Upgrade eye piece for SkyWatcher 10"

[bluesilver]

Hi,  I guess this is a similar question to the post before mine,  so apologises here first.

I was mainly interested in one or two eye pieces in particular and was hoping for some good advice or suggestions if possible please.

I am also looking at replacing the original 10 and 25mm eye pieces that came with the Dobsonian.

I was looking at the Tele Vue Delos eye pieces,  mainly because of the long eye relief,  i am thinking this would just be more comfortable in general to compared to a shorter eye relief.

So i was looking at going for a Tele Vue Delos 10mm or a Tele Vue Delos 8mm

At the moment i am mainly looking at planets being still new to all this.

So i was hoping someone might be able to help me out here by any recommendations on which of these two might be the better option to go for,  or if i am going off in the wrong path completely.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

[doubledoubleswifty]

(Funnily enough, my Sky-Watcher 250PX arrived just last weekend, watching this thread with close eyes! ?)

[bingevader]

You haven't mentioned budget, but if you are considering TV Delos eps then I'm guessing it's in that ball park!

You've a fast 'scope so something like the Delos would be a good idea.

An 8mm would give you a magnification of 150x which is a good place to start on the planets.

I don't have a fast or 10" 'scope, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can advise on the combination.

[Mike_S]

Cool more threads the better on this as it is a minefield ? expensive too! This is an F4.7 like mine. Also watching with interest. 

[bluesilver]

The budget isn't all that of an issue,  but saying that,  i am working on the budget at around the price of the Tele Vue Delos eye pieces,  and open to any ideas, suggestions on if i am on the right track going with these sort of eyepieces,  or if there is other eye pieces that are better for viewing planets.

I figured this might be a very popular topic as it is also a very popular Telescope size wise.

I wasn't too sure on either the 8 mm or 10 mm,  but looking like 8 mm might be the go?

I do have a Badder 5 mm that came as part of the package deal,  plus a 2X Barlow lens.

I have very clear skies here and just last night got some amazing close up views of the moon with the 5 mm and Barlow together.

 

[Saturnalia]

I would go with the Delos 8mm as it will complement your existing 10mm for the time being, giving you - 25mm, 12.5mm (25mm with Barlow), 10mm, 8mm, 5mm (10mm with Barlow), 4mm (Delos with Barlow) and 2.5mm (5mm with Barlow).

The 25mm that came with your scope is pretty decent (can be replaced later if you feel the need).

I assume this as the F4.7 scope - if so, magnifications available will be:

48X - 25mm

96X - 12.5mm

120X - 10mm

150X - 8mm

240X - 5mm

300X - 4mm

480X - 2.5mm

 

I would then look at replacing the 10mm with something decent in the 10-12mm range and possibly adding another decent EP around 6mm (to fill in the magnification gap between the 8mm and 5mm) which will add 200X mag (400X with the Barlow) to your armoury. If you get the 8mm Delos and like it, they also do a 6mm version.

If the Barlow you are using was supplied with your scope, it is well worth upgrading that too when you can. The secondhand market can throw up some good deals from time to time.

Cheers

 

[Ricochet]

If you can afford a Delos then you might also want to consider the Pentax XW and Baader Morpheus ranges. For planetary I would be inclined to start with some thing around a 5 or 6mm. A 10-12mm would be an ideal all-round DSO eyepiece so you could choose one and a 2x barlow instead of two eyepieces if you choose. 

However, if you are specifically wanting something for planets and lunar then I prefer binoviewing. Large, wide and heavy eyepieces such as those mentioned above are not needed. I've found that you can't see the whole field with both eyes anyway, and the physical width of the eyepieces may be an issue unless you have a wide IPD. 50° eyepieces are fine but 60° is probably optimum. If you go down this route you will need a barlow/gpc in front of the binoviewer to reach focus so it is best to buy just the binoviewer and find the set up that works with the supplied eyepieces. Once you have done that you can calculate the focal lengths you will need. 

[bluesilver]

Yes it is the F4.7 scope,  some class it as a F5.0

I can't say that i have heard of the  Baader Morpheus eyepieces,  and only just briefly of the Pentax XW 

That was why i have been looking at mainly the Delos eyepieces,  just going from the reviews of these,  they sound to be a pretty decent eyepiece,    

I take it that they do work well with the 10" Dobsonians?

I haven't looked into replacement barlows yet,   I take it that Tele Vue would make the best quality barlows also?

I had a bit of a look and see that you can get Tele Vue Powermate 2x  and also Tele Vue 2x Barlow,   not sure what the difference between the two are though,  price wise there is a bit of a difference.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

 

[Saturnalia]

The main thing to consider is the focal ratio of your scope - F4.7

This is sometimes referred to as a fast scope (under F5) and they can be quite picky with regards to eyepieces - low quality EPs are more likely to show visual abberations towards the edge of the view. The Delos are very well corrected so should work fine - as I understand it, Tele Vue test all their EPs down to F4.

Tele Vue make excellent Barlows as do Zeiss, APM, TMB, Nikon...you have to draw a line somewhere - the Zeiss 2X Barlow is around three times the price of the Tele Vue 2X Barlow...!

Here's a thread on the difference between Barlows and Powermates:

 

And here's a link to Tele Vue's website with their technical explanation:

http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=53&Tab=_back

 

 

[John]

I have Delos and Pentax XW eyepieces which I use with my 12" F/5.3 dobsonian. They are superb eyepieces IMHO. The XW's here in the UK do cost less and in the focal lengths from 10mm down to 3.5mm are as good as the Delos equivalents. In the longer focal lengths I feel that the Delos eyepieces provide a flatter field of view.

The Baader Morpheus eyepieces are less expensive than either the Delos or the Pentax XW and seem to be very close to them in performance terms.

The advantage with the Powermate design (and to be fair other Tele extenders such as the Explore Scientific Focal Extender and Meade equivalent) is that it provides the image amplification without the effects on eye relief and focus postition that a barlow lens creates. I use the Tele Vue Powermate 2x (a 2 inch accessory) and, apart from the magnification boost, you would not know that it was in the optical train.

As has been said, Tele Vue eyepieces are designed and tested to work well even at F/4 and each example is actually tested by Tele Vue before being released for sale. They are expensive devices though.

[djpaul]

The 10mm Delos is very comfortable to use .

Televue eps are costly, but bought secondhand you can more or less get your money back if you sell them on.

Paul

 

[bluesilver]

Thanks again for the replies and the links.

Makes a bit more sense now after reading through them,  never new there was so many different options on them.

I think i might be going with the Delos 8mm eyepiece,  sounds like it is the best one to start of with and then go from there.