Which 10mm Eyepiece?

[Ralf]

Can someone please reccommend me a good 10mm eyepiece (less than £100). There doesn't seem to be many out there. The only one I came across was a Celestron X-Cel but with that one it seems I would be paying for the eye-relief rather than optical quality.

Thanks

[Bigwings]

Can you give us details of what its going onto. Fast scopes are less forgiving of EP's than my slow old SCT.

[Ralf]

Can you give us details of what its going onto. Fast scopes are less forgiving of EP's than my slow old SCT.

Yes sorry. The scope is a 10" F/4.7 dob. I intend to use it for both planets and DSO at magnifications of 120X and sometimes 240X.

[dweller25]

Televue 10mm Plossl.

[dweller25]

I had the same problem but eventually found a 10.5mm Televue smoothside Plossl.

Have you considered a 9mm Orthoscopic or an 11mm Televue Plossl ??

[Ralf]

I had the same problem but eventually found a 10.5mm Televue smoothside Plossl.

Have you considered a 9mm Orthoscopic or an 11mm Televue Plossl ??

A 9mm would give too much magnification I think (focal length 1200mm) especially when used with a barlow. I may consider the 11mm (or the 10.5mm if I can find one).

Just to clarify something; when calculating magnification if I get a recurring number (as I do when dividing 1200 by 11) does it mean that the eyepiece will not be ideal or is that irrelevant? Sorry if that question seems daft to the more experienced of you.

[dweller25]

It's irrelevant

[Ralf]

dweller25, I just found your thread on the same subject. I must have missed it when I did my initial search.

And thanks for your advice.

[brianb]

when calculating magnification if I get a recurring number (as I do when dividing 1200 by 11) does it mean that the eyepiece will not be ideal or is that irrelevant?

ROFLMAO!

Focal lengths of scope or eyepiece are rarely exactly correct so when you measure them accurately & do the division you will usually end up with a transcendant number, let alone irrational, rational or integer.

[MartinB]

I bought a Pentax XL EP on astro buy and sell for around £100. It's a fantastic eyepiece. You could consider a Baader Hyperion but I've never tried one, a bit over budget though. I would avoid wider field budget EPs, better to go for a decent plossl.

[MartinB]

Is anything here of interest? http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/81390-baader-hyperion-eps-sale.html

[Ralf]

ROFLMAO!

Focal lengths of scope or eyepiece are rarely exactly correct so when you measure them accurately & do the division you will usually end up with a transcendant number, let alone irrational, rational or integer.

I knew my question was daft but nothing wrong in making sure. I admit that at the moment I don't have much idea about these things but hopefully I will learn as time goes on.

[Ralf]

Also is it advisable to buy via the forums? If I do decide to buy I should probably look to buy from one of the more distinguished members. Am I right in thinking that a used eyepiece, if looked after well, should perform as well as a new one?

[dweller25]

Also is it advisable to buy via the forums? If I do decide to buy I should probably look to buy from one of the more distinguished members. Am I right in thinking that a used eyepiece, if looked after well, should perform as well as a new one?

I'm sorry I don't have any eyepieces for sale

[albedo0.39]

Probably unfashionable, but I made an impulse purchase of a Meade Super Plossl 5000 series EP a few weeks back. It cost me £40 SH (~£75 new ?) and as a stand alone EP it gives acceptable performance. OK, it's no "space walk" FOV, but I'm really rather pleased with it.

[Ralf]

I just came across this and wanted your opinions since I've never bought second-hand before.

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/80421-11mm-televue-plossls.html

I'm not sure about the 'bluish' and 'greenish' coatings he mentions. Is that normal? Do you think he is reliable (no offence to the seller but I have to make sure).

[dweller25]

I think they may be sold but you can buy with confidence from Tom.

Or go to Telescopehouse.com and get a new one - they are very good eyepieces.

[brianb]

Probably unfashionable .... Meade Super Plossl 5000 series EP

And seriously underestimated. The 60 degree FoV is far from negligible, the stars remain pretty well pinpoint until very close to the edge (in a f/10 SCT) and the natural white colour is, to my eyes, far preferable to the characteristic Televue "coffee staining".

At that price point, for higher powers, I do prefer the Baader Genuine Orthos, though.

[albedo0.39]

That's interesting because I also have a UO 9mm Ortho and on a back to back found the FOV of the Meade quite nice. However, for absolute last word on clarity, I think the UO had it. Perhaps because it has one less glass element in the light path ?

[brianb]

However, for absolute last word on clarity, I think the UO had it. Perhaps because it has one less glass element in the light path ?

That has something to do with it - but the basic problem with Plossls is that they have a tendency to ghosting, which good coating can alleviate but not completely cure.

The very finest planetary eyepieces are Steinheil Monocentrics which appear to be out of production - just a cemented triplet - superb definition, very clear high contrast image with no ghosting whatsoever, more eye relief than a Plossl or an Ortho but the field of view is only 25 degrees. Quite adequate for planetary work. I'd happily swap 9mm, 12mm & 15mm Naglers, or any other modern eyepiece, for a set of monos with the same focal lengths.

[mike bacanin]

Hi Ralf,

Good luck in finding a suitable 10mm eyepiece. It is strangely a focal length that does not offer many really outstanding eyepieces.

However there is a real gem that many may not know about, and that is the Zeiss Jena 10mm orthoscopic. It is actually a .965 inch eyepiece and requires an easily obtained adapter to use in 1.25 inch eyepiece holders.

It is a fantastic lunar planetary eyepiece, and is superior to most eyepieces except the Zeiss Abbes,and TMB supermonocentrics.

A couple have sold in the last 6 months on astrobuysell for £70 (great price!) and £90.

the meade 5000 does not even play in the same ballpark.

The sharpness, contrast, and lack of scatter are stunning.

I've owned one and only sold it to buy the Zeiss Abbe 10mm, so i speak from experience of using these.

the finest 10mm btw is the Zeiss 10mm monocentric, these go for around $1000 USD used!!

just some useful or even useless! info,

Regards

Mike