Do I really need anymore / any better eyepieces?!

[Matt Ikaruga]

I'm a very casual observer, prefer globular clusters, nebula, galaxies over planets & the moon. I mean, I can't resist a look at Saturn and Jupiter whenever possible, and the moon will come to me over time as an observer. I don't live under the darkest skies sadly & I've got a lot of buildings & trees blocking the lower parts of the skies. 

I have an Astro-Fi 6" SCT (with its slightly wobbly mount!) which seems to serve me just nicely. It packs away behind a door in the house, takes 5 mins to get outside (a bit longer to cool) and aside from needing a dew heater, I'm sure this will serve me for many years. Also have a Heritage 130p little dob.

Believe I have most bases covered on EPs, however a Starguider 60deg 25mm or a BST 58deg 25mm have both caught my eye.

The question is, over what I already have, aside from the extra FOV on the above EPs am I really just chasing unicorns in terms of overall improvements from what I have?

Current EPs

X-Cel 7mm

TMB 9mm (from Sky's the Limit)

Bundled 10mm - used for aligning only as it's so small & convenient.

Vixen NPL 15mm

Bundled 25mm plossl

32mm Plossl (from Sky's the Limit, bit like the Omni Plossls I believe - really nice but eye relief is poor & hard not to get the kidney beaning)

40mm Newwer Plossl (surprisingly really good, lovely clarity)

 

Please allow me this question folks, as I'm a full on procrastinator - and I can & have  read the many and sticky threads on this.  Also I really respect the opinions on here.

 

Cheers!

Edited Sunday at 15:19 by Matt Ikaruga

[Fraunhoffer]

I think the bst starguider 25mm are excellent eyepieces for the money and you would have to spend quite a lot more to get a significant difference. If it was me, I would ditch both the stock 25mm plossl and 32 mm (Sounds like you don't like the 32mm anyway and you like the 40) and get the 25 bst starguider.

The best eyepiece is the one you use most often.

[Elp]

What I class as medium eyepieces are fine, in fact I still have a Xcel LX in my set as it's one of the best for hydrogen alpha solar, the 30mm NPL I had was also very very close to a TV 32mm plossl. But ultimately I sold most of them off and replaced with high quality Pentax XWs. The question I have is, do you have any issues with the ones you have already. Mine were replaced because I got fed up with the eye reliefs. Now I can concentrate on just viewing.

The main differences you'll notice going up price ranges is contrast, increased sharpness particularly across more of the field of view, larger fields of views and in some cases longer eye relief.

Edited Sunday at 15:55 by Elp

[bosun21]

The 25mn Starguider is the weakest of the range with star aberrations in the outer fov( seagull shaped stars). As this is an important focal length for most observers I would seriously consider upgrading it to something like a 24mm UFF which is a good mid priced option. If you want to spend more then the 24mm Panoptic is a sound choice. If you are happy with the plossls then stick with them. I don't quite understand how you struggle with the 32mm but not the 40mm which will have even more eye relief.

[Sunshine]

Five eyepieces and a TV powermate for three scopes, this is the extent of my eyepiece collection, find a few that work for you and voila! 

[NGC 1502]

With regard to the 32mm Plossl.  Most will have very long eyerelief and if your eye is too close then blackouts will be seen. Try backing off and you should cure the problem.

It’s actually the same with all eyepieces. But with long eyerelief it’s much easier to get too close.

[Matt Ikaruga]

Thanks for all your responses so far. I’ll pick them off here.

 

@Fraunhoffer the 32mm is nice but yes that issue is irking me for sure. The 40mm doesn’t suffer as bad at all. Maybe I can sell it for a bit.

@bosun21 not sure why on the 40 compared to the 32mm but it’s a real difference for me. UFF’s are way out of my price range by the looks of it. I’m looking at around £50, I have read that about the 25mm BST however. Guess that compromise is something I’d need to accept as the next step up seems to be quite a jump in cost.

@Elp comfort of viewing is the main reason. I actually think the bundled 25mm is ok bar that comfort, along with a bit of FOV and kidney beaning. I like your comment, now you can concentrate on viewing. That alone could send me looking at a higher priced EP as suggested above that site outside my price bracket currently.. time to fill up the piggy bank!

 

@NGC 1502 thanks for the explanation, maybe I’m getting it wrong in terms of explaining (still very much a beginner …). 

[rl]

Just a thought...at the moment you still have the skill to enjoy your astronomy with cheap kit. Don't lose that. From personal experience, some of the most enjoyable periods in the hobby were in the early days when the budget was a close approximation to zero, but the novelty and enthusiasm were high.

As things stand, your eyepiece collection is fine for casual viewing. I'm surprised you prefer the TV 40mm to the 32 but these things are very personal. A budget of £50 does not buy a lot...but you might get a secondhand Maxvision 24mm 68 degree for that sort of money. This is an excellent eyepiece that works ok on different types of scope, and was made under several other names (which currently elude my memory). I've had one for years now and I'm still impressed how well it stacks up against TV and others. Might be worth a "wanted" ad on ABS.

If you go the secondhand route, you can always sell on without too much of a loss if you don't like it. Bear in mind the improvements are more and more incremental as the costs go up....every 10% improvement doubles the cost.

