16 replies to this topic

[mbraun85]

Howdy again folks.  Anyone have any opinions on the CelticBird 13 piece eyepiece and filter accessory kit for $125 versus the Celestron 13 piece eyepiece and filter kit for $226? (Amazon)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mike

[mac57]

I would steer clear of those type of kits.  By nature of their design they can be uncomfortable to use.  They are also "budget eyepieces" (cheap).  YMMV  Mark

[vtornado]

Usually a 32mm eyepiece is a better choice than a 40.

There is a lot of duplication of powers with the barlow.  for example 40 barlowed is 20, and 12 barlowed is 6.

Plossls under 10mm of focal length can be uncomfortable to use due to short eye relief.

 

Most planetary filters are not very useful.

 

You could by plossls from Svbony.   I would get something like 32,20 and a barlow to start with.

Maybe one other shorter focal length eyepiece depending upon your scope and what you want to look at.

You might pay $60 for 2 eyepieces and a barlow.  If you can give up the case.

 

What telescope do you intend on using these in?

What are your intended targets?

[Ionthesky]

Hi Mike -- welcome to CN!  

 

In general, eyepiece kits are not considered a good value.  They have eyepieces and filters that will see little or no use, hence a waste of $.  Better to select a couple of better eyepieces than a bunch of basic units that you'll find you want to replace before long.

 

Depending on your scope, two or three decent eyepieces (generally well under $100 each) or a zoom and Barlow are a good way to start.  Let us know what your scope is, and we can make some suggestions that will probably be more useful to you than either of those kits, and for less cost.

 

Regards, 

Dave 

[star acres]

I buy my eyepieces one at a time.  

[Mike G.]

+1 on steering away from 'kits'. Buy your EPs individually to fit your observing habits. At best, a kit will leave you with 3,4 EPs you never use and at worst, they will mostly be uncomfortable due to poor eye relief or low quality optical components.

[mbraun85]

Thanks so much for your input and I apologize for not including my equipment.  I just took my Celestron 8SE out of the box 3 days ago.  It came equipped with a 25 mm Plossl and a 1 1/4" star diagonal.  My immediate desires will of course be our solar system with trips outside to open my horizons.  

 

I'll stay away from the kits.  Having used my small Meade for 20+ years I'm in the phase of a 'kid in a candy store.'

 

Any suggestions in the way of individual lenses or perhaps even some filters?

 

Thanking all of you once again in advance.

 

Mike

[kfiscus]

Instead of calling them "lenses" (which they are), call them eyepieces (EPs), like all of us cool kids.

 

I'd recommend reading EP reviews, of which there are thousands.  After your brain gets full, buy USED here on the Cloudy Nights classifieds from well-rated sellers.  You can keep them, upgrade them, and "flip" the ones you don't like.  You will usually just lose on the postage. 

[Anony]

If on a budget, I lean towards zooms (svbony 7-21, celestron 8-24)... and not so much a budget, then a baader 8-24 ($300ish).

 

Maybe consider a 32mm plossl for wider views. And perhaps a barlow that can also do 1.5x (bottom screws off).

 

7-12mm ish with the zoom will provide a bit wider views than a plossl. After that, use your 25mm/32mm ... barlowed for in-between mags.

 

If you plan to spend like 1K on individual eyepieces, I'll let others make suggestions... out of my pricerange. I tend to think cheap.

 

And not so much a fan of filters myself. A blue Jupiter doesn't do it for me.

Edited by Anony, 01 May 2023 - 08:25 PM.

[el_p4bl0]

I own the CelticBird 32mm Plossl. I like it quite a bit. Sharp pinpoint stars in the whole view in my AWB onesky. Very happy with it for the price. It compliments my celestron 8-24mm zoom nicely.

 

Though I have been often forgoing the 32mm and just grabbing and sticking with the zoom for the session.

 

Since the moon has been out, the 32mm gives a sharp, full view of it in my little 70mm Mak

Edited by el_p4bl0, 01 May 2023 - 08:37 PM.

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

A much better alternative is to buy a few reasonably priced AT Paradigm/Agena Starguiders. They are 60* eyepieces with good ER and large eye lenses. They work well in all of my telescopes 

 

https://www.astronom...iece_series=478.

[Echolight]

Get a ZOOM.... 

https://youtu.be/005lBST7hBg

Edited by Echolight, 01 May 2023 - 10:45 PM.

[RichA]

Thanks so much for your input and I apologize for not including my equipment.  I just took my Celestron 8SE out of the box 3 days ago.  It came equipped with a 25 mm Plossl and a 1 1/4" star diagonal.  My immediate desires will of course be our solar system with trips outside to open my horizons.  

 

I'll stay away from the kits.  Having used my small Meade for 20+ years I'm in the phase of a 'kid in a candy store.'

 

Any suggestions in the way of individual lenses or perhaps even some filters?

 

Thanking all of you once again in advance.

