Best eyepieces for Skywatcher 10" dobsonian

[Aston]

My new 10" f/5 dobsonian came with two eyepieces, 10mm and 26mm. I read on a few different places that these eyepieces arent the best, so i thought i would swap them out directly and buy better ones.

My guess is that the ones that came with the scope are 50degree, and that i would benefit from eyepieces with wider field of view. Should i get new ones that are 2" or 1.25"? Are there any designs or brands that i should go for? Sky watcher sells eyepieces that are Plössle Ultra Wide, with 66degrees fov, could that be something to go for, or are there better brands?

[johninderby]

The stock 25mm eyepiece is useable although not the best. The 10mm is indeed poor. 1.25” eyepieces are the most used with 2” reserved for the long focal lengths as there is no advantage at the shorter focal lengths.

Most common are a couple of shorter focal length 1.25”eyepieces and one long focal length one, say 30mm or more.

BST Starguider eyepieces are very well regarded and often recommended budget eyepieces.  

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/search/for/starguider/

A zoom can be useful as it will enable you to experiment with different magnifications.The Hyperflex is an excellent zoom for the price.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/hyperflex-72mm-215mm-eyepiece.html

You could spend over £1,000.00 on a super high end eyepiece or just hundreds on top quality ones but not something for a beginner. Take your time and slowly add to your eyepiece collection.

Edited January 2, 2021 by johninderby

[pregulla]

It all depends on your budget, preferences, observing targets etc. There is no single answer on what should you get.

2" eyepieces offer larger field of view at longer focal lengths, there is no difference in performance in shorter ones.

I would suggest adding 2" eyepiece in 30mm+ range, for wide filed low power view and as a finder eyepiece. It also quite different experience compared to stock plossls. There are a lot of options depending on your budget from Panaviews to Naglers.

When you don't know what to buy, a zoom + 2x barlow is a good option. It gets you covered until you figure out what your preferences are.

[johninderby]

An eye wateringly expensive eyepiece. 🙀🙀🙀

https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/tele-vue-apollo-11-special-edition-eyepiece.html

Never actualy seen one myself and will certainly never be spending that amount on any eyepiece. 😬

BTW it’s OK to need to lie down in a darkened room after seeing the price of the Apollo eyepiece. 😁😁😁

Edited January 2, 2021 by johninderby

[Aston]

Thanx for the input! I will try to replace at them both with higher quality ones. The dealers in my area are pretty much out of stock, but i they have a few that is within my price range, about 150-200$/piece(prices are often higher in Scandinavian countries).

I found Celestron Luminos and Baader-Plantetarium Hyperion, are they any good?

[Pixies]

The Hyperions don't work well in fast scopes. Yours will be F5? Some of the range will have significant distortions away from the centre of the field of view

[Mr Spock]

The OVL Nirvana-ES UWA-82º Ultrawide eyepieces are very inexpensive for what you get. I would think about adding a coma corrector though. I used the older version of the Baader MPCC V-1 Mk-III Photo-Visual Set and found it excellent for the money.

You won't get the best quality viewing though without spending a load of cash. The more esoteric no compromise eyepieces come with a hefty price tag.

[Aston]

Mine is a f/4.8 so i probably should avoid the Hyperions, quite a few reviewers had the same issue that you mentioned. Celestron Luminos seams to have the same or very similary issues, is finding good eyepieces for f/5 dobs simply a bit difficult? 

https://lovethenightsky.com/celestron-luminos-review/

Is it perhaps so that, the problems that both Hyperions and Luminos has, is simply something i half to live with if im not to buy even more expensive eyepieces? And is the quality better in these ones, than the ones that the scope came with?

Reading and evaluating eyepiece reviews online as a beginner isn't the easiest thing, its hard to tell what the reviewers consider a good epyepiece, what they compare it too and what expectations they had.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Aston

[davhei]

Hi Aston,

I have a Skywatcher 10” f/4.7 dob and I use four eyepieces that I feel cover my needs.

 

2” 27 mm x44 - Finder eyepiece for wide field views.