[Bluemoonjim]

Chasing unicorns is what amateur astrophotography is all about. How far you chase them (unicorns) through the woods depends on how much cash you're happy to spend. It's a perpetual dilemma 😂

That's good advice from ' rl '
Good luck with the ep's

 

[John]

11 hours ago, rl said:

Just a thought...at the moment you still have the skill to enjoy your astronomy with cheap kit. Don't lose that. From personal experience, some of the most enjoyable periods in the hobby were in the early days when the budget was a close approximation to zero, but the novelty and enthusiasm were high......

.........If you go the secondhand route, you can always sell on without too much of a loss if you don't like it. Bear in mind the improvements are more and more incremental as the costs go up....every 10% improvement doubles the cost.

Great words of wisdom there from @rl 👍

40+ years in the hobby for me and I would heartily endorse both these points.

 

Edited Monday at 08:44 by John

[Mr Spock]

How about the Ursa Major 25mm https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ursa-major-eyepieces/ursa-major-fmc-flatfield-eyepiece-25mm.html ?

Only £39 and surely much better then the ones you have.

If I were starting again without all the expensive kit, it's probably the route I would go. There's nothing better than just enjoying observing 👍

[Tiny Clanger]

The BST 25mm would probably be OK in your SCT at f10, but it would be horrible in your f5 dob, or any similar fast focal ratio 'scope you might buy in the future, so best avoided. The 15, 12 and 8mm BSTs are really rather good though.

It is a dangerous expensive thing, buying one 82 deg. wide field eyepiece to see what it's like, instantly falling for the views, and realising you'll not be happy until all your focal lengths are that nice ... this is the only situation where I reckon ignorance really is bliss. No prizes for guessing how I know that

I very much agree with rl about buying used eyepieces: looks like you have sufficient posts to see the sell/swap area on here, it's a great way to get used eyepieces, try them out, for a few months, and if they don't suit you and your setup, sell them on at minimal loss. Most of my eyepieces have been bought that way (and quite a few from contributors on this thread ! 🙂 )

Heather

[Fraunhoffer]

2 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

The BST 25mm would probably be OK in your SCT at f10, but it would be horrible in your f5 dob, or any similar fast focal ratio 'scope you might buy in the future, so best avoided. The 15, 12 and 8mm BSTs are really rather good though.

It is a dangerous expensive thing, buying one 82 deg. wide field eyepiece to see what it's like, instantly falling for the views, and realising you'll not be happy until all your focal lengths are that nice ... this is the only situation where I reckon ignorance really is bliss. No prizes for guessing how I know that

I very much agree with rl about buying used eyepieces: looks like you have sufficient posts to see the sell/swap area on here, it's a great way to get used eyepieces, try them out, for a few months, and if they don't suit you and your setup, sell them on at minimal loss. Most of my eyepieces have been bought that way (and quite a few from contributors on this thread ! 🙂 )

Heather

+1 on that. 

The dangerous scenario would be buying an expensive eyepiece and not liking it for some reason. I think they tend to be a little bit of a personal choice. Some folks like certain eyepieces, others not so much. Maybe if its not broke, dont fix it and just have some fun.

If you have a local club that has star gazing evenings, maybe some kind person could let you try something.

[Louis D]

23 hours ago, Matt Ikaruga said:

The question is, over what I already have, aside from the extra FOV on the above EPs am I really just chasing unicorns in terms of overall improvements from what I have?

Come over to the Dark Side.   You can never have enough eyepieces. 😁  I've bought five more eyepieces since this group photo was taken:

[Fraunhoffer]

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

Come over to the Dark Side.   You can never have enough eyepieces. 😁  I've bought five more eyepieces since this group photo was taken:

There's a gap in the 5th column from the left needs something in. 😆 

I couldn't see any old SR4 with the conical centre in there.

Edited Monday at 17:30 by Fraunhoffer

[Zermelo]

3 hours ago, Louis D said:

Come over to the Dark Side.   You can never have enough eyepieces. 😁  I've bought five more eyepieces since this group photo was taken:

Louis, you probably bought five more since this thread was started!

[Louis D]

8 hours ago, Fraunhoffer said:

There's a gap in the 5th column from the left needs something in. 😆 

I couldn't see any old SR4 with the conical centre in there.

How about my newish Svbony 3-8mm zooom in that spot?

No SR4, but I've got 6mm and 20mm 0.965" Huygens (black tops) in the 5th eyepiece column from the right.

[Louis D]

8 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Louis, you probably bought five more since this thread was started!

I did just buy a 22mm Vixen LVW a couple of days ago, so you're partially correct.  It's incoming.  I'll be comparing it to my other 20mm to 24mm eyepieces which are mostly 2"-only.  It will have some stiff competition.  I've read so much about it over the past two decades, I couldn't resist finally buying one.

Besides the Svbony 3-8mm zoom and the 22mm LVW, I've bought a new old stock 42mm Vixen LVW, a 20mm Founder Optics Marvel 80 degree, and a 2.5mm Aquila (TMB Planetary clone) since the group shot was taken.

Edited Tuesday at 02:27 by Louis D

[LondonNeil]

Just think,  How market prices could crash if the sv230 turns out superb and replaces 2/3rds of Louis's collection. 😆