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DennisF
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 832
Loc: Northern IL
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I've already have a nice set of EPs for personal use, but considering their cost I want a relatively cheap set of EPs that would be used for public observing outreach, Cub Scout events, and car camping trips. New or used doesn't matter. I'd like to average no more than $100/EP so I could spend less on the low focal length ones and a little more on the high side.
Since the public outreach and Scouts are local, I have significant light pollution to deal with (White on the CSC scale). This limits observing to WOW targets-the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, etc. Little to no DSO, double stars, etc. Our car camping gets us to better skies-orange to dark green where the targets are more varied.
FWIW, I still have an 8mm Hyperion, a 14mm Vixen LV, and a 21mm Stratus. While I don't wear glasses (yet), I tend to like longer eye relief and wider angle views. The EPs would most likely be used in all of the scopes in my signature.
I'm thinking along the lines of a couple BO/TMB's at the shorter f/l end and don't have any ideas for the higher end. A decent barlow would also make sense for the second EP set to maximize the set's utility. I have a Orion Shorty Plus. Should I relegate that to the second set and get a better one for my personal use? To be honest, I don't use a barlow all that much. I've got a pretty good spread for the personal use set (8 EPs between 3.5mm and 35mm) and seeing that permits absurd mag.s is rare.
And of course there is the Zoom angle. What are your thoughts?
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10" XTi
C6 SE
ETX 125 (no more)
SV 102ED
SV80ED
PortaMount (no more)
SV M1
Original AYO EzTouch mount
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MikeRatcliff
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/12/04
Posts: 1105
Loc: Redlands, CA
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One eyepiece I like for public outreach is a 25mm plossl. Simple to use, no blackouts or kidney beaning, with comfortable eye relief (17mm). A 30mm plossl would be good too.
The 32mm TV plossl has eye relief that is a little too long (22mm) and can be tricky.
Mike
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16" f/4.9 dob
Tele Vue Plossls 32,25,20,15,11
13 Nagler T6
10.5 Pentax XL
Brandon 32, 16
12.5 UO ortho, 9 Circle T ortho
2x TV Barlow
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cuir
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/03/07
Posts: 835
Loc: 45° 1'12. N, 73°56'12. W (Qc)
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I love the Antares W70 25mm for public events where neophytes wearing glasses and women with eyelash make-up are present. Nice eye relief, though it's no Panoptic, for sharpness, contrast or edge corection, it still delivers quite a punch at a reasonable price. The views are nevertheless stunning with it, and only the very well versed will notice the edge of field's aberations.
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Seb
Latest eyepiece spreadsheet
Choosing the right eyepiece
Main scope: 150mm Skywatcher Maksutov
Favorite ep: 24 Panoptic
Pref'ed filters: Lumicon 0III and UHC
Mounts: EQ6-Pro and Skyview AZ
Just in: C8-S-XLT
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Stephen S
super member
Reged: 08/21/07
Posts: 132
Loc: San Diego, CA
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For something in the high power range, it might be worth looking at the SmartAstronomy (SA) plaentary eyepieces. I have both the 3mm and 6mm versions. I recently purchased a Pentax 7mm XW (outstanding eyepiece). However, I am hanging on to my 6mm SA eyepiece for public viewings (along with my 24mm Hyperion). The SA eyepieces are fairly inexpensive (less then $100 delivered) and do a great job for the price. They have fairly long eye relief (20mm) and a decent FOV (55mm). Something to consider if you are looking for a higher magnification piece for planetary viewing - at a price that won't make your heart jump every time someone puts a finger print on the eyepiece.
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C9 1/4-SGT (XLT)
AT80ED
Vixen Porta Mount
50mm Takahashi LE
24mm Meade UWA
13mm Televue Ethos
7mm Pentax XW
3mm Smart Astronomy
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Zoomit
super member
Reged: 12/04/06
Posts: 125
Loc: Tehachapi, CA
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I've been considering picking up a Baader 8-24 Hyperion Zoom to use along with my 1.6x barlow for public events. However, I wonder if it has too little eye relief for eyeglass wearers.
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Brandon
AstroSystems TeleKit 18" f/4.6; Orion XT8 7.4" f/6.4
TeleVue 26Nt5, 13E, 3-6NZ; Antares 2" 1.6x
Astro-Physics 15x70; Nikon Action EX 12x50
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SkyscraperJim
sage
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 399
Loc: Providence, RI
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Quote:
One eyepiece I like for public outreach is a 25mm plossl. Simple to use, no blackouts or kidney beaning, with comfortable eye relief (17mm). A 30mm plossl would be good too.
The 32mm TV plossl has eye relief that is a little too long (22mm) and can be tricky.
Mike
This is typically my plan also. I use an old Televue 26mm Plossl. If I need more mag I'll just barlow it.
A good low-cost option are the Orion Plossls.
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Jim
TMB/APM 130/780 (#185) on G11
Televue Pronto (#3533) on Half Hitch
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