Need help with an eyepiece

[C3rb]

Hi,

I am about to buy my first telescope Sky-Watcher BKP P200 DS+ EQ5 mount with polar scope and steel tripod.

Scope details:
- diameter/focal length 200mm/1000mm (F/5) newtonian
- finder 9x50 90deg.
- focuser 2" Crayford with 10:1 microfocuser and 1,25" reducer
- standard eyepiece 2" 28mm

My question is, what additional eyepiece should I buy first? I am looking for the most versatile option for that kind of scope. I was thinking about 1.25" 15mm together with Baader Barlow 2.25x/1.3x.

That combination would give me 67x, 87x, 150x magnifications with 1.25" 15mm eyepiece (plus 40x with 2" 28mm). What do you think about it? Is it good for start or should I focus on some shorter eyepiece without Barlow?

My types are:
- Sky-Watcher WA 15mm 66deg.
- Sky-Watcher SWA 15mm 58deg.
- Explore Scientific 15mm 70deg.
- Sky-Watcher UWA 16mm 80deg.

What do you know about them? Can you suggest me one of them or give another example in similar price range (up to about 100EUR or 82GBP)?

Thanks for time and help.
 

Edited May 2, 2019 by C3rb

[Cosmic Geoff]

I hate to bring bad news, but why do you want to buy this particular telescope and mount? (I assume you mean the basic EQ-5 without drives or GoTo). I have the equivalent telescope and mount in my collection, and I hardly ever use it.

Why? Because, compared with the other telescopes and mounts in my collection, it is almost unusable.  This combination is much marketed, but consider the following:

With the equatorial mount, the eyepiece can get into some awkward and even inaccessible positions.  (With the legs fully extended, the eyepiece can be as much as 7 feet (2.2 metres) above the ground. )  Equatorial mounts have two uses: for long exposure astrophotography (for which this combination (EQ-5 + 200mm reflector)) is not suited as the telescope is too heavy for the mount if photography is intended); and for tracking objects in the absence of a GoTo mount.

If the mount does not have GoTo that also restricts its usefulness IMHO - it is far easier to locate faint and non-obvious objects with a GoTo mount.

If you intend visual observation only, it is better (as a beginner) to avoid the complication of an equatorial mount and consider a different mount, e.g. a Dobsonian.

As for your eyepiece question, wait till you have bought and used a telescope, and then order the eyepieces(s) you feel will be most useful. With the telescope cited you will probably want a range of eyepieces + barlow to give various magnifications.

[cletrac1922]

24 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I hate to bring bad news, but why do you want to buy this particular telescope and mount? (I assume you mean the basic EQ-5 without drives or GoTo). I have the equivalent telescope and mount in my collection, and I hardly ever use it.

Why? Because, compared with the other telescopes and mounts in my collection, it is almost unusable.  This combination is much marketed, but consider the following:

With the equatorial mount, the eyepiece can get into some awkward and even inaccessible positions.  (With the legs fully extended, the eyepiece can be as much as 7 feet (2.2 metres) above the ground. )  Equatorial mounts have two uses: for long exposure astrophotography (for which this combination (EQ-5 + 200mm reflector)) is not suited as the telescope is too heavy for the mount if photography is intended); and for tracking objects in the absence of a GoTo mount.

If the mount does not have GoTo that also restricts its usefulness IMHO - it is far easier to locate faint and non-obvious objects with a GoTo mount.

If you intend visual observation only, it is better (as a beginner) to avoid the complication of an equatorial mount and consider a different mount, e.g. a Dobsonian.

As for your eyepiece question, wait till you have bought and used a telescope, and then order the eyepieces(s) you feel will be most useful. With the telescope cited you will probably want a range of eyepieces + barlow to give various magnifications.

 

Fully agree Geoff

I have a SW 10" collapsible dob, which use for visual viewing, and transport to school, scout/guide groups with my club to do presentation, as quick and easy to set up

For AP, I have a SW ED80 on a EQ5 Pro mount

The EQ5 mount also supports my Coronado SolarMax 11 scope, solar observing

Pic of dob, take at public viewing night with my club

Pic of ED80, taken at a solar viewing day with my club

 

 

 

[C3rb]

Hi,

Thanks for constructive responses. I was not aware of those inaccessible positions of an eyepiece and total weight in case of astrophotography, so thanks for pointing that out. I thought 200/1000 Newton on EQ5 would be nice set for visuals with base photography potential but it looks like there is no all-around solution, at least in that budget :]

I have not considered Dobsonians because of mobility issues (required in my case) and I am afraid of manual tracking difficulties with larger magnifications. Anyway, I took your advices into consideration and made some more research. I found that collapsible Sky-Watcher Dobsonian tubes will fit my car trunk and manual tracking issue could be resolved by SynScan version mount. Only 8” and 10” versions will fit my budget (12” too but without SynScan). All these telescopes are delivered with two eyepieces, so this thread problem will be solved - at least for now :]

One thing that still concerns me is Dobsonian mount mobility. I am afraid I will need to disassemble it for transport. @cletrac1922 could you give me measurements of those largest pieces of Dobsonian mount (side and bottom board)?

One last question. Is manual tracking of Dobsonian so hard for larger magnifications as I think that is worth to invest in GoTo mount type?

