23 replies to this topic

[Dave-Ryan]

Just a quick one.
Which of these two eyepieces would be better for a 10" LX200GPS?

Tele Vue 32mm Plossl,
or
Meade 32MM 4000 Super Plossl.

[Jarad]

Between the 2 there isn't much difference in price or performance. You'll get lots of suggestions for other brands, and pretty much all of them will be pretty decent. The ones that are significantly cheaper won't have coatings that are quite as good as the upper tier (by significantly, I mean the under $50 sets).

Jarad

[Bill Grass]

The good thing about Plossls in that focal length is that almost any of them will be an excellent choice! I've heard folks comparing the Orion 32mm Sirius Plossl very favorably to the TeleVue 32mm.

[rboe]

Being an F10, your scope will be able to take on quite a few eye pieces and make them look good. I've got the 32mm TV and it performs well in all my scopes. Something my other eye pieces can't claim. I was playing around with several medium power E.P. in the Pronto last night (no TV units though for some odd reason) and all showed smeared stars in the last 20% or so. But it's a fairly fast refractor. I know my 20mm TV plossl is pretty sharp out to the edge - just can't recall if the 32mm is.

So your eye piece selection won't be critical unless you start owning faster dobs or refractors.

[erik]

especially in the longer f/lengths such as the 32mm you mentioned, you won't see much of a difference. in the shorter f/lengths the difference in performance becomes more noticeable. while i have the whole set of meade SP's, i think individually they're way overpriced. the orion highlight plossls are a much better deal, and a slightly better ep. the TV will probably have more resale value if you ever decide to get rid of it, although i'm not sure if the newer taiwanese made TV's have the same allure on AM or e-bay as the older ones made in japan...

[Blair]

I have the 40mm Televue Plossl and Orion's Sirius 32mm Plossl. In my 1900mm Meade ETX-125 Mak I can not tell a difference in edge sharpness or sharpness of view. The only difference is the brightness and that is because of the power difference.

As has been said earlier, for low power viewing in long focal length scopes the eyepiece does not necessarily have to be top quality to work well.

But if you plan to put it in a barlow then you may want to look at the Televue Plossl or similar quality eyepiece.

[LivingNDixie]

Televue Plossl

[Dave-Ryan]

Thanks for all your posts.
The reason for the choice being between these two is because they are both available on ebay and the TV is near its end date.

I don't yet own a telescope, I'll be getting the 10" LX200GPS (as mentioned) at the end of August.
After reading through a few posts from this forum, I decided to try to pick up a few eyepieces to have when I get my telescope. I've been bidding on ebay and up to now only had one winning bid, Meade 12.4MM 4000 Super Plossl.
Which other eyepieces would you all recommend for the 10" LX200GPS?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

[Victor Kennedy]

Dave, I have a similar scope (8" SCT) and most eyepieces I have tried work well in it. Personally, I find with the long focal range of these scopes that a 2" diagonal and eyepiece in the 30 to 40 mm range helps to provide a wide field of view.

[rboe]

Some one local to you should recommend the smallest for your seeing conditions. My gut feeling is that the 12.4 is probably the highest power you will want to go (also assuming you get a barlow in your kit). I would not go too much over 40mm either but I have less experience in that direction. A 40mm is the lowest power I have for my SCT and when I need a lower power I resort to the refractor. Usually means I want wide field anyway and the SCT will not do that.

[Dave-Ryan]

My gut feeling is that the 12.4 is probably the highest power you will want to go .

Hmmm...I bid for and won a Tele Vue 9mm Nagler on ebay last night, would this be a bad choice?


Dave

[Dave-Ryan]

Dave, I have a similar scope (8" SCT) and most eyepieces I have tried work well in it. Personally, I find with the long focal range of these scopes that a 2" diagonal and eyepiece in the 30 to 40 mm range helps to provide a wide field of view.

Thanks Victor, I'll look into this.


Dave

[Spyke]

Hi Dave, and welcome from another UK viewer!

I don't have that scope, or even that eyepiece, but if it doesn't work out well, the 9mm Nagler should be fairly easy to shift, as it's a popular eyepiece. Should be nice with a focal reducer....?

For initial question, I prefer Televue plossls in every focal length. Eye relief is more comfortable and view is slightly more "natural". In the 32mm focal length, as others have said, the difference will be marginal.

Enjoy,

Ant

[jrcrilly]

Hmmm...I bid for and won a Tele Vue 9mm Nagler on ebay last night, would this be a bad choice?


Dave

It's an excellent eyepiece, but with my skies it's not an "every night" ocular with a 2500mm telecope. Fairly often I'm limited to less than 250X.

[Victor Kennedy]

From what others have said about Naglers, it's probably worth buying a small scope to go with it. A 9mm eyepiece in an f/6 refractor gives a very nice view.

[Dave-Ryan]

Hi Dave, and welcome from another UK viewer!

I don't have that scope, or even that eyepiece, but if it doesn't work out well, the 9mm Nagler should be fairly easy to shift, as it's a popular eyepiece. Should be nice with a focal reducer....?

For initial question, I prefer Televue plossls in every focal length. Eye relief is more comfortable and view is slightly more "natural". In the 32mm focal length, as others have said, the difference will be marginal.

Enjoy,

Ant

Hi Ant,
I've just got back from Scotland, spent a week in Edinburgh, nice place.
There is a f6.4 focal reducer on ebay, I have my eye on, I'll see if I can get it for a nice price.
Oh, I missed out on the 32mm TeleVue.

Dave

[Dave-Ryan]

From what others have said about Naglers, it's probably worth buying a small scope to go with it. A 9mm eyepiece in an f/6 refractor gives a very nice view.

I can see this is going to be a very expensive hobby

[Victor Kennedy]

When you can snatch the Nagler from my hand, Grasshopper, you will be ready to leave.

[Rusty]

My gut feeling is that the 12.4 is probably the highest power you will want to go .

Hmmm...I bid for and won a Tele Vue 9mm Nagler on ebay last night, would this be a bad choice?


Dave

The 9mm Nagler is likely going to give you the highest usable magnification under the very best seeing conditions most of us mortals endure. But, as rboe said, the 12.4 is probably going to be the limit under most conditions.

[ErnieM]

I have a 2" Celestron 32mm and a Parks Gold Siries Ocular 35mm.The Parks far outperforms the 32mm as well as my other plossls down to 9mm,but it is not cheap at $189 new.That's my 2 cents worth.

[Dave-Ryan]

Thanks for your help, everyone, I think my mind is now clearer on the subject.

Dave