Which eyepieces next?

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, alanjgreen said:

Any difference under x50 is not really noticeable at the eyepiece so you would not be getting value for money having all your magnifications bunched up close together.

Believe me, there is a huge difference between 12.5x, 25x, and 50x, especially when trying to view large objects like the Pleiades or Collinder 70.  I recommend starting at the lowest possible power that still yields an exit pupil of 7mm or less.  For his f/5 scope, that would be 35mm.  A 35mm Panoptic or 34mm ES-68 would be a good starting point for 21x, perhaps even a 30mm ES-82 for 25x.  Next would be something around 2x that, which would be around 15mm to 17mm, give or take, for about 45x to 50x.  I would bunch up a little bit around 75x and 110x, so 10mm and 7mm.  I would probably stop around 150x with a 5mm since that yields a comfortable 1mm exit pupil.  I have the 3.5mm Pentax XW, and rarely use it due to the very small exit pupil.  It would be a bit bigger in that f/5 than in my f/6, 0.7mm, so still usable.

[bingevader]

10 hours ago, alanjgreen said:

I have to disagree a bit with the above. Not wanting to offend anybody by this  

Not offended in the slightest! We all have different experiences at the eyepiece which is why I made my comment to begin with.

But FLO do the SPL 6mm and it is an excellent EP, not that I'm recommending it in this thread in particular!

I also have the Celestron xcel lx 7mm and find that very agreeable with my 'scope.

I do take the exit pupil into account, but don't take it as the be all and end all.

If I have to do a bit of "waggling" around to get the best out of my 'scope, then I'm happy to do that.

I'm aware that I don't have premium kit and it has taken me several years to collect it

[25585]

On 04/01/2018 at 13:36, Rear Window said:

Hi everyone, brand new here for a brand new year!  I bought a Skywatcher 150p F/5 Newtonian last year and only have the standard 10mm and 25mm plossl eyepieces it came with.  Christmas has come and gone and I'd like to upgrade my eyepieces.  I've seen a lot of different eyepieces, wide range in prices and a lot of attention on this forum to slow and fast telescopes.  What would people recommend for me?  My budget is around £400 so should I get one or two of the more expensive ones (Televue seems unilaterally praised on here) or get less expensive ones for more range in one purchase?  I had originally considered some Baader Hyperions but read here that they may not be great for my speed of telescope?

Welcome Rear Window, & what an excellent avatar!

You have a 25mm so presumably fairly wide field of view from that. Wider is 32mm, usually the largest for 1.25 inch focuser.

Having a 10mm also, perhaps a 15mm as in-between? 

A Vixen SLV 15mm is a good quality eye piece for a F5 telescope.

Then a 2x Barlow lens which will double magnify anything an eye piece shows when you use both together, so also doubling your range of magnifications.

How I started, 32, 20, 13 and a Barlow.

[N3ptune]

Post removed.

[Charic]

On 05/01/2018 at 14:20, Rear Window said:

I'm happy to take this hobby slowly, it started slowly so I am fine with gradually progressing my collection and trying new things.

With that outlook, you will  eventually find out what suits and what doesn't.
Different scope here, f/6 makes for an easier eyepiece collection/selection, but I changed to a BST 8mm over the supplied 10mm skywatcher, and as you will see from the bottom of my signature, I also went down the tried and tested TeleVue route using their Plössl's and Delos range, but to be honest with the Delois, only the field of view was noticeable, and the shorter Plössl's have little eye relief, making their use difficult for some folk.

That said, of all the eyepieces I have tested, and some! I'm more than happy with what remains, and very unlikely to change the present setup for as long as I own and use this scope.