Cheap mid power eyepiece

[russ]

Now normally i jump on a thread like this with all sorts of recommnedations but now it's me needing the eyepiece, my mind has gone blank!

I have just sold my second W70 19mm and need a 12mm budget eyepiece to replace it. My budget is firmly set at the £27 i sold the W70 for plus an extra £3....or in other words, what can i get for £30 delivered?

So far i have only the GSO 12mm Plossl, Revelation 12mm Widefield and Adler 12mm Swan clone on the shopping list. I simply can't think of anything else.

Russ

[Andrew*]

I'd be interested in this as well, for use with the binoviewers

I wondered about a Tal Plossl - dirt cheap!

Andrew

[russ]

Blimey £18 for a Tal Plossl. I've had the 25mm and it wasn't bad at all. Not quite TV or Ultima level but not bad. Sounds like a good one for you Andrew, two eyepieces for £36. btw the binoviewers will be on their way tomorrow (i have a morning at home).

Regards

Russ

[John]

I think a plossl would be your best bet. It's worth looking closely at the specs - FMC V's MC, blackened lens edges etc, etc can make the difference between medeocre and nice performance.

If you didn't have a dob then I might also have suggested looking out for a used 12.5mm ortho which would probably be better than a plossl optically.

[russ]

It's a shame we can't see the future. I sold my UO 12.5mm, Meade RG 10.5mm and Antares HD 6mm Orthos only 8 weeks ago. Each for less than £30.

But i'm not too gutted because i need something with a wider FOV. And as you say, a 40deg AFOV eyepiece isn't ideal in a dob as a workhorse eyepiece. I was hoping for something in the 65-72deg range but will probably settle for a GSO Plossl. Or just wait for something interesting secondhand.

What really appealled was one of the Explore Scientific 82deg 14mm eyepieces from Stay Focused for £87. But that's in a far away dream world.

Russ

[stev74]

You may already know about these but just in case - 1.25" 12mm 60 Degree Explorer Dual ED Eyepiece on eBay (end time 04-Apr-10 11:31:47 BST)

The seller and the EP's have had some positive posts on here over the last few months. They have been re-branded from Paradigm ED to Explorer ED but are still the same EP's and very good for the money (I have the 25mm).

Ok it's £8 over budget when you add the P&P but it may be worth it for the extra FOV (60deg) compared to a standard plossl?

[russ]

Only just sold my 3 Paradigms and one was a 12mm. Original plan was i couldn't afford anything at all, hence why the Paradigm went.