TV zoom 3-6mm Is it worth the money for what my little scope would be able to show?

[SteveWoffy]

Hello

im new to astronomy and to date have only been able to set up in my back garden. But I’m enjoying it. 

I have a Celestron 102 SLT, f6.5. I have spent some time looking at Saturn and had a few wow moments. I bought a second hand Baader Hyperion 24mm and both on its own and with a Barlow gives me a view of the planet (a little white circle) and Can clearly make out a clear ring around the planet though little else. Still, like I said, a wow moment. I want more though!

I bought a Vixen NPL 6mm and used this to try get in closer. Unfortunately I don’t seem to have much luck for what I think are the following reasons; it’s uncomfortable to use in sense that I have to stick my eye ball to it to see anything. That ‘anything’ tends to be a blur for the most part. Fixing on it and focusing before it disappears out of view is very difficult. I have a autofocus which helps a bit but it only seem seconds before it goes and I’m locked in a chase. I have a WO diagonal and coupled with a large eyepiece I have a few seconds wobble which also adds to the chase as starts to leave the eyepiece view before I can try focus again. It gets worse with the Barlow. So I revert back to the lower mags. Shame really. But I’m not giving up.

i know atmosphere plays a big part but what I think I have learnt is that I need a wider field of view and/or better optics.

so I was thinking about buying a new eyepiece. I have chance to buy a Televue zoom 3-6 for £240. It’s a lot of money to pay out and I don’t know if I’m expecting too much from my scope with it. An alternative would be to get an explore scientific 82 degrees perhaps the 6.6mm to use on its own and with a Barlow. A cheaper option that the second hand TV zoom but not much. 

Another option would be to again get the WO swan 72 degree 9mm and use this on its own and with a Barlow.

my Barlow are a GSO x2 and a Orion Shorty x2. Not the best and pretty much can’t tell the difference. Accidental bout two same. Perhaps a better Barlow is needed?

hope I’m making myself clear. Just wanting some advice about eyepieces and improving my chance of getting a little closer to planets with more comfort and ease.

[Peter Drew]

The TV 3mm-6mm zoom is an excellent eyepice, I've used one for a few years particularly for the highest power for adjusting and testing collimation. It has to be paired with the right telescope though for best results. I doubt whether your 102mm F6.5 would be ideal and you might well do better for your purpose with a short focus wide angle eyepiece. The TV zoom has average eye relief and only 50 degree field.   ?

[Ben the Ignorant]

Hi.

William Optics eyepieces are just overpriced versions of generic eyepieces of the same quality, but a 6.7mm (not 6.6) Explore is an excellent choice. It will generate a magnification equal to the scope's diameter (around 100x) on its own, and a magnification around twice the diameter with a Barlow, which is ideal.

Both GSO and Orion optics are good even if they are cheap, do not discount them. About that Tele Vue zoom, it has a great reputation and a great lab review (don't remember where) but your simple achromat scope would not fully exploit it.

Try adding weight to the legs and/or the centerpiece to make your mount more stable. 

[lenscap]

Are you aligning the telescope before you begin observing?  The manual describes several methods.

Once aligned you can GOTO the target & switch to tracking mode.

The scope should then keep the target in view indefinately giving lots of time to focus & observe.

 

 

[rwilkey]

Hi Steve, I think the TV Zoom 3-6mm would be a bit overkill for your scope as it does not have the supporting optics to give you the appreciable quality of the TV ep, although its offer price is very good.  You would be better served by the 5mm StarGuider available from FLO, which will give you 132x magnification and is very comfortable to use, also the optics (at 60 degree AFoV) is a closer match to the optics of your telescope.  Details here:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

[John]

The TV 3-6 zoom is a very good high power eyepiece but it's field of view is the same as a plossl and it's eye relief (the distance that the eye sould be positioned above the eye lens) is still quite "tight" at 10mm.

