€200 to spend on eyepiece for heritage 130P

[harpy]

I have 200 to spend on an eyepiece for my Sky watcher heritage 130p.

I already have BST star guiders  8mm, 12mm, 18mm and Vixen NPL 30mm, and  baader Q 2.25 Barlow.

I was thinking of  maybe either  getting the Baader zoom seen a few people talking about it on here or the Explore Scientific 62 26 mm was another eye piece recommended.

 

Is it worth getting the Zoom if I already have the above eyepieces or would I better of getting the ES?

Or is there any other eyepieces anyone would suggest, I've also seen people mention UHC filters recently are these worth investing in for a skywatcher heritage 130P?

Basically I have money to spend and need to know where id be best spending it.

 

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

Sorry put this in the wrong forum, meant to post in the beginners equipment forum🤦‍♂️

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by harpy

[RT65CB-SWL]

For 'grab & go' or travelling light, I would go for the zoom e/p, unless you prefer fixed focal length e/p's.
Having borrowed one for a hour from a fellow member of my local society/club, I was impressed by it.
The Explore Scientific e/p, does have a wider FOV which maybe better suited for use with a 'scope mounted
on an alt-az mount. 

UHC filters can make difference on nebula. It depends on which brand. I use the Explore Scientific 

My 'all purpose' filter is the Baader Neodymium; (a.k.a. my 'Swiss-Army knife' filter).
The Baader Contrast is my next 'all purpose' filter. 

[Stu]

You could consider the Explore Scientific 24mm 68 degree eyepiece. This would give a 2.5 degree field of view, and a 4.8mm exit pupil. You could then buy a UHC filter, or even an OIII which would work very well on targets like the Veil and NAN from a decently dark sky as well as a range of others.

Alternatively you could get something higher powered. I have a Televue 3 to 6 Nagler Zoom, bought for other scopes of course, but which works very well in the Heritage at the 4mm setting, and sometimes higher. Despite being a supposedly entry level scope, the 130p performs very well at higher powers on double stars and planets; a 4mm would give you x162, a very useable high power.

A low cost mod you can do is to make a shroud to cover the gap where the truss poles are. You can do this will hobby foam quite easily, and it helps reduce glare and also stops your breath from creating tube currents and disturbing the view.

[RT65CB-SWL]

13 minutes ago, Stu said:

A low cost mod you can do is to make a shroud to cover the gap where the truss poles are. You can do this will hobby foam quite easily, and it helps reduce glare and also stops your breath from creating tube currents and disturbing the view.

See here... 

via SGL'er @Lockie

[John]

Of the items you list, my choice would be a good UHC filter to give you something more from your observing.

The Baader zoom, in my opinion, will not offer you better performance than the eyepieces you currently have.

 

 

[harpy]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

1 hour ago, Philip R said:

For 'grab & go' or travelling light, I would go for the zoom e/p, unless you prefer fixed focal length e/p's.
Having borrowed one for a hour from a fellow member of my local society/club, I was impressed by it.
The Explore Scientific e/p, does have a wider FOV which maybe better suited for use with a 'scope mounted
on an alt-az mount. 

UHC filters can make difference on nebula. It depends on which brand. I use the Explore Scientific 

My 'all purpose' filter is the Baader Neodymium; (a.k.a. my 'Swiss-Army knife' filter).
The Baader Contrast is my next 'all purpose' filter. 

 

@Philip R its my first scope so not sure what I prefer yet, I do like the idea of having all the individual focal lengths but also like the option of just needing to grab one eyepiece say if I was going camping the zoom eyepiece would come in handy.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

You could consider the Explore Scientific 24mm 68 degree eyepiece. This would give a 2.5 degree field of view, and a 4.8mm exit pupil. You could then buy a UHC filter, or even an OIII which would work very well on targets like the Veil and NAN from a decently dark sky as well as a range of others.

Alternatively you could get something higher powered. I have a Televue 3 to 6 Nagler Zoom, bought for other scopes of course, but which works very well in the Heritage at the 4mm setting, and sometimes higher. Despite being a supposedly entry level scope, the 130p performs very well at higher powers on double stars and planets; a 4mm would give you x162, a very useable high power.

A low cost mod you can do is to make a shroud to cover the gap where the truss poles are. You can do this will hobby foam quite easily, and it helps reduce glare and also stops your breath from creating tube currents and disturbing the view.

Saw the Televue, would be a nice investment, I'll probably hold off until I upgrade the scope before going for one of those.

Yeah I was looking at the shrouds, I was trying to find a shoe of foam big enough but nothing in the shops by me when I checked I might just order it online and make it next weekends project.

 

27 minutes ago, John said:

Of the items you list, my choice would be a good UHC filter to give you something more from your observing.

The Baader zoom, in my opinion, will not offer you better performance than the eyepieces you currently have.

 

 

 

@John Yeah that's what I was thinking , I like the idea of shiny new eyepieces arriving  but I think a good filter might be the most rewarding to me at the minute. Is there any particular filter you would recommend?

[John]

3 minutes ago, harpy said:

Thank you all for your suggestions.

 

@Philip R its my first scope so not sure what I prefer yet, I do like the idea of having all the individual focal lengths but also like the option of just needing to grab one eyepiece say if I was going camping the zoom eyepiece would come in handy.

Saw the Televue, would be a nice investment, I'll probably hold off until I upgrade the scope before going for one of those.

Yeah I was looking at the shrouds, I was trying to find a shoe of foam big enough but nothing in the shops by me when I checked I might just order it online and make it next weekends project.

 

 

@John Yeah that's what I was thinking , I like the idea of shiny new eyepieces arriving  but I think a good filter might be the most rewarding to me at the minute. Is there any particular filter you would recommend?

One of these:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/uhc-oiii-visual-filters/astronomik-uhc-filter.html

 

[harpy]

@John thank you, I will get that one. Would it be worth my while getting the ES eyepiece also as I’ll have enough for that left over if I get the filter or would I notice much difference between that and my vixen npl 30mm and stock 25mm..

or is there any other filters that I should get along with the uhc. Live in an urban area with street lights but have a few dark spots in the garden and also have realised I actually apparently have a good enough dark sky area about 30 mins drive away which is handy..

I can also  always bank the leftover money  as well and put it towards something else in a couple of months if you people don’t think it’s worth getting anything else.

[Colossal Plossl]

You have almost an identical setup to me.  I hear good things about the ES 24mm 68.  I have an Astronomik UHC but not really used it yet.  I believe the veil nebula is in Cygnus which is easily visible from my back garden.  I will try and use it this week and let you know.  I certainly can't see it with the naked eye or without filter at Bottle 6.

 

I owned the baader mkiv zoom but didn't like it.  Too narrow fov for me (some people are ok with that)

 

Baader classic orthos are very good for planetary work.  My next EP will almost certainly be a low power wide fov.  68 or 82.