for a better quality EP at a little cheaper price. Also, and no offense to anyone, but im 25 and have fairly well eye sight and adaptability so eye relief isnt to much of an issue. I just want a quality glass thats gonna show me the best light. Does that make sense or is any of that wrong? 

 

Chad 

[Chadnich13]

Also only so far have the two eyepieces that came with the scope not sure exactly what they are except 6mm and 15mm with a 68º FoV. They have really done outstanding with orion nebula and the moon so far on very clear nights im assuming. I did see a difference in my last two observing sessions of how the atmosphere can effect your view. I havent purchased anything else yet because of financial restrictions and wanting to wait to make good purchases rather then rushing and getting something that im going to upgrade in the near future. Plus from my understand EPs can go from scope to scope so really want to do some good research and get ones that will last a lifetime for the most part. 

[Putaendo Patrick]

I certainly agree that quality over quantity is a very sensible policy in this hobby. Televue are almost universal currency, so if in the future you want to change/upgrade, TVs generally sell quickly and at good prices second-hand.

With your telescope, however, the short focal length means loss of magnification. A 32mm EP for example will give you about x14 which is equivalent to many binoculars.

The simulation above shows red, a 28mm EP with a FOV of 50° compared to yellow, an 18mm EP with a FOV of 68°. The target is the Pleiades. The difference in magnification is x16 versus x25, but what you actually see in the EP is really quite similar.

https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/  will allow you to simulate different EPs - it's quite fun!

 

[Chadnich13]

Thats awesome patrick! Adding to my bookmarks for astronomy right now and definitely will play around with it before im ready to buy... 

Thank you very much!

 

Chad 

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Putaendo Patrick said:

Look out for second-hand EPs - usually very good condition and reasonable prices. In the US, http://www.astromart.com  can be a good source. You'll need to register and I think there's a small subscription charge.

I use Cloudy Nights classifieds extensively, and there's no charge associated with them.  I avoid Astro Mart because of issues with the owner in the past.  Simply search for complaints against AM.

[Chadnich13]

I will have to keep that in mind Louis. Sounds like alot of people on here are on cloudy nights as well. I guess i will be joining that one too. 

[Louis D]

5 minutes ago, Chadnich13 said:

I will have to keep that in mind Louis. Sounds like alot of people on here are on cloudy nights as well. I guess i will be joining that one too. 

And CN is US-centric whilst SGL is UK-centric.  Good information on both, though.  SGL is sponsored by First Light Optics in Exeter, England whilst CN is sponsored by Astronomics in Norman, OK (think Univ. of Oklahoma).  Astronomics also offers a 5% discount to CN members on non-sale items.

[Chadnich13]

 

24 minutes ago, Louis D said:

And CN is US-centric whilst SGL is UK-centric.  Good information on both, though.  SGL is sponsored by First Light Optics in Exeter, England whilst CN is sponsored by Astronomics in Norman, OK (think Univ. of Oklahoma).  Astronomics also offers a 5% discount to CN members on non-sale items.

Thank you so much for that considering im in the US.