I think there is a lot of merit in Robin's suggestion above of a 5mm BST Starguider. These eyepieces have good eye relief, very sound performance, a large eye lens and a wider field of view than plossls all of which adds up to viewing comfort as well as a good view.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

You need to get the scope properly aligned and tracking first.

It should keep the planet central, allowing you to focus properly with any of the eyepieces you already have.

Once you are tracking and have focused, the think about if you need a better/stronger eyepiece.

If you buy the zoom now, you will just get frustrated by it as it's even shorter and so harder to focus and target, this will make you think you have wasted your money, even if you haven't.

[Louis D]

1. As others have stated, what's the point of spending hundreds of dollars extra for a goto mount that tracks if you're not going to align it so it can keep objects centered for you?

2. That's a relatively fast achromatic refractor that will never produce super sharp high powered views.  I have an f/6 ED refractor that starts showing false color at exit pupils between 0.6mm and 0.8mm.  Your scope will start showing false color at much larger exit pupils (lower powers).  This false color will wipe out any low level contrast details like the subtle banding in Saturn's clouds.  You can use it at higher powers, but don't expect razor sharp, color free views that will show lots of detail.  There's a reason folks drop thousands of dollars on true apochromatic telescopes of 100mm aperture to view planets.

3. Your best bet is to get a 6" or 8" Dob if you want clean, higher powered views of planets rather than trying to use high powered eyepieces with your existing telescope.  The TV 3-6mm zoom is £350 at FLO.  The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian is £275 at FLO.  Doubling your aperture from 4" to 8" and switching from an achromat to a reflector will do wonders for observing at high powers and save you a nice chunk of change.

[Whistlin Bob]

8 hours ago, Louis D said:

3. Your best bet is to get a 6" or 8" Dob if you want clean, higher powered views of planets rather than trying to use high powered eyepieces with your existing telescope.  The TV 3-6mm zoom is £350 at FLO.  The Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian is £275 at FLO.  Doubling your aperture from 4" to 8" and switching from an achromat to a reflector will do wonders for observing at high powers and save you a nice chunk of change.

+1 on this advice. With similar quality ep's to you and a 200p I've been able to see lots of detail on Jupiter and Saturn for the last couple of months. Plus, Jupiter is nearly done now for this year and Mars and Saturn are soon to follow and you'll want something else to look at- the 200p is an excellent DSO instrument. Be warned though- it's a bit bigger than your current scope.

[SteveWoffy]

Hi

thanks for all the response. Much appreciated. I’ve decided to leave the zoom and opt for some BST starguiders. 

This is my first scope. If I’m still using it in a years time I’ll upgrade. No doubt I’ll want a bigger aperture size. The reason I got this one was due to its compact size and the reviews. I won’t be getting a bigger one just yet. 

Move not used the goto feature yet because I’ve been in the back garden after 12 when the local council turn off the street lights. It so happens that Saturn appears every night just above the roof tops and has been a good one to watch. I’ll try the tracking feature and goto once I have the time and opportunity to go sowhere more open. 

Gues the planets are a big curiosity but know there is much more to see in DS.

thanks again for your time and views.

Steve

[Stub Mandrel]

Steve, seriously spend a few minutes aligning the scope even in your garden. There are some easy stars to spot for alignment - Deneb, Vega, Capella, Altair.

Tracking will transform your viewing experience.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Not sure how it will perform in your 'scope, but in my TeleVue Ranger, the Nagler 3-6mm zoom the views are super.

[Alan White]

Late response to this thread, sorry.

As has been said, the Televue Nagler 3-6 zoom is a high class piece of kit, I know as I own one, but you will be better served with other eyepieces first.

The Starguiders suggested are highly rated for the price point and comfortable to use, comfort as a beginner is almost as important as the view provided. As you develop your observing eye, by all means move up the eye piece grades and types.

The Explore Scientific suggested is also a good one, wider view than the Starguider but also less eye relief.

Just get out observing rather than worrying about extra kit too much.