Astromaster 114EQ Eyepiece Upgrade Advice

[kidoo]

Hi everyone, local rookie here...

I have an Astromaster 114EQ (yes...regrets, but its not terrible) I'm looking to upgrade from stock eyepieces.

I've narrowed it down to 1 of the 2 options below and was interested in seeing peoples thoughts:

 

Option 1:  Svbony 2x Barlow and Svbony 7-21mm zoom adjustable

Svbony Barlow Lens 2x，1.25" Barlow with M42X0.75mm Camera Thread,FMC Metal Barlow Telescope Accessories Visual and Astrophotography: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Svbony SV135 Eyepiece Telescope, Zoom Eyepiece Telescope, 1.25in 7-21mm Eyepiece FMC Zoom Eyepiece for Telescope (7-21mm): Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

 

Option 2: Svbony 6,12,25mm plossl set with 2x barlow

SVBONY FMC 1.25" Telescope Accessory Kit SPL Plossl Eyepiece 6mm 12mm 25mm 48 Degree FOV 4-Element Design Barlow Lenses 2x with 4 Sets Eyepiece Caps: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

 

Both come up to around 55GBP which is roughly my budget, interested to hear if I'm looking in the right direction or if there are better alternatives.

[Ricochet]

I don't think you need a barlow with your telescope, it's already got one permanently fixed in the focuser and the zoom will probably go to as high a magnification as your scope can handle by itself. With regards to the zoom, generally speaking the cheap 8-24mm zooms are considered better performers than the 7-21mm zooms, although the 7-21 might be fine in your scope as it has a reasonably slow focal ratio (f8.77). If you can increase your budget there is a 7.2-21.6mm zoom which is quite highly regarded.

The zooms have a relatively low field of view at their low power settings, and your telescope has a reasonably long focal length so a low power/finder eyepiece would be my priority. A 32mm plossl will maximise the field of view that your scope can give without breaking the bank so my suggestion would be that you buy a zoom and a 32mm plossl.

I would not buy the plossl set as I don't think the barlow or 6mm are going to be useful to you, leaving only the 12 and 25, and really you want a 32 instead of the 25.