 

1.25” 14 mm x86- Low/medium magnification that is great on the moon and larger DSOs such as open clusters.

 

1.25” 10 mm x120 - Medium mag and a good general use performer on DSOs.

 

1.25” 6 mm x200 - High mag that is still usable under most sky conditions.

 

To get more options I sometimes use a x2 Barlow with the 14 mm and 10 mm when conditions allow slightly lower or higher mag than the x200 provided by the 6 mm EP. Occasionally use it with the 6 mm EP but that is more for specialty purposes as it yields very high mag.

I have tried to select the eyepieces to have adequate eye relief for comfortable viewing, an exit pupil in the low magnification range between 5,5 and 6,5 mm and and a few options around 1 mm at the high end including barlow use.

Since it is a fast scope I opted for well corrected EPs from the start and have not regretted it.

Being patient and buying used reduces the cash outlay and also gives the option of reselling without losing too much money if you for some reason decide the hobby isn’t for you.

Good luck!

[domstar]

1 hour ago, Aston said:

Reading and evaluating eyepiece reviews online as a beginner isn't the easiest thing, its hard to tell what the reviewers consider a good epyepiece, what they compare it too and what expectations they had.

That's very true. My advice is to use the ones you already have and then you will see what you want. I found I needed to see more sky so I could find objects, so I bought a 2 inch with a long focal length. I found I don't need a lot of eye relief, neither do I need to see a lot of sky at the shorter focal lengths so my Baader Classic Orthoscopics are fine. I don't like fiddling around changing eyepieces so I think maybe a zoom would suit me well.

Take your time. You'll appreciate better eyepieces mostly by seeing the subtle improvement they make over your old ones- well, that's what happened with me.

[Spile]

After reading reviews, I chose the Baader Hyperion IV Zoom and Barlow combination. It hit the sweet spot in terms of quality, cost and flexibility and I am very pleased with its performance

 

[Aston]

That zoom eyepiece looks nice, but due to the Corona situation they are all out of stock at the dealers here. I really wanted to change the stock ones as some people said i would probably be disappointed with the scope otherwise, but i will give it a try.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by Aston

[Aston]

I found this advice helpful, "dont buy a premium eye piece for a fast dobsonian(<f5)"  in regards to the coma problem, and also field curvature.

https://youtu.be/GM76JAzhKgU

Also, i found this document, recomending owners of fast dobsonians to upgrade to 60 degree eye piece, like the Celestron X-Cel LX or the Meade HD60. People is generally happy with them from what i have understod. They are also in good supply in the Nordic countries.

https://www.acaoh.org/_meetings/2016/2016-02-26_Eyepiece Handout.pdf

Edited January 3, 2021 by Aston

[IanC11]

Tele Vue are designed for fast scopes across their entire model range.

[Spile]

7 hours ago, Aston said:

That zoom eyepiece looks nice, but due to the Corona situation they are all out of stock at the dealers here. I really wanted to change the stock ones as some people said i would probably be disappointed with the scope otherwise, but i will give it a try.

 

 

I emailed three distributors, all but one had one is stock and that one have since been in touch to say it is now in stock. Best of luck. 

[Aston]

I finally got a bunch of new Eyepieces, Meade HD-60 25/9/4.5mm. They have a twisting function, but are not "zoom" so i suspect this is focus. The manual doesn't say anything about it though. Should i use the focusing on the eye piece or on the focuser on the scope?

[John]

Posted in error.

Edited January 11, 2021 by John

[John]

5 minutes ago, Aston said:

I finally got a bunch of new Eyepieces, Meade HD-60 25/9/4.5mm. They have a twisting function, but are not "zoom" so i suspect this is focus. The manual doesn't say anything about it though. Should i use the focusing on the eye piece or on the focuser on the scope?

The twisting action on the eyepiece is adjusting the height of the eye cup. Folks who wear glasses when observing often need the eye cup in a lower position (closer to the top lens) while those who do not often get on better with the eye cup section twisted into a higher postion.

This is nothing to do with focusing which is done with the focuser on the scope. These eyepieces are fixed focal lengths so not zooms. The Meade HD 60's have a good reputation.