Plossl eyepieces

[starscy]

Which would you say are the best value Plossl eyepieces in the UK market?

[John]

At around £30 a throw I'd reckon that the Vixen NPL's must be in with a shout but I'd wait for the outcome of Astro Baby's trial of them before deciding:

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/94888-vixen-npl-ploessl-eyepieces.html

I guess the question is whether they are worth a tenner more than the standard Skywatcher plossls.

[Towa]

GSO Plossl (around £30). The views I get from mine are just as good as the TV plossl I've used and just a touch behind a Baader orthoscopic.

[starscy]

Any recommended dealers that sell the GSO Plossls?

[F15Rules]

Scope n Skies and Pulsar Optical (same firm) in Witchford, Cambs sell them.

Don't ignore the Tal plossls, I think warehouse express have them. The 25mm Tal gives the best "bang for your buck" at £19.99 I have ever seen, still use mine all the time along with my Meade 32mm (GSO built) plossl.

[starscy]

I would prefer to order from somewhere else. Are there any other dealers that have the GSO or TAL Plossls?

[russ]

I think both Astronomica and Opticstar sell the GSO Super Plossl range or some form of Super Plossl.

Ascension Super Plossl Eyepieces.

Super Plossl | Eyepieces | Astronomica

[starscy]

Judging from the photos on their website Astronomica seems to be selling the Series 500 Plossls that are not manufactured by GSO. Ascension Super Plossls look very similar.

[russ]

I wasn't convinced they were the same either but it was all that came up in a Google search. Other than that, the only place that definitely sells the GSO stuff that i know off is the one you would rather not use.

[John]

I maybe wrong but I have always assumed that the Relevation plossls (as in their eyepiece kit) were of GSO manufacture ?. Maybe the plossls sold with GSO's own brand name on are of a better specification ?.

[Towa]

The Revelation set was used in this test.

http://www.brayebrookobservatory.org/BrayObsWebSite/HOMEPAGE/PageMill_Resources/Comparison%20test%20of%20TVPlossl%20vs%20Brandon.pdf

I was using GSO plossl's long before I found the above review, and I came to the same conclusion as that in the review.

Don't know if GSO have changed the spec since I bought my eyepieces. I got mine from Astrofest several years ago now, they were selling them for £22 each, I bought them blind, but have been very,very happy with the performance.

[nightfisher]

The Revelation set was used in this test.

http://www.brayebrookobservatory.org/BrayObsWebSite/HOMEPAGE/PageMill_Resources/Comparison%20test%20of%20TVPlossl%20vs%20Brandon.pdf

I was using GSO plossl's long before I found the above review, and I came to the same conclusion as that in the review.

Don't know if GSO have changed the spec since I bought my eyepieces. I got mine from Astrofest several years ago now, they were selling them for £22 each, I bought them blind, but have been very,very happy with the performance.

the link above was a very interesting read, seems like gso plossl`s are best buy:)

[ahlberto]

Meade 4000 super plossl.They are very good and heap.Im very happy with them

[twotter]

I currently have a mix of GSO & Meade 4000 series plossls. Most have been purchased 'pre-loved' on SGL but my 32mm GSO was from Pulsar, as it's only 15 minutes drive away.

Optically I don't think there is much difference to my eyes, but the GSO eyepieces have a retaining groove whilst my Meades are smooth.

The GSOs also work out cheaper, so they get my vote

[Capricorn]

Antares make some good eyepieces and Rother Valley sell their plossl's at ~£20.

I don't have any but but have others of the Antares range that are well amde and have good performance.

Sure I have read someone else doing GSO EP's.

365astronomy do GSO's at £31.73 a piece.

[angusb1]

I'm also happy with my Meade 4000 super plossls, especially the 32mm

[FLO]

I would prefer to order from somewhere else. Are there any other dealers that have the GSO or TAL Plossls?

Sure I have read someone else doing GSO EP's.

The eyepieces in the Revelation eyepiece set are manufactured by GSO, as are these Celestron Omni Plossl eyepieces. The Celestron's are currently on promotion. The Vixen NPL Plossl eyepieces are also proving popular.

Hope that helps,

Steve

[hunterknox]

Stockport Telescope & Binocular Centre sell them individually. Their Ebay shop has a better price than their actual shop or website, weirdly.

eBay My World - sbtcbinoculars

[LukeSkywatcher]

At around £30 a throw I'd reckon that the Vixen NPL's must be in with a shout but I'd wait for the outcome of Astro Baby's trial of them before deciding:

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/94888-vixen-npl-ploessl-eyepieces.html

I guess the question is whether they are worth a tenner more than the standard Skywatcher plossls.

