From 2 inch to 1.25

[rwilkey]

6 minutes ago, Stu said:

Out of interest, what makes you hold onto both as they are very similar focal lengths?

Hi Stu, I bought the ExSc first in my steady road to upgrading, so have a fond attachment to this one.  But had the opportunity to buy the 31T5 when I saw it for half price on this forum, so went for it.  I always find different ep's give you different experiences of the night sky, so am happy to hang on to similar focal lengths and quite often do!

Edited November 16, 2022 by rwilkey
typo

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

All true Stu. The slight increase in mag and smaller exit pupil of the 1.25" 24mm helps to darken the background sky and improve contrast.

On one occasion I managed to get to dark skies with a Vixen NLVW 30mm lanthanum & a ST120 that really showed how good those f5 achros are for widefield. Stunning views.

With the f7 frac not so useful though night to night in a city and at Astrocamp this year the 24mm 65° UFF more than satisfied the astro itch. The best widefield view of M31, M110 and M32 I've had. Almost like an unprocessed photo image!

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[rwilkey]

10 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

All true Stu. The slight increase in mag and smaller exit pupil help to darken the background sky and improve contrast.

Hi Scouser, I totally agree, you have summed it up in a nutshell.  Well done, I couldn't put it into words, so thank you!

[JAC51]

On 12/11/2022 at 21:18, JeremyS said:

No. I’ve fallen in love with 2-inch EP especially the Ethos

But I still use 1.25-inch EPs exclusively with my smaller refractors. Especially for travel as they are so compact (notably the Tak LE series)

When I first got back into Astronomy I got my first 1.25” eyepieces, two Tak LE’s in fact and I could not believe how huge they where compared to my 70’s eyepieces.