Premium EP advice sought

[dogfish]

Hi SGL'ers

I'm now the proud owner of a 12" Flextube dob. It's F5 (focal length 1500mm), so I'm thinking of upgrading the EP collection I had when I used an F10 SCT. I've managed to acquire a Meade 5000 series UWA 18mm as part exchange for some of my gear. As well as the 18mm I have a 9mm Baader genuine ortho which I'm sure will be good for planetary viewing. I'm mostly interested in DSO's though.

So, my question is, what other focal length EP's would compliment this scope and provide a nice range of magnifications. I'm thinking something in the 24 to 34mm range for nice widefield views and finding faint fuzzies and something in the 10 to 14mm range for closer viewing. Is my thinking right?

I have about £800 left over from the sale of my gear but would rather purchase 2nd hand so need specific recommendations for the wanted advert I'll be putting up. Obviously, Naglers, Panoptics, Pentax's, other Meade 5000's would be included, but any other (cheaper) suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks for your advice.

Martin

[johninderby]

Take a look at the SkyWatcher Nirvana / William Optics UWAN eyepieces. The 7mm, 16mm and 28mm would make a great set of quality eyepieces at a reasonable price.

The 7mm will be fine on your dob for your higher power observing, the 16mm is a ideal mid-power and the 28 a great low-power eyepiece. The 4mm would be ideal for lunar observing where you can push the magnification up quite high.

The other thing you would also need however would be a coma corrector. Essential for the 28mm. The Baader MPCC is excellent and very light weight (less balance issues) and the Televue Paracorr is also excellent, although quite heavy.

Televue Naglers are great eyepieces, but not cheap, but on an f/5 scope the Nirvana/UWANs will be just fine. A set of the Televue Ethos eyepieces would be great (££££££ !) but not on your budget.

John

[dogfish]

Take a look at the SkyWatcher Nirvana / William Optics UWAN eyepieces. The 7mm, 16mm and 28mm would make a great set of quality eyepieces at a reasonable price.

The other thing you would also need however would be a coma corrector. Essential for the 28mm. The Baader MPCC is excellent and very light weight (less balance issues) and the Televue Paracorr is also excellent, although quite heavy.

John

Thanks John. I thought about the Nivana's but was worried about the overlap in magnification (16mm being a bit close to the 18mm and the 7mm being close to my ortho). I did think about the MPCC but will wait to have a look through a low mag EP before deciding if I can live with the coma or not.

I see there's a 13mm Ethos on Astro buy/sell at the moment, but really don't want to spend £350 on a single EP. I had a quick look on FLO and quite fancy the Meade 5000 set (6.7, 18 and 30mm's) at a £200 saving on the individual prices but I would then have to find a buyer for my 2nd hand 18mm and I'd probably flog the ortho as well (the sale of these together would add £200 to my budget, I reckon). Still musing that one over.

Cheers, Martin

[arad85]

Err.. without wishing to point out the obvious... but you're saying the Nirvanas would be too close to your 18mm and ortho and then saying you're looking at the Meade 5000 set and that would lead you to flog your 18mm and ortho

[johninderby]

I was thinking in terms of getting the new premium eyepieces and then selling off any eyepieces that you already have that were too close in fl.

Take a look at this SGL thread on the UWAN eyepieces.

http://stargazerslounge.com/members-equipment-gallery/88325-my-new-eyepiece-collection-set-uwans.html

John

[dogfish]

Err.. without wishing to point out the obvious... but you're saying the Nirvanas would be too close to your 18mm and ortho and then saying you're looking at the Meade 5000 set and that would lead you to flog your 18mm and ortho

Ah, but the reasoning is that I would then have a set of par focal (supposedly) EP's, rather than a mix and match set. I'd also get the nice Meade case (although that's a secondary consideration).

Martin

[Gonzo56]

Martin,

I purchased the same telescope about a month ago and I'm pretty pleased with it. As for the eyepieces, I use a generic 32mm 80º FOV for searching and an 11mm T6 Nagler for viewing. The 32mm is just a tad soft around the edges but that's not the reason for its existence. However, as a search tool it functions quite well. The 11mm T6 is my choice for small, dim (12th-13th magnitude) galaxies and this size has proven very useful for me. Once in a while I'll throw in my Speers Waller 7.5mm 82º eyepiece for planetary nebulas. To date, these three see more use than anything else in my collection.

John

[Doc]

I was thinking in terms of getting the new premium eyepieces and then selling off any eyepieces that you already have that were too close in fl.

Take a look at this SGL thread on the UWAN eyepieces.

http://stargazerslounge.com/members-equipment-gallery/88325-my-new-eyepiece-collection-set-uwans.html

John

This is my lovely collection. Best thing I've ever bought, should last a life time.

