f5 eyepieces

[toml42]

I'll soon be buying my first serious scope, a skywatcher explorer 200p, should be a pleasant jump up from my 3" budget newt!

I'm looking to buy a nice planetary eyepiece to go with it, but as i understand it, faster scopes can be a little fussy with the quality/design of their eyepieces.

after reading some of the useful primers here, I believe i should be looking for something in the range of ~ 6-8 mm for use with a 2x barlow, as this should give a sensible exit pupil and gives magnification in the range of 250-300, which should be suitable for planetary work with decent seeing.

am i on the right lines here? is there anything i should stay clear from, provided i'm at f5, and does anyone have any recommendations? my budget maxes out at about £50

cheers, Tom

[Holliday]

I'm probably not the best one to give an opinion on the best planetary EP to get as I have only used the one I have.

I got a 6mm TMB Planetary EP from ebay for about £32, from what I saw from it with the moon and saturn the other night, the views were incredible!

This was with my 200p Dob, the moons details were pin sharp. Saturn was also sharp with 3 moons visible, definitely would have improved things using a barlow since it was a bit small, but since I haven't got one I couldn't test it out with the lens.

For the money I paid I have nothing but praise for the EP

This may help you out, lens reviews;

Excelsis Ratings/Reviews - Eyepiece Reviews

Hope this helps

[toml42]

wonderful, thanks! did you buy from an ebay shop, or was it a one off thing?

[John]

I think the TMB Planetary or TS Planetary HR's are about the best there is for around £50.

The £32 ones were a special lot that an e.bay seller had I think - normally they seem to go for around £50.

The TS Planetary HR versions are available from Modern Astronomy:

Eyepieces @ Modern Astronomy

An alternative, especially if your scope will be on a driven mount would be a classic orthoscopic which can be picked up for £30 or less on the used market.

[toml42]

thanks, for the time being i'll be running the 200p ota on a home made dobsonian base, so i imagine the relatively narrow FOV on an ortho would be a disadvantage for a (relative) newbie?

do many EPs like this sell on the buy/sell section of this forum? i may wait until i have the required post count to view it

[nicnac]

you get alsorts on buy and sell, dont worry too much about your count, you will find you surpass the 50 post limit in no time.

like riddler said "questions, questions so many questions", you will find answers here

[John]

thanks, for the time being i'll be running the 200p ota on a home made dobsonian base, so i imagine the relatively narrow FOV on an ortho would be a disadvantage for a (relative) newbie?.....

On a dobsonian mounted scope, ortho's FoV are a challenge for anyone !. They do give great performance across their narrow FoV though which is why I suggested them (plus I didn't know about your dob mount then !)

The TMB / TS Planetaries have a 58 degree FoV which makes tracking a little easier.

If a used Meade 5000 series plossl came up that might also be worth considering - they give a 60 degree FoV are are supposed to be pretty good.

There is always this site which I've used loads of times to buy & sell used gear:

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

[toml42]

fantastic, thanks for the tips

i'll keep my eyes peeled for a deal!

[Holliday]

fantastic, thanks for the tips

i'll keep my eyes peeled for a deal!

Not sure if you're still looking for an EP but someone has a TMB Planetary Type II 6mm up for sale mate;

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell