Planetary eyepieces

[PatrickO]

I have a Meade LX90 8" OTA and I'm trying to decide on a eyepieces for planetary observation.  My budget is £200-300. I'd go higher if it would make a big difference.

My thinking at the moment is to get a couple eyepieces of around 8mm and 12mm. This would give magnification of around 250x and 167x.  I'm assuming it's going to be rare to be able to go over 250x

Alternatively, I could get a good quality 8-24mm zoom, which means I can adjust the magnification to get the best view at the time.

I'd appreciate advice on what you all think would be best.

 

[Zermelo]

20 minutes ago, PatrickO said:

Alternatively, I could get a good quality 8-24mm zoom

 

[Louis D]

What @Zermelo said.  Long and short of it, give the Svbony SV135 7mm to 21mm zoom a try.  I haven't picked one up yet, but independent eyepiece testing and user reports agree it is very sharp.  It's also very affordable.

[cajen2]

Is the size of the FOV important to you? I ask because most zooms have a fairly narrow one, which gets worse at longer focal lengths. My Baader Hyperion IV is the best one I've tried.

I've always found anything with a FOV of less than 70° to be rather claustrophobic. My favourite range is the Baader Morpheus and in that range, the 9mm might be ideal for you: 250x mag for an 8mm is not very often achievable for a clear image because of poor seeing. The 9mm would give you 222x,  rather more useful imo. The only downside is price: a new one would be £229 from FLO but very much worth it if you can stretch to that - it's a great EP.

[Mr Spock]

When I had a C9.25 my most used eyepieces were 12mm, 10mm and 9mm Vixen NLVs (now SLVs). They are very sharp for planetary - like an orthoscopic but with 20mm eye relief.

[Naughty Neal]

For the 8mm then the SvBony zoom currently or was £80 ish inc delivery no other fees.

  Nirvana 13mm gives nice wide views approx. £85 or possibly the Pentax XF12mm but at half the price the Nirvana is excellant value.

I have the SvBony 7.2 - 21.5mm zoom and the views I have been  impressed with in my slow refractors approx. £45 ( I was fortunate and only paid £23.99), a no brainer at that price.

One could in fact acquire all three for your £ 200 - £300 budget.

SvBony are coming out with some pretty good EP's amongst their range and that even includes the UFF's.

 

There is a lot of fuss over the SLV's and despite their 50 Deg fov they have are very well thought of , alas I can't back up those findings as RM have lost my one in their postal system 😢.  

 

 

 

Edited March 15 by Naughty Neal

[Captain Scarlet]

I have a collection, mostly TeleVue, including some very high-end eyepieces. They are almost all very good indeed, to my reckoning, but only one has totally blown me away with its capability, showing me one particular object one night that others could not. It was my Baader BCO 10, showing Mimas easily at only 94x through my 140mm refractor. Barlowing with a Celestron Ultima 2x continued to show it, but I could not see it at all through my TV Delos 6 or Tak LE 5. Returning to the BCO again, there it was. In that test, the best eyepiece I own, and the cheapest! I have a BCO 6 in transit, it’ll be interesting see if it matches that performance.

Magnus

[Zermelo]

7 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

I have a collection, mostly TeleVue, including some very high-end eyepieces. They are almost all very good indeed, to my reckoning, but only one has totally blown me away with its capability, showing me one particular object one night that others could not. It was my Baader BCO 10, showing Mimas easily at only 94x through my 140mm refractor. Barlowing with a Celestron Ultima 2x continued to show it, but I could not see it at all through my TV Delos 6 or Tak LE 5. Returning to the BCO again, there it was. In that test, the best eyepiece I own, and the cheapest! I have a BCO 6 in transit, it’ll be interesting see if it matches that performance.

Magnus

Agreed, especially if you avoid the outer extremities. A steal at £54 for that quality.

I find the 6mm to be a bit tight on eye relief, I'll be interested to hear how you get on with it.

[bosun21]

The BCO 10mm is also highly regarded in the US with the large dobsonian crowd. They say that it's one of the best for teasing out the details while viewing difficult faint fuzzies. For planetary i found it a great eyepiece.

[Roy Challen]

+1 for the 10mm BCO

[dweller25]

19 hours ago, PatrickO said:

I have a Meade LX90 8" OTA and I'm trying to decide on a eyepieces for planetary observation.  My budget is £200-300. I'd go higher if it would make a big difference.

My thinking at the moment is to get a couple eyepieces of around 8mm and 12mm. This would give magnification of around 250x and 167x.  I'm assuming it's going to be rare to be able to go over 250x

Alternatively, I could get a good quality 8-24mm zoom, which means I can adjust the magnification to get the best view at the time.

I'd appreciate advice on what you all think would be best.

 

Would suggest eyepieces to give the following approximate magnifications…

Venus x120

Jupiter x180

Saturn x200

Mars/Uranus/Neptune x250

Edited March 15 by dweller25

[Don Pensack]

43 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Would suggest eyepieces to give the following approximate magnifications…

Venus x120

Jupiter x180

Saturn x200

Mars/Uranus/Neptune x250

This depends on the scope and the orbital position of the planets, though.

With my 12.5", I typically look at the crescent phases of Venus, and 100x is plenty, so I'll concur with your recommendation.

