Another BST StarGuider EP On It's Way...

[Guest]

I couldn't resist temptation any longer, so I ordered another BST StarGuider EP from Auntie FLO...  It's the 3.2mm ED version.  I really like the 8mm one, so I thought "what the hell" and ordered another BST... 

I can see it being used for lunar observing, when conditions permit.  

I think my next BST after that will be the 25mm, even though I'm aware of it's shortcomings, etc.  I'm looking forward to having the full range, eventually.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Guest

[John]

I can't recall the scope you have - what magnification will a 3.2mm eyepiece give ?

 

[JamesF]

My brother tells me he's ordered one or two this afternoon as well

James

[Timebandit]

 

 

 

It sounds if this lockdown is giving people the time to have weakness of will to temptation of "Eyepiece's" and they are getting trigger happy 😀. FLO will be keeping busy by the looks of things

 

 

 

[david_taurus83]

1 hour ago, merlin100 said:

I couldn't resist temptation any longer, so I ordered another BST StarGuider EP from Auntie FLO...  It's the 3.2mm ED version.  I really like the 8mm one, so I thought "what the hell" and ordered another BST... 

I can see it being used for lunar observing, when conditions permit.  

I think my next BST after that will be the 25mm, even though I'm aware of it's shortcomings, etc.  I'm looking forward to having the full range, eventually.

The 8mm is my favourite as well.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, John said:

I can't recall the scope you have - what magnification will a 3.2mm eyepiece give ?

 

It's a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian. That would give a magnification of 375x.

[John]

You do have something between the 8mm and the 3.2mm don't you ?

 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, John said:

You do have something between the 8mm and the 3.2mm don't you ?

 

No, but the 5mm of that range will be added in due course. 😉

[Barry-W-Fenner]

9 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

It's a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian. That would give a magnification of 375x.

I will be very interested to hear how the 3.2 x375 performs with the 200p,

I was looking to purchase this eye piece for lunar and Venus when seeing permitted. John kindly pointed me towards the skywatcher 4mm planetary piece to give me a x240 and X300 at my disposal.  This did give a smoother curve in my power gains x150 x200 x240 x300 respectively. X300 has given great crisp clear view of Venus when conditions permit, I am keen to see what views X300 brings of Mars and other planets.

As mentioned above I am very interested to know how the 3.2 performs in the 200p as I would be tempted to add it the set for very high power use.

I have all the BST collection with exception of the 3.2 and often find myself utilising them all for different viewing. They are very good value for money, my next eye piece will probably be a 2" 32mm wide angle as this is all that is really missing for me currently.

 

Baz

 

[John]

Good idea - 375x will get infrequent use to be honest with you but 150x - 250x will be a "staple" high power observing range on the moon, planets and binary stars so you need good coverage there.

 

[Guest]

Baz, I'm hoping to get some views of Venus - before the weather changes and it disappears till Autumn again. 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, John said:

Good idea - 375x will get infrequent use to be honest with you but 150x - 250x will be a "staple" high power observing range on the moon, planets and binary stars so you need good coverage there.

 

I realised the limitations of the 3.2mm EP before I ordered it. 😉 There's an old saying about "it's better to have and not need, than need and not have"... 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

11 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

Baz, I'm hoping to get some views of Venus - before the weather changes and it disappears till Autumn again. 

Excellent! I look forward to hearing how well it performs 👍

[Louis D]

That's the one focal length in that line of eyepieces I don't have.  I have read it does very well when conditions allow.

[John]

2 hours ago, merlin100 said:

I realised the limitations of the 3.2mm EP before I ordered it. 😉 There's an old saying about "it's better to have and not need, than need and not have"... 

Yep. You will need something between the 8mm and 3.2mm earlier though !

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Louis D said:

That's the one focal length in that line of eyepieces I don't have.  I have read it does very well when conditions allow.

I've been reading the forums as much as I can regarding the BST StarGuider range.  There wasn't much reading on the 3.2mm, but what I did find interested me enough to buy one. I did weigh up the pros and cons.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, John said:

Yep. You will need something between the 8mm and 3.2mm earlier though !

