Eyepiece brands

[Steve1976]

Hey all!

Which of these makes / brands would you recommend for both a 6 - 6.3mm and 32mm eyepiece for the Skymax 127?

1 - Celestron E-lux

2 - Celstron Omni

3 - Vixen Plossl

4 - Vixen Plossl NPL

5 - Synta SWA

6 - Orion Sirius Plossl

7 - none of the above - eg saving my money for something like a Tele vue

Looking for a compromise between quality and economy...

[AWR]

Hi Steve,

I have a Vixen Plossl (NPL) but only the 15mm. I like it very much. The views were sharper than the 'supplied with' EPs. I seem to remember I paid £35 for it. It was the first EP I bought.

When I decided to buy a high power EP, I decided against a plossl on the grounds of eye relief. (I went for the TS planetary - 59 Euros)

Not your question but 6mm may be a bit short for actual conditions.

HTH,

Andrew

[Steve1976]

You think I'm better off with maybe a 7-7.5mm? Was wondering about that too to be honest.

[AWR]

Hi Steve,

I'm thinking along those lines. When I bought my 15mm I always had it in mind that I could barlow it to 7.5mm (200x) and maybe buy a shorter EP later, (having read that the theoretical limit was 50x per inch).

Using the 15mm with the barlow, however, I found that on many occasions it gave less than optimal views. I found it easier to split Epsilon Lyrae (The double double) with the 10mm for example. I have used the combination successfully at times - but maybe only half the time.

As I said in a previous post: Would a better EP with a better barlow be different? I don't know!

As I read and learned more, I found many people offering a more useable maximum magnification of 30x per inch (or 0.85 x f/ratio). Other simply said that British skies don't often yield more than 200x. It was with this information that I decided to go for a 9mm as my highest power EP (167x), knowing that I could still barlow my 15mm if conditions were right.

Andrew

[russ]

You could consider a higher power but wider field eyepiece at the lower end. They give almost the same true field of view as a 32mm Plossl but at a slightly higher power, which makes spotting smaller objects easier and also gives slightly better contrast.

A Meade 5000 26mm Super Plossl is an example but it's not cheap. And a Hyperion 24mm is another but that's even more. But the Paradigm 25mm has the same specs as the Meade and only costs £38 delivered.

I'll give another vote for an 8mm TS Planetary at the high power end. That will give a nice useable magnification (188x) that will work most nights. The Planetaries are very comfortable to use, nice and sharp with good coatings. You can find them here for £54:

Eyepieces @ Modern Astronomy

Russ

[Steve1976]

How about a 7.5mm TAL plossl? Dealers here in Ukraine seem to have only a limited range of higher power eyepieces. The TALS seem cheaper than other plossl equivalents - are they of inferior quality?

[John]

Yet another vote for the TS Planetary eyepieces for high power use here - close to premium performance at an affordable price and much more comfortable to use than standard short FL plossls as well.

For low power / wide angle, as an alternative to a 32mm plossl (which would work fine of course) your scope, being slow, would work well with an Antares W70 25mm which has a 70 degree apparent field of view (hence the name !) and shows as much sky as the 32mm plossl will.

[acey]

TeleVue 32mm - brilliant eyepiece.

Only 6mm I have is TMB Planetary - also brilliant.

[AWR]

Hi Steve,

TAL plossls seem to have a good reputaion. There are planty of TAL fans (fanatics?) on here. Part Timer mentions them in his review:

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/99048-part-timers-eyepiece-mini-reviews.html

I don't know what the eye relief on a 7.5mm plossl is, or whether it's an issue to you.

I bought my TS EP direct from the TS (Teleskop Service) website in germany. Would that be any easier?

Andrew

[russ]

Just checked the Euro vs £ and 59 Euro works out at £54. TS will add £8 delivery to that too. Where as i think Bern will post for free, so £54 delivered for TS HR Planetary from Modern Astronomy.

Ah yes, the Antares W70 25mm. Gives a true FOV of 1.17deg with the 127 Mak, by comparison a 32mm Plossl will give a true FOV of 1.10deg. So the Antares will really max out the available FOV for the 127 and at a higher power with all the benefits that brings.

With a 2x barlow the Antares yields 120x, a nice power for sweeping the moon or checking out globular clusters. Or for nights that won't support the higher powers of the Planetary eyepiece.

Russ

[russ]

You can checkout the Antares W70 at Rother Valley Optics:

Antares W70 25mm best valued eyepiece around | Telescope Accessories | Rother Valley Optics

I have the W70 19mm and it's a very nice eyepiece. Nice and sharp, bright and plenty of eyerelief.

Russ

[Steve1976]

These alll look and sound like great eyepieces folks. Thanks very much.

The only problem I have with them is that I'll need to get them delivered over to Ukraine from abroad and that can sometimes be a risky proposition here (the local postmen and to a lesser extent courier services love to supplement their meagre income by opening up letter and packages in the hope of finding anything they can use or sell, ESPECIALLY if they are from abroad)

So I'm kinda more leaning towards the 6 types on my original post as I can buy them direct (even though I know there is better out there) in addition to the TAL range. Incidentally a 7.5mm TAL EP equates roughly to 22 pounds here, does that sound ike good value or normal?

[John]

So I'm kinda more leaning towards the 6 types on my original post as I can buy them direct (even though I know there is better out there) in addition to the TAL range. Incidentally a 7.5mm TAL EP equates roughly to 22 pounds here, does that sound ike good value or normal?

The TAL will perform just fine for you

That price looks quite reasonable to me - more or less the same as we pay here for a standard Skywatcher plossl.

[russ]

Ah right, i see your problem. Yes, better stick your original selection. Is the Synta SWA the 66deg model that looks like this:

Sky Watcher Sky-Watcher Ultrawide Eyepieces (6mm to 20mm)

If so, i highly recommend them with your 127. I bought one of the first Skywatcher 127's to hit the UK. At around the same time those 66deg eyepieces became available. In the Mak with it's f12 focal ratio they were absolutely brilliant. In fact, they still work rather well in an F6 newt. I bought the whole set at the time. I was so glad to see the back of my Meade 4000's and their nasty eye relief. The 66's were a joy to use.

Of the others on your list i have owned two Orion Sirius Super Plossls, the 25mm and 10mm. They came with my XT10 dob. They were very nice. But along with the Meade's, i ditched them when i bought the 66's.

Russ

[Steve1976]

Unfortunately not Russ. The ones I can buy here are only super wide as opposed to ultra wide so they are only the 58 degree model.

[russ]

The Tal is looking like a front runner then. 32mm and 7.5mm, which isn't a bad thing as they are good quality eyepieces and the price is right.

[glowjet]

Have a look at the Cloudy Nights Forum, there are quite a number of reviews on ep`s, different makes and comparisons, just a thought.

John.

[Steve1976]

I'll definitely have a look at that too thanks!