I've mislaid my 10mm plossl, best replacement suggestions?

[Gfamily]

Any thoughts? 

I have a 127mm Mak, the use of a 70mm f/5 refractor and an 8" SCT that doesn't get out much. 

 

[fatwoul]

Are you looking for a direct replacement?  Or are you asking if there is a better alternative to a 10mm plossl, given your equipment?  What are you primarily hoping to observe?

[banjaxed]

I have a 9 mm Celestron eyepiece which you are welcome to if you pay the postage.

[Louis D]

FLO's 10mm Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece is only £20 and in stock.  It should work fine as a direct replacement.

If budget isn't an issue, I highly recommend the 10mm TV Delos at £336 from FLO.  Mine is essentially flawless even in fast scopes.

[Don Pensack]

In between those extremes would be the APM Ultra Flat Field 10mm 60° (also available from Altair Astro), a good step up from a Plössl.

And the Pentax XW 10mm at 70°, one of the best in that line.

[Mr Spock]

Are you fixed on 10mm? The BST Starguider is good value at £49. They have a 12mm and an 8mm  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

[Tiny Clanger]

42 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Are you fixed on 10mm? The BST Starguider is good value at £49. They have a 12mm and an 8mm  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

I was thinking the same , I've both and they work well in my 127 mak.

If you  are specifically  wanting a 10mm though , and not bothered by narrow FOV and short eye relief , rather than replace the lost plossl ( there's a tongue twister waiting there 🙂 ) with another the same, you could maybe investigate a Baader ortho ? I bought a 6mm second hand on here , didn't want to spend a lot on a 6mm as it was an experiment to see f it would  push me into 'unbearably intrusive eye floater ' territory (answer , it's right on the edge ...) It's a good, tiny, light EP and on  the odd occasion when conditions allow  250x mag views of the Moon in the mak it gives clear sharp views.

They do a 10mm ortho too , it's about £50  new ,  I've never used that specific one, but it may be worth checking it out ,I'm sure someone will have experience of it .

Heather

[Gfamily]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  

I was thinking of a straight replacement, but going up to a wider angle field might be an alternative. 

Hmm, decisions, decisions.  We're currently away, and I have an old Skywatcher 10mm kit eyepiece to make do with. 

 

[Ags]

I hear the Svbony 62° 10mm is surprisingly good, even if it uses a plastic aspherical lens. Never tried it though.

[badhex]

27 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

I was thinking the same , I've both and they work well in my 127 mak.

If you  are specifically  wanting a 10mm though , and not bothered by narrow FOV and short eye relief , rather than replace the lost plossl ( there's a tongue twister waiting there 🙂 ) with another the same, you could maybe investigate a Baader ortho ? I bought a 6mm second hand on here , didn't want to spend a lot on a 6mm as it was an experiment to see f it would  push me into 'unbearably intrusive eye floater ' territory (answer , it's right on the edge ...) It's a good, tiny, light EP and on  the odd occasion when conditions allow  250x mag views of the Moon in the mak it gives clear sharp views.

They do a 10mm ortho too , it's about £50  new ,  I've never used that specific one, but it may be worth checking it out ,I'm sure someone will have experience of it .

Heather

I've used the 100mm in a C5 which is *roughly* the same as your Mak in terms of specs, it works very well for planetary viewing. 

[jetstream]

The Baader Classic 10mm ortho is a vg eyepiece, with a plossl like AFOV.

[Zermelo]

All of the above, and there's also a 10mm in the Vixen NPL range, which are decent quality plossls.

[Tiny Clanger]

1 hour ago, badhex said:

I've used the 100mm in a C5 which is *roughly* the same as your Mak in terms of specs, it works very well for planetary viewing. 

 

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

The Baader Classic 10mm ortho is a vg eyepiece, with a plossl like AFOV.

Good to know,thanks both,  I thought someone would have suitable experience .

If I didn't already have  a few first-upgrade type plossls  making a very light and compact little portable kit (to go with my cheap 'fracs,) I'd be sorely tempted by the Baader ortho set as a bargain travel option. Unless it has changed since I last looked,  3 orthos  ,  a 32mm plossl and a 2x barlow ( plus a turret thing I'd probably never use )for under £200 .

