Eyepiece and filter kit?

[kev100]

Really surprised to hear that there isn't a bst 6mm. From conversations I've had over the years I was convinced there was. 

Still, there are other 6mm EPs out there for x200 mag.

Kev

[Final Pr0di9y]

I think I will buy the 8mm BST for now. It should give me some better views of planets and the eye relief should allow my wife to enjoy it too as she wheres glasses.

 

I have got in contact with a local group and looking forward to meeting them and learning more. I am also hoping to go to some star parties soon.

Thank you all for your kind help with this.

[Charic]

10 hours ago, kev100 said:

Really surprised to hear that there isn't a bst 6mm. From conversations I've had over the years I was convinced there was. 

Still, there are other 6mm EPs out there for x200 mag.

Kev

BST do have their 6mm UWA Planetary! but the 6mm  BST Starguider is not available, not physically anyway, although @John did try to tempt me with this one, special price too!

 

 

 

There are  'other' 6mm EP's to choose from, mine is the William Optic 6mm SPL.

 

[kev100]

14 minutes ago, Charic said:

There are  'other' 6mm EP's to choose from, mine the William Optic 6mm SPL.

I have the 6mm SPL and I'd say that, on average, it gets more use in my 10-inch than the 5mm Starguider ...

[Final Pr0di9y]

17 minutes ago, Charic said:

There are  'other' 6mm EP's to choose from, mine the William Optic 6mm SPL. 

 

William Optic 6mm SPL is a wee out of my price range at the moment. Is there any other 6mm Planetary eyepiece you would recommend? Or is it worth saving for that one? 

[Charic]

34 minutes ago, Final Pr0di9y said:

I think I will buy the 8mm BST for now. It should give me some better views of planets and the eye relief should allow my wife to enjoy it too

At f/8 (your scopes focal ratio ~ 1200/150=8) any 8mm Eyepiece will provide a magnification  that is close to  the  limit of the telescopes capability, though this can be exceeded slightly?
If you take your telescopes aperture (150mm from the data plate)  and assume this to correspond to a magnification that the scope is capable of, then any further magnification can have dire effects on the final image. The best way to get more detail, sharper detail from the same scope is to actually use a longer focal length eyepiece,  under the present conditions that your viewing under, however, with the longer focal length eyepiece comes the ever-so smaller image, such is the science when changing eyepieces.

I would think that you'll still find an 8mm a pleasure to use, but the 12mm or 15/18mm would get more usage initially!
As an example any 6mm matches my focal ratio, but using the 5mm or 3.2 on anything but the Moon is not always practical or bearable, when you see the image. That said, I use the 12 to 8mm range more often than not under normal observing conditions. That said, my best image of Jupiter would appear to be have been using a Barlowed 5mm, meaning that I was well over the  practical 200 times power my scope provides, but on that night, conditions were perfect for a few seconds, allowing for such a high magnification.
Given my wide selection of focal length eyepieces, I'm more than catered for, its just that although I try them all, only one will provide a stunning image on the night if conditions allow on a suitable target! 

You've got to realise some of the limits involved, but its not that easy to surmise  if/when the product is not in-front of you.!
Take my scope, it's  setup, cooled and collimated to the best I can achieve.
Pop in an 8mm 100° TeleVue Ethos,  an 8 mm 72° TeleVue Delos or my 8mm 60° BST Starguider, which one is going to provide the best image?
Prior, I would have said the TeleVue, but since having already tried their Delos, and knowing that their Ethos is similar with a greater field of view, if the seeing condition that night is pants, then none of them will provide a decent image, but for me, the BST's became my eyepiece choice on my medium f/6 scope. The other two EP's would effectively show me the same image, same detail, just a wider field of view.

If only eyepiece selection was easy! 

[rwilkey]

18 hours ago, Final Pr0di9y said:

Do any of you have a useful link where I can learn about FOV and Magnification?

Hi there, the most useful links I have found are as follows:

Eyepiece Fundamentals: http://www.rocketroberts.com/astro/eyepiece_basics.htm

Eyepiece Types, groups & history (Wiki): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyepiece#Telescope_eyepieces

HTH

[Charic]

56 minutes ago, Final Pr0di9y said:

William Optic 6mm SPL is a wee out of my price range at the moment. Is there any other 6mm Planetary eyepiece you would recommend? Or is it worth saving for that one? 

I bought mine on the recommendation of @rwilkey,  it was second hand, and bought  the other two  just to complete the set ( a possible advantage if/when I sell them one day!)
Another 6mm is the Delos, great field of view, ample eye-relief ( spectacle wearers ) expensive, and nice to own ( down to the branding, marketing and  user comments ) but why do so many Delos come up for sale? I still prefer the Starguider, but alas they don't provide the 6mm but 2x Barlow the 12mm and I effectively have the 6mm.

Ive also tried 6mm Ortho's, Plossl's and so on, all the TMB clone, and did not like!

[JOC]

I was surprised by the early recommendations to try a zoom.  I read many threads and I know they have their following, but I would say that I see more recommendations for single focal length EP's.  As the OP will note from my signature it is absolutely not necessary to have matched boxes of EP's.  Though there are threads on SGL where folks take delight in showcasing their matched EP collections, often green and black Televues, (and I have to admit they look very smart and I am suitably envious), my own collection is probably as mismatched as it comes - and I am not alone.  From what I read there are 'hits' and 'misses' in most EP ranges, once the OP gets enough posts to access the buy and sell 2nd hand board, they will find, as I did, that some splendid EP's can be tried for the fraction of the cost of new ones, then what is not found to be liked can usually be re-sold for the same price and something else tried.  Through this route I have managed to obtain a set of, I think, quite respectable EP's that work with my telescope to view many different night sky objects with both wider and narrower fields of view.  My personal preference at the moment is for those with a wider field of view and plenty of eye relief (the distance your eye can be from the EP surface) as I wear spectacles.  Reading around often a wider field of view at a specific focal length can be at the expense of optical quality around the outside edges of the EP's, but it seems that if you look around it is possible to buy really good glass for respectable amounts of money. 

I started with my two Skywatcher plossls on 10mm and one 25mm.  Mine were actually rather good and despite all those I have they still end up in the telescope.  I got higher end Skywatcher brand x2 Barlow (from SGL classifieds) which was more than OK at my level, but this bounces the 10mm to 5mm which nearly over powers my telescope.  My best close-up combo is my x2 Barlow and my 15mm Meade 4000 - I've got a 8mm BST, but I get a really good view through the Barlowed Meade as well.  For the benefit of the OP the apparent advantage of a Barlow (I learned from SGL) is that many shorter length EP's have low eye-relief and a Barlow used on a longer eye relief EP allows the increase in apparent magnification without the loss of eye-relief and this does seem to be the case.

The above is from the perspective of someone that is still a relative novice.

[johninderby]

A zoom eyepiece is usefull to have in your collection even when you’ve bought regular eyepieces. Zooms are ideal on planetary where you don’t need a wide field of view.