[Mr niall]

Honestly there is nothing easier to point and drive than a dob - at any magnification. 

I started off with a manual eq3 (no drives) for visual use and it very nearly put me off astronomy for life. 

As alluded to above, there isn't really a good all in one adaptable package for quick quality visual viewing and astrophotography, yes you can get a setup that does both) and your choice is in that ballpark so youre on the right lines - but you'll always be compromising with either and this is a frustrating hobby at the best of times!

My advice wod be either 

A) decide on a focus (either visual or astrophotography) and buy for that or.. 

B)) Buy a setup that is visual orientated but does have some mild astrophotography potential - like an AZ gti or nexstar system. Or... 

C) Buy a visual only system on an altaz mount eg a dob or a refractor on an az5 or similar and then either buy a cheaper tracking mount at the same time or later - for example a star adventurer. 

While the above may seem counter intuitive what you will find is that astrophotography is very very expensive: if you get bitten by the bug then you will without doubt want to spend a fortune on equipment anyway. Or you may dabble and hate it and then you're lumbered with a mount for visual only use that isnt the best it could be. However,  a good visual system never goes out of date whereas a budget all rounder may leave you frustrated. 

But that's just my thoughts! 

 

Edit _ I've got the 12" flex tube and it's 64cm across the bottom and 1.1m collapsed but extended. Takes about 45 secs to dissassemble. Nb the 10 and 8 inch are considerably smaller. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Mr niall

[Geoff Lister]

I too, was almost put off astronomy with a Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ-MD, on its equatorial mount, for many of the reasons mentioned above. I then bought the Skywatcher Skymax 127 Mak. with Synscan GOTO, with its Az/Alt tripod mount, and liked it so much that I bought a second one for my holiday home. I sometimes use the Astromaster's 130mm Newtonian OTA on the Skymax mount, if I want a wider field-of-view than I get with the 127mm Mak.

When I decided to go for more aperture, I bought the Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX (10" collapsible Dob.) again with the Synscan GOTO built-in. From memory, the base has a diameter of about 53cm, and probably about the same height. The base and OTA are both OK for a short (a few tens of metres) carry, and up or down a few steps - you have to adopt a wide-knee-waddle walking method to avoid hitting your shins on the bottom of the base.

Geoff

[pregulla]

On ‎02‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 22:05, C3rb said:

My types are:
- Sky-Watcher WA 15mm 66deg.
- Sky-Watcher SWA 15mm 58deg.
- Explore Scientific 15mm 70deg.
- Sky-Watcher UWA 16mm 80deg.

I think these won't perform well at F/5. The 58 degree one is probably the safest bet. As AFoV gets wider it gets harder to make well corrected eyepiece. I would look for used ES68 16mm. 16mm Nirvana will probably perform good enough too, likely not as well corrected as ES68 but wider field.

As for mobility, I just went to a dark site and I wanted to compare my 12" that I recently got to my 8". So I took them both + observing chair, eyepiece case and some camping gear in Skoda Fabia, which is a small car. SW Collapsible 8" tube fits standing on the front seat and the base fits into the trunk. The 12" fits on the back seats. When observing from home I just take 8" out in one piece.

[cletrac1922]

On 04/05/2019 at 04:49, C3rb said:

Hi,

Thanks for constructive responses. I was not aware of those inaccessible positions of an eyepiece and total weight in case of astrophotography, so thanks for pointing that out. I thought 200/1000 Newton on EQ5 would be nice set for visuals with base photography potential but it looks like there is no all-around solution, at least in that budget :]

I have not considered Dobsonians because of mobility issues (required in my case) and I am afraid of manual tracking difficulties with larger magnifications. Anyway, I took your advices into consideration and made some more research. I found that collapsible Sky-Watcher Dobsonian tubes will fit my car trunk and manual tracking issue could be resolved by SynScan version mount. Only 8” and 10” versions will fit my budget (12” too but without SynScan). All these telescopes are delivered with two eyepieces, so this thread problem will be solved - at least for now :]

One thing that still concerns me is Dobsonian mount mobility. I am afraid I will need to disassemble it for transport. @cletrac1922 could you give me measurements of those largest pieces of Dobsonian mount (side and bottom board)?

One last question. Is manual tracking of Dobsonian so hard for larger magnifications as I think that is worth to invest in GoTo mount type?

 

My mount fits on back seat, along with my Dob, my SUV

I just use bit light rope to secure dob to seat belt mount, to stop rolling off back seat

John

 

 

 

[MBJ]

My first telescope was  a 200p on an eq5 goto mount,it gave some great views and was ok for some astrophotography.

My advice is buy what your budget allows,dont go throwing money at expensive gear that you might not need or use.

Its a great starter scope for someone wanting to get into the hobby.

[C3rb]

Thanks for all responses and advices. Yesterday I had an occasion to operate and watch the sky through Sky-Watcher Collapsible Dobson 12''. Additionally I was able to check if it fit my car and it does :D.

I decided to buy it without GoTo mount. It is too expensive addition and I prefer to spend that saved money for different useful accessories or even one or two good eyepieces.

Anyway, thanks for all help :]

Edited May 8, 2019 by C3rb