what lens

[@@.]

hello all, i have a SKYMAX-127 mak cass scope and was wondering what lens to purchase to give me the highest possible (decent) magnification, i already have a 25mm 10mm & 4mm lenses.

or what other options are there if any

[brantuk]

You're scope has a focal length of 1500mm which with the 4mm ep will give a magnification of 375x which should be more than enough. What you see is affected by the "seeing" (astmospheric conditions) which in the UK becomes iffy much above 250-300x mag.

Too high a magnification in poor seeing conditions will give not very pleasant views. I aim at about 80% of the manufacturers stated limit for my personal limit and that works well.

What I advise you look for is "clarity of view". A good clear view will be a combination of good seeing, well collimated scope, quality of ep and optics. Get all those right and you'll be thrilled with whats visible.

For better views a better quality ep would be a good start.

Hope that helps

[Capricorn]

127 dia, 1500 FL = F/11.8

I would say that the 4mm is completely and utterly useless to you.:eek:

Smallest I suggest is 8mm, mag=187x

If there is a 7.5mm it would give the round number of 200x but I wouldn't expect either to be useable all of the time.

For magnification and useability 8mm and 12mm and I will bet that the 12mm gets used more then the 8mm.

[pvaz]

The theoretical max for your scope is 254x so with the 4mm you already go way past that. On my 8" I never go above 300x as it dims objects too much and view quality drops.

The best way to see more is to get decent conditions and to spend a good amount of time looking. Your eyes get used to the low light conditions and detect more detail after a while. Sketching is also a nice trick as you notice more details when you're trying to put it into paper.

[brantuk]

Lol Capricorn - I was trying to be tactful - 80% of 254 = 203x

[@@.]

thanks for the input all, i think i will maybe spend a few quid on a decent 8mm lens then