How many have you got?

[Don Pensack]

On 20/07/2023 at 11:42, Ouroboros said:

Why in general terms to people have so many? I’m not really much of an observing astronomer so that’s probably why I have so few, but I do enjoy a session under the skies just looking.

I have the original lenses that came with my SkyWatcher telescopes, which I’m guessing are adequate but not particularly high quality. To those I’ve added a set of four eyepieces of middling cost which cover a range from low to high magnification. Then there’s a Barlow too.  Plus I have an alignment eyepiece with a reticule.

So apart from the keen observer having a handful of very good quality eyepieces, I can’t imaging what many tens or even hundreds 😳 of eyepieces can possibly do for you.  

I think it is because many people just accumulate stuff in their lives and never unclutter.  The neighbors who moved to assisted living had their son clean out the house and it took two large moving vans to haul the stuff away that didn't sell.

They had everything they had ever gotten in their 60 year marriage in the house.  Eek!

Every few years, my wife and I go through all our possessions and unload unused clothes to the services catering to the poor.

Mostly, we just give it away to libraries, used book stores, thrift stores, etc.

I have too many eyepieces, but they were collected over years and I have yet to decide whether or not to unload the extras.

I have noticed that every time I go out to the field, I use every single eyepiece or maybe just a couple fewer.

I use glasses down to 9mm, and, below 9mm, I have 2 compatible with glasses (in case I want to keep my glasses on), and 4 not compatible with glasses (much wider apparent fields) for when I want to take my glasses off.

 

Some observers have special eyepieces used only for planet observing.

Some observers prefer half-millimeter spacing on high power eyepieces.

Some observers prefer close spacings at low powers because they spend a lot of time there.

For a single scope owner, it is difficult to imagine that more than 20 eyepieces would/could ever be used, but what about the owners of a half dozen scopes?

Different focal lengths of telescopes need different focal lengths of eyepieces.

And don't forget the binoviewer/binoscope users with 2 of everything used in those scopes.

 

Still, your point is valid.  If you have scores of eyepieces, you most assuredly have duplicates.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Don Pensack

[Louis D]

If we're going to list them, here's mine:

2.5mm Aquila Planetary II SW

3-8mm SVBONY Zoom

3.5mm and 7mm Pentax XW

4.5mm, 6.5mm, 9mm, 12mm, 18mm, 25mm Meade Series 5000 HD-60

5mm, 8mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 25mm AstroTech Paradigm

5-8mm SPEERS-WALER Zoom

5.2mm and 14mm Pentax XL

6mm and 20mm Huygens

7.2-21.5mm Surplus Shed Zoom

8-24mm Celestron Regal Zoom (BV Pair and a travel spare)

9mm and 12.5mm Kellner

9mm and 26mm Meade Silvertop Plössl

9mm Vixen LV

9mm and 14mm Baader Morpheus

10mm Tele Vue Delos

12mm Meade MA Astrometric

12mm Pentax XF

12mm, 17mm, and 22mm Tele Vue Nagler Type 4

12mm and 17mm Explore Scientific 92° Series

12.5mm Celestron Microguide Ortho

12.5mm APM Hi-FW

13mm, 17mm, and 22mm Astro-Tech AF70

14mm Meade Series 4000 UWA

16.7mm (15x) Bausch & Lomb 31-15-74 WF (BV Pair adapted from 23mm microscope barrel)

19mm Gary Russell König (BV Pair)

20mm RK (Reversed/Rank Kellner?)

20mm SVBONY 68° Ultra Wide Angle (BV pair)

20mm Orion Centering SWA

20mm/30mm Agena Astro 80° UWA

20mm Meade Series 5000 UWA

23mm 62° Aspheric (BV pair)

24mm and 30mm APM Ultra Flat Field

25mm Edscorp Abbe Ortho

26mm and 32mm Orion Sirius Plössls (26mm BV Pair)

26mm Meade MWA

27mm Panoptic

28mm Edmunds RKE

29mm (2"), 35mm (1.25"), and 38mm (2") Rini Modified Plössls

29mm Explore Scientific 92° Series (12mm missing Smyth group)

30mm Explore Scientific 82° Series (original mushroom top)

30mm Kasai Super WideView 90°

32mm GSO Super Plössl (BV Paired with 32mm Orion Sirius Plössl)

32mm US Military WF (surplus)

35mm Baader Scopos Extreme

35mm Aero ED

40mm Meade Series 5000 Plössl

40mm Meade Series 5000 SWA

40mm Lacerta ED

40mm Pentax XW-R

42mm Rini Erfle

Edited July 21, 2023 by Louis D

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

41 for me I think, although I may have missed some! Includes 5 Bino pairs. Not counting a few of the bundled skywatcher 25 and 10mm plossls

Full set of BGOs

3.5, 5, 7 and 10mm XWs

12.5 and 17.5mm Morpheus

17, 22 and 31mm Naglers

2 to 4, 3 to 6 nag Zooms plus Leica Zoom

12.5mm Docter

24mm Panoptic

3.4mm Vixen HR

TAL 6.3, 12.5 and 25mm Plossls

18, 12.5, 7 and 6mm  Circle V 0.965” Orthos

40mm Circle V Kellner

Pairs

40mm Celestron Omni

32mm TV Plossl

25mm Zeiss Ortho

20mm Vixen LW

10mm BCO

6mm BCO

Quite an eclectic mix! 24mm Pan, 25mm Orthos and zooms probably get most use, followed by the XWs and Nags when I do a longer session!