The 5mm may well be the next purchase. 😉

[John]

6mm is a really useful focal length eyepiece in the 200mm F/6 dobsonians. It gives 200x. Unfortunately there isn't a BST Starguider in that focal length - that range jumps straight from 8mm to 5mm - too large a gap in my experience. Jupiter, for example, often needs 180x - 200x to give of it's best. 240x is often too much.

The William Optics SPL 6mm would be a good one to fill that niche.

Getting the whole of an eyepiece range does not always pay dividends even though it does look neat in the eyepiece case. Cherry picking the focal lengths that are most effective from a number of ranges usually gets the best results.

Just sharing practical experience here

 

 

 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

10 hours ago, John said:

6mm is a really useful focal length eyepiece in the 200mm F/6 dobsonians. It gives 200x. Unfortunately there isn't a BST Starguider in that focal length - that range jumps straight from 8mm to 5mm - too large a gap in my experience. Jupiter, for example, often needs 180x - 200x to give of it's best. 240x is often too much.

Morning John,

100% Agree, There is a gap in the BST range between the x150 of the 8mm & x240 of the 5.5mm that needs filling. As I touched on in another thread I am fortunate to have a barlow which gave me x200 combined in the 12mm, This seemed an ideal power for the globulars.  I would like to see Jupiter at this power.

10 hours ago, John said:

The William Optics SPL 6mm would be a good one to fill that niche.

I will have a look at the William Optics 6mm  I would like something that gives x200 without the barlow as I am a fan of fewer components in the optical chain.

 

10 hours ago, John said:

Getting the whole of an eyepiece range does not always pay dividends even though it does look neat in the eyepiece case. Cherry picking the focal lengths that are most effective from a number of ranges usually gets the best results.

At 1st I thought I had gone over board with the BST range, In the end for the modest outlay that they are I am quite pleased to have most of the set in my Arsenal. I will now try to make some more informed decisions to fill the power gaps. I am still on the hunt for a nice 2nd hand 2" 32mm 🙂

Merlin - The 15mm BST doesnt seem to get much love, However I really like it. It gives a nice x80 for scanning the sky and to me feels an ideal power. I personally prefer it to the 12mm & 18mm in the 200p

 

Cheers

Baz

 

10 hours ago, John said:

 

 

[BLUEThumb]

Adoo Merlin

I have just bought  A StarGuider 1.25 8mm  yesterday, can't wait for its arrival' have read a bit about these eyepeices and they appear to have good reviews,i was going to buy the 5mm one ,but in the  end opted for the 8mm,as it  has a 60 degree fov  (I THINK), appologies if i am wrong.

[John]

All the BST Starguiders have a 60 degree apparent field of view (AFoV).

 

[jetstream]

17 hours ago, merlin100 said:

It's a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian. That would give a magnification of 375x.

Congrats!

Wait until you get this one on Mars once its close and up high.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

37 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Congrats!

Wait until you get this one on Mars once its close and up high.

That's is one of the reasons I was also thinking of the 3.2mm for high power on Mars and Venus.

[jetstream]

42 minutes ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

That's is one of the reasons I was also thinking of the 3.2mm for high power on Mars and Venus.

My very best view of Mars was with my 10" f4.8 at 400x last time it was positioned good. Under the best of conditions Saturn will go this high too. At this mag the planets are stunning...

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, John said:

All the BST Starguiders have a 60 degree apparent field of view (AFoV).

 

Claimed, but below is what I measured using eyepiece projection out the eye lens.  AstroTech Paradigm is the same as the BST Starguider.

The 5mm and 8mm underachieve while the 18mm overachieves.  The 5mm and 8mm definitely have a different look to their insides as compared to the 12mm to 18mm.  The 25mm has a larger eye lens and longer eye relief indicating a different design as compared to the 18mm and below.

The 4.5mm, 6.5mm, 9mm, and 12mm HD-60s overachieve while the 18mm and 25mm underachieve.  Notice the 18mm and 25mm have larger eye lenses indicating a different design as compared to the 12mm and below.

By comparison, the Pentax XLs, XWs, Delos, and Morpheus are all spot-on their claimed fields of view (or consistently overachieve by ~2 degrees).