Cheap or Expensive eye pieces

[GalaticBoba]

For my first eyepiece should I go for a single TV eyepiece or get a set like this one?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/celestron-eyeopener-eyepiece-and-filter-kit.html

Is this set going to be significantly poorer in quality then a single TV one?

Anyone had the chance to compare them?

[Peter Drew]

I would go for a mid priced zoom eyepiece at this stage, it will give you a better appreciation of different magnifications on which to base your future eyepiece purchases.  The "boxed selections " of eyepieces tend to include some you are unlikely to use and are of entry level quality.       🙂

[rl]

The answer depends a lot on the scope. If it's a fast Newtonian (say f/5 or faster) the Plossls in the Celestron set might be a disappointment. If you have a long refractor they will work well.  Something like the TV Delite (at £240!) will work well in all scopes. 

You don't have to pay TV money for a good eyepiece nowadays. There are loads of others nearly as good for a fraction of the cost. Baader Morpheus, ES, APM spring to mind. 

What is your scope?

What are your preferred targets?

[GalaticBoba]

12 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I would go for a mid priced zoom eyepiece at this stage, it will give you a better appreciation of different magnifications on which to base your future eyepiece purchases.  The "boxed selections " of eyepieces tend to include some you are unlikely to use and are of entry level quality.       🙂

Something like this;

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html

There is also a baadee hyperion set!

5 minutes ago, rl said:

The answer depends a lot on the scope. If it's a fast Newtonian (say f/5 or faster) the Plossls in the Celestron set might be a disappointment. If you have a long refractor they will work well.  Something like the TV Delite (at £240!) will work well in all scopes. 

You don't have to pay TV money for a good eyepiece nowadays. There are loads of others nearly as good for a fraction of the cost. Baader Morpheus, ES, APM spring to mind. 

What is your scope?

What are your preferred targets?

Celestron Nexstar 8 se sct

Skywatcher classic 250p dob

Visuals on planets at the moment, but I want to do more dso, once I get better at finding them.

 

[rl]

Nice scopes... 

The focal lengths are both quite long. Thus the Barlow lens in the kit won't see much use. neither will the 6mm in the SCT. The 32mm will be a decent low power eyepiece for the SCT. 

The same kit is available under different brand names (Revelation) at lower cost....I keep one permanently in the car with a 60mm refractor for quick viewing sessions while out and about. If the car gets broken into and the whole lot nicked it's an inconvenience but not a disaster. They work just fine in this context. 

But for home use I'd not be too happy for long. The BST Starguider range seems to get universal praise if you're on a limited budget. They have more field of view and are probably better corrected. 

The problem about going top-end is that one fixed focal length eyepiece won't cover all situations. Peter's comment about getting a zoom has a lot of merit. 

[Andrew_B]

5 hours ago, GalaticBoba said:

Something like this;

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html

There is also a baadee hyperion set!

Celestron Nexstar 8 se sct

Skywatcher classic 250p dob

Visuals on planets at the moment, but I want to do more dso, once I get better at finding them.

 

The Baader Zoom is a great eyepiece and as Peter said, it gives you an option to try out different focal lengths to see what works for you. I also use it with my 60mm scope to turn it into a spotting scope for birdwatching and the magnification range works very well for that combo.

Consider getting it with the dedicated 2.25x Barlow lens. It's tiny and very good quality and when used with the Hyperion Zoom it gives you an equivalent range of 3.6-10.7mm to complement the 8-24mm of the standard eyepiece.

[GalaticBoba]

Thanks all, 

I've gone for the Baader Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece, this will show me some different fov as well as the different focal lengths. I should then be in a better position judge what to go for next.

[Dave scutt]

Bst starguider are ment to be good down to f5 and are cheap at flo.

But I can't really give my 2 cents I'm new to this but my cheap eyepieces are rubbish in my dob

[Andrew_B]

3 hours ago, Dave scutt said:

Bst starguider are ment to be good down to f5 and are cheap at flo.

But I can't really give my 2 cents I'm new to this but my cheap eyepieces are rubbish in my dob

Fast focal ratios seem to be much more demanding of eyepieces so a cheap eyepiece that looks great in an F10 scope might look mediocre in an F5 one.

[Mr Spock]

On 02/09/2021 at 15:48, GalaticBoba said:

I've gone for the Baader Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece, this will show me some different fov as well as the different focal lengths. I should then be in a better position judge what to go for next.

Sensible choice. No amount of advice can replace actually looking through an eyepiece. Once you have an idea of your needs, you can decide at which focal length you need the extra quality of a more expensive eyepiece.

[Dark Vader]

+1 for this:

Consider getting it with the dedicated 2.25x Barlow lens. It's tiny and very good quality and when used with the Hyperion Zoom .

It's great in the zoom - It also fits the filter threads on my BSTs, and I imagine other eyepieces too, although I've not tried it personally. I mainly use it with the 15mm BST giving me a nice clear 180x in the 200p.