8mm BST with ST80 combo?

[mark81]

Hi All

so I have another eyepiece question for the st80 again...

has anyone used the above mentioned combo? I bought a great 15mm BST and need something with a little more mag. I have borrowed a 6.3mm plossl but even under good skies it's really not up to it as though I just cant quite get anything in focus..I'm not sure if its because of too much mag or just because its a plossl?

so do you think this would work well?

any comments would be great. Many thanks, Mark

[Paz]

The higher magnification you get with the 6.3mm makes focusing more critical compared to lower magnifications. A short focal length plossl is harder to use as you have to get your eye closer to it but it shouldn't be too bad quality wise. I have a 6.3mm plossl and I find the view quality is fine but it's too fiddly to use for my liking.

An 8mm bst would give you 50x magnification which is not asking too much of the scope so it should be fine. I've got an ST80 and an 8mm BST and although I can't recall if they have seen action together I would have no concerns about pairing them up.

[Dazzyt66]

I use an 8mm bst with my ST80 no prob. I also have a bst 3.2mm.... ?

[Louis D]

I used an 8-24mm zoom with my ST80 during the eclipse last summer to good effect.  Of course, it was basically a large, black and white image, so it's not like I was trying to split doubles at 8mm.