15 replies to this topic

[SebaSkywalker]

Hello!

 

I'm getting into this amazing world of astronomy.

 

I just bought my first telescope, I bought a used Meade LX85 mount (with Audiostar Goto) and a Skymax 150 Mak OTA (It include a Eyepieces: 2” 28 mm and a Diagonal: 2” 90 degree star diagonal), which will arrive in a month.

 

Since I have an incomming trip abroad I would like to get the chance to buy the first accesories and eyepieces.

 

After some research, and watching some videos I was thinking of buying the following (in amazon.uk since I will be in London only few days):

 

- Svbony SV233 Astronomical Telescope Accessory Kit, 6mm and 17mm PLOSSL Eyepiece (AFOV 48°), 2x Barlow Lens, Moon Filter, ND4 Filter, 82A Color Filter, with a Portable Bag, Seven-Piece Telescope Accessory for Visual

 

OR buy just the Svbony SV137 Barlow 2x, 1.25 inches Barlow Lens, FMC Metal Barlow with T-thread, but since it cost 20 uk pounds and the kit cost 45 uk pounds I think I would get more value buying the complete Kit

 

-  Svbony SV191 Zoom Telescope Eyepiece, 7.2-21.6mm Zoom Eyepiece, Wide Angled FMC Telescope Lens with Multi Coated (80 uk pounds). I saw great reviews about it.

 

-  a solar Filter (I coundn't found a budget one to be sure to be compatible en Amazon uk)

 

- accesories for mounting my reflex canon T5i and my cellphone to begging with astrophotography.

 

I will also make a Dew Shield myselft.

 

What do you think? 

 

Thanks and regards!

[SeattleScott]

A 6mm Plossl will be of little use with that scope. It is an F12 Mak with 2” diagonal, so it probably operates closer to F13 or F14. So your highest magnification would be with perhaps a 7-8mm eyepiece. Also, the eye relief on a 6mm Plossl is really short. Which means you would basically be looking through a peephole. Most people prefer a larger eye lens to view through.

A 17mm eyepiece would be a good addition. And maybe that barlow for the 17mm to get to high power.

Do consider this. You might have purchased your scope for a good price used, but new it would probably be $1,500+. Or over a thousand pounds. Certainly not the most expensive scope, but quite respectable quality if it has been taken care of. I would wonder if you would be holding it back putting 20 pound eyepieces in a thousand pound scope. I know some of the SVBONY stuff isn’t up to the usual standards. Like I guess their dielectric diagonal only has three layers of coating, not 10. So what corners do they cut with a Plossl to get the price down to 20 pound? Well, that’s not a lot less than the usual $40 for a respectable Plossl in the States, so maybe it is respectable quality? I guess I just don’t know, and would trust a Celestron or Skywatcher Plossl a bit more. Might have better baffling or coatings. But maybe the SVBONY is really the same for less money.

[Inkie]

I agree that you'll seldom use a lone 6mm inexpensive Plössl-like eyepiece, especially if you wear glasses and need to get your eyeball close to the top lens, but mostly because the atmosphere above any one scope on the planet is unlikely to allow the use of such a short focal length. If I were in your shoes, I would be looking at something between 9-12 mm. And if you agree, there are scads from which to choose.  Our hosts have very nice ones (click on 'astronomics' in the black marquee at the top of this page). If you aren't strapped, and want a 'one 'n done' purchase, something you'll possibly keep for your lifetime, then the very best are going to be Zeiss or Televue.  Next down are the Pentax, Nikon, Explore Scientific, and the Baader Planetarium 'Morpheus' varieties. Also, the very nice APM eyepieces from Germany.  You pay up for any of them, but once you know what you're doing in the hobby, you'll almost certainly agree with the heavy majority of us who purchase one or two really good eyepieces and see for themselves what they're all about. 

[Dave Mitsky]

The SV191 has been measured as having an actual apparent field of view of 38-59°.

 

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Agreed, avoid the eyepiece kits. Buy individual eyepieces as needed. The SVB zoom is a decent buy but the regular 7-21mm is even cheaper and gets good forum reviews. It has a narrow FOV (field of view) at 21mm but widens at the higher powers. The most useful accessory is an adjustable astronomy chair. They are expensive but well worth the investment.

Best of luck to you! 

 

https://www.firstlig...ing-chairs.html.