 

Mike

Before pronouncing any higher power eyepiece "fuzzy" just remember:

-Let the scope acclimate to surrounding temps for at least an hour.

-Try to view planets when they are HIGH above the horizon to avoid atmospheric disturbances.

-Avoid looking over heated rooftops, off concrete or roads.

-Don't go after planets because it "looks clear out."  Clear can mean twinkling stars which = and unsteady atmosphere.

-Wait for seconds of stark steadiness when you'll see the most detail.

 

Then judge the eyepiece.

[maniack]

If on a budget, I lean towards zooms (svbony 7-21, celestron 8-24)... and not so much a budget, then a baader 8-24 ($300ish).

Maybe consider a 32mm plossl for wider views. And perhaps a barlow that can also do 1.5x (bottom screws off).

7-12mm ish with the zoom will provide a bit wider views than a plossl. After that, use your 25mm/32mm ... barlowed for in-between mags.

If you plan to spend like 1K on individual eyepieces, I'll let others make suggestions... out of my pricerange. I tend to think cheap.

And not so much a fan of filters myself. A blue Jupiter doesn't do it for me.

I use zooms almost exclusively in my scopes, except for wide field observations.

Two good inexpensive options are:
Svbony 7-21mm (57-40 degree version)
Celestron/Agena/other brands 8-24mm (cheapest option that looks the same)

On the Celestron 8SE I use an 8-24mm zoom. I don't go higher power unless I'm trying to split a close double star. 250x and 0.8mm exit pupil are already getting to the upper end of what seeing supports in my area and viewing comfort respectively.

Edited by maniack, 28 January 2025 - 01:00 AM.

[AlamoBob]

Instead of calling them "lenses" (which they are), call them eyepieces (EPs), like all of us cool kids.

 

I really prefer "Oculars".  Does that make me some kind of Steam Punk Astronomer?

[rjacks]

Here are some eyepiece basics. The magnification provided by an eyepiece is determined by dividing the telescope's focal length by the eyepiece focal length. Your C8 has a focal length of 2030mm, so a 10mm eyepiece will magnify 203X. Eyepieces have an "apparent field of view" (AFOV) which typically range from about 50 degrees to 100 degrees. The apparent field of view doesn't change the magnification but changes how much of space your see around the object. Eyepieces also have a characteristic "eye relief" which is the optimal distance from the eyepiece at which you hold your eye. Eye relief is very important for viewers who want to wear glasses at the eyepiece. In general, you pay more for higher AFOV and greater eye relief.  There are many other important eyepiece characteristics, but these are basics you need to know.   

 

So, any eyepiece question should be prefaced with a budget, because the price of eyepieces ranges from below $100 to over $500, with "premium" eyepieces starting in the $220-$300 range. In the $95 range, I like the Celestron X-cel LX eyepieces and also the AstroTech eyepieces. The trouble with being a beginner is you don't know how much you will like the hobby, so it is scary to spend a lot of money on eyepieces. Good news is that eyepieces sell well on the CN classifieds.  

[ChristianG]

Hello all.

 

I used to have the Celestron kit. Not sure what happened to all of its parts... Can't find the case either.

 

Both kits are similar, although the Celestron seems to be of slightly higher quality.

 

My experience with these so-called 'Plossl' eyepieces (they are not actual Plossl) is that the shortest focal length that is useful (and barely at that) is 15 mm. Below that, the eye relief is too short and eyelashes enter the picture, literally...

 

I ended up using the 4 mm and the 6 mm to make artificial stars.

 

Note that the Celestron kit seems to assume that you would already have a 25 mm eyepiece included with your telescope, since there is a big gap between the 32 mm (which is very good for what it is) and the 15 mm (usable). The other kit has a similar gap where a 30 mm would sit. This means that both kits only contain two usable eyepieces in my opinion.

 

In the Celestron kit, the 32 mm eyepiece is a keeper if you have a 1.25" telescope f/10 and longer. I can not comment on the 40 mm in the other kit, but the field of view of the 40 mm would not be very different from the 32 mm because the field stop is limited by the same 1.25" barrel. But image would be a bit brighter.

 

The barlow works, but I found that contrast is reduced significantly compared to better ones like Explore Scientific, or even the GSO barlow: they have better anti-reflection coatings. I ended up removing the lens and using it as an extension tube.

 

Then you have the filters. Again, I found that the green one is fun to look at the Sun through a white-light filter (like Baader film). The orange one for the Moon provides a new experience for your visual system, as well as dimming the view a bit. The other filters are not very useful, again this is my opinion.

 

So I would recommend buying one eyepiece at a time, as was suggested above. Cheers!

 

--Christian

 

PS I need to mention that I recently re-purchased the 66-ish degree eyepice set (6, 9, 15 and 20 mm) after selling the ones I had. Because in a telescope with f/# larger than f/7, they are very good! They are the same as the ones with the red band seen in post #5.

Edited by ChristianG, 28 January 2025 - 03:43 PM.