Complete EP Kits?

[Guest]

I've noticed that various manufacturers seem to produce complete eye piece kits for their scopes. Whilst I want to build up a small collection of usable eye pieces, would buying a complete kit with a case be a waste of money?  I'm thinking it maybe already duplicating what I already have or maybe of lower quality, etc...

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, merlin100 said:

I've noticed that various manufacturers seem to produce complete eye piece kits for their scopes. Whilst I want to build up a small collection of usable eye pieces, would buying a complete kit with a case be a waste of money?  I'm thinking it maybe already duplicating what I already have or maybe of lower quality, etc...

I would skip the low end kits.  They include lower end eyepieces and filters you probably won't use.

Meade used to sell all six HD-60s in a case.  I have it and can heartily recommend it.

You could purchase all seven BST Starguiders from FLO and get a 20% discount on each and then buy a small case for them with pick and pluck foam.

At the higher end, you could get a set of Stellarview Optimus 100 degree eyepieces with case.  😉  These are the same as the APM HDC-XWA offerings if you want to local to Europe, just without the customized case.

I tend to use a variety of eyepieces from a variety of manufacturers and store them vertically in a Pelican style case.

[joe aguiar]

To me I don’t think those are that bad most of them or plossl ep sets or super Plossl Ep sets

so if you have any eps that are worse off that come with those starter telescopes I don’t think it’s too bad of a deal

you’ll probably use at least four of those the moon filter in the Barlow yeah you might not need all the planetary filters but for the price of maybe buying two regular or 3  pieces you’re getting a whole package which I think is OK

of course there are better ep out there but if this is your first upgrade and u have the Huygens Keller’s or super ep then this set is a big improvement 

joejaguar

[Louis D]

I just checked on a bunch of the low cost eyepiece kits, and they all come with one or more eyepieces at or below 8mm in focal length in a 4 element design.  The eye relief on such eyepieces makes them incredibly uncomfortable to use.  There's a reason Tele Vue stops their Plossl line at 8mm and discontinued their 7.4mm version.  Even at 8mm, most folks report a great dislike for that eyepiece due to lack of eye relief.  I also notice one kit states that their 32mm Plossl only has a 44 degree AFOV instead of the normal 50 to 52 degrees.  One has to wonder where they found a 32mm Plossl with only a 44 degree AFOV?  I've never seen one sold separately.  The whole point of a 32mm Plossl is to maximize the TFOV available in a 1.25" barrel, and that eyepiece would fail to fulfill that most basic role.  The Barlows packaged with these kits appear to be the most basic type that noticeably degrade the image.  I gifted just such a Barlow to a buddy starting out, and he returned it back to me within 6 months noting how poor it was.  If you really want to try a kit, I'd watch the classifieds for them since they don't hold their value very well.

I'm not sure what eyepieces you have right now.  However, I'd recommend the Revelation Plossls since they're made by GSO, are very good, and low cost.  I have the 32mm GSO Plossl, and it is fantastic.  I'd skip the 25mm Plossl as it is too close in power to the 32mm and go with the 20mm next.  I think I recall you having a 15mm Plossl already, so next would be a 10mm to 12mm.  I'd switch to BST Starguiders to get decent eye relief and a wider field of view in this range.  The 12mm is very good while the 8mm and 5mm are excellent.  With a 5/8/12/15/20/32 set, you probably wouldn't really need a barlow.  As far as filters go, watch the classifieds.  I've seen quite a number of 6 or 7 piece sets go for $20 or so recently.

It really depends what you want.  Do you want an upgrade on what you already have?  Do you want to fill in gaps in power?

[Ships and Stars]

The APM/Lunt eyepieces aren't exactly cheap, but punch well above their weight into Televue territory for a fraction of the cost. I now have their 9mm, 13mm and 20mm 100degree eyepieces after owning several Ethos, and haven't looked back. That way, if I drop one on concrete some night it will still suck, but I won't be out £500-£800. The only other eyepieces I use are fairly cheap 31 & 42mm 'finder' widefield EPs if I get lost in space and can't find something. Oh, and a 10mm baader classic ortho for dissecting galaxies or splitting doubles with a Barlow, but the 9mm APM is definitely no slouch here as well. I could happily live with just the three APMs.