Eyepiece advice

[David Scott]

Hi,

 

First post. Hello everyone.

I'm planning to buy the Celestron 10" Dobsonian with the star sense explorer mount.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/cel_starsense_exp_10_dob.html

I've looked at the Stella Lyra's and I see the advantages - and the saving - but I'm sold on the convenience of the app and I don't want to buy a cheaper Star sense and start drilling holes in my new telescope as some have done. I'm sure people would recommend those options and I respect that.

 

So that said, the Celestron only comes with one 25mm eyepiece and I'd like to get a second - probably higher powered - one at the same time. I'm not looking for a stopgap, but for one that's worth keeping and I'm thinking it'll cost about £50-60. The focal ratio of the telescope is 4.7.

I'd be really grateful for your suggestions.

 

David

[Zermelo]

Hello, and welcome to SGL.

Have you seen this recent thread? A different scope, but similar budget.

Your 25mm would give you around 50x I think.

A Starguider 12mm would give you around 100x, which you could later double with a Barlow.

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Zermelo

[cajen2]

It's like so many things: you get what you pay for. At your budget, the BST Starguider range are very good value for money and difficult to improve on until you're willing to pay over twice the price.

When you do, though, you realise the benefits of wider fields of view and images which are sharp across the eyepiece.

It's a slippery slope which some people never escape from! 😄

 

 

 

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

It's like so many things: you get what you pay for. At your budget, the BST Starguider range are very good value for money and difficult to improve on until you're willing to pay over twice the price.

When you do, though, you realise the benefits of wider fields of view and images which are sharp across the eyepiece.

It's a slippery slope which some people never escape from! 😄

 

 

 

Like YOU

[Ricochet]

The Starguider is a good choice. If you want a wider field of view and are prepared to up the budget then the 10 or 13 OVL Nirvana would be a good choice. If you need to wear glasses when you are observing due to astigmatism in your eye then the 9 and 12.5 Stellalyra LER eyepieces will be a better option (assuming the effective eye relief is somewhere near the 20mm quoted). 

[cajen2]

26 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

Like YOU

😄 Actually in my case, I've sort of stopped buying EPs, as I'm very happy with the ones I've got or can't justify small differences in f/l.

I might one day replace my 18mil with a 17.5mil Morpheus and perhaps get a really good wide-field 30mm but it won't happen any time soon.

[David Scott]

Thanks all. I'd wondered about the Starguiders. I notice they say they're suitable for f/5 up and this scope is 4.7. Is that sufficiently faster than f/5 to make a difference or will any coma be negligible,
I've never even looked through the eyepiece of a decent telescope - been using binoculars up till now -  so I'm talking about things I've read about but not seen.

[Louis D]

Other than the Pretoria eyepiece, a couple of Brandon eyepieces, and an APM Barlow, eyepieces and Barlows don't correct the coma of the primary.  You'll need to buy a coma corrector for the f/4.7 primary mirror.  Coma will be quite strong in most wide field eyepieces in that scope without a CC.

The 12mm and below Starguiders will still perform well with your scope in all likelihood.  At 15mm and above, I'd be looking at other designs better suited to fast scopes.

Edited September 17, 2022 by Louis D

[David Scott]

Thanks Louis.