Farmer-Ted
member
Reged: 12/26/07
Posts: 11
Loc: SLC, UT
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I just picked up a 8" Celestron Celestar Deluxe, made in 2000. Nice condition. Optics are clean. Seems to work pretty well. I had another C8 about 5 years ago and I regret selling it ever since. I went with an older one because I did not want all the computerized star finder stuff and it was a lot less expensive. It came with the original 26mm Plossl eyepiece, a Vixen LV 5mm eyepiece and a Tele Vue 5x Powermate barlow lens. I have a few questions.
1) What other eye pieces are recommend? Size, type and brand, please. I don't mind spending a little money to get good quality eyepieces but I don't want to get ones that are better than the ability of the scope. What sizes would give a good range of viewing?
2) The Tele Vue 5x powermate seems to be way over kill. Is it better to sell it off and get a 2x?
3) I've been reading that many have replaced the fork mount with a German Equitorial mount. What is the benefit of doing this?
Thats all for now, I'm sure there will be many more.
Thanks
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charen
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/28/05
Posts: 1446
Loc: New Zealand
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In no particular order - I use [in my SE8i] a 12.5 Celestron Ultima - clear sharp and well made, a University Orthoscopic 9mm - narrow FOV but good contrast on planets and a Meade 6.7mm Ultrawide [4000 series] - one of my best EPs - great on really steady nights.
Yes - sell the powermate 5x and maybe getting a Celestron 6.3 reducer / corrector which will give you a wider FOV and a lower mag. 50x - with your 26mm and maybe adding a 32 mm Plossl as well which will give you 40x with the corrector.
You will have a good range then of mags. from your 5mm to a 32mm.
Keep the mount for visual use unless you get into astrophotography in which case a decent GEM would be better.
Just some thoughts.
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30 binos.
Celestron C8
Skywatcher Equinox ED120 / Goto HEQ5.
Edited by charen (12/28/07 01:53 AM)
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firestar
Born to be Mild
Reged: 10/18/06
Posts: 3942
Loc: Cleveland Ohio USA
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Welcome to cloudy nights!
The baader hyperions at $100 each are a good buy.
Info
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Eastlake Ohio
Lots of cheap Asian glass  
Antares 12" Dob,Antares 8" Dob
Meade 8" SCT, Celestron C8 SCT
Zhumell 152 mm F8,Antares 127 mm f9.4
Orion short tube 90 F5.6,Celestron 80 ED F7.5
Imaging Source DMK 21AU04 ccd camera
Stellarvue bv3's with 32,26,23,21,9 mm pairs
Olivon 42,35,28mm,siebert 21,12.5,7mm,GSO superview 20mm,Meade swa 13.8mm,Hyperion 13mm
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Eddgie
Postmaster
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 7951
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Depending on your seeing, get at lease ONE excellent quality plossl in the 8mm to 12mm range, as this will provide you with a good planetary and lunar eyepiece. Televue Plossls are to me the best here, but the UO Orthos are also excellent.
a 12mm or 13mm widefield will also get a lot of use. Of course if money permits, I would say a Nagler, but only you can tell if it makes sense for you.
Congratulations and good luck.
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Celestron CGE 1400
Astro-Physics 6" f/8
Celestron EdgeHD C8
Antik AR1/Revenge Plates/Heartless Voodoos
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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nitroexpress
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/16/06
Posts: 540
Loc: Hemet, calif
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Farmer-ted: Welcome to CN......The baader hyperions at $100 each are a good buy as firestar said.....i have all but the 3.5mm....and they are well worth the money.....vary sharp and clear.........and 20mm eye clearance.......all around an above average eyepieces............clear skies and big mirrors............gary 
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"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
10in Zhumell-$15/ push to circles-flocked tube
8in-c8-on a Meade GoTo EQ mount with a cg-5 Tripod
5in Meade with goto...
2in Gilbert reflector (1955 or so)
7x35 binos
Orion 100mm X 600mm Achromatic Refractor
Sac8-2 ccd camera
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conus
Post Laureate
Reged: 10/12/03
Posts: 3038
Loc: OC, Calif
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One of the best things you can do for your cat is to add a 2" diagonal, without which you will never fully experience your SCT's capabilities. Luckily, with its f/10 focal ratio, you won't have to break the bank to build a decent collection of 2" eyepieces. Astronomy Technologies makes a nice one for SCTs (you won't have to buy another "visual back") that includes a 1.25" adapter.
