Which 1 of 4 potential planetary EP's for my SW explorer 130/900. Final post 🙈

[fullmoon]

So after some great advice in the beginner section, and PM's with Ed. I did a bit of research on some EP's and have narrowed it down to 4. Hopefully you guys with experience can help me to decide which 1 to go for.

So my main objective is to be able to view planets. Now my expectations are managed, so I know I'm not going to get a massive detailed close up of Jupiter but I would like to see maybe a touch of colour or detail which I have yet to accomplish.  Anyway here are my choices within what I'm prepared to spend.

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-eyepieces/stellalyra-5mm-125-ler-eyepiece.html

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-5mm-ed-eyepiece.html

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html

1. Stellalyra 5mm

2. Baader Ortho 6mm

3. BST Starguider 5mm

4. Skywatcher UWA 5/6mm

 

I already own the BST starguider 8mm. 

 

Let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks

 

Rich

Edited February 18, 2023 by fullmoon
Clarification

[IB20]

I really, really like and rate the 5mm BST, it’s a great EP. 180x might just a tad too high on Jupiter in “normal” UK seeing conditions though. My personal preference is sharpness over magnification when it comes to Jupiter.

It would be a cracking lunar EP though. 

The 6mm BCO is good too, eye relief is a lot tighter than the BST though. The 10mm BCO is fantastic, that and a 2x barlow would get you a 10mm & a 5mm.

 

[IB20]

What eyepieces are you using where you don’t think you are seeing any colour? It might be a brightness issue or collimation?

My reflector is a light bucket FL1200mm, so using a mag of 120x with a variable polarising filter reduces the brightness and lets me see colour on Jupiter 

[jetstream]

14 minutes ago, fullmoon said:

Anyway here are my choices within what I'm prepared to spend.

I vote for the 10mm BCO.

Reasons include the deep rich colours it provides on Jupiter, very high transmission- on par with the best of the best, on axis sharpness that meets or exceeds extremely expensive eyepieces ie Delos/Docter and the fact that it is very affordable- ridiculously so IMHO. It also barlows very well.

I'll put it to you this way- while searching for threshold objects in my 24" f4.1 I will confirm the sighting with the 10 BCO, after catching it in the 10 Delos- a superb, sharp, very high transmission eyepiece itself.

The 10 BCO is a lifetime eyepiece IMHO and for this reason and those above I cast the vote for it.

Gerry

 

[fullmoon]

1 hour ago, IB20 said:

What eyepieces are you using where you don’t think you are seeing any colour? It might be a brightness issue or collimation?

Hi, I'm currently using the 8mm BST and the standard SW 10mm and 25mm that came with the scope. Collimation was mentioned to me in my previous post, along with possible viewing conditions. So that does need to be addressed by me. Probably should have done that before posting this actually and then test again. 

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

I vote for the 10mm BCO.

Reasons include the deep rich colours it provides on Jupiter, very high transmission- on par with the best of the best, on axis sharpness that meets or exceeds extremely expensive eyepieces ie Delos/Docter and the fact that it is very affordable- ridiculously so IMHO. It also barlows very well.

The 10 BCO is a lifetime eyepiece IMHO and for this reason and those above I cast the vote for it.

Gerry

 

I never even thought about the 10mm if I'm completely honest. I had in mind the 6mm. But now you've got me questioning that. I don't necessarily want a view as close as I can possibly get. It's more about clarity and sharpness of the view. 

 

 

[jetstream]

29 minutes ago, fullmoon said:

I had in mind the 6mm.

Without offending anyone here, I will put out my experience with the 6mm BCO. It is a contrasty, rich colour eyepiece- that bloats the stars... I dont find it as sharp as the 10mm and I also dont believe it is just my sample.

The 18mm BCO is vg, the 10mm BCO excellent and I dont use my 6mm BCO. 

I have used and "tested" them in a TSA120/15" high spec dob and my 24" DSO getter. With and without a paracorr in the dobs. The 10mm Barlowed is as sharp as my Docter 12.5mm UWA and has higher transmission - I tested them on UMi faint galaxy years ago. Same goes for the 10D.

The BCO is not a "true" ortho- it is a Zeiss design and opens up the field to about 50 deg. Ortho purists will bounce up and down saying it is not truly orthoscopic as it does show a bit of distortion near the edge. BTW the Delos shows more, the Docter less but with different distortion.Some of my "true" orthos, 44 deg TFOV show a bit of distortion too...

Gerry

 

[IB20]

1 hour ago, fullmoon said:

Hi, I'm currently using the 8mm BST and the standard SW 10mm and 25mm that came with the scope. Collimation was mentioned to me in my previous post, along with possible viewing conditions. So that does need to be addressed by me. Probably should have done that before posting this actually and then test again. 

I never even thought about the 10mm if I'm completely honest. I had in mind the 6mm. But now you've got me questioning that. I don't necessarily want a view as close as I can possibly get. It's more about clarity and sharpness of the view. 

 

 

If it’s the same as the 10mm I got with Skywatcher then it’s a real dog. The 10mm BCO would be a real upgrade. How do you find Jupiter through the 8mm BST? That should get you a really nice magnification of 112x for Jupiter.

[Mr Spock]

I'd rule out the Skywatcher and StellaLyra, I don't believe they are that good. The BST is a good eyepiece and so is the BCO.