Edited by sevenofnine, 19 February 2025 - 05:31 PM.

[Jethro7]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Agreed, avoid the eyepiece kits. Buy individual eyepieces as needed. The SVB zoom is a decent buy but the regular 7-21mm is even cheaper and gets good forum reviews. It has a narrow FOV (field of view) at 21mm but widens at the higher powers. The most useful accessory is an adjustable astronomy chair. They are expensive but well worth the investment.

Best of luck to you! 

 

https://www.firstlig...ing-chairs.html.

Hello SebaSkywaker,

+1 on Sevenofnines post. A good adjustable observers chair is a game changer and one of the best accessories that I have ever purchased. 

 

HAPPY SKIES AND KEEP LOOKING UP Jethro

[PKDfan]

Congratulations SebaSkywalker on choosing a very fine scope (& mount) !

I respect some of SvBony offerings, especially their zoom eyepieces, but you can do better than those eyepiece kits.

I'd go for the zoom and a quality solar film- you don't want to save money there - and then just use what you've got for a year then you'll be considerably wiser and can invest your dollars into good quality eyepieces (and possibly get that Barlow) and in conjunction with your zoom and observing location and your eyes preference will guide you into the focal lengths you enjoy most and what your local skies will allow for high power.

It can be an expensive hobby if you let it but a good Plössl instead of a more expensive Nagler or Delos, to pick on TV, is certainly not a step down but putting a mediocre eyepiece in a superb scope is kinda like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

It won't cripple the view your getting but it won't be sharp sharp and filled with contrastiness either. If i was that scopes new owner i'd probably invest in a 20mm Televue Pløssl that SV191 zoom a 2X Barlow and solar film. The TV eyepiece will maximize your scopes optical ability and will give you a clear idea of its power as an optical device and the zoom will help delineate your eyepiece choices and high power ceiling.


I'm excited for you BUT go slow and not spend money twice (or thrice! Like i did) foolishly.


That scopes power on the moon and planets (and well everything else) will astound you for sure.



Clear Steady Skies
Lance

[SebaSkywalker]

Hello again, 

I finally bought the Svbony SV191, It is nice to have a zoom and more power but I was somehow disappointed, It was not as good as the reviews I saw, it have Chromatic aberration.

 

I'm having a trip to the US so I would like to buy a better eyepiece, what are your opinions about buying the Celestron 93423 X-CEL LX Series 1.25 inch / 9mm ?

 

I was also thinking to add a lower power (but budget) piece, (My telescope came with a 28" LET 2" sywatcher eyepiece, 52 degree).) what do you think about:

      -  NEEWER 1.25" 38mm 52 Degree Wide Apparent Field , 38mm Focal, Multiple Coated HD Optical Glass 4 Elements 1.25" t

      -  Celestron 93325 1-1/4-40 mm Omni Series Eyepiece 43 degree

I read that for low power a 2" would be better, but my filters (for moon and UHC) are for 1.25"

 

Thanks and regards

[WillR]

Hello again, 

I finally bought the Svbony SV191, It is nice to have a zoom and more power but I was somehow disappointed, It was not as good as the reviews I saw, it have Chromatic aberration.

 

I'm having a trip to the US so I would like to buy a better eyepiece, what are your opinions about buying the Celestron 93423 X-CEL LX Series 1.25 inch / 9mm ?

 

I was also thinking to add a lower power (but budget) piece, (My telescope came with a 28" LET 2" sywatcher eyepiece, 52 degree).) what do you think about:

      -  NEEWER 1.25" 38mm 52 Degree Wide Apparent Field , 38mm Focal, Multiple Coated HD Optical Glass 4 Elements 1.25" t

      -  Celestron 93325 1-1/4-40 mm Omni Series Eyepiece 43 degree

I read that for low power a 2" would be better, but my filters (for moon and UHC) are for 1.25"

 

Thanks and regards

The X-cel are good, but a better value are the paradigm 60 degree series and the UWA 82 degree for more money. Both series available from our sponsor.  https://astronomics....ndor=Astro-Tech
 

The 10mm UWA at $120 would be a good fit for your scope, giving you 180x.

[Oldfracguy]

Bienvenidos a Cloudy Nights!  

