Eyepiece help

[sammy1404]

Hi again

Im considering purchasing a new eyepiece soon and need some help.

Firstly, do all makes fit all scopes? eg could i buy and orion eyepiece for my skywatcher telescope?

Im not sure what to get, i know that i want more magnification my 10mm is ok but i could do with that little bit more mag so im looking at something from 5mm to 7mm really. Just so you know my focal length is 1250mm. Also i was thinking maybe a zoom eyepiece, would save me buying other eyepieces i guess and i can centre the object at say 20mm then zoom in to 7mm which could be useful. Also im thinking wide field too for the larger objects such as m31 etc. The max im willing to spend on one eyepiece at the moment is about £90, not much i know lol. My main thing at the moment though is magnification mostly for planetary and lunar viewing but also some DSO's but of course i want wide field too and zoom eyepieces do seem useful.

Any help would be great, im allready buying a collimator (cheshire god knows how that actually works) and im looking into some other stuff.

Thanks

sammy

[brantuk]

A 7mm or 8mm would be very nice in your scope - the 5mm would probably be playing around too near the limit for average seeing in the UK. You'd need a really clear night and perfect collimation and cool down to use it - which ain't very often.

The Baader Hyperions are in your budget and I personally like them as a good mid range ep. They are also very flexible cos the FTR's (fine tuning rings) are only around £10-£12 and give you 3 ep's in one.

The Baader Zoom is also good (I have the Mk2) and can be had for around £90-£100 s/h cos the new MK3 is out now and people are upgrading gradually. However, it won't be as good as an individual ep at any particular field stop.

Televue Radians come in at around £100 s/h and are superb ep's. I have the 12mm, 8mm and 5mm. They are crystal clear - great eye relief - apparent 60 degree fov - and no noticeable chroma (to my eyes at least).

The Radians and Hyperions are a considerable step up from standard ep's and well worth the investment imho. But do buy s/h you'll save a lot of money and anyone selling one of these will have looked after it.

There are other good ep's that other folk will suggest within your range. There's a good review here:

8mm Tele Vue Radian Review - Review

Hope that helps

[Dave-Ryan]

Sound advice from Brantuk.

Have a look on the for sale section. I picked up a 13mm and a 24mm Hyperion on there in the past few months for between £60 - £70 each.

And yes all eye pieces will work but make sure they are the correct size i.e. 2" or 1 1/4 ".

[sammy1404]

ok thanks guys, i cant get into the sale section yet, or i just cant find it lol. But i will be sure to try and buy second hand.

[John]

ok thanks guys, i cant get into the sale section yet, or i just cant find it lol. But i will be sure to try and buy second hand.

Once you have been a member for a month you will be able to access that section of the forum.

[Capricorn]

1250mm with a 7mm EP gives 178x.

A wide angle EP may have 68-70 degree view.

At 178 magnification this give a field of view of 0.3 deg.

That would fit the mood in but not Andromeda and not I guess a few other DSO.

As the magnification goes up the FoV goes down. You don't get both.

If you get a 5 or 6mm EP then more Mag and less FoV, and if not WA then less again.

[spaceboy]

Hi Sammy

I have the same scope as you and I would recommend considering TMB clones. They are 58' AFOV and cost £38 new posted to your door. A 7mm I feel is perfect in the 10" dob for globulars and will give views of the planets in most seeing conditions. This would leave you enough cash for a 20-25mm TMB low power EP. I have no experience of the longer focal ratio TMB EP's so I cannot say how they would perform but if it's anything like the shorter FL EP's then you wont be disappointed.

Bear in mind most budget high power EP's will have you nudging more frequently. Only when you look towards the like of Naglers will you get Ultra wide FOV.

If you are happy to wait for a long FL EP then Brantuk's recommendation is a good one.