Recommended EP's For a f/4.7 10" dob

[dmahon]

A little different to above but what about a 30mm Aero (£127), a 16mm SW Nirvana (£135) and a 12.5mm WO Planetary (£68). This would be a little under budget and give a good range. I'd say buy one TV and some cheaper options and then eventually more TVs but I'm biased.

I'm working out what to buy myself.

If I buy a 30mm EP, is there any point buying one around half that size (your 16mm above), or should I just use a 2x Barlow and spend my money on a different EP?

I was considering 32mm Panaview and 7mm Nirvana, with a 2x Barlow to get 16mm and 3.5mm - which seems a nice spread of magnification.

[Chris H]

You may find that using the 32mm with a 2x barlow pushes the eye relief too far out making it difficult to position your eye correctly. A 2x Powermate would overcome this as it does not alter the eye relief.

[Moonshane]

I'm working out what to buy myself.

If I buy a 30mm EP, is there any point buying one around half that size (your 16mm above), or should I just use a 2x Barlow and spend my money on a different EP?

I was considering 32mm Panaview and 7mm Nirvana, with a 2x Barlow to get 16mm and 3.5mm - which seems a nice spread of magnification.

I tend not to use barlows/powermates as my experience with a 2.5x Powermate was that although optically superb and does what it says on the tin (for about £100 used) the whole thing sticks out much too far and adds a fair amount of weight to the dob which makes it more difficult to balance. I have not once regretted going away from the Powermate and have no intentions of going back.I have found no barlow that stacks up to the powermate I had but John swears by the quality of the 1.6x Antares 2" barlow.

If I were you and I had £350 to spend with your scope (and in the knowledge it will be good at planets too) my own choices would reflect the eventual ranges I want to cover.

I have what I consider a long term plan and have accumulated the eyepieces I have over a while and by buying and selling a few used etc.

my MO is to buy a cheap version of a focal length I think will be useful. This is often eg a TMB clone or similar or a plossl. Eg I was finding recently that due to seeing, Jupiter could not stand the 8mm Radian (which replaced an 8mm TMB clone) I have (200x) and although the Ethos was a lovely sharp view (123x) I felt that something in the middle (eg a 10mm would be ideal (both my dobs have a 1600mm focal length). I therefore bought a 11mm TV Plossl (145x) to fill the gap and this seems perfect in terms of magnification. In the longer term I only really plan the add one more Ethos (at probably 10mm given the above exercise) and consider changing the 24mm Panoptic for a 22mm Nagler but not 100% sure about this last one as I often go from the 35mm Panoptic to the 13mm Ethos.

I suppose what I am saying is don't rush into spending your £350. See what you have now, how it works in the scope and then maybe fill the gaps with (used if possible) cheaper options to get in your mind what your 'perfect' set up will be. Then when you know what you want, wait and 'pounce' on the right EP when it comes up at the right price. This means you'll get not only the right EPs at the right price but also in the knowledge that they are already 'tried and tested' in your set up. Sell what they replace after a brief comparison to confirm you did the right thing (which I bet you will agree on). It also gives you more time to save.

Hope this rambling answer helps in some way

I worked out my 'perfect' set up off the TV eyepiece caculator and based on FOV

Tele Vue Optics: Calculator

[spaceboy]

Thanks moonshane sounds like a good plan. As this is the last of my budget if I get it wrong I will have a long time of regret so I guess it would be better to do a little research what works best.