Eyepieces

[Don Pensack]

5 hours ago, Steve said:

^ Thank-you 🙂

At SGL a retailers opinion, any retailer, is not considered inherently more worthy than a members opinion. 

And that is just as it should be. 

I, for instance, do not post here as a retailer, but only as an amateur astronomer who's been doing this for nearly 60 years.

Like others, I only speak from my experience, and others speak from theirs.  That is how forums should work.

 

[F15Rules]

6 hours ago, Steve said:

^ Thank-you 🙂

At SGL a retailers opinion, any retailer, is not considered inherently more worthy than a members opinion. 

Exactly. And here in the UK many of us know that, Steve. 

And I for one really value the way that we on SGL can exchange ideas and opinions respectfully, without discussions degenerating into patronising tirades seen on some other forums, and which often lead to the polarisation of positions, and ultimately the withdrawal from those forums of members for whom such "bickering" is a real turn off. 😊👍

Dave

Edited April 22, 2022 by F15Rules
Additional text info

[Spile]

The minimalist approach works for me and the quality zoom eyepiece, Barlow and wide angle option combination suits my needs. It was a hefty upfront investment but one I am very happy with. Swapping out eyepieces is not for me.

[JOC]

Back on topic from someone with no expertise or many years standing who bought a scope based on recommendations from SGL, but I do wear glasses - astigmatism in both eyes and much shorter sighted in the left than the right.  

FWIW I have owned EP's with very short eye-relief and didn't get on with them.  I find I can view through a telescope and find focus both with and without my glasses on, but I tend to view whilst wearing them as it saves keep taking them off.  I find I don't get on well with the EP's that have rubber eye cups (I'm the same with binoculars) and find that I never press my eye or glasses up to an EP instead preferring to sort of hover just above the contactable surface of the EP itself - thus I find I get on better with an EP with a decent amount of eye-relief to accommodate my 'hovering' action.  

I purchased most of my EP's secondhand.  The only one I sold through short eye relief was a 10mm televue which I def. didn't get on with.  I've still got a load of my 2nd hand ones in the box, but the ones I tend to use on the rare occasions I get out to use the telescope, because I'm rather pleased with them is my Bader Morpheus set, but I just use them plain without any of their rubber eye cups that they come with.

Having got quite a few from different manufacturers I tend to subscribe to the notion that most EP's from a half decent maker will do the job.  As a novice I think there is a lot of hocus pocus written, all with good intent, about EP's.  I still find I am just excited to be able to see something in focus and that I can't see with the naked eye.  I suspect that it is only when you decide that astronomy is your real passion and feint DSO's require absolute focus and darkness inside the EP to pick-up, that you want that perfect focus across the whole viewing area, and you have spent countless hundreds (possibly thousands) on a superb scope that you might need EP's of similar finite standard.  For the standard novice like myself I doubt many people will go wrong with a selection of BST's or their equivalents.  If I were you I'd buy a selection of 2nd hand ones, keep what you like and sell and change out what you don't until you get a fair selection that you get on with.  Personally although I've got a x2 Barlow I never really used it - prefering instead to have a specific EP at each magnification interval, and FWIW the 25mm and 10mm that came with my scope gave me more than adequate views and I still go back to them if I'm trouble shooting focus and balance issues on the telescope.