 

I’m not sure you’re trying Stu.

[cloudsweeper]

25, plus a zoom and a focal extender.  I use several in a typical session, and different ones with different 'scopes.  Others have been sold for various reasons, and there are others I'd like to try.  

It's another enjoyable aspect of this great pastime!

Doug.

 

[Bivanus]

11 EP's and 3 Barlow's from which 2 EP's are almost exclusively used for the finder and one Barlow I must really throw away but just can't get the hart to do it. 

[Ouroboros]

@Don Pensack Thanks for that explanation.  I very much get your point about acquiring ‘stuff’.  I’m dreading ever having to move .   My problem is books. I’m gradually getting rid of them at charity shops.

A fellow astronomer I know very wisely suggested that was important not to make this hobby buying stuff.  

[nitram100]

12.5mm ortho

14mm ES 82 degree

28mm 62  degree

Shorty 2 x Barlow

 

Never felt the need for any more. I find astronomers can be quite 'hoardy' and get too much stuff that they don't need.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by nitram100

[Saganite]

8 pairs  ( across 3 refractors ) , 5 singles, ( 30mm to 2.5mm ) two zooms and a barlow.  This includes 24mm Pans, 26mm Meade Pseudo Masuyamas and 24mm Celestron Ultima; overkill of course at this focal length, but the last pair is on the brink  of departure, just can't decide when, and the first two pairs are just too good to part with...

Edited July 22, 2023 by Saganite

[avtaram]

Too many

[F15Rules]

On 20/07/2023 at 19:04, Peter Drew said:

Never counted them but must be in three figures.    🙂

Peter, the question was how many eyepieces, not how many scopes!!🙂🙃 

Dave

[F15Rules]

Cyclops:

2 x Pentax including 1 zoom

2 x Axiom LX UWA

1 x Baader Zoom Barlow 2.25x (also used for binoviewing

1 x W.O. 1.6x Barlow (also used for binoviewing)

Binoviewing :

Tak Abbe Ortho 12.5mm pair

W.O. 20mm wide angle pair

Meade Series 4000 32mm pair

Dave

Oh, and I forgot to mention the Baader 1.7x GPC which I bought with my Maxbrights but haven't actually used as yet..

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by F15Rules
Additional text info

[HollyHound]

I've been through a lot of eyepieces, trying to find what works best for me. Finally trimmed it down now to a more manageable number

• Pentax XW 40, 16.5, 10, 7, 5, 3.5 
• TeleVue DeLite 13mm
• TeleVue Nagler Zoom 3-6mm
• Vixen HR 2.0mm
• ES 24mm (68 deg)
• APM SuperZoom 15.4-7.7mm
• Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom (x2) - Binoviewing
• Baader Classic Ortho 6mm
• Baader Hyperion 2.25x Barlow
• ES 2x Focal Extender (1.25")
• Burgess/TMB 8mm

There are a few I've had, that I do sometimes miss, and may consider buying again at some point, but am content with this set for now 😁

[rwilkey]

I have just under 60, however, I cannot part with hardly any of them as they were part of my 'growing into astronomy', I have sold about 3 or 4 that's all. 

[Mr Spock]

Here's how I use mine:

100mm  Tak          
Doubles            
30mm UFF            
13mm Nirvana            
7mm Nirvana            
4mm Nirvana            
            
Moon            
4mm TOE            
3.3mm TOE            
2.5mm TOE            
            
Planets            
12.5mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
9mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
7mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
6mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
            
Wide field and deep sky            
42mm LVW            
30mm UFF            
22mm LVW            
17mm LVW            
13mm LVW            
 

12" StellaLyra Dob                 
Doubles                    
30mm UFF                    
13mm Nirvana                    
7mm Nirvana                    
4mm Nirvana                    
                    
Moon                    
7mm Nirvana                    
4mm TOE                    
3.3mm TOE                    
                    
Planets                    
25mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
18mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
12.5mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
9mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
                    
Wide field and deep sky                    
42mm LVW                    
30mm UFF                    
22mm LVW                    
17mm LVW                    
13mm LVW  

I have other scopes and combinations. I only take outside what I need for the targets I'm looking at.

There are a few I don't currently use, mainly because they are either in between magnifications or I prefer using others.                 
 

