First eyepiece upgrades advice

[wsteel33]

Hi everyone,

Any chance of some eyepiece advice from you lovely people.

I am looking for first upgrade eyepieces from the standard ones that came with my Skywatcher Evostar 120.

I have two scopes:

Evostar 120 (1000 mm f/8.3) & Orion 80ED (600mm f/7.5) (I have temporary use of a Celestron 9.25 SCT also)

I have a decent (I believe) 2x barlow from Revelation Astro  https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/revelation-astro-2x-barlow-lens.htm

and about £100 to spend.

I'm thinking 2 or 3 half decent eyepieces with the barlow I have would probably do me at this point.

I have been looking at possibly a couple of the Explore Scientific Ones https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/explore-scientific-52-ler-wp-eyepieces.html

or maybe the Vixens https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-eyepieces-barlows/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

or even 3 or 4 of the Skywatcher ultrawide https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-ultrawide-eyepieces-125.html if they are any good.

All advice highly welcome.

Thanks in advance everyone 🙂

[Ags]

Consider a couple of these:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

[banjaxed]

+1 for the BST Starguider eyepieces, very good and reasonably priced.

[wsteel33]

These BST's look great at the price, good reviews... how do they compare to the Vixens? Anyone know?

[Steve Clay]

I have exactly the same scopes as you

 BST starguiders are really good solid Ep,s,  my most used is the 12mm and 8 mm.

[wsteel33]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I am going to go for one or two of the BST's.

I have my supplied Skywatchers (10mm and 25mm) and the Barlow so I'm thinking I'll get an 8mm BST.

Any thoughts on the other one, I'm thinking possibly 18mm BST but also wondering if I would be better going for a widefield option like the Vixen NPL 40mm

[John]

40mm plossls (the NPL is a plossl) don't show any more sky than a 32mm because of the restriction of the 1.25 inch barrel.

For wide field I would go for a 30/32mm plossl or the 25mm BST Starguider which shows nearly as much sky. It's not the best of the Starguiders but should work well enough in your F/8.3 and F/7.5 refractors.

 

[Daf1983]

I've got the 8mm and 12mm BST, and also the 30mm Vixen NPL. I'm fairly inexperienced but have found both BST and the Vixen to be a big upgrade on the stock eyepieces that came with my skywatcher, in terms of build quality and views through the eyepiece. I would definitely recommend the 30mm Vixen NPL 

[DeathWarpedUp]

23 minutes ago, wsteel33 said:

Thanks for the advice everyone, I am going to go for one or two of the BST's.

I have my supplied Skywatchers (10mm and 25mm) and the Barlow so I'm thinking I'll get an 8mm BST.

Any thoughts on the other one, I'm thinking possibly 18mm BST but also wondering if I would be better going for a widefield option like the Vixen NPL 40mm

Try these as a guide

https://www.stelvision.com/en/telescope-simulator/

http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by DeathWarpedUp

[rwilkey]

Hi, as others have said, you can't go wrong was BST Starguiders, some of the best ep's ever to come out on the market at a reasonable price, you will not be dissappointed. The 18mm Starguider is a cracking ep.  Clear skies!|
 

 

[DeathWarpedUp]

What came with your scope, what do you have currently?

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by DeathWarpedUp

[wsteel33]

2 minutes ago, DeathWarpedUp said:

What came with your scope, what do you have currently?

 

Skywatcher 25mm and 10mm stock eyepieces.

I understand they are ok (and I find them ok) for "supplied with scope" eyepieces and I have heard the 25mm is not bad for what it is but definitely upgrade time.

With me having the 25mm I am thinking i could do with something wider but as this discussion goes on I'm starting to think I might dig a little deeper and get the 8mm and 18mm BST's and a 30mm for a wider view..... down the rabbit hole I go 🥴😆

 

[DeathWarpedUp]

1 hour ago, wsteel33 said:

Skywatcher 25mm and 10mm stock eyepieces.

I understand they are ok (and I find them ok) for "supplied with scope" eyepieces and I have heard the 25mm is not bad for what it is but definitely upgrade time.

With me having the 25mm I am thinking i could do with something wider but as this discussion goes on I'm starting to think I might dig a little deeper and get the 8mm and 18mm BST's and a 30mm for a wider view..... down the rabbit hole I go 🥴😆

 

As John eluded to earlier, and I'm guessing looking at your ep's you are using a 1.25 diagonal and don't own a 2", therefore the widest you can go is somewhat limited. And 32 is probaby the widest you can get which isnt bad. Try not to think about it as what you want, more about the best your particular scope/s and kit can handle (Diagonal size magnification, focal length). Some are more specialised and less forgiving than others.

Realistcally the wider field is what I would go for intially, simply as it would make an easier finder to help you locate what you're looking for. Celestron Omni plossi 32mm for £39 possibly, then put my pennies together and get a Hyperflex 9-27 zoom £85. Bear in mind theres also P+P charges. These will give you nice views of almost everything and get most bases covered. The secondhand market (the bay ect) is not a bad place to look also.

Please also note, with your starter ep's against the top end stuff, don't expect huge visual quality differences (trying to be realistic)

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by DeathWarpedUp

[wsteel33]

4 minutes ago, DeathWarpedUp said:

As John eluded to earlier, and I'm guessing looking at your ep's you are using a 1.25 diagonal and don't own a 2", therefore the widest you can go is somewhat limited. And 32 is probaby the widest you can get which isnt bad. Try not to think about it as what you want, more about the best your particular scope/s and kit can handle (Diagonal size mafnification, focal length). Some are more specialised and less forgiving than others.

Realistcally the wider field is what I would go for intially, simply as it would make an easier finder to help you locate what you're looking for. Celestron Omni plossi 32mm for £39 possibly, then put my pennies together and get a Hyperflex 9-27 zoom £85. Bear in mind theres also P+P charges. These will give you nice views of almost everything and get most bases covered. The secondhand market (the bay ect) is not a bad place to look also.

Please also note, with your starter ep's against the top end stuff, don't expect huge visual quality differences (trying to be realistic)

 

Actually I do have a 2" diagonal with an adaptor for 1.25" eyepieces but I don't currently possess any 2" eyepieces.

Thanks for all the solid advice coming through 👊

[DeathWarpedUp]

6 minutes ago, wsteel33 said:

Actually I do have a 2" diagonal with an adaptor for 1.25" eyepieces but I don't currently possess any 2" eyepieces.

Stop moving the goal posts

Personally id still go with my suggestion based on your budget

[wsteel33]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, decision made....

Decided to go for 8mm and 18mm BST's (managed to get the pair for £80 in total, brand new) as well as the 32mm Celestron Omni Plossl.

That should enable me to scratch the visual itch for a while.

Thanks again everyone... much appreciated 👍🙂

[Ags]

That's a good set.