Low power eyepiece for F/5 telescope ( BST vs Vixen )

[Louis D]

I haven't tried a 32mm GSO Plossl in an f/5 scope in recent memory, but it will perform quite decently as compared to the cheaper, moderate wide field eyepieces like the Starguiders.  It's also sold under the Revelation brand in the UK.  Look for Taiwan instead of China for country of origin.

I don't know how well the 32mm Celestron Omni, Skywatcher SP and other Chinese sourced Plossls (Synta possibly?) stack up against it having never used them.  All are 4 element symmetric designs in actuality.  Differences come down to attention to details such as quality of lens polish and figure, quality of multi-coatings, and stray light control.

Tele Vue Plossls will have better edge sharpness in fast scopes thanks to their convex instead of planar outward facing surfaces, but not enough to justify their pricing.

[soojooko]

9 hours ago, Louis D said:

I haven't tried a 32mm GSO Plossl in an f/5 scope in recent memory, but it will perform quite decently as compared to the cheaper, moderate wide field eyepieces like the Starguiders.  It's also sold under the Revelation brand in the UK.  Look for Taiwan instead of China for country of origin.

I don't know how well the 32mm Celestron Omni, Skywatcher SP and other Chinese sourced Plossls (Synta possibly?) stack up against it having never used them.  All are 4 element symmetric designs in actuality.  Differences come down to attention to details such as quality of lens polish and figure, quality of multi-coatings, and stray light control.

Tele Vue Plossls will have better edge sharpness in fast scopes thanks to their convex instead of planar outward facing surfaces, but not enough to justify their pricing.

Thanks. Even though your images are taken using an f/6 - I'm still rather impressed with the sharpness of the GSO to the edge of the view.  I can get one new for £35 ( Taiwan sourced ). I'm going to give this some thought.

[Louis D]

I'd say everyone needs a quality 32mm Plossl as a frame of reference when building out an eyepiece collection.  They're not that expensive and punch well above their cost.

[Jimbo64]

On 01/03/2022 at 14:31, Louis D said:

I'd say everyone needs a quality 32mm Plossl as a frame of reference when building out an eyepiece collection.  They're not that expensive and punch well above their cost.

I'm about to take the plunge on a 32mm, it'll probably be a Plossl but I'm now trending more towards a decent one at around the £50 mark (or even the GSO at £35) rather than the TeleVue at 3x the cost

[Guest]

In my F5 10 inch I use Orion's 2 inch eyepieces.  On this side of the pond we call them Q70s.  They are a 70 degree eyepiece and they are pretty decent eyepieces for the money.  There is a bit of coma once you go off axis but in the center the images are just fine.  I did add a GSO coma corrector and that did eliminate what little coma there was.  The eyepieces run about 100 USD a pop and the corrector was 129.  I don't know who makes the Q70s for Orion but I am sure someone sells the equivalent eyepieces on your side of the pond.

[cajen2]

BTW, the reason you don't get much love for the NPL on CN is that they're almost unavailable now in the US. @MikeDand I have had this discussion and he'd never even heard of Vixen. Apparently, the importer there is now Explore Scientific and they have no stock.

Sorry, that's @Mike Q. Can't edit this!

Edited March 27, 2022 by cajen2

[cajen2]

I assume your 130p will only take 1.25" EPs? Does anyone on SGL have the StellaLyra 20mm Superview? It's made by GSO. If it's any good, it has a 68° FOV and will also give you more mag. Plus it's very cheap! 😉😄

Edited March 27, 2022 by cajen2

[Paz]

I have used a 30mm NPL in f5, f6, and f7 scopes and have a pair for binoviewing.

I don't like the way the lense is recessed because it defeats the purpose of long eye relief eyepieces but the views are fine. I've not found anything better so far and mine get a lot of use.

Compared to a skywatcher 32mm plossl they are much much better.