Can you recommend a good 12.5mm (or thereabouts) eyepiece?

[StuartT]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Wicked man

I think I may be missing something here... are televue eyepieces very fancy then? Is that why @faulksy was warning against them?

[jetstream]

8 minutes ago, StuartT said:

what's that?

😀

You know the 10mm Delos would be a great addition, extremely low scatter, very sharp and high transmission. Its a goto eyepiece.

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, StuartT said:

I think I may be missing something here... are televue eyepieces very fancy then? Is that why @faulksy was warning against them?

Both high quality and very expensive.

It's a bit like Pringles - once you pop, you cannot stop sort of thing - and being expensive - fair warning is in order - "Your wallet may suffer"

I would just like to point out that you have two slow scopes and you really don't need expensive eyepieces to get very good performance. Notice those posted diagrams and difference in spot sizes between F/10 and F/5 scopes. Most eyepieces work rather well in slow scopes.

[StuartT]

4 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Both high quality and very expensive.

It's a bit like Pringles - once you pop, you cannot stop sort of thing - and being expensive - fair warning is in order - "Your wallet may suffer"

I would just like to point out that you have two slow scopes and you really don't need expensive eyepieces to get very good performance. Notice those posted diagrams and difference in spot sizes between F/10 and F/5 scopes. Most eyepieces work rather well in slow scopes.

useful to know. thanks.

Of course, it's always possible I may buy a new telescope at some stage (a faster one) and then I'll benefit from fancy eyepieces 🤣

[HollyHound]

On 06/03/2021 at 19:00, StuartT said:

uh oh... surely you're not suggesting this is an endless process of buying newer and better toys... ?

Nah, you'll be happy with the first eyepiece you get and that will be the end of it 🤔😬🤣

[StuartT]

10 minutes ago, jetstream said:

😀

You know the 10mm Delos would be a great addition, extremely low scatter, very sharp and high transmission. Its a goto eyepiece.

Crikey! £336 !

I think I had better learn the ropes before going crazy with my shopping (an urge I am very poor at controlling at the best of times!)

[vlaiv]

4 minutes ago, StuartT said:

Of course, it's always possible I may buy a new telescope at some stage (a faster one) and then I'll benefit from fancy eyepieces 

Indeed.

There is also difference between eyepieces of the same type. Cheap Chinese plossl might be good value for money but I'm certain there will be difference to notice between it and Televue plossl. Quality control, attention to detail like level of polish or choice of coatings does make a difference.

[Louis D]

50 minutes ago, StuartT said:

@Louis D would you be able to point me to where these diagrams came from? I need the legends to explain them (e.g. what F e and C mean and how the colours mean). Thanks

To expound upon @vlaiv's response to your question, the exact section of the website is 12. TELESCOPE EYEPIECE.  The diagrams are in sections 12.3 and 12.4.

[HollyHound]

The Morpheus is a very good eyepiece... I've had the 14mm and still retain the 17.5mm. Take it from someone who knows how crazy expensive this can become... use the Morpheus for a while then if you still want to consider other options, buy a used one of the range you want to test and try that first. Actually I've just sold a Tele Vue 13mm Delite, but to be honest I very much doubt there is much difference between that and the Morpheus... in fact the Morpheus has an extra 12 degrees field of view too 👍

[HollyHound]

5 minutes ago, StuartT said:

Crikey! £336 !

I think I had better learn the ropes before going crazy with my shopping (an urge I am very poor at controlling at the best of times!)

Never ever... ever... look at Tele Vue Ethos... just don't 😬🤣

[StuartT]

1 minute ago, HollyHound said:

Never ever... ever... look at Tele Vue Ethos... just don't 😬🤣

now you knew I was going to, right?

100º !!! 😃😃

[HollyHound]

Just now, StuartT said:

now you knew I was going to, right?

100º !!! 😃😃

Arguably, I could suggest forget everything and jump straight to these... amazing eyepieces and it's taken me almost a year to get to them, but that comes at a sizeable cost (both financially and weight) and you'll miss out on the fun of trying others on the way 😀

I actually don't think, apart from perhaps some starter eyepieces that come with scopes and maybe a few others, there really aren't that many "bad" eyepieces... just those that perhaps work better (i.e. edge performance) in faster f ratio scopes and perhaps have a bit better contrast and light transmission. The Morpheus you've just ordered ticks all those boxes anyway without going any higher 👍

[HollyHound]

Looking at your Meade LX90... that's a seriously good scope with plenty of aperture, but at f/10 I would think almost any decent eyepiece (including the Morpheus) would perform perfectly 👍

At lot of it then comes down to usability (ergonomics), eye relief (comfort when observing) and usable field of view.

