Eyepieces for 12” Dobsonian

[Stevekerr]

After trying to research this topic I feel more confused than when I started. Are there any recommendations for eyepieces that will work well with a 12” Dobsonian? 
 

I was leaning towards a set of used Baader Hyperions but then read that they don’t suit scopes at f5? I also saw a set of Celestron Omni eyepieces but couldn’t find much information on them.

I don’t want to go too cheap and regret it later but I also want to get good value for money.

Any suggestions?

 Thanks 

Stevek

[Guest]

How much do you want to spend?  That's the real question.  Eyepieces can run from 50 to the skies the limit.   For my personal economics I am in the 100 dollar a eyepiece area.  That is where I am comfortable.  I get good performance and am not breaking the bank.  The exception to that rule is my variable and it was around 200.  I am really happy with that one.   All my eyepeices come from Orion and are made in Taiwan and I have no complaints with any of them.  

[PEMS]

A difficult subject to be able to state anything specific.

I have found that I end up picking or using an eyepiece that will suit a target. If you want to see M33 then as it is around 1 degree across you need a view of about 1.5 degrees to frame it. Using say a normalish eyepiece field of 60 degrees (not too expensive) that means a magnification of 45x area. So what do you need to get 45x? If you search around you will also find that for DSO many people find 80x a useable maximum. So be a little careful of wanting wanting a high magnification. Such may be of little use.

The full moon, needs "only" around 60x for sensible viewing, at a guess that would be around a 20mm 60 degree EP in your scope. M42 is similar to M33 so for that again around 45x.

You will I expect find that a 12" will not allow the full view of objects like M45 or M31 and even a few others.  As said fitting a whole object in view gives a different set of considerations.

Cost is a BIG factor. I have stuck to the lower cost end and ended up with the BST Starguiders, or is that Skyguiders. about £50 a piece. Around the same cost are ES 52's. Narrower FoV but have read reasonable reports and you would need to pick the relevant focal lengths. ES82's are often chosen but cost of such is rising and I am happy at the BST prices. Especially with the limited use they get these days. And a wonky pair of eyes.

I say the BST offerings would start at Wide, say a 25mm. Then a 15mm and a 12mm. And stop there.

In the ES52 offerings say 30mm then 20mm and 15mm, and again stop there. Just read that the ES are now £74 - wow, getting costly as 3 would clear out around £220+.

Those would form a good base set and you will soon work out if you want magnification in greater amounts or not.

If you want something like the ES82's it becomes difficult as it seems you need to mix 82's and 68's a little. They also cost around the £140 mark and £160 mark each. Too much for me to consider.

Not sure how good plossls are these days, TV's used to be the standard step up from whatever was supplied.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Do you have any eyepieces already? If so, try to see how they perform first, before spending anything extra. People respond differently to different aberrations (I can't stand field curvature, for example), so it is quite difficult to give specific advice without knowing what you have, how much you (dis)like the views, and what your budget is. I am sure a couple of Ethos, Nagler, ES 92 deg, and Pentax XWs will give astounding views, but if you get the results you want with cheaper stuff, so much the better. I used Vixen Plössls and LV EPs for over a decade before switching to fancier stuff, and only started going for replacements when I noticed the limitations of the Plössls and LVs (I still have some newer SLVs which are superb for planetary viewing)

[Stevekerr]

2 hours ago, Mike Q said:

How much do you want to spend?  That's the real question.  Eyepieces can run from 50 to the skies the limit.   For my personal economics I am in the 100 dollar a eyepiece area.  That is where I am comfortable.  I get good performance and am not breaking the bank.  The exception to that rule is my variable and it was around 200.  I am really happy with that one.   All my eyepeices come from Orion and are made in Taiwan and I have no complaints with any of them.  

Thanks Mike.

[Stevekerr]

2 hours ago, PEMS said:

A difficult subject to be able to state anything specific.

