Eyepiece upgrade

[imtrappin]

Am looking to upgrade my stock eyepieces on my 10" flex tube Dob, this is my first scope and want to spend less than £100.

Has been a bit confusing to say the least on what to get, was going to go for the Celestron x-cel but think I've settled on the Explore Scientific  52 degree LER.

Mainly observing the planets at the moment but want to get to see some Galaxies as well,

Good choice or is there something better

Thanks

 

[russ]

Congrats on your first scope. The 10" Flex is a great scope. I had a few years back and loved it. 

My own recommendation would be the Nirvana series of eyepieces.

OVL Nirvana-ES UWA-82º Ultrawide Eyepieces | First Light Optics

They are an 82deg ultra wide design. This is a good news for a dob (or any scope with no tracking). As it means it will take longer for the object to pass across the field, and thus more time for you to enjoy it before having nudge the scope again. Plus having owned the ES52, BST Explorer, Hyperion and the Nirvana, the Nirvana (in my opinion) is optically the best sub £100 eyepiece as well. It simply ticks so many boxes for so little money. 

 

[imtrappin]

Thanks for the quick reply, I did have these in my basket at one point, would these be good for viewing objects other than the planets, have a synscan mount so tracking shouldnt be a problem if I get it set up properly

[Guest]

I know this will be double the budget but maybe consider a good 8 to 24 variable.  You may also wish to consider a polarized variable filter as well.  Sometimes the planets are really bright and being able to turn the volume down a bit is a good thing 

[Spile]

A combination of zoom, matching Barlow and a low power wide angle is my ideal set of 2 and a 1/2. 
https://astro.catshill.com/the-zoom-eyepiece/

[A Scanner_darkly]

I also vote for a value zoom to start.

Dont get the best zoom just a nice value one and play around with it and eventually you will find powers you enjoy best and that will help you to narrow choices to a select few eyepieces.

 

That was my first upgrade path.

To find the power most useful to you is the minimum power which shows the most detail the most often.

 

For me at 53.5°N that meant a minimum planetary power of 135X (and that is just sufficient with my 4" scope) but with 10 inches aperture brightness will be an issue for you.

No exp. with ES.

 

 

Clear and steady skies