[John]

I get rid of eyepieces quite quickly if they are not getting much use. I have become more ruthless over the past few years on this 😈

Currently I seem to have 3 "sets" of eyepieces:

Very wide fields (all Tele Vue)

Nagler 31mm, Ethos 21mm, Ethos 13mm, Ethos 8mm, Ethos 6mm, Ethos SX 4.7mm

Wide / normal fields 1.25 inch fitting:

Tele Vue Panoptic 24mm, Tele Vue Delos 14mm, Baader Mk IV 8-24mm zoom, Pentax XW 7mm, 5mm and 3.5mm, Tele Vue Nagler 2-4mm zoom

Travel / Outreach:

Maxvision 20mm 68 degrees, Hyperflex 7.2mm-21.5mm zoom, Baader Q-Turret 2.25x barlow

So currently that is 15 eyepieces plus the barlow to address the original question.

So what does that tell us ? - nothing at all really 🙄 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by John

[Stu]

3 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Here's how I use mine:

100mm  Tak          
Doubles            
30mm UFF            
13mm Nirvana            
7mm Nirvana            
4mm Nirvana            
            
Moon            
4mm TOE            
3.3mm TOE            
2.5mm TOE            
            
Planets            
12.5mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
9mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
7mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
6mm ortho + x2.5 powermate            
            
Wide field and deep sky            
42mm LVW            
30mm UFF            
22mm LVW            
17mm LVW            
13mm LVW            
 

12" StellaLyra Dob                 
Doubles                    
30mm UFF                    
13mm Nirvana                    
7mm Nirvana                    
4mm Nirvana                    
                    
Moon                    
7mm Nirvana                    
4mm TOE                    
3.3mm TOE                    
                    
Planets                    
25mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
18mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
12.5mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
9mm ortho + x2.5 Powermate                    
                    
Wide field and deep sky                    
42mm LVW                    
30mm UFF                    
22mm LVW                    
17mm LVW                    
13mm LVW  

I have other scopes and combinations. I only take outside what I need for the targets I'm looking at.

There are a few I don't currently use, mainly because they are either in between magnifications or I prefer using others.                 
 

A very logical setup Mr Spock 👍

Out of interest, what makes you prefer the Ortho/Powermate for planets vs the TOE for Lunar?

[Mr Spock]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Out of interest, what makes you prefer the Ortho/Powermate for planets vs the TOE for Lunar?

The orthos are a bit (tiny bit) better at teasing out low contrast detail such as belt detail on Jupiter and clouds on Venus. I'd say they are pretty much even on Mars and the moon which are higher contrast targets. With my current set up I've not seen Saturn at a high enough altitude to get a clear view yet.

The TOEs are exceptional on the moon at very high powers with the 12" and excellent seeing - x461 with the 3.3mm can be breath-taking. I'm interested in rilles and the TOE just seems ultra sharp on those, whether with the 12" or the 4".

I believe the difference between the two is how they present contrast rather than sharpness. They are equally sharp. The orthos are better at subtle contrast and the TOEs better at edge contrast. You could use either on any target and be happy 

I do find the orthos need the Powermate at f5 as it gives a cleaner view. Perhaps the orthos have some residual aberrations at f5? I'm not an expert on optics so not sure on that one.

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Perhaps the orthos have some residual aberrations at f5? I'm not an expert on optics so not sure on that one.

Thanks!

Regarding the above yes I do think orthos show some aberrations in faster scopes. I can’t recall when or which scope, but I certainly recall being surprised by the performance of my BGOs in a fast scope off-axis, and not in a good way.

[Louis D]

From this telescopeoptics.net eyepiece spot diagram collection, it's pretty clear that Abbe Orthos fail to keep the image rays within the airy disk at f/5 (first spot diagram column) off axis, and do much better at f/10 or especially f/15:

Thus, it makes sense to slow down the incoming light cone from f/5 to f/12.5 with a 2.5x Powermate.

Edited July 24, 2023 by Louis D

[johnturley]

7 minutes ago, Louis D said:

From this telescopeoptics.net eyepiece spot diagram collection, it's pretty clear that Abbe Orthos fail to keep the image rays within the airy disk at f/5 (first spot diagram column) off axis, and do much better at f/10 or especially f/15:

 

Thus, it makes sense to slow down the incoming light cone from f/5 to f/12.5 with a 2.5x Powermate.

Or use a Nagler or other design of eyepiece with an in-built Barlow.

John  

[Mr Spock]

48 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Thus, it makes sense to slow down the incoming light cone from f/5 to f/12.5 with a 2.5x Powermate.

Exactly. With the Powermate they are sharp to the edge 

[Paz]

I have 2 Naglers, 8 Delos, 1 TV Plossl, 11 SLVs, 4 NPLs, 1 microguide, probably 10 or so plossls, so maybe 35 to 40 in total, and there's a number if bino pairs in there.

[Mr Spock]

I am one ortho missing. I don't actually need it but it spoils the collection 

[DirkSteele]

Wow. I am saving this thread for a first line of defence against accusations of too many eyepieces. Not shown, a few others including a pretty good 40mm 2” EP that came with my  Celestron C11 in 2002 (Axiom made in Japan) and some specialised stuff like graduated markings and cross hair eyepieces.

[Paz]

3 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Wow. I am saving this thread for a first line of defence against accusations of too many eyepieces. 

I've got a feeling everybody is doing this!