8 replies to this topic

[SimonIRE]

<p>Hi All,</p>
<p>Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>I&rsquo;ve been fascinated by astronomy since I was child and finally have decided to buy a telescope. I live in rural England so lots of dark skies when cloudless. I am keen to get a quality instrument for viewing the moon, planets and some deep sky objects although I am reaslistic in my expectation a for the latter. I am thinking of buying a Celestron 8se but I need advice on eyepieces. I cannot seem to work out if I should buy at least one or two high quality ones. In principle I could afford the Televue range. It seems unanimous that these EPs really enhance your experience. I am really interested in getting some advice on this; one or two top quality pieces versus several cheaper ones vs just sticking with what comes with the telescope? If I were to start with one TV EP, which would you suggest (I was thinking the ethos 13mm based on reviews elsewhere. Again, many thanks for your opinions on what is a very basic question.</p>

Edited by SimonIRE, 16 December 2018 - 04:48 PM.

[ShaulaB]

Greetings and welcome. An 8SE is a great all-around scope, they are incredibly popular for a reason.

 

I'm sure from doing your reading, you have seen that the Ethos line is considered the ultimate in wonderfulness. You might consider a different Teleview line to go with your 8SE. The Delos or DeLite lines deliver great views. There will be many opinions offered here, and you might soon be suffering from "analysis paralysis." This condition strikes many folks who hang out here at Cloudy Nights.

 

Best of luck!

[tjz]

I have a Celestron 8se and my favorite eyepiece by far is my Explore Scientific 30mm 82°. It gets the most use, followed closely by my ES 11mm 82°. Both are a joy to use with great "immersive" views. For the large wide angle eyepieces, you'll need to have a 2" diagonal. There are options there too, of course, but I've gotten good use of the relatively inexpensive Celestron one. I love the "immersive" view I get with the 30mm. You can get lost in there looking at rich star fields.

 

Clear skies!

[DLuders]

Welcome to Cloudy Nights!     You could download the free "2018 Buyer's Guide to Eyepieces" spreadsheet (linked from  https://www.cloudyni...e-buyers-guide/ ), enter your telescope's parameters, and see how various eyepieces provide:

 

1.  Magnification (which is Focal Length of Telescope / Focal Length of Eyepiece)  

2.  Eye Relief (the distance between your eyeball and the glass)

3.  Exit Pupil (the size of the light circle hitting your eyeball)

4.  Apparent Field of View (AFOV)

[LasVegasMikey]

My advice, based on personal experience, is to take it slowly. I truly appreciate the urge to get the best possible setup right from the start but spending a little bit of observation time with your new telescope will help you determine where you want to be. For example, my pre-purchase research prioritized higher magnification eyepieces. Real life experience caused me to value lower magnification/wider FOV. Of course I think that I’ve got the ultimate observational goals but as a unique person you may be led to a different path. I’d recommend getting a taste of what’s available before fully committing. 

[Dave Mitsky]

I also recommend purchasing a 2" wide-field eyepiece and a 2" diagonal to maximum the true field of view of your SCT telescope.  At a "slow" focal ratio of f/10, an expensive wide-field or super wide-field eyepiece that's corrected for astigmatism like a Tele Vue Nagler or Ethos or an Explore Scientific 82 or 100 degree eyepiece is not strictly necessary. A 70 degree apparent field of view Bresser eyepiece will work quite well.  The 35mm Bresser will yield a 1.2 degree true field of view at 58x. 

https://explorescien...yepiece/bresser

 

If you don't want to go the 2" route, you may want to get a focal reducer to use with 1.25" eyepieces.  Cloudy Nights members get a discount from Astronomics.

 

https://www.astronom...s.html?___SID=U

 

Dave Mitsky

[Dave Mitsky]

If you are dead set on getting a 100 degree AFOV eyepiece like the 13mm Ethos, you may be just as happy with the far less costly 14mm Explore Scientific 100 degree ocular.

 

https://www.astronom...e.html?___SID=U

 

I didn't notice at first that you're English.  There may be better options available from local vendors.

 

Dave Mitsky

[spaceoddity]

IMO it's not really necessary to break the bank on high end well corrected wide angle ep's for an f/10 scope with tracking. Of course it isn't going to hurt either, other than maybe adding unnecessary weight to scope that already has a shaky mount. I put a 2" diagonal on my 8se and the Agena 32 SWA works very well as a low power ep. I bought an meade hd-60 12mm and a baader classic ortho 10mm for higher power views. To be completely honest, the only thing I like about this scope is the portability. Other than that, I hate the thing. 

[PNW]

I've got an old Nextstar 8 and can give you a few thoughts about eyepieces:

1. As you can see, I've collected a 40mm, 20mm, 12 mm, 9mm, and a 6.5mm. I really enjoy stepping through magnifications, but I rarely use the 6.5mm. Seems to be a good lunar eyepiece.

2. Stick with the same brand since they tend to be parafocal. My 20mm is about 3/4 turn off on the focus knob. I'm considering swapping it for an 18mm X Cell LX to be parafocal.

3. I've avoided the hand grenade eyepieces. I intentionally kept all of them under 8 oz. I'm not sure what weight eyepiece would require balancing the scope. Mine seem to work fine.

In general, I'm quite happy with my collection of mid range eyepieces. So far, I've resisted going for the top dollar cloud piercing hand grenades.