I have found that I end up picking or using an eyepiece that will suit a target. If you want to see M33 then as it is around 1 degree across you need a view of about 1.5 degrees to frame it. Using say a normalish eyepiece field of 60 degrees (not too expensive) that means a magnification of 45x area. So what do you need to get 45x? If you search around you will also find that for DSO many people find 80x a useable maximum. So be a little careful of wanting wanting a high magnification. Such may be of little use.

The full moon, needs "only" around 60x for sensible viewing, at a guess that would be around a 20mm 60 degree EP in your scope. M42 is similar to M33 so for that again around 45x.

You will I expect find that a 12" will not allow the full view of objects like M45 or M31 and even a few others.  As said fitting a whole object in view gives a different set of considerations.

Cost is a BIG factor. I have stuck to the lower cost end and ended up with the BST Starguiders, or is that Skyguiders. about £50 a piece. Around the same cost are ES 52's. Narrower FoV but have read reasonable reports and you would need to pick the relevant focal lengths. ES82's are often chosen but cost of such is rising and I am happy at the BST prices. Especially with the limited use they get these days. And a wonky pair of eyes.

I say the BST offerings would start at Wide, say a 25mm. Then a 15mm and a 12mm. And stop there.

In the ES52 offerings say 30mm then 20mm and 15mm, and again stop there. Just read that the ES are now £74 - wow, getting costly as 3 would clear out around £220+.

Those would form a good base set and you will soon work out if you want magnification in greater amounts or not.

If you want something like the ES82's it becomes difficult as it seems you need to mix 82's and 68's a little. They also cost around the £140 mark and £160 mark each. Too much for me to consider.

Not sure how good plossls are these days, TV's used to be the standard step up from whatever was supplied.

Thanks PEMS. I might try a couple of the ES82s if I can pick them up used.

[Stevekerr]

49 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

Do you have any eyepieces already? If so, try to see how they perform first, before spending anything extra. People respond differently to different aberrations (I can't stand field curvature, for example), so it is quite difficult to give specific advice without knowing what you have, how much you (dis)like the views, and what your budget is. I am sure a couple of Ethos, Nagler, ES 92 deg, and Pentax XWs will give astounding views, but if you get the results you want with cheaper stuff, so much the better. I used Vixen Plössls and LV EPs for over a decade before switching to fancier stuff, and only started going for replacements when I noticed the limitations of the Plössls and LVs (I still have some newer SLVs which are superb for planetary viewing)

I’ve got 2 very basic tired looking eyepieces that came with the scope Michael. I’m planning to have a go with these next clear night then see what I can pick up used.

[bosun21]

I bought the BST Starguiders full range apart from the 3.2mm, and was pleased with the performance from them. For the price of them (£49) they are really hard to beat. I also bought the Explore Scientific 82 degree eyepieces in 14mm and 11mm. I would most definitely get a few shorter length EP’s if you plan on any planetary or lunar viewing. On a decent night Mars and Saturn can easily take 200x. If you want to try the 82 degree eyepieces without the cost of the Explore Scientific then there’s always the Nirvanas that are considerably cheaper, yet still good quality and added to my collection. Then there’s always the zoom option which works for a lot of people myself included. Good luck with whichever you decide 

[faulksy]

depending on budget an your requirements , you wont go wrong with apm xwa 100*

21,13 and 8 awsome eps or 4x that buget and get tv ethoses

https://www.apm-telescopes.net/en/apm-hdc-xwa-20-mm-100-eyepiece

[Spile]

I decided to go down the minimalist route. After reading a number of recommendations I invested in a zoom and use it alongside a low power wide angle eyepiece. https://astro.catshill.com/the-zoom-eyepiece/
It suits me.

[Stevekerr]

5 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I bought the BST Starguiders full range apart from the 3.2mm, and was pleased with the performance from them. For the price of them (£49) they are really hard to beat. I also bought the Explore Scientific 82 degree eyepieces in 14mm and 11mm. I would most definitely get a few shorter length EP’s if you plan on any planetary or lunar viewing. On a decent night Mars and Saturn can easily take 200x. If you want to try the 82 degree eyepieces without the cost of the Explore Scientific then there’s always the Nirvanas that are considerably cheaper, yet still good quality and added to my collection. Then there’s always the zoom option which works for a lot of people myself included. Good luck with whichever you decide 

Thanks I’ll look at those.

