Ideal Eyepieces for Planetary viewing with a FL400 80 Esprit

[sharkey93]

Hey guys,

Would anybody be able to help suggest good Eye peices for detailed viewing of plants using a FL400 80mm Esprit

 

Also I have 2X 2inch Barlow

[Ben the Ignorant]

I use Explore's 4.7mm/82° and TS' 4mm/82°, which is now replaced by a newer model with waterproof housing. My 80 apo is f/6 but my dob is f/5 like your apo, with it both eyepieces give a very clean field with plenty of sharpness. The 4.7mm might be somewhat sharper because of better polishing, I guess, but the 4mm magnifies a little more. Planetary eyepieces don't require 82° but these double-duty as deep-sky oculars.

[ronin]

Budget ?

Just you need something like a 5mm and they come in many varieties: BST Starguider @£49, Celestron X-Cel LX, ES 68's, ES82's, Meade 5000, TV Delites and upward in cost.

For later in the year I suspect you will have the same question for Saturn, for that you are going to need around the 120x area.

Check out he Vixen SLV's on FLO. They have a good reputation and come in short focal lengths. Suggest they may be the better overall option for performance and cost.

[dweller25]

What kind of plants are you looking at ?

Kidding aside - if you use the x2 Barlow to give a focal length of 800mm then a 6mm eyepiece giving x133 or a 5mm eyepiece giving x160 would be worth considering.

You don't need wide field eyepieces for the planets, so Orthoscopics may be the answer........

http://www.365astronomy.com/Orthoscopic-Eyepieces/

[Pig]

I would go for the Vixen SLV's, the FOV is not so important for planetary observing.

The 2.5mm SLV was a bit dark in my Esprit but the rest were fantastic, you will not need anything plus of the 6mm.

[sharkey93]

Thanks for all the suggestion guys I'll take alook into them I've currently got one 20mm eye piece already and looking at Plossi's with good Eye reilf as a specs wearer too

[sharkey93]

and I'm considering these in 6mm's if anyone has had experince with these ones I'd love to here opinions http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-sp-series-super-plossl-eyepieces-125.html

[Astro Imp]

3 minutes ago, sharkey93 said:

looking at Plossi's with good Eye reilef as a specs wearer too

Plossl's by their very design wont have good eye relief at these focal lengths.

FYI the eye relief of Plossls is about 70% of the focal length.

[sharkey93]

1 minute ago, Astro Imp said:

Plossl's by their very design wont have good eye relief at these focal lengths.

FYI the eye relief of Plossls is about 70% of the focal length.

Ah I'll have to bare that in mind then thanks

[dweller25]

Aaaah, you wear glasses like me - forget the Orthos and plossls as the eye relief is too small.

As "Pig" suggests take a look at the Vixen SLV's - they have 20mm eye relief which is great for spectacle wearers......

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-slv-eyepieces.html

[sharkey93]

Hmm they look pricey but worth the purchase if it gives me comfort and looks like quality optics so should go will with my Triple apo

[Pig]

24 minutes ago, sharkey93 said:

Hmm they look pricey but worth the purchase if it gives me comfort and looks like quality optics so should go will with my Triple apo

I am sure I have seen a 6mm SLV for sale second hand very recently either on here or on ABS... for reference a 6mm used to observe the full moon will fill your objective to the edge  I am thinking of getting another one myself.

[sharkey93]

3 minutes ago, Pig said:

I am sure I have seen a 6mm SLV for sale second hand very recently either on here or on ABS... for reference a 6mm used to observe the full moon will fill your objective to the edge  I am thinking of getting another one myself.

Yeah, I've been using Stellarium to help give a rough idea of what id see with set zoom's and so far what I've found with a 6mm and my 2X barlow I should be able to just about get Jupiters bands and see the moons. but Saturn from what I've seen on there looks like I'll only just see Saturn's rings barely. (i Know its not a full rep but it gives a rough idea)

[sharkey93]

Like if I had a 5x barlow it be beautiful but I think it will out reach my Apo's focuse range 

[Pig]

I think the view might start getting a bit dark if you push it too far with 80mm of objective, you may be better off trying a 4mm eyepiece rather than a Barlow'd 6mm. Floaters can also come into effect if you go to high.

A 5x Barlow is for AP and will not be suitable for observing.... Stay with a 2x max.

[sharkey93]

1 minute ago, Pig said:

I think the view might start getting a bit dark if you push it too far with 80mm of objective, you may be better off trying a 4mm eyepiece rather than a Barlow'd 6mm. Floaters can also come into effect if you go to high.

Yeah thats what I was thinking would happen tho my fear with a 4mm or 2 mm is will the eye peice cause the FOV to be too small 

[Pig]

Just now, sharkey93 said:

Yeah thats what I was thinking would happen tho my fear with a 4mm or 2 mm is will the eye peice cause the FOV to be too small 

You don't really need a large FOV for planetary,Lunar and splitting doubles, for sure if it is star fields you want to observe then thats a different story.

Your Esprit will naturally give a large sky coverage with low power eyepieces  but it is quite a fast scope so you will be better of with reasonable quality eyepieces .

[sharkey93]

1 minute ago, Pig said:

You don't really need a large FOV for planetary,Lunar and splitting doubles, for sure if it is star fields you want to observe then thats a different story.

Your Esprit will naturally give a large sky coverage with low power eyepieces  but it is quite a fast scope so you will be better of with reasonable quality eyepieces .

Well then I'll look at some 2mm's or 4mm eye peices as I'll be using a low power eye peice for things like Andromedia at a later date. my goal is to have a good range of eye peices coupled with my 2x barlow as its a good 2inch Deluxe Skywatcher Barlow so its a good one used it on my Evo 80 before it broke

[John]

The ideal eyepiece for high power viewing with such a scope is the Tele Vue Nagler 3mm-6mm zoom or even the 2mm-4mm. They were designed precisely for fast, high quality refractors.

They are pretty pricey though, unfortunately

[sharkey93]

Sadly my Evo didn't see anything but the moon as my Nephew ended up knocking it over in the garage and the mirrors smashed.

 

Lessons where learned thats for sure xD

[Pig]

Don't go below 4mm as the the view will get too dark in your Esprit, the only eyepiece I used that didn't was a Televue 3-6mm zoom and these are very expensive.

[Pig]

Snap John  

I almost bought Calvin's but I was beaten to it.

[sharkey93]

Might look at the Tele views I don't mind spending the extra buck if it gets me a good viewing experince. Tele view and Vixen's seem like a good batch

[sharkey93]

After all I brought an Esprit over some cheaper Scopes as I just don't want to change again so decided to spend the money

[sharkey93]

Flipping heck eBay search it is lol https://www.telescopehouse.com/eyepieces/televue-eyepieces/televue-naglers/televue-nagler-3-5mm-eyepiece-1-25.html