I am a newby and just got a skywatcher 10" Dob.
It came with a 10mm and 25mm eyepiece. Feel sure they are of not the best quality but I saw Saturn for the first time, though it was small, I could se the detached rings from the planet. Saw 4 of Jupiter's moons, maybe one of Saturn's moons.
My question is, I see pictures of really great detail, colors, etc. I am not getting that. Everyting I am reading seems to be the eyepiece.
I understand ( I think ) that dividing the focal length ( 1200 ) / the eyepiece 10mm I have a magnification of 100 times. Also read where about all I can expect is about 300 times. After that it may get weird.
Can someone help me choose, within a reasonable budget, a couple of eyepieces. I wear glasses and I'm 66. That may matter about eye relief.
I see eyepiece kits but I believe they would still contain a lot of cheap eyepieces.
HELP.
Do you have astigmatism? If not, you don't need to wear glasses when observing. If yes, it depends on your astigmatism. More info in the "Dioptrx" product page of Televue's website. The higher the power, the lesser astigmatism is a concern.
Plössl are in general good eyepieces. At the center, there is little to be improved. Of course, there are different qualities for Plössl. But don't expect huge improvements on axis.
Astronomic's Paradigms or clones are good and cheap eyepieces, as per opinions here.
If you budget is higher, Pentax are now on sale and they are excellent eyepieces. Baader's hyperions are also on sale, but I don't now how good they are (not as good as the Morpheus, though). Both types have plenty of eye relief.
In general, you will get excellent quality with Pentax, APM, Baader, Televue or Explore Scietific.
Your next step should be a ~6-7 mm eyepiece, if you want more power now. If there is plenty of cash available, just start from scratch and plan your whole series starting by your lowest reasonable power (~30 mm).
Edited by sanbai, 20 December 2020 - 09:33 PM.