Eyepiece advice for a newt?

[jamieren]

This may seem a bit redundant, as it's been posted before but will hopefully garner more attention here.

I've been scanning through the forum and trying to find the eyepieces that 'fit' for my scope. It's a 304mm (12") f5 newtonian. Thus far this is the best I've come across...

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=revelationepset

It seems like a mediocre quality set of plossls by the price and number of accessories listed. I already have a 32mm, 9mm and moon filter. I'm not sure what the conversion would be to cdn $, but I'm guessing this would go for $150 - $200 here. I'd like to get a 'better' quality eyepiece set. Any suggestions?

Priorities are: good quality, 1.25" barrel size, and definitely that they be compatible with my scope at f5. I am not overly interested in filters, but a case would be nice.

Thanks guys (and gals).

[themos]

I have a 12" f/5 and I am very pleased with my Nagler Type2 at 12mm (gives 125x). For planets, I'm looking for a 7mm orthoscopic (214x). I also have a TMB 3.2mm (gives 470x power) for those special nights of perfect seeing (one hopes). My "finder" eyepiece is a 32mm Plossl (47x) and I could do with a nice 2" wide-field but I'm not missing it greatly.

[John]

The Revelation set are considered pretty good for what they cost but at an average of around £15 per eyepiece they are not going to be Tele Vue beaters of course.

Meade do "sets" of their 5000 series eyepieces which would be a significiant step up from the Revelations in quality and price:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ms5000spset

These might satisfy your criteria better.

If you really want top quality and have the budget then think Pentax XW's or Tele Vue Naglers (as Thermos suggests) - these are superb and designed to peform well in short focal length scopes.

John

[jamieren]

Thanks Jahmanson, I was looking at the super plossls individually and they could be a very good base kit. After much waffling I'm also leaning towards the naglers. The ethos 6mm was my original choice (250x), but my local retailer thinks I would get more use out of the 8mm (187.5x). I now have a dilemma as I already own a speers - waller 10mm (150x) - not much difference from the 8. I'm looking for variety in magnifications, but am wondering realistically if the 6 will then spend more time waiting for clear skies than delivering the goods. I also took a look at the 7mm pentax (quality for $100 less than the ethos!) but the 70* fov is far less than the 100* offered by the ethos... Radian also made my list (5mm) but this is getting pretty high on the mag scale (300x) and only 60* fov, the same offered in jahman's Meade set of super plossls for nearly the same price... Oh the agony! Can anyone solve this . . . ?

Thanks a whole lot Themos for the "advice" quote: 'I could do with a nice 2" wide-field but I'm not missing it greatly.' This tells me the wide-field could probably wait. I'd heard that higher mag can help to bring out galaxies & nebs as the background is darker. This is what I'm looking for in particular.

[GazOC]

I'd heard that higher mag can help to bring out galaxies & nebs as the background is darker. This is what I'm looking for in particular.

This a a bit of a balancing act, higher mags darken the background but they also dim the more faint, defuse objects like nebs and galaxies.

[jonbarr87]

I can't really offer anyadvice on the EP's but the currency conversion is about 2:1 ...... 2 bucks = 1 Pound roughly

[Andrew*]

Suggestion: Get the 13mm Ethos, an Antares 2" 1.6x barlow (for an 8.1mm Ethos) and a GSO 2" 2x barlow (for a 6.5mm Ethos). Sell the 10mm SW again if you like.

That's if you don't mind using barlows...

Andrew

[jamieren]

I had a bad experience with a cheap barlow, and I think it may cost a little light to pass through another set of lenses, no? Does anyone have suggestions on how to acquire a set of the super plossls without getting raped for shipping/tax/duty?

[jamieren]

*UPDATE*

I've now located a retailer in Edmonton - a city WITHIN AN HOUR of me!! I'm very excited, but now to flesh out as much info as possible before dropping $400 on the set...

[The Warthog]

I had a bad experience with a cheap barlow, and I think it may cost a little light to pass through another set of lenses, no? Does anyone have suggestions on how to acquire a set of the super plossls without getting raped for shipping/tax/duty?

Yes. Buy in Canada. I have dealt with, and highly recommend Island Eyepiece in BC, and Khan Scope in Toronto. Island Eyepiece http://islandeyepiece.com/ has sold me many eyepieces, and are great to deal with. I have mainly bought Antares eps from them, which I highly recommend, but they will sell you all the major brands.

[The Warthog]

The little bit of light you will use with a good Barlow in place is compensated by the view. Trust me.