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Eye piece?


Nexus 6

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Hi SGL,

I am wondering if I should change my whole ep collection. I don't think I am getting the best out of my cpc925 due to my previous choices, When I bought the Televue one's I had a Celestron 6se. I wonder if I were to purchase a few new ep's now what would be the best I could use to optimize the 2350mm Focal length I have with the 925?

Of course, I know the conditions when we are out observing are normally going to leave one using a power of roughly x200 on most nights but at least up to that sort of power range what would be your choice? Of course its not all about power so I think I need to take into account True field of view and Actual field of view as well

My full current ep list

Skywatcher 2" 32mm Panaview (this is my newest ep bought 6 months ago for the 925)

Vixen 1.25 40mm Lv

1.25 32mm plossl (no details of the manufacturer of this one)

Celestron 1.25 25mm E-Lux

Televue 1.25 18mm Radian

Televue 1.25 9mm Nagler Type 6

Would be interested in any comments

Thanks

Alan

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If it was me, I would keep the 9mm Nagler and get the following:

Cheaper option (@ f/10 this should be as good as the naglers):

Nirvana 28mm

Nirvana 16mm

"No-budget" option:

Nagler 31mm T5

Ethos 17mm

(And you'll silent the "Could I have something better?" thought once and for all! :)

Then maybe add an ortho to the kit, for planetary.

Your current choice of EP focal lenghts seams great, the only problem I see is the small FoV you get with such a slow scope. On the other hand you probably don't get FoV edge problems with cheaper EPs, or do you?

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Hi Paulo, I thought this sort of question would be the kind you would reply to. I have noticed your reply's to threads over the past year since I joined the forum and have found them insightful and a great aid along with other replies from members of SGL.

I have read some good comments on the Nirvana range amongst many others!

I also like the sound of Baader Genuine Orthos for planetary observation. What range would you buy?

Thanks

Alan

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To be honest I'm quite new to the hobby. :)

But over time I been reading a lot and taking advice from a lot of more experienced people and based my purchases on it. John made an excelent side-by-side review on the Nagler 31mm, Nirvana 28mm and Pentax XW 30mm you can find here: http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/91586-3-big-eyepieces.html

I have to rely on other's reviews before buying equipment as it's very hard for me to get to a star party or astronomy club. I live in a very small island and it takes me a 2 hours flight to be in Lisbon. Besides, the price of the plain ticket alone would allow me to get a Nagler 17mm :(.

Regarding the Baader Orthos, I been able to skeeze that extra detail from Jupiter with my 9mm BGO, which gives a slight better contrast then my Ethos 10mm. I went for the orthos because I seen, after reading several extensive reviews written by experienced astronomers, that there is a consensus that orthos provide the best details on planets. Here's another one you may want to read: 6mm Lunar/Planetary Eyepiece Comparison - Review

I'm very pleased with my choice, in fact I just ordered a BGO 7mm from astrobuysell.

BTW-> I got my nagler on the s/h market in mint condition for half the price, so in fact it cost me less then a brand new Nirvana 28 from FLO. The Ethos wasn't such a bargain but still I saved a bit.

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Hi Paulo,

I read the review of the Nagler/Pentax/Nirvana ep's. Really good. Like yourself I have not had the chance to go to starparty although I have been to a couple of society's but they are really to far away for me. I have never had the chance to evaluate my equipment against other kit to see how it performed and where I could make some changes.I think I will start with the following:

Sell the Radian

Buy a 16mm Nirvana

Buy a Baader ortho ,probably a 12.5mm

Sell the Panaview

Buy a 28mm Nirvana.

Buy a Baader ortho 7mm

Wait a while!

Thanks again for your reply to my question.

Hope your having better weather over in Portugal than here in England!

Alan

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Sounds nice, but if you get the chance to try then take it! :(

After all the radians are also top EPs. The Nirvana seams to be a bit fussy on eye placement and there is a chance you won't like using it... I hated my nagler 31 before I got the hang of it (toke about a week). After the 1st session I was set to resell it to get a Panoptics or Pentax XW instead.

I also noticed now that the 28mm 82º Nirvana will give you about the same FoV as the 32mm 70º Panaview due to the long focal length on your scope. Which kind of voids my original advice to expand the FoV... :)

A focal reducer is probably an option to consider with such a long FL.

It's raining now, so I'm here spending other people's money! :)

Last week I had 2 excellent nights so I can't complain. :)

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I don't think I am getting the best out of my cpc925 due to my previous choices, When I bought the Televue one's I had a Celestron 6se.

What works well in a C6 should work fine in a C925. The only thing that you might want to look at is the low power end ... there's little point in using a superwide 30mm+ EP in a C6 because the field of view is severely limited by the small baffle tube.

SCTs working at f/10 are very easy on eyepieces, there simply isn't any point in paying premium prices for the sort of EPs that f/4 systems demand. The low power EP I use with by C11 is the Meade 40mm Series 5000 Super Plossl (5 element 60 degree), there's no point in a wider FoV due to mechanical restrictions even though the baffle tube in the C11 is wider than that in the C925, I'm completely happy with this choice.

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Paulo/Brian thanks for the feedback to my question. Seems I will need to reconsider my choice for upgrade. I will hopefully have the chance to evaluate a couple of alternatives in the near future as I am planning an observing night with someone who has a few nice ep's. 13mm Ethos to name but one.

Thanks

Alan

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Don't look through it or you'll be bound to get one! :)

I'm joking but its a cracking EP that combines excellent quality with an enormous FoV. On most nights I struggle to notice a difference between it and my orthos, even when barlowed. The orthos are excellent on planets but the Ethos is great on everything.

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

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