130p plossal eyepiece recommendation

[peter12]

Gt my telescope based on recommendations here years ago. Its getting dusty though.

Really just want to see as many planets in solar system as possible please. I read plenty but its too much to remember sorry. Struggled just looking at the moon

Most things said barlows are a stepping stone.

Can someone point out an eye piece on first light optics or something similar in UK please. Its for me and my 6 year old space obsessed son.

Also a polarising filter if there worth it. Is a collimater cap as easy as a laser? I wont get round to making one so ill buy.

Last step would then be plumbers tape on the eyepiece threads right?

Thanks 

Edited October 15, 2020 by peter12
Typo

[Neil H]

Hi Peter i use a zoom lens on both my scopes 8 inch reflector and 127 refractor this will give you 8 eyepieces in one if you add a barlow the only down fall is as you zoom in the images will darken a little but not much 

What i do is zoom in get the image i want then some times i changed to a fixed focal length eyepiece  this way you can find out what works best but only for that days seeing it changes all the time as you know 

BST eyepieces are a great eyepiece and are really good for there price 

In zoom lens the celestron 8 to 24 is good not the 7 to 21 

One of the guys is trying the sbony 10 to 30 mm said its not bad if you dont mind what you pay the hypersion zoom and barlow are top notch and in stock at FLO

Edited October 15, 2020 by Neil H
Typo

[peter12]

I think the fitting is 1.25 inch as its the heritage  forgot to mention this. Thats a lot of choices. Barlows increase magnification but dont You loose some detail? Feel like barlow is better with a filter. Saw some barlows with 2 3 and 5x. Is celestron moon filter worth it?

[DaveL59]

I recently got the svbony sv171 8-24mm eyepiece, seems very good on the couple times I've had a chance to use it. It is huge tho but has held well in the low cost Celestron LT70AZ I recently purchased. If you can wait for it to arrive then the svbony store on Ali had them at around £50 tho seems to be out of stock for the moment
https://www.svbony.com/svbony-sv171-zoom-eyepiece-8-24mm/

They also do a 7-21mm zoom that is smaller but I can't comment on that one. Seems the svbony range get reasonable reviews on CloudyNights so may be a better choice than the Celestron or other cheaper zooms.

[peter12]

Cant decide sorry. Terrible at decisions.

Could responders say if they were sent one of these telescopes...

Which -eyepiece or barlow

Which version of above

Would you get a filter

Cost

Would help me a lot, thank you 

 

Edit: new areas of interest are confusing.  Need someone to decide for me lol

Edited October 15, 2020 by peter12

[DaveL59]

I don't have the 130P but an older SW130 long tube among others as per my sig. 

Barlows I have 2x and 3x TAL as well as a couple 2x SW ones that came with the scopes which are OK tho I prefer the TAL ones. I rarely use the 3x as I find 2x more than enough with the eyepieces I have which range from 25mm-6.3mm TAL Plossl, 20+10mm Vixen NPL and a couple ortho's 12+9mm in the 1,25-inch set. 

I do have a variable polarizer that arrived the other day, not had the chance to try it out on planets as yet. I expect it should be good on the moon and bright planets as last time I had the chance to play the moon was like looking into a lightbulb. Hopefully should be more flexible than fixed density filters I already have.

[Neil H]

If you want to buy from FLO get the hypersion zoom and matching barlow you wont go wrong they are top class

[Neil H]

Heres a neat trick get you polarize filter put one half on the bottom of the eyepiece  then place the other half on top ( just lay it in the eye cup) now if you turn it  it will darken so you can adjust it easier

[Louis D]

16 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Heres a neat trick get you polarize filter put one half on the bottom of the eyepiece  then place the other half on top ( just lay it in the eye cup) now if you turn it  it will darken so you can adjust it easier

Or, if you have a filter threaded extension tube and enough in-focus, thread one filter on the bottom of the extension tube and the other on the bottom of the eyepiece.  Rotating the eyepiece with respect to the extension tube will vary the darkening.

