
XT10-Which DSO viewing EP?
#26
Posted 22 June 2004 - 09:48 AM
#27
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 22 June 2004 - 12:25 PM
And does anyone know what I mean about the image in the 10mm seeming to look small and flat? I don’t know the terminology for this, but it made for a lackluster experience.
#28
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 22 June 2004 - 01:01 PM
#29
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 22 June 2004 - 01:05 PM
In a totally unrelated question, is there any way to add a diagonal to the finderscope, or do I have to go buy a whole new finderscope? Shooting towards the zenith with the stock finder was painful.
#30
Posted 22 June 2004 - 03:25 PM
Adrenochrome: you have to buy another finderscope. Most finders are built "in one piece" so it's difficult at best to add a diagonal to a finder. As for the Radian, I own 5 of them, they're the eyepieces I use 90% of the time.
As for coma: usually wide field eyepieces used with fast scopes do not suffer from coma but from off-axis astigmatism (which, to be fair, looks about the same); it's the mirror which can have coma. Coma does not come from "comma" but the latin "coma", which means "hair", because stars at the edge looked like little comets. So budget wide field eyepieces suffer from astigmatism; expensive ones (at least those that stay on the market!) don't. You might see off axis astigmatism in a 25-35mm plossl, it's up to you to decide if you can live with it or not.
#31
Posted 22 June 2004 - 06:59 PM
most finderscopes are not really modifyable (not a word!), but maybe there's a way to use an old cheap 1 1/4" diagonal with a straight finder. i would think it'd be easier just to buy the right angle finder. but don't dismiss the straight finder so quickly, they can be easier to use when starhopping because, unlike the right angle finders, you're able to "sight along the tube" to see precisely where the scope is pointed at. for that reason, sometimes i wish i'd just kept my straight finder. i added a red dot finder and i actually use that 90% of the time. a red dot finder will also be easier on the back because you can view the illuminated dot from further away, so you don't have to contort your body to get in close like with the straight finder. the only time i use the right angle finder is when the stars i'm hopping are below naked eye visibility and therefore aren't seen in the red dot finder...I'll look into the ultrascopics. Thanks Erik.
In a totally unrelated question, is there any way to add a diagonal to the finderscope, or do I have to go buy a whole new finderscope? Shooting towards the zenith with the stock finder was painful.

#32
Posted 22 June 2004 - 11:23 PM
http://www.televue.c...page.asp?ID=221
The reality, I have a 30mm GSO (also have the 42mm and the barlow - I like the barlow and the 30mm, but the 42mm has to much eye relief), a 23mm and 19mm Axiom, a 10mm X-Cel, and a 7.5mm Ultima. I used to have a 5mm vixen lantanum but I returned it because I found that I could hardly ever use the 5mm and it seemed like a waste that that was the most expensive EP in my collection at the time. I also had an 18mm ultima, which I liked but retured with the 5mm because I wanted a wider FOV, so I got the 19mm. The 23mm was aquired through astromart. What would I suggest you get?
* 30mm GSO
* 24mm Panoptic (substitude a 23mm Axiom if have to)
* 12mm Nagler
* 7mm Nagler (substitude a 7.5mm ultima if needed)
* 1.5x or 2x or 2.5x Barlow (ideally a powermate or similar)
Good Luck deciding!
.........Curtis
#33
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 23 June 2004 - 05:45 AM
#34
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 23 June 2004 - 05:51 AM
You said the 42mm had too much eye relief - what is the disadvantage to too much eye relief?
#35
Posted 23 June 2004 - 06:59 AM
#36
Posted 23 June 2004 - 08:04 AM
Thanks DGS. Yes, it’s 1200mm. I’ll look into the Radian. I’m hoping to have just two or three really good EPs, rather than a slew of lesser ones, so I’m willing to spend perhaps as much as $250 on each. I have two (very) young daughters and a wife whom I’m hoping to introduce to astronomy, so things like the “wow” factor of a large FOV and generous eye relief are more important to me than perfect color or pincushioning. The first EP I’d like to get is something to push the magnification of the scope so that the planets really stand out, and a large FOV is important since in the time it takes to switch viewers, things have already drifted halfway across the FOV.
You may want to consider Type 6 Naglers, which are superb for all types of observing, if long eye relief is not an issue. They're a bit more than your price limit but you may be able to find used ones on Astromart. I have the 7, 9, and 13mm models and prefer them to the Radians.
Dave Mitsky
#37
Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:22 AM
.........Curtis
#38
Posted 23 June 2004 - 12:29 PM