EP for Skywatcher Explorer 200P OTA

[johnb]

Hi

Im soon going to be the proud owner of a

Skywatcher Explorer 200P OTA (thanks to FLO and Steve for that), I would be interested in hearing about EP options ?, if its dictated by budget then lets set a limit of £250

Regards

John B

[tooth_dr]

I too will follow this thread with interest. I recently bought a SW 250px and found that the 25mm SW EP gives pretty poor view. The Meade 4000 26mm I have gives better views but not just as good as I was expecting. I am interested in a general-use low power 1.25" EP.

Regards

Adam

[Breakintheclouds]

John,

If you've got that sort of budget then you might think about the Baader Hyperion zoom eyepiece (£180). People are very positive about it, and it would give you a range of different focal lengths in one relatively high quality eyepiece.

Baader Planetarium - Baader Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece

Ian

[Astro_Baby]

The Baader Zooms dont work well in F5 scopes is what I was told.

Depends on what views you want - and how much you want for the £250. I bought a 13mm Hyperion and a 38mm Panaview which is a bit over the top really.

If your anywhere near Redhill or Worthing your welcome to come along and have a peek through some of my EPs assuming the clouds EVER go away.

[johnb]

Thanks for the offer its appreciated. What do I want for my £250, good question - I am a beginner to the subject and my scope will be for visual and imaging. Im a beliver in you get what you pay for (does that hold true for EP's), so dont mind paying for quality and if I get a single high quality for 250 rather than 2 medium quality I will go for the single high quality (hope that makes sense)

John B

[arad85]

I am a beginner to the subject and my scope will be for visual and imaging. Im a beliver in you get what you pay for (does that hold true for EP's), so dont mind paying for quality and if I get a single high quality for 250 rather than 2 medium quality I will go for the single high quality (hope that makes sense)

John B

IMHO, I think you do get what you pay for. Whilst the more general purpose Plossls are cheap and you can get good examples of these for £50+, I think for your scope you should be looking at widefield EPs.. Perhaps the Skywatcher Nirvanas (see here: Skywatcher - Skywatcher Nirvana UWA 82-degree FOV )

Whilst they are expensive, having just moved to quality very widefield eyepieces, that's where I'd be looking first. If you can afford the 28 plus another, go for that. If you can't, I'd be looking at the 7 and 16mm pair... I can guarantee you'll be adding the 4 and 28mm pairing on soon after

[Mikea]

I'm fnding this interesting too. I'd like a better quality 25-30mm EP to replace my 25mm SW. I don't find it too bad, but then I have nothing to compare it with, so welcome the views of those with more experience. The SWA UWA would probably topple my little 130P though!

[philsail1]

Hello "John B"

I would recommend either any decent "Orthoscopic" eyepieces - in the range 10 to 18mm, coupled with a Celestron 2x Barlow, or a couple of Meade 4000 plossls (in range 10 to 25mm. You could also look for a decent 38mm wide field eyepiece (again a Meade). You can pick all the above eyepieces up second hand to save yourself money.

regards,

philsail1

[Astro_Baby]

Its a tough call really and its really hard to advise anyone on EPs. I'd super suggest before you part with money you take a look through some. About the only EP I think everyone would agree on would be that the Teleview Ethos 13mm is superb - but at £500 youd expect it to be - just about every other EP has its fans AND its detractors and what some popole love others would hate. I quite liked my old low power Plossls but just couldnt get on with anything except the 15mm and the 32mm.

I like my 38m SkyWatcher Panaview - some people tell me its too big for the scope and will create centre dark spot where, because of its size, it allows the central obstruction to show OR its exit pupil is too big. Some people would hate the mild (wild even ) coma at the edges which is a result of its less than perfect correction for use in a fast scope.

My own view is that the eyeball (well mine at least ) almost never sees the coma. The supposed dark centre spot never appears for me unless I try to see it under daylight. Some people have enjoyed the view with it - others dislike it.

I happen to like it lots - its not very scientific but its like looking into a pool of stars with the right target. The Pleiades looks fab with it as do most open clusters.

The same sort of split holds true for the 13mm Baader Hyperion. Some people like it, some people feel it lacks contrast for planetary work. I quite like the views with it on deep sky objects though I'd also accept its not the greatest thing since slice bread - merely a worthwhile improvement over a 15mm Plossl - at least to my eyeballs anyway.

The most expensive EP I personally own is the Explore Scientific 14mm 100' FOV. I'd love to be able to tell you what its like but ever since I bought the blasted thing its been cloudy Daylight use ona distant radio mast hints that it might be quite awesome but I'll reserve judgement til I see it on a dark sky.

Therein lies the rub - what suits me might not suit you. Some people prefer different things. If the whole £250 were to be spent on a single EP I just dont know what I;d buy. A single 28mm Nirvana would cost almost that and would leave you with only wide angle low power views. A smaller Nirvana - say around 7mm would leave enough cash to buy perhaps a 32mm SW Panaview as a wide angle EP.

Its a tough call and I'm glad I dont have to be making it As I said at the start - I'd really suggest getting an eyeball through some EPs.