Eyepiece upgrade for Heritage 130p

[Franklin]

10 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

While I liked the Vixen NPL 30mm  I couldn't stomach the plastic assembly of the eyecup. I had to use an elastic band to stop the ER from changing. I bought two for binoviewing and both suffered from loose variable eyecups. Sold them both.

Yes, the longer focal length NPL's have nice optics but the extending eyecup is a budget design, it's either up or down, it won't stay in the middle unless you adapt with a rubber band or similar. I only have the NPL30 and use it as a finder eyepiece or a lightweight low power in the smaller scopes and use it with the eye guard fully extended which is very comfortable.

[Second Time Around]

Rather than an elastic band I use a  doubled over hairgrip and find that this holds position nicely. The great advantage of this on the NPL range is that you can set it at the position to get the optimum eye relief.  This varies from person to person.

I did head to head tests on the 30mm NPL against 3 other Plossls, including a 32mm Televue.  There was no difference between any of them using my Quark.  Admittedly this was at f/26, but h/alpha solar is notoriosly needful of good contrast.

As a result I also bought a 25mm.  Initially I bought a pair of each but found I couldn't get on with binoviewing so sold the 30mm, that went quickly.  The 25mm is still in the for sale section and now at a reduced price.

[Dimitrisanagn]

5 hours ago, Zermelo said:

This is an important point. You may already be aware of this, but if you wear glasses only to correct for distance, then the scope's focusing mechanism will normally take care of that. Though it may be a pain if you're sharing sessions and need to refocus all the time; not difficult to test out, though. However, if you wear glasses because of strong astigmatism, then you will need to use them for observing too (leaving aside some very pricey accessories). Even then, you may find that you can get away without them when using higher magnifications (shorter eyepiece lengths).

The Starguiders mentioned above were my own first upgrades, and work very well in my F/5 reflector, though I don't wear glasses.

If you are happy to order from abroad, then XCEL-LXs mentioned above by @Naughty Neal are good performers with a proven design, and normally retail for twice that price. I'm not sure about their eye relief, though.

For your longer eyepiece choice, I agree with @cajen2 that the Vixen NPLs deliver great views. I have the 30mm and use it all the time, even though I have an excellent (and more expensive) UFF. They also do a 25mm.

Yes, I often view without glasses, especially at higher magnifications. 

It's more of a need for my daughter, as it is easier for her to view from a distance - and avoid touching the eyepiece/scope.

I don't mind ordering from abroad, so the XCEL is a prime candidate here.

[Zermelo]

46 minutes ago, Dimitrisanagn said:

Yes, I often view without glasses, especially at higher magnifications. 

It's more of a need for my daughter, as it is easier for her to view from a distance - and avoid touching the eyepiece/scope.

I don't mind ordering from abroad, so the XCEL is a prime candidate here.

 

No connection with me, but just now ...

 

[Zermelo]

1 minute ago, Zermelo said:

 

No connection with me, but just now ...

 

Ah, sorry, I just looked at your post count and you may not be able to access links to the internal marketplace just yet.

 

[Mr Spock]

If your budget will stretch that far the Vixen SLVs are very sharp and have 20mm eye relief https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-slv-eyepieces.html

[Dimitrisanagn]

22 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

Ah, sorry, I just looked at your post count and you may not be able to access links to the internal marketplace just yet.

 

Thanks you, but unfortunately I can't access the classifieds section yet. I'll do check astrobuysell though. It might pop up there as well.

[Spile]

I like a zoom eyepiece and given the good user reviews I would suggest a Svbony .

[Dimitrisanagn]

Thank you all for your comments and helping me out here.

I decided to get the Celestron X-Cel 12mm from AliExpress. Almost at the same price as the BST, but it has a rotating eyecup that should make it easier to find the perfect spot while wearing glasses , if that's required

 

 

[bosun21]

20 minutes ago, Dimitrisanagn said:

Thank you all for your comments and helping me out here.

I decided to get the Celestron X-Cel 12mm from AliExpress. Almost at the same price as the BST, but it has a rotating eyecup that should make it easier to find the perfect spot while wearing glasses , if that's required

 

 

The BST Starguider have rotating eyecups.

[Naughty Neal]

 I thought it was the lower power 24/25mm EP thta was being  enquired about ,  then the OP buys a 12mm EP.

I think for the 12mm then the 13mm Nirvana from OVL would have been on the short list. 

[Dimitrisanagn]

On 27/11/2023 at 22:44, bosun21 said:

The BST Starguider have rotating eyecups.

Oh..I didn't realize that. Thanks!

[Dimitrisanagn]

On 28/11/2023 at 23:25, Naughty Neal said:

 I thought it was the lower power 24/25mm EP thta was being  enquired about ,  then the OP buys a 12mm EP.

I think for the 12mm then the 13mm Nirvana from OVL would have been on the short list. 

I was actually looking for both, but the 10-12mm one was the priority. 

However I just managed to win an ebay auction on a 25mm BST Starguider so will get to use and compare both eyepieces!