My own preference for planetary these days is an ortho Barlowed. There's just a clarity to orthos that other really good eyepieces can't match. If you were to get the 10mm BCO and Barlow it, you'd effectively have x90 and x180 - you could use x90 for small, sharp, planets, then Barlow it when the seeing conditions are good.

[Zermelo]

49 minutes ago, jetstream said:

Without offending anyone here, I will put out my experience with the 6mm BCO. It is a contrasty, rich colour eyepiece- that bloats the stars... I dont find it as sharp as the 10mm and I also dont believe it is just my sample.

I agree that the 10mm is superior.  I've had several evenings when I've seen more detail on Jupiter in the 10mm than I have with any other EP, even if the disc is smaller. It renders subtle colours well, has great contrast and is very sharp.  There will be times when you want more magnification, but if you're trying to decide between the BCO 10mm and 6mm, I'd go for the 10mm and pick up a Barlow later on.

 

[badhex]

Another vote here for the 10mm BCO, it's an excellent EP and barlows very well.

I wrote a bit about the 10mm BCO and Barlow combo (in a 102mm ED doublet) last year, the first time I managed to spot Rhea, if you're interested:

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by badhex

[badhex]

BTW I should add that the 5mm BST is a great EP, and arguably more comfortable to use than the BCO (more ER) - but for planetary work the BCO is better. 

[fullmoon]

6 hours ago, IB20 said:

If it’s the same as the 10mm I got with Skywatcher then it’s a real dog. The 10mm BCO would be a real upgrade. How do you find Jupiter through the 8mm BST? That should get you a really nice magnification of 112x for Jupiter.

It's just showing as a bright star, but this could be the collimation of my scope and also viewing  conditions.  I've attached a quick snap I took after a viewing session the other night.

5 hours ago, Zermelo said:

  There will be times when you want more magnification, but if you're trying to decide between the BCO 10mm and 6mm, I'd go for the 10mm and pick up a Barlow later on.

 

This is what my thinking is. I think grab the 10mm then a decent Barlow down the line. I was somewhat reluctant to get a Barlow, but maybe I will have to try for myself and see what I prefer.

18 minutes ago, badhex said:

Another vote here for the 10mm BCO, it's an excellent EP and barlows very well.

I wrote a bit about the 10mm BCO and Barlow combo (in a 102mm ED doublet) last year, the first time I managed to spot Rhea, if you're interested:

 

That's some dedication to be out at 02.30am, very interesting read, thanks.

 

 

So, it looks like the 10mm BSO is the standout recommendation. Thank you all for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. 

 

 

[badhex]

9 hours ago, fullmoon said:

It's just showing as a bright star, but this could be the collimation of my scope and also viewing  conditions.  I've attached a quick snap I took after a viewing session the other night.

This is what my thinking is. I think grab the 10mm then a decent Barlow down the line. I was somewhat reluctant to get a Barlow, but maybe I will have to try for myself and see what I prefer.

That's some dedication to be out at 02.30am, very interesting read, thanks.

 

 

So, it looks like the 10mm BSO is the standout recommendation. Thank you all for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. 

 

 

With the barlow, I can recommend the GSO 2.5x Barlow which is very good quality and very reasonably priced. I also made this recommendation on another thread recently because I know it works well with the 10mm BCO. You'll effectively end up with a 4mm BCO with more eye relief than the 6mm, although admittedly 4mm might be pushing it a bit for average UK conditions. 

I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere, but I think TS-Optics have a rebadged version, otherwise have a dig about on the Internet for "GSO 2.5x Barlow", sometimes listed as ED or semi-apo. You could call a few suppliers to see if they can get hold of it, I got the below picture from 365astronomy.com who have it listed but not in stock. 

[Ricochet]

11 hours ago, fullmoon said:

It's just showing as a bright star, but this could be the collimation of my scope and also viewing  conditions.  I've attached a quick snap I took after a viewing session the other night.

This is what my thinking is. I think grab the 10mm then a decent Barlow down the line. I was somewhat reluctant to get a Barlow, but maybe I will have to try for myself and see what I prefer.

That's some dedication to be out at 02.30am, very interesting read, thanks.

 

 

So, it looks like the 10mm BSO is the standout recommendation. Thank you all for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. 

 

 

 

Do Jupiter and its moons appear as disks when viewed visually instead of when you're taking a photo? What about when you view though the 8 mm Starguider without the barlow? If the shapes are disks without the barlow then lose the barlow, it then are the same then the first thing I would do is to remove the mirror cell and check that the mirror clips are not too tight as I think there is a hint of triangles there. You want the mirror clips so you can just slide a single sheet of paper between the mirror surface and clip. Once you have done that you will need to collimate the telescope as you probably also have a problem there and it will need doing after you remove and replace the mirror cell anyway.

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, badhex said:

I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere,

Look over the pond.  Agena has it as GSO, High Point has it as Apertura, and OPT has it as TPO, and all have it in stock.  I have no idea what's going on with UK retailers and GSO products.

[Roy Challen]

Another vote for the BCO, be it 10mm or 6mm. They're both great, although I echo the thought that the 10 is greater than the 6. In fact, the whole range is exceptional, even more so considering the price. When I'm not in the mood for eyepiece swapping, the Hyperflex 7-21 does the job surprisingly well too, at least it does in my f/16+ achro😄