Eye Piece upgrade

[Olsin]

I've been using the standard 25mm Celestron plossi, that i received with my scope for almost a year now. The EP seems fine to me although i've never looked through others so i have nothing to compare it with.
I read all over the place that standard issued EP's are at best middle of the road and that visual observing can be enhanced greatly by investing in upgrades.
With that in mind i've been searching around various astro sites, trying to get an idea what EP/s i'd like. However it's a jungle out there and i've been bombed out by the range and variety.
I do a small amount of planetary and moon observing when they are about although i'm much happier observing DSO's and star's in general.

So can anyone recommend an EP or two for a 8 inch SCT?
I'd like another 25mm - 35mm but one which has a greater FOV than my standard 25mm plus an intermediate 12-18mm and a high end 6-9mm for when conditions allow.

I'd like to keep the budget to not more than £100 pound per EP.

Incidentally, i already use a f6.3 reducer.

[beka]

Hi Olsin.

I purchased a 2 inch diagonal and 2 inch eyepieces in order to get a wider field of view in my 11 inch Celestron SCT.  However even with the f6.3  reducer I did not get views that were sharp to the edge. I would suggest you get lower power 1.25 inch eyepieces in the 30mm to 40mm range for a wider field but my opinion is that 2 inch eyepieces may not offer a further advantage - at least for the standard SCT (as opposed to Celestron HD, Meade ACF). Otherwise I feel that the 13mm and 8mm Baader Hyperions that I am using now have marginally better sharpness and contrast compared to the eyepieces from the Celestron Eyepiece and Filter kit that I was using before. Additionally their higher eyepoints allow for more comfortable viewing and they have a more satisfying build quality and better appearance.

Cheers!

[YKSE]

The more to much more expensive EPs generally have wider AFOV, better coatings(not always), better to much better astigmatism correction in FAST scopes.

Standard SCT C8 has its generic fielc curvature, coma, no SWA(68°) EPs, let alone UWA(82°) or XWA(100°) can be sharp to the edge, neither in theory nor to my eye.

As I suggested in other thread, a 32mm plössl and a baader zoom should cover all your needs. For the Moon, planetary, double stars and small planetary nebulas, without the f6.3 reducer, the zoom should cover most of your needs; For all others DSOs, the f6.3 reducer with the two EPs should work better(for better exit pupils and magnification in lower ends).

My C8 has been my most used socpes for years, I have 2" diagonals, 31mm and Leica zoom (exit pupil 3mm to 0.9mm, magnification 78x to 230x) have covered more than 90% of my DSO observations.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

A SCT with a f10 focal ratio is relatively forgiving of eyepieces so whatever you choose to buy should be fine. I use 25mm, 15mm and 8mm.  If you want to save a bit of money I would suggest that replacing the stock 25mm that comes with the Celestron SCT is a low priority.

I have not ventured into widening the field with focal reducers or LP eyepieces as yet. Partly because I have alternative widefield telescopes.

[ronin]

Almost standard comment: 25mm, 12mm, 8mm BST Starguider. Maybe 12mm, 15mm, 25mm.

Then simply add the other 2 as required. Suspect the 12mm, 15mm, 25mm is the better approach. The 8mm may be a bit much on most nights, and it is better to have 3 eyepieces you can use all the time at the start.

Owing to the eyepiece field the 25mm will give the same final field as a 30mm plossl. So you do not lose out.

Wide fleld eyepieces are nice but the ES 82's are from 14mm down so it ends up as a mix and match and I prefer a set approach.

I think 2" eyepiee need a replacment diaginal bit and swapping from 1.25" to 2" is not a simple one out - one in. There are adaptors involved.

[Olsin]

Apologies for not getting back before now and thank you all for your input.

I realised that the question was probably old hat and had undoubtedly been asked and answered a million times before. I guess i was just feeling lazy.

 

On 9/22/2017 at 12:56, YKSE said:

a 32mm plössl and a baader zoom should cover all your needs.

I hadn't considered a zoom although after reading about them, i see the attraction. A 32mm plössl and Baarder zoom does indeed sound like an ideal starting point. I also see the Hyperion mark IV comes with a fair array of extra's (e.g. fittings for 1.25 and 2" extensions).

@ronin

The BST starguider range of EP's all seem to be competitively priced. They also seem to receive very good press here on SGL.

Decisions decisions.......Thanks again for your help guys. I reckon i can take it from here.