For Jupiter, my lifetime best view was at 456X.  Otherwise, 200x is fine most of the time--close to your recommendation.  Details on the Moons require 400-500x+

Saturn needs magnification.  I typically use 304X and details are readily available.  My lifetime best view was at 1123X, however.  That was a once-in-a lifetime experience.  200x is fine in lesser seeing, so I'll go along with your figure.

Mars really needs 250-400x at opposition and even more away from opposition.  My lifetime best view was at ~500x, but 250x at opposition can give a pleasant view.  Surface details might take more, though.  Adding a Contras Booster filter helps a lot.

Uranus and Neptune really need 400-600x to see the discs well, and the fainter moons around Uranus (Triton at Neptune can be seen at 200x).  At 250x, the discs are too small to see much in the way of details, though you can tell they are discs.

Except for the 2 outermost planets, you recommendations are solid.  Especially given Patrick's scope is an 8".

[dweller25]

On 15/03/2024 at 17:49, Don Pensack said:

This depends on the scope and the orbital position of the planets, though.

With my 12.5", I typically look at the crescent phases of Venus, and 100x is plenty, so I'll concur with your recommendation.

For Jupiter, my lifetime best view was at 456X.  Otherwise, 200x is fine most of the time--close to your recommendation.  Details on the Moons require 400-500x+

Saturn needs magnification.  I typically use 304X and details are readily available.  My lifetime best view was at 1123X, however.  That was a once-in-a lifetime experience.  200x is fine in lesser seeing, so I'll go along with your figure.

Mars really needs 250-400x at opposition and even more away from opposition.  My lifetime best view was at ~500x, but 250x at opposition can give a pleasant view.  Surface details might take more, though.  Adding a Contras Booster filter helps a lot.

Uranus and Neptune really need 400-600x to see the discs well, and the fainter moons around Uranus (Triton at Neptune can be seen at 200x).  At 250x, the discs are too small to see much in the way of details, though you can tell they are discs.

Except for the 2 outermost planets, you recommendations are solid.  Especially given Patrick's scope is an 8".

I’m sure this is correct where you live Don ( I need to move to LA 🙂) but sadly the UK skies are often very different to yours after x250 - it’s Jetstream and/or weather front alley 🙁

Edited March 19 by dweller25

[stormioV]

 Hi, I have Meade LX90 ACF 8 inch SCT, similar to yours. I had similar idea to get some 'better'  eyepieces for lunar/planetry. In the end I just doubled up on most of my eyepieces and use with Binoviewer. If you are able to get along with BV they do offer stunning views, and a comfortable relaxing experience. 

[dweller25]

1 hour ago, stormioV said:

 Hi, I have Meade LX90 ACF 8 inch SCT, similar to yours. I had similar idea to get some 'better'  eyepieces for lunar/planetry. In the end I just doubled up on most of my eyepieces and use with Binoviewer. If you are able to get along with BV they do offer stunning views, and a comfortable relaxing experience. 

This 👍

[Kenneth Spackman]

I have the SvBony 7.2 - 21.5mm zoom eyepiece my most used eyepiece with mak 127mm. Great quality and very versatile. If by chance you get clear nights with steady viewing and want to go higher, then just barlow it. 

Edited March 17 by Kenneth Spackman

[stormioV]

I have had a lot of success with 8mms/12mms  within this range. I also use 9.7mm, 6.4mm Plossl and 5mm in Cyclops mode. 3.2mm has been used only a few times for lunar observing- it's good to have just incase!. I prefer fixed focul length eps.  I'm not a fan of zooms, but the new kid on the block SVbony 8-3mm may be worth a punt with your set up along with  Baader BCO  10mm or Vixen SLV 9/10mm and 12mm. I still strongly recommended Binoviewer as first choice.

[Acrab67]

I second the use of the binoviewer. Until relatively recently, in almost 35 years of observation, I had never used one, and they have been a revelation to me.

[paulastro]

On 14/03/2024 at 22:20, Louis D said:

What @Zermelo said.  Long and short of it, give the Svbony SV135 7mm to 21mm zoom a try.  I haven't picked one up yet, but independent eyepiece testing and user reports agree it is very sharp.  It's also very affordable.

Thanks Louis.  Is the zoom you mention supposed to be better than the Baader?  If its half as good as the 3-8 it will be a cracker.

 

[paulastro]

10 hours ago, Acrab67 said:

I second the use of the binoviewer. Until relatively recently, in almost 35 years of observation, I had never used one, and they have been a revelation to me.

Another vote for a binoviewer. I've been using one for many years - the best thing I ever did to improve my Lunar/ planetary viewing.  I wouldn't be without it.

[John]

27 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Thanks Louis.  Is the zoom you mention supposed to be better than the Baader?  If its half as good as the 3-8 it will be a cracker.

 

I've ordered the Svbony 7-21 to give it a try. It will be good to see how it compares with the 3-8mm. I have a nice Parks Gold Series (Japan) 2.2x barlow to use with the zoom to compare the shorter focal lengths including the Nagler 2-4mm zoom. Should be interesting 🙂

 

Edited April 2 by John

[paulastro]

37 minutes ago, John said:

I've ordered the Svbony 7-21 to give it a try. It will be good to see how it compares with the 3-8mm. I have a nice Parks Gold Series (Japan) 2.2x barlow to use with the zoom to compare the shorter focal lengths including the Nagler 2-4mm zoom. Should be interesting 🙂

 

Thanks John, it would be good to hear how it compares.