 

You will probably read here on Cloudy Nights about using some sort of reflective insulation wrap ("Reflectix") for your Skymax 150 Mak.  You can use any type of double-sided refective insulation that is usually sold on rolls at home improvement and hardware stores.  You can also use that double-sided reflective insulation to make your own dew shield.  Be sure to line the inside of the dew shield with black flocking sheet.  Here is a similar type of scope, a C6 SCT, with that double-sided reflective insulation wrap and a homemade dew shield lined with black flocking sheet:

 

 

 

 

Also, with the Skymax 150's 1800 mm focal length, you will not need a Barlow lens of any type.  I've had a few of these 150mm Maks myself, including a Skymax 150.  The shortest focal length eyepiece I ever needed was a 6 mm, and only when the atmospheric "seeing" was good enough to warrant 300x magnification.  The high f/12 focal ratio of your Skymax 150 means that you can use simple eyepieces like Plossls and Orthoscopics and still get great views.  Simple eyepieces like those do not work so well in scopes with smaller focal ratios like f/5 and f/6, where you need expensive, better corrected eyepieces with many more glass lens elements inside.  You will definitely need some longer focal length 2" eyepieces to get a True Field of View (TFOV) wider than about 0.9°.  That is the maximum TFOV you will be able to get using any 1.25" eyepiece in your Skymax 150.  Luckily, some of the less expensive 2" eyepieces that do not work so well in the faster f/5 and f/6 scopes will do fine in your Skymax 150.  One would be the William Optics 40mm SWAN, and another would be a clone of the Orion 38mm Q70, or the Agena 38mm SWA.  These eyepieces are sold under different brand names by vendors around the world.  Those 2" eyepieces would provide almost a 1.5° TFOV, enough to get a great view of the Double Cluster and M44.

Edited by Oldfracguy, 10 June 2025 - 06:57 PM.

[SeattleScott]

The 9Xcel LX should be a fine eyepiece, with good ER, albeit just 60 AFOV. 
 

I would hold off on a 2” eyepiece. I don’t see much point in trying to replace a $40 eyepiece with a $40 eyepiece. If you want to upgrade your low power, wait until you have more than $40 to spend. 

[Dave Mitsky]

The 8 and 12mm Astro-Tech Paradigm Dual ED eyepieces are out of stock.  The 9mm Celestron X-Cel LX and 10mm Astro-Tech UWA are both fairly good choices. 

It's unfortunate that the inexpensive 70-degree 10mm Agena SWA is not currently available.

https://agenaastro.c...a-eyepiece.html

 

The inexpensive 60-degree 10.5mm Astro-Tech PF might be worthy of consideration.

[Dave Mitsky]

The 38mm Agena SWA is in stock and would be a good choice as a relatively inexpensive 2" widefield eyepiece for an f/12 telescope.
 

https://agenaastro.c...a-eyepiece.html
 

The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg owns one that I use quite often in our f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrains and f/15 classical Cassegrain.

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[Dave Mitsky]

By the way, a 52-degree apparent field of view in a 4-lens element 38mm 1.25" eyepiece is not very likely to put it mildly.

https://www.cloudyni...eld/?p=13231487

[vintageair]

...I finally bought the Svbony SV191, It is nice to have a zoom and more power but I was somehow disappointed, It was not as good as the reviews I saw, it have Chromatic aberration...

I bought one too with the same opinion on it. I also had a heck of a time getting it because the first two shipments contained the wrong lens in the box. They have a confusing number of 7-20 mm zoom lenses of differing quality and price and it seemed that although I ordered the most expensive one the box I got clearly contained the cheapest one. So I would advise to double-check that you got the one you ordered.

 

One of the accessories I bought that I'm very happy with and would recommend is the 2 inch GSO 2x Barlow

[vtornado]

I assume the Mak is around f13.   I would not use any eyepiece under 10mm, until you have some time to assess your sky conditions, telescope quality, and mount stability.

 

The Svbony 7-21 might be OK, just realize that 7-10 might be too much magnification.  (Get the 6 element one).

 

Svbony UF 18mm is a very good eyepiece.  I own it, The Svbony UF 10 is fairly good at f/13 (i dont own this but reviews are favorible in slow telescopes)

 

No reason for a barlow with an f/13 telescope.   I use barlows in my f/5 scopes where reaching high power is difficult.

 

You can make your own solar filter out of Baader Astro Film and save a lot of money.    Don's cheap out on solar filters.  Baader film is safe.  I  wouldn't trust a no named product.  Make sure you make a filter for your finder too.