Eyepiece types and brand help

[culater]

OK so I'm going to purchase some decent EPs for my Skywatcher 200Dob for the coming months but im confused as to what types. Whats the difference between....

Super Wide Angle

Ultra Wide Angle

Plossi

Also what makes are recommended ? Is Skywatcher OK ?

I like the idea of 2 inch and imagine it would be more comfortable to look through ?

Any help appreciated.

[dobbie]

hi culater i have a 250 flextube dobsonian the eyepiece i bought was a 2" Skywatcher PanaView 32mm 2inch Eyepiece about £80.00 it is mindblowing what view you get with it, i also got a ed 2" barlow with a 1.25 adapter that comes with it ,i use this combo all the time. i took it to the leeds astronomical society open meeting once and had a queue of people waiting to look though it ..

[StarMan1701]

Hi culater,

This subject is often hotly debated, both here on SGL and on other forums, and discussions about eyepieces can sometimes get quite 'interesting'.

As a rule of thumb, I think any eyepiece with an apparent field of view of 60-70 degrees is generally considered to be a 'wide angle', more than about 70 degrees, a 'super wide angle' and more than 80 degrees or so, an 'ultra wide angle'. The designs of these eyepieces vary, (as does the cost), but most have six or more lens 'elements' and many come with 2" barrels.

The plossl is a 'standard field' eyepiece design which has been popular since the 1980's. Apparent field is usually around 50 degrees.

As for which brands to go for, as with everything, opinion varies and eyepiece choices can be very subjective. Popular brands include TeleVue, Vixen, Baader, Meade and Celestron, to name just a few.

Take a look at this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/primers-tutorials/63184-primer-understanding-choosing-eyepieces.html

Hopefully, it will answer your questions better than I have...

Regards,

Lee.

[brantuk]

Go for the better quality ep's and brands and buy second hand to keep costs down. There's not a lot can go wrong with ep's and folk here keep their kit in pretty good nick - there are bargains to be had in the for sale section.

2" ep's deffo make for more comfy viewing (IMHO) - but you have to be choosy - best look through some at local astro soc meetings (or star parties) first to decide what you're after.

2" 'ers are generally chunkier, more substantial and have multiple elements - consequently heavier - so you might need to consider counter balancing your OTA.

Hope that helps.

[stafford_stargazer]

I had the 32mm panaview 2inch eyepiecewith my 200p when i had it,it was an awsome eyepiece for sweeping the sky for deep sky stuff,lots of eye releif so it was comfortable to use and eay on the eye,you could sit all night with it

Rather depends on your interest really.

If its planets,you could not do much better than a TMB 6mm or 8mm planetary II.

£36.

I just got one;)

G

[ronin]

2 inch EP's are big:eek:, also I cannot recall seeing one that was less then 20mm focal length, most are 25/26mm and longer. So if magnification is something you want they do not deliver in that field. Field of view however is a different matter.

As to types and brands of the standard 1.25" items several of either. TV, Orion, WO, TMB, Baader +others. Really it will depend on what suits and feels comfortable.

[nicnac]

ethos come in 2" even the high mag ones, high price tag tho

[dark star]

I like the Skywatcher Aero ED 30mm 2 inch ep, it got a good review on this website so I bought it a while ago, and I have not been disappointed.

It has a 68 degree field of view, so is classed as a wide angle ep.

It is great for wide angle views of M44 the Beehive cluster and other open clusters such as M29.

I also really like my William Optics 7mm UWAN ep, which is obviously Ultra Wide Angle and has a FOV OF 82 degrees. This got a good review on the Cloudy Nights website.

I have not had that many eyepieces, so I don't have much to compare the above with.

But I can say that they are better than the Skywatcher eyepieces that came with my Skywatcher reflector and refractor, although the 25mm Skywatcher ep is not bad.

[great_bear]

2" isn't about comfort - it's (mainly) about getting a larger field of view than can be accommodated by 1.25" (which is limited to an apparent 52 degrees at 32mm, or an equivalent combination)

But for any F5 / F6 scope, I'd have to say on any starry night, try out a Sky-Watcher Nirvana 16mm - it'll knock your socks off!