I have both a Vixen NPL and a Vixen NLV EP and they are soooooooo worth the price (both EP's cost me more then my 130P scope). I bought both mine second hand from fellow SLG members and i paid a fair/asking price for both.

For "middle of the road" to almost "top end" optics they are top notch regarding price.

The FOV is tack sharp right across the FOV.

I highly recommend them. The NPL range new,sell for about £50-60. The NLV range sell new for about £80.

Best EP's i have in my collection.

They are VERY contrasty. Black sky is black and stars are bright.

Absolutely worth the little bit extra over the standard SW Plossl. There is no comparison. Its like chalk and cheese.

P.S.~~I didnt know AB was currently testing Vixen EP's. I look forward to reading her review.

P.P.S~~The Plossl EP kits (Revelation,Celestron) are GSO. I have to admit that for the price that they are not too bad,In fact they are pretty good. I have the Celestron EP kit.

[Adz]

I have both a Vixen NPL and a Vixen NLV EP and they are soooooooo worth the price (both EP's cost me more then my 130P scope). I bought both mine second hand from fellow SLG members and i paid a fair/asking price for both.

For "middle of the road" to almost "top end" optics they are top notch regarding price.

The FOV is tack sharp right across the FOV.

I highly recommend them. The NPL range new,sell for about £50-60. The NLV range sell new for about £80.

Best EP's i have in my collection.

They are VERY contrasty. Black sky is black and stars are bright.

Absolutely worth the little bit extra over the standard SW Plossl. There is no comparison. Its like chalk and cheese.

P.S.~~I didnt know AB was currently testing Vixen EP's. I look forward to reading her review.

P.P.S~~The Plossl EP kits (Revelation,Celestron) are GSO. I have to admit that for the price that they are not too bad,In fact they are pretty good. I have the Celestron EP kit.

Well the vixens definitely seem like the preferred ones here, the pdf review doesn't hold TV plossls in high review at all.

[russ]

Really not sure about the finding from that review....hmm. That's not how i found the TV Plossl range. The 7.4mm smoothside and 8mm new TV Plossl were both equally excellent. And made for very nice planetary eyepieces.

That said, i sold them both because i found the Vixen Silvertop 6.3mm and 10mm Orion Ultrascopic were equally good and cost a fraction of the TV. While i really struggled to see what extra the highly rated BGO Ortho brought to the party. And at the 17mm and 20mm focal lengths i've been really surprised how good the GSO plossl really is. While i've always considered the Celestron Ultima and Orion Ultrascopic 20mm marginally superior to the 20mm TV. But the 32mm TV is a real peach.

I tried Rob's 32mm Vixen NPL last year and it was okay, about on a par with the Celestron 32mm Plossl.

[part timer]

Sorry to resurect and old thread but I've just seen it,

Anyway, I've used a lot of plossls over the last few years!

The best available in the UK currently are the televue ones. They used to hve seriuos competion from the celestron ultima's but these were discontinued some time ago.

The Tal 25mm is the best value in the UK (not many other focal lengths are available!)

The GSO's are really good and (if they have not changed since I had them in about 2003) are probably second best in the UK. Given the price I'd say they were the best value eyepice range.

The Meade 4000's and Celestron plossls of other lines (ie not ultimas) are all OK but not as good.

Second hand, look for Celestron ultimas (rare!!), Televues (often very quick to sell), Celestron Nextar's and any 'silvertop' plossls. all of these are good value and good performers!

[derekm]

The tests done for the pdf review were blind, using the same telescopes at the same time under the same observing conditions. As they were blind tests, it is reasonable to assume they were unbiased.

How many of us, with our various brand preferences can honestly say we have arrived at our conclusions in the same way?

[John]

With reviews, I think you need to read as many as you can and, if possible try for youself, before reaching conclusions. After doing as much reseach as you can you will usually find a trend developing, either positive or negative, which is a more reliable indicator than a single review I feel.

I always feel very doubtfull about any test or review that purports to produce the "definative" answer on eyepieces !.

[cs1cjc]

The 20mm NPL is a lot better than the Sky-Watcher which came with my scope and the 30mm also works well. They have nice big eye lenses, good eye relief, are parfocal, comfortable to use and give clean views. They have a very shallow retaining groove which does not hook up on retaining rings. I like the large plastic twist up eye cup but the AFOV is only 50 degrees.