Eyepieces

[Joe beaumont]

Hi all, 

what is the best eyepiece brands and size for planetary viewing 

thanks 

[johninderby]

Need to have an idea of your budget and also what telescope before anyone can make any proper recomendations.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi again @Joe beaumont.

Depending on your 'scope and budget, the BST Starguider series: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html are good value and have a good following by SGL'ers. Next and possibly the cheapest, is the Vixen NPL series: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html. 

If you don't mind a slightly narrower field of view, Orthoscopic's, (a.k.a. Ortho's), are good planetary and lunar eyepieces. I have two 1.25" Circle-T and a 0.965"

If you want wider field of view than what I have mentioned above, then TeleVue Delite's or Nagler's https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tele-vue-eyepieces.html is what I would choose. They also hold their value pretty well, (about 2/3 of RRP if you decide to sell and upgrade at a later date).

Alternatively, you could start with an 8-24mm zoom. My recommendation, though I don't own one, would be this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html then from there find which or closest fixed focal length you like and then start/build your collection.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Philip R

[Louis D]

On 17/08/2020 at 06:26, Joe beaumont said:

Hi all, 

what is the best eyepiece brands and size for planetary viewing 

thanks 

Well, the Tak TOEs and Vixen HRs are both very good for highest power viewing, although the HRs are getting difficult to find.  The TeleVue DeLites are a small step down in ultimate contrast but have much better eye relief and a larger field of view.