[peter12]

1 hour ago, Neil H said:

If you want to buy from FLO get the hypersion zoom and matching barlow you wont go wrong they are top class

Is this the £180 one? My budget is 50 to 60 unfortunately 

[DaveL59]

25 minutes ago, peter12 said:

Is this the £180 one? My budget is 50 to 60 unfortunately 

is that for an eyepiece or both that plus a barlow?

The Svbony SV135 (7-21mm) will soak most of that and a reasonable barlow would be another £30 or so, for example. 
https://www.svbony.com/SV135-1-25inch-Zoom-Eyepiece-/

The OVL Hyperflex is around £70
https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-ovl-hyperflex-7e-7-2-21-5mm-zoom-eyepiece-1-25-inch.htm

The OVL Variable polarizing filter is around £25 on top if you go for one of these.

Edited October 15, 2020 by DaveL59

[peter12]

180 and another 85 for barlow

[Neil H]

I use the celestron 8 to 24 zoom its good for its price i also use the BST barlow they work well together even that zoom is over £60 

If you dont mind waiting there is this one at £56

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25inch-FMC-Celestron-Wide-Angle-8-24mm-Zoom-Eyepiece-Lens-for-Astro-Eyepiece/203036148277?hash=item2f45e5c235:g:rEkAAOSwLF1X~Exb

[peter12]

Still looking, did purchase a celestron astromaster kit from this site. Should keep me going until i decide.

Found this  https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4001337671438.html

Svbony171 for £45 (£2 discount new customer) 20-40 day delivery hurts though.  

I like the look of the bst and the celestron. They all have different range options though. Was thinking 8-24 was better as they are slightly more £

[Timdog]

I have a 130p and upgraded to bst starguider eyepieces. To me, as a newbie they were a great upgrade and I agree with the many recommendations that they work well in this scope. If you’re main interest is planets the 8mm would be good, from flo or skies unlimited on eBay. I had the 5mm too but viewing conditions had to be good for it.

Baader zoom was very good.

I found collimator cap worked ok but Cheshire one better. Definitely put a layer of pterodactyl tape on threads

[DaveL59]

14 hours ago, peter12 said:

Still looking, did purchase a celestron astromaster kit from this site. Should keep me going until i decide.

Found this  https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4001337671438.html

Svbony171 for £45 (£2 discount new customer) 20-40 day delivery hurts though.  

I like the look of the bst and the celestron. They all have different range options though. Was thinking 8-24 was better as they are slightly more £

if you mean that the zoom being more than a single focal length eyepiece then please don't be fooled there. Zooms cost more because of the number of lenses and zoom mechanism but a single FL eyepiece will usually perform much better. Flip side is switching eyepieces then having to re-centre/find the target again which gives a zoom a level of convenience. Also the branded zooms are more expensive because you are paying for the name printed on them and perhaps a little more QC unless you jump to the more premium ones like the Baader.

Did you find the SV171 in stock, took a little over a week to arrive for me buying via Ali. Certainly feels like a quality build and on the limited testing I've been able to do the views are good, narrower at the 24mm end and wider at the 8mm but easier to use than the small FL plossls with tiny lenses. It is a big heavy lump tho, not sure how a flex-tube would handle that but hopefully someone on here can advise on that front.

[Second Time Around]

The 7-21mm Svbony zoom is very much lighter than their 8-24mm.  At f/6 it's not that far behind my much more expensive 8-24mm Baader in sharpness. So at about £45 delivered it's really excellent value for money.  I've just bought another for the Bresser equivalent of your scope for a friend's teenager.

I find that AliExpress delivery times are much faster than advertised, probably to avoid poor feedback. If you need this zoom even faster the Orion E-series is the same eyepiece but costs £56.99.  Orion also charge £7.95 carriage unless you spend £75 or over.