Heather

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

tempted by the Baader ortho set as a bargain travel option

Thing is Heather, the 10mm BCO is a top tier eyepiece... it goes deeper than my 10mm Delos, 12.5mm Docter UWA  and provides sharpness on par (at least) with those 2, and others. The 18mm is a fine EP but my 6mm bloats stars and is not used. When I'm using the 24"f4.1 the 10BCO is used to confirm sightings in other eyepieces and used with/ without the VIP.

I'll not be without one. Ive heard the Baader Q barlow is vg as well.

Edited August 1, 2021 by jetstream

[Ags]

If we are talking Plosslike eyepieces, let's not forget the Vixen SLVs. Super sharp, great eye relief, nice eye guard. The view is only 50° but is as good as anything else on the market.

[Tiny Clanger]

11 hours ago, jetstream said:

Thing is Heather, the 10mm BCO is a top tier eyepiece... it goes deeper than my 10mm Delos, 12.5mm Docter UWA  and provides sharpness on par (at least) with those 2, and others. The 18mm is a fine EP but my 6mm bloats stars and is not used. When I'm using the 24"f4.1 the 10BCO is used to confirm sightings in other eyepieces and used with/ without the VIP.

I'll not be without one. Ive heard the Baader Q barlow is vg as well.

Shh ! Now you've told everyone that, I shall have far more competitors keen to buy when a 10mm comes up second hand

[AdeKing]

13 hours ago, jetstream said:

Thing is Heather, the 10mm BCO is a top tier eyepiece...

I'd second this. I have all 3x BCOs and actually have a bino pair of the 18mm which I use for solar binoviewing.

Cracking eyepiece for not a lot of cash secondhand.

[Gfamily]

On 01/08/2021 at 13:40, Gfamily said:

Any thoughts? 

I have a 127mm Mak, the use of a 70mm f/5 refractor and an 8" SCT that doesn't get out much. 

 

I can now admit that I'm officially an idiot

Not only did I forget that I have a very nice 9mm X-Cel LX already (somehow mentally thought it was an 18mm - no idea why), but I just found the 'missing' 10mm Plossl in MrsG's Heritage 130P mini Dob. 

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Gfamily

[Pixies]

On 01/08/2021 at 21:00, Zermelo said:

All of the above, and there's also a 10mm in the Vixen NPL range, which are decent quality plossls.

Yep - I have 2 (waiting perhaps for a binoviewer one day?)

I got them as part of a deal and was expecting to offload them, but they are really nice quality and I don't really notice the tightish eye-relief

[Zermelo]

Just looking back over this thread (OP has re-opened it, so I think I'm excused) and I'd forgotten about @Ags mentioning the Svbony 10mm aspheric.

I bought the 23mm in that range recently, to avoid paying postage on another item to the River Organization. At £13.99 it was a speculative punt - it has only three elements, and one of those appeared to be plastic - but I had read some positive reviews elsewhere.

I've used it a couple of times and it's actually not that bad. I didn't check its claim of 62° AFOV, but it seemed about right. And the sharpness was good across about 90%. It would be a good one to take to an outreach. I'm tempted to try the 10mm, but I already have two 10mm eyepieces.

[IB20]

The 10mm BCO. It’s the best value for money to performance eyepiece on the market. It barlows superbly too. 

edit - sorry have just seen you’ve found it. Still, the 10mm BCO is a fantastic EP…

Edited May 6, 2022 by IB20

[Louis D]

7 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I bought the 23mm in that range recently, to avoid paying postage on another item to the River Organization. At £13.99 it was a speculative punt - it has only three elements, and one of those appeared to be plastic - but I had read some positive reviews elsewhere.

I've used it a couple of times and it's actually not that bad. I didn't check its claim of 62° AFOV, but it seemed about right. And the sharpness was good across about 90%.

I put together some existing images I have to show how a couple of budget 20mm/23mm eyepieces compare.  The 20mm is the SVBONY UWA with a 67° AFOV and the 23mm (closer to 23.5mm) is the Aspheric with a 63° to 64° AFOV.  Neither is great at f/6, but both improve dramatically at f/12.  When shopping for eyepieces to use in a slow scope, budget eyepieces become a much more viable option.  Both also work great at f/18 in my binoviewers with a 3x (effective) Barlow element to reach focus.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Louis D