[Pixies]

23 minutes ago, Stevekerr said:

Thanks I’ll look at those.

The 18mm Starguider is a bit soft at the edges, even with an F6. The 8mm and 12mm ones are great, though.

Haven't used any of the other sizes, though.

[bomberbaz]

13 hours ago, Spile said:

I decided to go down the minimalist route. After reading a number of recommendations I invested in a zoom and use it alongside a low power wide angle eyepiece. https://astro.catshill.com/the-zoom-eyepiece/
It suits me.

I do exactly this with my refractors, one low power, one dedicated higher power and a zoom. 

Formy dob hoqever I use entirely dedicated eyepieces. Some good points raised already, around what you can live with in terms of optical quality and what you feel is a must have, eg a flat field.

Personally I really like the svbony range of eyepieces as offeri g great quality at excellent value. The 68degree range gives you a 6,9,15 and 20 mm bundle option at under a 100 quid. There is opposing opinion on how it would perform at F5, may be worth thinking about.

They also produce the more expensive but better quality ultra flat eyepiece. I have some of these in my astro bins, the extra notch up in price is definately noticed in the results and would give very good results in an F5 dob. . 

[Guest]

On 20/02/2022 at 16:18, Spile said:

I decided to go down the minimalist route. After reading a number of recommendations I invested in a zoom and use it alongside a low power wide angle eyepiece. https://astro.catshill.com/the-zoom-eyepiece/
It suits me.

Zooms are nice.   If you add a good quality Barlow to it and you can really zoom into the craters on the moon and you can get some better detail on Jupiter and Saturn.  You will find a sweet spot that your scope likes and that is when you buy a fixed power eyepiece at that power, because a fixed power will always give you a better picture then the variable power.  As to what Barlow...I have a 2 inch 4 element Barlow that does both 2 inch and 1.25 and a 3x 4 element 1.25 inch.  They both are very good quality and well worth the money.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Guest

[Stevekerr]

On 21/02/2022 at 15:22, bomberbaz said:

I do exactly this with my refractors, one low power, one dedicated higher power and a zoom. 

Formy dob hoqever I use entirely dedicated eyepieces. Some good points raised already, around what you can live with in terms of optical quality and what you feel is a must have, eg a flat field.

Personally I really like the svbony range of eyepieces as offeri g great quality at excellent value. The 68degree range gives you a 6,9,15 and 20 mm bundle option at under a 100 quid. There is opposing opinion on how it would perform at F5, may be worth thinking about.

They also produce the more expensive but better quality ultra flat eyepiece. I have some of these in my astro bins, the extra notch up in price is definately noticed in the results and would give very good results in an F5 dob. . 

Thanks Bomberbaz

[Stevekerr]

On 22/02/2022 at 11:00, Mike Q said:

Zooms are nice.   If you add a good quality Barlow to it and you can really zoom into the craters on the moon and you can get some better detail on Jupiter and Saturn.  You will find a sweet spot that your scope likes and that is when you buy a fixed power eyepiece at that power, because a fixed power will always give you a better picture then the variable power.  As to what Barlow...I have a 2 inch 4 element Barlow that does both 2 inch and 1.25 and a 3x 4 element 1.25 inch.  They both are very good quality and well worth the money.

Thanks Spile

[Mr Spock]

I reckon for a 12” either a 24-8 or better still a 21-7 would be a do it all eyepiece. 8mm would give x190 in my 12”. 
 

Views with my LVW 22mm are quite spectacular though. 

[wookie1965]

On 21/02/2022 at 00:17, Pixies said:

The 18mm Starguider is a bit soft at the edges, even with an F6. The 8mm and 12mm ones are great, though.

Haven't used any of the other sizes, though.

15mm is the best of the bunch.

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

15mm is the best of the bunch.

I found the 12mm to be the best of the Starguider BSTs.  The 15mm was only marginally better than the 18mm.  Read my critic of each eyepiece in a comparative shootout: