And the zoom provides every magnification in that range without having to change eyepieces. This is the link to the one I plan to buy as I know some others come with add ons: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-hyperion-mark-iv-8-24mm-universal-zoom-eyepiece.html, Thats great you had an XT8i that makes me feel confident I got a good telescope . With an f/10 telescope, Plossls are as sharp as any other kind of eyepiece of the same focal length. Super Plossl eyepieces are generally a little smaller than this at around 16-20 mm in size, which is why theyre sometimes referred to as wide-angle or low power plossls. The longer FL Plossls (>15mm) have some distinct advantages over more complex designs without the major disadvantage of Plossls which is short ER. . I think Id really enjoy a zoom for all the reasons you mention, But Im having a difficult time assessing how much weight to put on the field of view of given eyepieces. We have a range of 32 mm to 3 mm. Despite this, I also have some Plossls which are indispensable. I have Celestron and the Baader Hyperion. 1:10 . The Plossl design has become the mainstay of the modern ocular business and probably represents the best value in terms of performance and price, especially in medium and long focal lengths. One of the TMB Planetary eyepieces are extremely nice for 50. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-barlow-lens-and-how-to/, https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece-review/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8879-1-25-Inch-Enhanced-Telescope/dp/B000BMPBLK/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3KKUJRXYYN7DI&dchild=1&keywords=telescope+diagonal+1.25&qid=1610887695&sprefix=telescope+diagonal%2Caps%2C512&sr=8-8, https://telescopicwatch.com/orion-skyquest-xt8-intelliscope-review/, https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-hyperion-mark-iv-8-24mm-universal-zoom-eyepiece.html, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Orion+Q70&ref=nb_sb_noss_2, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-eyepieces/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8829-Wide-Field-Telescope-Eyepiece/dp/B000M89H7C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Orion+Q70&qid=1606584502&sr=8-2, https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Scientific-68%C2%B0-40mm-Eyepiece/dp/B007LMG3F6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=explore+scientific+68&qid=1606584676&sr=8-1. The 4000 SWA's were way overpriced for their performance IMHO. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our team of experts has reviewed and ranked 180+ telescopes based on price and quality. Also, children do not often have highly developed motor skillsso I would avoid the frustration of switching out eyepieces, and consider a zoom lens. I think you will change your mind. With a 8" dobsonian, a 6mm is very versatile. While eyepieces with relatively complex, proprietary, or bespoke designs are becoming more commonly available in the beginner price bracket, there is often good reason to choose a much simpler design. I currently own a Mak127 ( that can't use 2"eyepieces) and a 80ED ( that one can hold 2"eyepieces). Once I knew how much I liked the zoom I upgraded to the Baader Hyperion Zoom. I dont know if they make anything like this anymore, but as a kid, I had plastic slides with images on them (the Milky Way, Horse Head Nebula, etc.) Choosing the best eyepiece for you - Astronomy Now Aspheric and Plossl Plossl are both lens designs that can be used in most telescopes. My understanding of eyepieces was very limited until I read this article, you explain things in a clear and understandable way which made my understanding so much clearer. What's the difference between two Plssl eyepieces? This type of eyepiece provides you with wide-field views without any distortion due to its use as an achromatic lens system which reduces chromatic aberrations by combining two lenses made from different types of glass materials together on each surface. If you look up transparency and seeing in the context of telescopes you can learn more about how atmospheric conditions will affect what magnifications you will choose on any given night. If you are a glasses wearer and plan to keep your glasses on while you are observing, then you will likely want eyepieces with at least 17 mm of eye relief, and some glasses wearers prefer at least 20 mm. Some brands will add better lens coating, darker edges, or a higher quality case to their Super Plossl products, but strictly for performance, there isnt a difference between the two. What Does It Do. https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-102-130-reviewed/, If I was to upgrade these lenses, I was planning on working toward something like this: 17mm Plossl, unbranded, used, no caps, in bolt case; previous owner said it was a very good EP; $18 25mm Plossl, Orion Sirius, fully MgF2 coated on every air-to-glass surface; used; $23 (these are a step up from . Those are significantly more expensive than the 1.25 focal lengths. I have an SCT and my eyepiece case only hasPlssls (and one Ortho) in it. Pay attention to the eye relief, especially if you will be observing with glasses. Thanks for going through the entire post. Thanks so much. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, Then you look at the optical tubes. Telescopes Cost: Acceptable, Good, and Really Good Telescopes, Used Telescopes Buying Guide The Complete Guide, Different Types of Asteroids (C, S, and M) The Definitive Guide, Top 10 Night Sky Objects for Astronomy Beginners, Asteroid Mining Know Everything About It, German Equatorial Mounts (GEMs) Overview and Working. (Focal ratio is a term that refers to the telescopes focal length divided by its aperture. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Fortunately, the investment can be leveraged with future scopes since eyepieces are standard sizes so they work in almost any telescope. Hayppy that now I have more facts to put in my decision. Most people prefer the wider TFOV. For example, if you put a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow, it will triple the magnification you get from that eyepiece. Most modern telescopes use a focuser, or diagonal, that accepts 1.25 eyepieces. Sometimes you want to see a wider field of view to locate an astronomical object like a nebula by using nearby stars. While many people will stay with and add Plossls to their eyepiece set, I would recommend not going below 10 mm focal length as the eye relief gets quite short. 1.25" 6.3mm 32mm 40mm Plossl eyepiece set give you a good variation in magnification for a wide range of targets with extra sharpness and long eye relief. I decided to jump in with both feet and get an Orion ED80 (600mm f7.5 with a 2 focuser, So that I can move into astrophotography down the road. I want these as possible as wide, magnification and astrophotography purpose. Edited April 23, 2010 by russ teh_orph Members 28 198 Author I have since moved up to a 12 Dob but I use the same eyepieces and the BH Zoom continues to be my most used. You will get varying opinions on this but I would not worry too much about this. If your telescopes focal length is different, just change the focal length in the formula. They are all made by the same OEM manufacturer. One last thing, as a kid I used my telescope to watch squirrels and birds (which was interesting because the image was flipped around :-) so, you might consider getting an eyepiece that flips things the right way around so that navigating terrestrial nature is easier to manage. Also worth mentioning i wear glasses which I will wear while observing. Are Plossl eyepieces any good? - KnowledgeBurrow.com I hear that, sometimes you find one that is sweeter than others. Celestron - 1.25" Eyepiece and Filter Accessory Kit - 14 Piece Telescope Accessory Set - Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - Barlow Lens - Colored Filters - Moon Filter - Sturdy Metal Carry Case. Quality this good usually costs a lot more. SVBONY Eyepiece Review: Take Your Stargazing Up a Notch Ive read reviews about my scope. SV207 30mm Super Plossl Eyepiece. Your email address will not be published. Some experience with Baader Aspheric 31mm/36mm? - Eyepieces - Cloudy Nights Look at the apparent field of view specs and understand what this means for the field of view. A Plssl is probably as good as any 32mm eyepiece in a 1.25 inch focuser. The 50 apparent field of view is plenty for me. ES 82 degree series plus 1 meade uwa @20 mm with 1800 focal length optical tube lowest mag 51 x / highest mag 300. These are things you will want to know and use. Kellner vs Plossl Eyepiece - What is the Difference? These "other" ones I speak of, aren't technically that, they are a 5 element eyepiece, of a different design. Even if we were next-door neighbors this would take weeks of discussion and planning. Apparent Field of View: This is a measure of how wide a view the eyepiece will provide as compared to alternate eyepieces. Do you think the Baader Hyperion Zoom would work OK with the Skywatcher 150p? Conclusion. Their 50 to 52 degree AFOV is wide enough for general observing. Just give yourself some time to learn the app and to understand the scope. Ive added comments on where you may find and use them. So, I think it worth your while to try the Plssls. Compared with a zoomable telescope eyepiece, they are pretty much the same in terms of the quality of the image. I cannot thank you enough! This series of eyepieces may provide better value in this price range. As the clear cut worlds best eyepiece manufacturer, their name should at least be mentioned in an article like this. I just added the 4.7 mm. Not really. I must say Im quite confused about eyepieces. There are certainly much better options out there but at a significant cost. Even when I upgraded to a 6mm Goldline, I kept the Kellner around because of pretty annoying kidney-bean blackout issues on the Moon with that eyepiece. i dont have 1 of everything, and i bought the best i could afford on a low budget; meade and orion. Higher priced eyepieces usually include more elements in the optical path that are there to help reduce or eliminate aberrations that can be seen around the edges of lower cost eyepieces. This saves money and helps you shop in an organized manner. 130 mm scope will have a max of 260X for planning purposes. At that price point, it couldnt compete with other 5-element devices like Erfle and Nagler eyepieces that had better performance. Omni 40mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. Can you help me. All of the Omni eyepieces have a 1.25" barrel size with the exception of the super low power 56 mm, which has a barrel size of 2". For visual use, 1.5X, 2X, 2.5X, and 3X Barlow lenses are common. With a refractor, SCT or MCT, it is usually better to get a correct image diagonal than a correcting eyepiece. If money is not a concern, you cant go wrong with Tele Vue eyepieces, any Tele Vue eyepieces. eyepiece shows signs of use with caps and bolt case, 32 mm Plossl very good cond. The image will be reversed left to right so you will need to get used to that. Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space Also, as the apparent field of view gets wider, the image will require more correction. Now put the zoom on a 3X barlow and you have: Using the zoom approach with a Barlow your eyepiece set would consisit of a 32 mm low power eyepiece. The original design for Plossl eyepieces has existed since 1860. 5 Best Telescope Eyepieces in 2023 [+Beginner's Guide] This 10 mm Orion Sirius Plossl Eyepiece is a great, moderately high power ocular for observing small planetary nebulas and globular star clusters, as well as for planetary probing when seeing conditions don't permit higher magnifications. Looking from different sorts I found the Baader Aspheric 31mm and 36mm.these two eyepieces allow me to switch between 2" and 1.25"just by changing the barrel. Other eyepieces of more advanced design can have better eye relief and field of view. A 6mm Plossl has a tiny eye lens. Celestron Telescopes Reviews: Should you buy? - Little Astronomy Amazon.com : SVBONY SV137 Barlow Lens 1.25 Inch 2X Barlow Lens Metal Videos for related products. SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Set Telescope Accessory Kit with 2x Barlow Lens 4 Element Plossl Design 6.3mm 32mm 40mm for Astronomical Telescopes. When I started, I purchased less expensive eyepieces to learn about them and how I would use them. 4mm Eyepiece vs 20mm Eyepiece. Every new skill takes time. 6.7 = 268 = .3 Omni 56mm Eyepiece - 2" Learn More. Or, you can have three properly sized eyepieces and use a Barlow lens to achieve three more magnifications, which is usually a less expensive way to go. In the box you'll receive 5 1.25 eyepieces at following sizes, a 32 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 17 mm Plossl Eyepiece , 13 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 8 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 6 mm Plossl Eyepiece, a 2X Barlow Lens 1.25. THANK YOU x 12! They are also good for those who have astigmatism because they are designed to be more forgiving with eye placement. Get to know more about us here. Between $100 and $250, I will call it mid-range. I purchased the Celestron Starsense 102mm refractor, focal length 660mm, stated highest useful magnification is 240x; it should arrive in about 2 weeks. This is why we recommend you try to locate the object first at low power, then use a higher magnification if you likethe wider field of view on the sky provides more context in terms of asterisms and reference stars and makes it more likely that youll catch the object you are looking for. The only one not in the article is the Orion Q70 which is available in 38 mm, 32 mm and 26 mm. You also get 7 1.25 filters which include the following, #80A Blue Filter, #58 Green Filter, #56 Light Green Filter, #25 Red Filter, #21 . A 15mm Plssl might be worth it, if you dont wear glasses. I would recommend the Orion Q70 series over that. Im also uncertain about what to expect from an additional investment? I often recommend a 32 mm Plossl as a good low power wide view eyepiece for scopes with a 1.25 focuser. Explore Scientific, like many eyepiece providers, have higher-priced and budget lines. With a 130mm-F5 I would use a Plossl 32mm for its low-mag-wide-view. Youd have to look into more complex designs which include a barlow lens, or simply use a longer focal length eyepiece with a quality barlow. In the beginning, you are not going to know what the atmospheric conditions might be in your area. They are a good brand with high-quality eyepieces, you just dont need to spend the extra money for almost no gain in performance. Note that the full moon appears to be approximately .5 degrees across, so use that as a mental reference when looking at the numbers. Perhaps you have read about planetary eyepieces, DSO eyepieces, and other types of specific eyepieces. The only difference is that they have a different design as well as a shape with their lenses, which affects the magnification of your telescope view. So, even if you have a Maksutov-Cassegrain scope, you should get a good experience from this eyepiece. Then there is the rule of thumb to avoid duplicating focal lengths when acquiring eyepieces. Achromatic vs Apochromatic refracting telescopes. Omni 15mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. Plossl eyepieces are typically used for observing and viewing things at long distances, but they can also be useful when using a telescope to provide both magnifying power and erecting the images. The Celestron Omni Plossl eyepiece range offers a nice entry-level range into the higher quality 4-element Plossl design. I often recommend the 2 in this series as excellent low-power wide view eyepieces, especially in scopes at focal ratios below F8. Wide view and well-corrected view, even in F5 scopes. I have an F4 Newtonian reflector and if I use an eyepiece of longer than 25 mm, an exit pupil of 6.25, I start to get a dark area in the center of the field of view which is a shadow of the secondary mirror. Plossl eyepieces are very good and fairly inexpensive, typically between $25 and $50 each. . Lets just say that once you get below F5, it is really hard for the eyepiece to deliver a clean image to the edge. Best Telescope Eyepieces 2022 (TOP 7 Reviews) - Buyer's Guide If you are on a strict budget, this is a good choice as a zoom eyepiece. Lenses are fully multi-coated for excellent light transmission and reduced internal reflections. There are three types of Plossl eyepiece: the regular, Super, and Orthoscopic. They have a narrow AFOV but have a reputation for being very sharp.. It doesnt matter what type of telescope you have, as long as your scope takes these standard sizes. These are matters of individual preference and budget. Comparing to Plossl, the Expanse eyepiece is a lot more expensive. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Meade telescope maksutov eyepiece ETX-105EC Super Plossl 6.4mm 1.25" w capsule at the best online prices at eBay! I also like to have my face physically in contact with the eyepiece (or the eyepiece cup) so the tight eye relief of the shorter focal lengths actually works really well for me. A Barlow lens will not reduce the CA in a low FR achromat refractor so to speak of it changing the focal ratio would, I think, introduce confusion in most situations. Being a total novice, I love the StarSense app and technology. So if you need to go to Arcturus and then go 2 degrees to the right to find your target, you can use the FOV of the eyepiece to estimate 2 degrees. If you read the article you know how to calculate the magnification and field of view. This can be debated 100 ways, but that is my advice. It had one of the best fields, edge to edge, in my SCT that I've ever seen. Although Kellner eyepieces will help you learn a lot in the beginning but soon will realize that youre missing out on something, and eventually you will be tempted to spend money on another good quality eyepiece. You could say Super Plossls are not much more than a marketing tactic these days. I do not miss beating my eyelashes against a 9.7mm Meade Plossl that I used to own. What happens if you use an eyepiece that has a the wrong exit pupil? Omni 12mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. However, i can read very well without my glasses with almost microscopic vision and can use my binoculars without glasses. In the next section, we will talk about the AFOV of an eyepiece. Generally, dont mess around with solar projection unless youre okay with damaging the instrument. I really enjoy usingPlssls. When discussing eyepieces, you will hear people comment on how well the eyepiece is corrected. The eye relief is the distance between your eyes and the eyepiece where you are able to view the whole image comfortably. You can find the eyepieces I use and recommend in this article. Sony A7III vs A7RIII Astrophotography: Which One to Shoot Infinity! I tested out my BH zoom yesterday for the first time and it is a great eyepiece so thank you for the recommendation! All the rest will likely be 1.25. Ive read, and re-read, and re-re-read this page. In my opinion, you do not. Kellners can be as little as half the price of a Plossl in the same focal length, but they are generally very comparable, especially in recent years as telescope prices have fluctuated in response to changing supply chains and demand. Plossls cost a bit more than the Kellners as Plossls are expensive to manufacture because they require good optical glass and precisely matched concave and convex doublet surfaces to prevent internal reflections. Field of view, is about finding, framing, drift time, and context. Planetary eyepieces: Ploessl or Orthoscopic and which brand This is the link to the eyepiece I am looking at potentially buying, would you recommend this over the Orion one or vice versa do you think? Low focal ratio scopes deliver the light rays to the eyepiece at an ever-increasing angle as the focal ratio number goes down. But, at least get the 32mm Plssl. But I think you will feel more confident about your purchases and be less likely to be disappointed if you read through the guide. Other than the limited AFOV, which you are apparently fine with, and limited eye relief in the shorter focal lengths there is certainly no reason not to choose Plssls. 5-Minute Read, How To Increase The Magnification Of A Telescope; 5-Minute Read. I found an ES 70 degree AFOV 35mm eyepiece and am wondering whether I should get this or the Orion 38 70. I dont think so. ORION SIRIUS PLOSSL 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" - $17.01. Was compairing the Apertura standard 15mm Plossl with their 15mm super wide angle eyepiece (70 afov). Here's the short answer - Plossl eyepieces are generally better than Kellner eyepieces, but they also tend to be more expensive. Another way to look at it is that a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow works like a 10 mm eyepiece. Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . 1. Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. A Televue Plssl may be better than a generic one, but the difference is probably not worth the additional cost. Its made up of four lenses in two groups. I owned an XT8 Intelliscope which is the same optical tube on a PushTo mount.