28mm is awesome, and is extremely heavy so make sure you have some sort of counterweight system. Only negative is the eyecap but I'm sure with time I'll get used to it.

16 and 7mm are very sharp indeed.

The 4mm will need good seeing but this should be excellent for finding elusive planetaries.

[dogfish]

Thanks John, the 11mm would seem to fit right into my collection and I already have about three average EP's in the 30mm and upward range. I'll experiment with them.

Mick, so another vote for the UWAN's/Nirvana's. Do you use a coma corrector with the 28mm or is coma not a problem?

Cheers, Martin

[Doc]

Thanks John, the 11mm would seem to fit right into my collection and I already have about three average EP's in the 30mm and upward range. I'll experiment with them.

Mick, so another vote for the UWAN's/Nirvana's. Do you use a coma corrector with the 28mm or is coma not a problem?

Cheers, Martin

When I borrowed FLO's Nirvana at Salisbury star party I only detected a little coma towards the edge but when I tried my UWAN out a few days ago I did see a little more coma then I previously did.

But I think coma is very dependant on collimation and I don't think my scope is 100% collimated.

But to answer your question when funds allow I'm going to buy a coma corrector but at the moment it's quite usable without one.

[ollypenrice]

In our big Dob the default EP is the 35 Panoptic. I greatly prefer it to the 31 Nagler and its cheaper. With a 2 inch O111 you can get great swathes of the Veil, etc. Wonderful EP.

Until you've tried a 13 Ethos you won't be able to imagine how good they are! I haven't got one but I have had a look through several.

I'd have a big Panoptic and the 13 Ethos second hand and keep the stuff you have.

Olly

[dogfish]

Thanks Mick, that tallies with the reviews I've read.

Olly, interested to hear about the 35mm Panoptic, but I haven't seen a 2nd hand one for sale for a while. I've had a look through the 13mm Ethos on a couple of occasions and was impressed and funnily enough it was the veil I looked at both times.

Martin

[Doc]

Bear in mind exit pupil.

35mm Panoptic will give you 7mm, a 28mm UWAN will be 5.6mm

[FLO]

Jahmanson is currently comparing the Televue Nagler 31mm, Skywatcher Nirvana 28mm and Pentax XW 30mm for a stargazerslounge review.

[albedo0.39]

I spent a good deal of EP time with a Pentax recently - it's awesome... and my I say, the Skywatcher Nirvana / William Optics UWANS are crackerjack as well - The suggestion to just jump to a set of those is awfully tempting.

Open Question:- Are they the same ?

[alfi]

hi

the nirvana and uwan is exactly the same, if it where those you were talking about.

orion has also made a clone available, but i dont know the pricing on those.

alfi

[johninderby]

I'd vote for calling up Steve at FLO and ordering the 4,7,16 and 28 Nirvana/Uwans (£626.00 total fror the Nirvanas). Within your budget, and would give you a set of premium eyepieces that would handle your observing needs for years to come.

I would forget about the Orion Megaview version and go for the Nirvana or Uwan. Why? Here's the Orion Megaview pricelist form a UK dealer.

:eek:

Orion 4mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £179.00

Orion 7mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £179.00

Orion 16mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £219.00

Orion 28mm MegaView, 18mm Eye Relief - £379.00

John

[Doc]

A 28,16,7 and 4mm UWAN from FLO with 10% discount cost me £649.81.

£23 more then the Nirvana's.

[alfi]

hi

the orion prices are insane, here in norway equipment is expensive, but i can get nirvana or uwans cheaper from sweden, then the orions cost.

alfi

[dogfish]

Lots of votes for the UWANs/Nirvanas then. I wonder if anyone will have them with them at Kielder so I can have a play?

I'd love a Pentax XW, as the reviews are always positive, but can't stretch to them.

Steve, does the discount apply to the Nirvanas as well as to the UWANs?

Cheers, Martin

[Andrew*]

Hi Martin,

If I manage to get a pitch, I will be there with teh 28mm and 16mm. I may have a 20mm T2 Nagler to try out/sell too.....

[FLO]

Steve, does the discount apply to the Nirvanas as well as to the UWANs?

No, sorry.

[dogfish]

No, sorry.

With that price difference it makes sense to buy the UWANS then. My only concern is how much use the 4mm would get, given that this is not the auto (i.e. non-driven) Flextube. Any comments from dob users?

Thanks Andrew, hope to see you there.

Martin

[Andrew*]

I wouldn't go any higher than a 6mm eyepiece in that scope TBH. A 7mm UWAN would make a great high power EP I reckon.

[johninderby]

With the 250PX I used a 3mm eyepiece regularily for lunar observing so the 4mm would be just fine, and being 82 degree FOV it would make an ideal lunar eyepiece on an undriven dob. This scope is great for lunar observing not just DSOs etc.

John