Speaking of 1.25" eyepieces, High Point Scientific is selling the whole line of TMB/Burgess Planetary Series at the $59.00 price-- reduced from the original $100.00. I particularly like their wide eyelenses. Not having to peer through those tiny pinholes makes the experience a lot more comfortable. Comfort at the eyepiece often means more detail seen.
And, speaking of comfort, a set of Bob's Knobs will make the collimation process a breeze. I have a feeling that about 75% of those SCT naysayers could be cured by a set of Bob's Knobs and a night of good seeing.
Welcome to the site, BTW.
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Steve R.
Orion XT12
Fujinon 10x42
Oberwerk 12x60
Garrett Optical 15x70
http://www.telescopesinhistory.com
Edited by conus (12/28/07 11:19 AM)
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Stelios
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/04/03
Posts: 1484
Loc: West Hills, CA
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As far as eyepieces go, first take a look at Al Nagler's recommendations: Al on EP's for 8" SCT
Having owned 2 8" SCTs for over 20 years and now a 9.25", and assuming you don't want to go the 2" diagonal way (which will require a visual back replacement as well, and will only give you a 37mm opening rather than the 46mm+ that 2" EPs have), I very much agree that you need:
1) A 24mm 68 deg EP (a Panoptic or a Hyperion or clone) *or* a 32mm Plossl, preferably the first.
2) An EP between 13mm and 15mm, depending on your seeing (see below)
3) A planetary EP in the 10mm or 9mm range depending on your seeing.
4) A 2x Barlow or Powermate, intending to Barlow the two shorter focus EP's for double stars and those 'perfect' nights.
E.g. 24mm Panoptic, 14x Radian, 10x Radian + 2x Barlow would give you 24mm (maximum 1.25" EP FOV), 14mm, 10mm, 7mm (Barlowed), 5mm (Barlowed).
As you see your current EP's don't really fit in. The 26mm EP supplied is a compromise that doesn't belong in any final set--keep in case you resell the scope. The Vixen 5mm LV is really too much power, keep in case you buy a refractor or sell. The 5x Powermate makes no sense for this scope at all. Sell it.
Re fork vs. German Equatorial: The German Equatorial is better for astrophotography than fork + wedge. IMO, especially since you don't like GoTo (you should try it though, it's really a great feature) it makes no sense to change. You need a fork + wedge + drive for tracking. Scope is more portable on the fork and it's easier to maneuver.
OTOH, I must admit that if I had my C8 back (I also stupidly sold mine, built in 1982, and a super-sharp performer) I would put it on a CG-5 mount with GoTo and tracking. The CG-5 only costs $700 new, a great price for a mount that will also be a good intro to astrophotography for the C8 scope. Just keep the possibility in the back of your mind.
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APM/TMB 115/805 APO
9.25S - GT
Naglers: 17T4, 13T6, 3-6 zoom
UWANs: 28mm, 7mm
Pentax 10XW, 10mm Radian
Misc EP: 50mm Parks, 42mm GSO, 2x TV Barlow
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khoferer
super member
Reged: 11/03/04
Posts: 106
Loc: Mansfield, PA
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Hello,
I would echo the above comment regarding upgrading the diagonal. If the scope came with the original, prism diagonal this would be a good place to start. I have the same scope and noticed a marked difference in images when I switched to a WO 2" model. Eyepieces tend to be personal choices and you're going to get a lot of good suggestions here. I generally use three for the bulk of my viewing - a TeleVue 32mm plossl, 19mm Panoptic, and 13mm Nagler T6. Of those, the 19mm spends the most time in the focuser. IMHO, it's just a great eyepiece for a C8.
One other thing about the fork vs. german equatorial: the GE makes it much easier to look toward the north. A fork mount can require a certain degree of flexibility at those declinations. 
Clear skies,
Kevin
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Celestar Deluxe
6" f/8 homebuilt dob
Celestron 10x50
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Farmer-Ted
member
Reged: 12/26/07
Posts: 11
Loc: SLC, UT
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Thanks for the great ideas for eye pieces. Looks like I will sell off the 5x Powermate and probably keep the 5mm for now. Also, I'll keep the fork mount until I decide to try some photography.
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scopedude
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/26/06
Posts: 831
Loc: 6 deg. South
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My WO SWAN 20mm and UWAN 7mm works great on my C8. I also recommend Orion Ultrascopic 30 and 35mm. Tack sharp eyepieces. An LVW 17mm or UWAN 16mm are nice too
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Megrez 80 FD, Megrez 88, FLT-98, ZS110 APO
Vixen R150S, Vixen NA140SSf
Celestron C8 CF, C5 Spotter
WO 7x50
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