Tele Vue Nagler T5 16mm - good match with Celestron DX102AZ?

[Guest]

I got very good help last time I asked here, since then I've been reading a lot and got a much better understanding of EP which got me thinking about other options and routes to go. Since last post I've purchased the Celestron starsens explorer dx102az (link leads to full specs, it's a F6.5). Would these be a good upgrade:

Tele Vue 3x Barlow Lens (1.25") BLW-3125 B&H Photo Video (bhphotovideo.com)

Tele Vue Nagler Type-5 16mm Eyepiece (1.25") EN5-16.0 B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com) (82 degree)

Will the combined weight of EP + barlow ~420 gram be to heavy for this scope? Is the tele vue overkill on a scope like this?

These setup will give me 16mm 41x, with the barlow I will also get 5mm 132x. The FoV with the 16mm 82 degree is comparable to a ~22mm 60 degree, I could use  the 16mm as a low power EP, but will the 41x magnifcation as a low power EP negatively impact the viewing experience compared to a i.e. 25mm 26x magnifcation? (I've read the magnifcation negatively impact the viewing experience as the atmoshphere plays in).

In case it makes any difference on the suggestions I get here; I'm also planning on upgrading the star diagnoal on the scope.

The picture below shows the Naglere T-6, but it's mostly to illustrate how the T5 would look with a 3x barlow (I'm not planning on buying the T6 5mm).

Edited July 11, 2022 by Millenium
added info

[Louis D]

Be aware that the 16mm NT5 has very tight eye relief.  Otherwise, it's a highly regarded gem of an eyepiece, but at a price.  The higher power will make the sky background darker, allowing most objects to stand out better.

[TheycallmeRiver]

I own the 16T5 and whilst I am relatively inexperienced if you told me today that I could only keep one eyepiece from my collection, it would be this one.

I've mainly used it at F/10 on globular clusters, some bright DSO's, and the moon.  My eyesight isn't perfect (I wear glasses when I drive but not when I observe), but the relatively short eye relief hasn't really bothered me.

I haven't barlowed it myself yet, but I had a PM discussion with Don Pensack on another forum about this eyepiece and he told me it barlows to 8mm well.

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Be aware that the 16mm NT5 has very tight eye relief.  Otherwise, it's a highly regarded gem of an eyepiece, but at a price.  The higher power will make the sky background darker, allowing most objects to stand out better.

Thanks for the input, I'm still learning, "tight eye relief" , does this mean I would barely be able to see the whole FoV it gives me while resting my eyes towards the EP? And if the eye relief is bad, I would not be able to rest my eyes on the EP?

[bosun21]

1 hour ago, Millenium said:

Thanks for the input, I'm still learning, "tight eye relief" , does this mean I would barely be able to see the whole FoV it gives me while resting my eyes towards the EP? And if the eye relief is bad, I would not be able to rest my eyes on the EP?

Poor(tight) eye relief means that you have to place your eye really close to the eyepiece in order to see the full field of view.

Edited July 11, 2022 by bosun21
Typo

[Guest]

2 hours ago, TheycallmeRiver said:

I own the 16T5 and whilst I am relatively inexperienced if you told me today that I could only keep one eyepiece from my collection, it would be this one.

I've mainly used it at F/10 on globular clusters, some bright DSO's, and the moon.  My eyesight isn't perfect (I wear glasses when I drive but not when I observe), but the relatively short eye relief hasn't really bothered me.

I haven't barlowed it myself yet, but I had a PM discussion with Don Pensack on another forum about this eyepiece and he told me it barlows to 8mm well.

I was also looking at the baader mk4 8-24mm which I see you have in your signature. How often does it get used compared to fixed EP/Barlow? And how can you see the difference between the zoom vs. tele vue?

[TheycallmeRiver]

Well to answer your question, the Mk IV zoom was one of the first decent eyepieces I bought so I used it pretty extensively back in my first sessions where just about anything was an upgrade to the ep’s that came with my scope.

I still use it pretty much every time I go out, but over time as I’ve gradually started to build a collection of decent fixed focal length eyepieces I tend to use my zoom first on most targets before switching to something fixed.  
 

The zoom does tend to be my most used eyepiece when doing a bit of white light solar through my XT10 though.  Convenience I guess, plus I like to be able to show my kids different mags nice and quickly without swapping stuff in and out.

Anyway I don’t wish to derail your thread.  I like the 16T5 a great deal.  Wider FoV at 16mm is of course an obvious advantage over the baader zoom, but yeah, that comes at a pretty significant price difference.