Eyepiece help!

[Stormwind]

So, I have:

Skywatcher 130p

Skywatcher Evostar 80ED

I had started upgrading my eyepieces, but stopped for a while (and I still have some really old and rubbish ones!). I've had a look round the forums, but am still no clearer, so was hoping someone could help me by saying 'get these...'!

I spend a lot of time looking at the moon and planets (partly because I can never find anything else!!). 

I currently have a fairly decent 30mm, 10mm and 5mm (where I can keep Jupiter in view for about 0.2seconds before having to follow it!). All of my other ones are poor quality (including one from my Tasco telescope that I kept for sentimental reasons and use every now and then).

I would like to by some really good eyepieces (so I'm not looking to replace in a few years), but that I will also be happy to allow my children to look through (knock/ touch etc...).

Can anyone please give me some suggestions? I'm not even sure which sizes would be best to use - I just replaced the size I had.

Thank you!

[Ricochet]

What is your budget per eyepiece? Do you wear glasses and need long eye relief to accommodate that? 

Also, what eyepieces are "fairly decent" ones that you already have? 

[Stormwind]

Fairly decent are Skywatcher ones - not the ones that came with the scope, but I now realise there are much better out there.

Budget is harder. £50-£150? I know that's a massive range. If I can get some decent ones for less, then great, but would rather save to get something more expensive than pay £50 now and £100 next year to replace it.

I couldn't really go higher and the more expensive they are the more I would be stressing when the children to use them, so probably not a good idea! 

ETA no glasses at the moment...

[Nyctimene]

If eye relief is not an issue, how about some Baader Classic Orthos? They come with 18, 10 and 6 mm focal length; cost about 65€ and get very good reviews. There is also a "turret" available, which allows you a fast switch between the different eyepieces. The 18 mm could be a good start; if it does not please you, the resale value will be good.

Stephan

[John]

I think the BST Starguiders / Explorers are good performers for just under £50 each (new). You can get them for £30 or so on the used market. They have a 60 degree field of view which although not ultra wide is wider than a standard plossl, kellner or ortho. They also have more eye relief so even the short focal length ones are quite comfortable to view through.

My usual eyepieces are Tele Vue and Pentax wide and ultra wides but I felt that the BST Starguiders I had recently compared surprisingly well to the much more expensive ones.

[Saganite]

Hi Stormwind,

I totally concur with John. The BST eyepieces are tremendous value for what they cost, and are very robustly made, and I was more than happy to use them for a couple of years while I explored which scopes I wanted and what I preferred to observe. They are very good "all rounders"

[billyharris72]

BST Starguiders and Celestron Ex-Cel LXs are what came to mind. It depends what you want to use them for, but these are good all round eyepieces at a good price. Don't underestimate the Skywatcher (or Celestron, Revelation etc.) Plossls either though - they really are not bad and at the price are still the best value ones I've come across (less FOV than the above but for planets I actually prefer them as I find them a bit less prone to glare and reflections). Plossls are also good "sharing" eyepieces, whether for kids or others you don't entirely trust not to get thumb prints on more expensive glass.

[ronl]

I use the BST Starguiders, and find they suit me and my scopes, there are many types and 

prices to consider, but to me what is important is comfort at the eyepiece, the twist up eyecup

on the Starguider is really good, you can turn it up to suit you, great views and I think a great

price for what you get too.  http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=bst+starguider+eyepiece&_sacat=0

[Eduardo Ventura]

Again... +1 for the BST's... I was really scared when buying one but did and can't regret... Great value for the money... Bought an 8mm for about 50£, and when coupled with a Celestron Luminos 2.5x Barlow gives a great narrow field with relatively low light loss... Well made and sturdy, can't complain really...

[Stormwind]

Wow a consensus! Thank you. I'll have a look at these (good point about using the skywatchers for the children's - sometimes the obvious solutions are the ones missed!).

One last question, what sizes should I go for to get the best out of my scopes and the views.

Sorry for asking for a shopping list, there's too much choice so I need help from people who know what they are doing!

Thank you!

[laudropb]

Go into the General help and advice forum. There is a sticky there  Eyepieces- the very least you need by Warthog. I think you will find this very useful.

[rockystar]

only because it sounds like you might benefit from something with a wider FOV am I going to offer up a suggestion of the Explorer Scientific 82 degree range - but they twice the price of the BSTs.

I'd probably look at something around the 14 or 8mm mark.

[ronin]

The difficulty is not wanting to upgrade in the future, it is sort of close to impossible unless you buy sort of expensive now.

I have the BST Starguiders, complete set and another half set of them and they are good eyepieces for £50 (actuallu £49). They are the sort that you do not have to upgrade unless you really wantd to. I bought them for the reviews when they first appeared and for the reason that you have of children to look through them. I have the TV plossls and decided that at public nights the BST's were better suited to people and whatever. Catch is they are good and I do not use the TV's any more, I just take either the full set of BST's or the half set of BST's. Makes life easier I suppose.

They come in 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 25 mm offerings. They are 60 degree eyepieces so reasonably wide but not in the "wide field" of others, but not down at the plossl field of 50 degrees.

The one problem I have is for planets, the 5mm to 8mm is a bit too big a jump. I got round this by buying a 6mm Altair Lightwave at about £50 at the time. You could look at these as an option but they stop at about 12mm or 15mm. Rather finding someone that sells the longer ones is impossible.

You could do as I did and get the set over a few months. There is an addition to the range of a 3.2mm (would have preferred a 4mm) not sure if that would work in the 80ED - it might. Suspect too much for the 130P.

The Celestron X-Cel LX's come in 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 25mm (might be 18mm and not 15mm cannot ever remember which). The smaller steps at the lower end are a bit more suited to planetary viewing.

The ES82's are an eyepiece that people keep for ever, but they cost more and there is a bit of a trade off in width and focal length, unless you go to 2" eyepieces there are not wide and long focal length items.

There are ES 68's but they seem about the same cost as the 82's, suspect they sell so many 82's they can keep the selling cost lower.

I think (only think) that around the same cost as the ES 68 or 82's are Meade 5000's. They seem to get very good reviews although talked of little, but when talked of it is good. Not sure of a great deal about these.

The BST's sit in a nice position for cost and performance. Also the whole set looks very pretty as well side by side in a case .