[vlaiv]

Eyepieces are really personal taste and unless you try something - you won't know if you like it.

I've found that I don't really care for fields past about 60-70° and really value sharpness of the eyepiece. I don't mind tighter eye relief, but sometimes eyepiece is not comfortable in use - my eye gets tired fast and I don't like that.

At this point of my life I'm perfectly happy to go with cheaper eyepieces that offer 90-95% of performance rather than spending much more for last few percent of performance.

[faulksy]

40 minutes ago, StuartT said:

Crikey! £336 !

I think I had better learn the ropes before going crazy with my shopping (an urge I am very poor at controlling at the best of times!)

dont look at ethos then 🤣

[jetstream]

26 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

At this point of my life I'm perfectly happy to go with cheaper eyepieces that offer 90-95% of performance rather than spending much more

I'm at this point in my wifes life that I'm perfectly happy to go with cheaper eyepieces....😀

[jetstream]

42 minutes ago, StuartT said:

now you knew I was going to, right?

100º !!! 😃

We are lucky- the APM 20mm 100 deg is a very good alternative to the 21E, the difference to my eyes is minor astigmatism at the edge with and without a Paracorr.

IMHO, one low power 100 deg EP is nice to have.

[John]

I'm a big Tele Vue fan but in all honesty I'm sure the Baader Morpheus will give you 100% of the experience with most scopes / targets and, as @jetstream / Gerry says, there are other 100 degree options that make a lot of sense unless you are going to be using them in a really fast scope and are very fussy.

 

 

 

[jetstream]

I love 100 deg eps for fun observing and espc nebula and certain clusters. When doing the thousand yard stare on faint, small DSO I reach for the cheap n cheerful orthos I have...

[HollyHound]

17 minutes ago, jetstream said:

We are lucky- the APM 20mm 100 deg is a very good alternative to the 21E, the difference to my eyes is minor astigmatism at the edge with and without a Paracorr.

IMHO, one low power 100 deg EP is nice to have.

Agreed, I've recently tried both... the difference is minor and (as you say) mostly a little astigmatism at the edge only. Having a 100 degree eyepiece would be great, but as as has been said, the APMs are superb.

In fact if you have a reflector at f/5 or less... get a Paracorr first... however this is my opinion only and I'm aware coma bothers others less and of course none of this is relevant to the OPs scopes👍

Edited March 7, 2021 by HollyHound

[jetstream]

1 minute ago, HollyHound said:

I've recently tried both..

This eyepiece is one of the best values for the money there is IMHO, I use it all the time leaving my 21E gently cradled in the foam case to avoid damaging this uber expensive eyepiece.

[jetstream]

@StuartT I will mention another thing. Being able to select an appropriate eyepiece for the target means a lot.

An example- I was trying to see a difficult object-HGC 55 in my 15" and used a high contrast hyperwide to get it in view. Knowing these eyepieces lack what it takes on an object like this I switched it up. I tried an extremely good Zeiss zoom, razor sharp on the moon/planets, basically no scatter.

Did it work to break up this object? No.

I went in and got some orthos to try and success.

[StuartT]

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

I'm at this point in my wifes life that I'm perfectly happy to go with cheaper eyepieces....😀

haha! I am divorced and single so I can now spend what I like. But (believe it or not) I bought the LX-90 when I was married (this was 12 years ago) and I actually pretended I'd won it in a competition rather than admit to buying it! 🤦‍♂️

The only thing more ridiculous than that is that I was believed... 🤣

Edited March 7, 2021 by StuartT

[KP82]

1 hour ago, StuartT said:

Crikey! £336 !

I think I had better learn the ropes before going crazy with my shopping (an urge I am very poor at controlling at the best of times!)

That's why I suggested the Morpheus as I didn't want you to fall into the abyss of premium EPs so early😁. Honestly with your scope it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference between a TV N13T6 and Baader Morpheus 12.5mm.

TV, Pentax and Nikon, these are the top dogs in EPs.

Edited March 7, 2021 by KP82

[Ricochet]

On 06/03/2021 at 14:53, KP82 said:

There is a BST 12mm in the Sales/Trade section atm. It's one of the best budget eyepieces.

 

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

Never ever... ever... look at Tele Vue Ethos... just don't 😬🤣

Classic SGL budget inflation 🤣