First Light Optics affiliate links www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes/ref/astrolavista/

Informative , and in-depth... Great video Chris... I've always said one of the best upgrades you can do to your telescope is upgrading the eyepieces... And with this added knowledge, folk can't go wrong.. Btw, love the intro :D

@smalloptics753

2 жыл бұрын

M57 in Arnie's eye made me howl xD

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Awh thanks so much Jason, I think you're 100% right about upgrading eyepieces to get the best out a scope, especially if it comes with a flipping Huygen's. No offence to the great man himself, he was a fantastic scientist and inventor of his time. If I could resurrect him somehow and show him the views through an 100 degree eyepiece I'm sure he'd be gobsmacked! Although he might also be gobsmacked by the resurrection thinking about it lol

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@smalloptics753 haha, I'll confess to grinning like a madman whilst I was doing that :D

@lazarlazarov7857

Жыл бұрын

I will say, the best upgrade is a dull tank of fuel to the darkest place you can reach.

i just finished building my own optics and complete dobsonian scope for a 10" and 15". I am a complete newbie just starting to star gaze. I started this dream when i was 15 yrs old.......now 68 and the dream is now realized. Having awesome information like this is really helpful so I can spend money on eyepieces wisely. You are very versed in this subject manner and went into great detail on the how and why. As a retired eng. I appreciate this. Great video! Keep up the good work!

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

I very much appreciate your kind words Forrest, thank you! and it's great to hear you've built such large optics, and especially impressive if you've ground and polished the optics? I still have a 8.75" mirror shelved at the fine grinding stage awaiting polishing with a pitch laps tool. One day I will finish it when I get the time! Thanks so much again for your reply, makes the hard work of putting these videos together all worth while :)

"It's a Ramsden, it doesn't matter" made me laugh!

@tuunaes

Жыл бұрын

Turd is turd, no matter how much polished. Same for bad eye relief and/or narrow(ish) AFOV. Even top quality manufacturer can't correct flaws/limits of the particular design.

My new Maksutov telescope has a 1800mm focal length. So, I can use Plossl eyepieces in comfort. Again, as you say, DON'T go too short on the focal length (of the eyepiece) ! Great Post! Thank You.

My thirst for eyepiece knowledge has been quenched!! Thank you 👍

Absolutely comprehensive. Probably the best video I've seen on this topic, so thank you for posting. Brilliant.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Duncan, really glad you enjoyed it!

In hindsight I was a little harsh on Plossls. Especially for someone that went back to using nothing but Plossls for several years! I probably should have mentioned that Plossls make excellent planetary eyepieces with very long focal length telescopes E.g. a 10mm (which still has passable eye relief without glasses) would give a nice 200x Mag with an 8" SCT with 2000mm focal length. The only other amendment I can think of is my example using a 10mm 100 degree eyepiece for best contrast with an f/5 scope. Yes true it would give the magic 2mm exit pupil, but I'm aware we need to compromise on exit pupil in order to fit larger objects in the field of view. I think what I was getting at is people often jump for something like a 35-42mm thinking it's going to be a great deep sky object eyepiece, but often all they're doing is blowing the contrast and softening the image, as well as having black outs from the magnified central obstruction, plus the massive eye relief makes it hard to position the eye. I think in reality something around 15-25mm with a very wide AFOV would be a better compromise.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

​@@maksutov1 Hi there. I think a lot of this is down to magnification. You've probably noticed the higher the magnification the more you see the turbulent atmosphere. The 7mm will give a massive 285x magnification which would only work on the most crystal clear still nights. The 25mm with 2x Barlow gives 160x which should be usable most clear nights? There is a general rule of thumb that says use 20-30x per inch of aperture, this can be a little low depending on the scope though, and there is a cut off usually around 200x where the turbulent seeing conditions really kick in. Cheers, Chris : )

A Tele-View 82 degree eyepiece in 9mm (they don't have a 10mm) is $345. The Nirvana brand eyepieces seem to be confined to Europe as I couldn't find a US seller.

Great video. I really appreciate the discussion of astigmatism. As some with astigmatism, this was a very informative video. Keep up the great work!

When writing my math ebook, I made a helpful formula for the apparent linear magnification. Take the square root of the telescope power value, and the object will appear this many times wider and-or higher. I think people can grasp this value more than an area magnification.

Hey Chris! - Man there's so much info here, amazing work! - I feel like I could watch the video a dozen times and still be picking up bits I missed 👍👍 If ever I'm in the market for eyepieces, I know who I'm asking for info anyway 😂 Anyhow, seeing you enjoy that purely non alcoholic beverage has given me a thirst which I now much quench, all the best and clear skies my friend 🍻

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Luke! :) Er? the eyepiece phase I talked about might have been an understatement :D I also think this beer thing could have a snowball effect because you've just reminded me to pop another one in the fridge. Heineken zero this time, only 69 calories so guilt free pleasure :) Hope you're enjoying your well deserved beer mate, brilliant stuff hitting 2k subs by the way! ( just the start!) look after yourself and take it easy - this probably translates into pull an all-nigher if it's clear out, but you know what I mean :-)

Absolutely brilliant piece of information! Keep up the good work!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! :)

Weight is another consideration in upgrading on smaller scopes. Some scopes will have their balance thrown off if the eyepiece is bigger. Nice review.

This has to be one of the best videos explaining what one needs to know about eyepieces. Very thorough and straight forward in detail. I'm am slowly upgrading most of my Plossl's to Televue eyepieces. The Naglers I have are incredible!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Bill, thanks for your kind words. I've used the 7mm Nagler before and that was great. I might be alone in this but I also really rate the Celestron Luminos 82 degree. It doesn't have the edge performance of the Nag, but it's easier to see the full field of view. I found that with the Nagler and the ES82's you need to get your eye well in there. My eyelashes are too long and hit the eye lens lol

Excellent video. Thanks for sharin'! Very well worded and explained.

@AstroLaVista

8 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Great Chris! I Enjoyed that and was nicely informed.

Excellent guide - thanks for the education!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

A very helpful video. Thanks! I'm looking at buying my first telescope and I know an 8' dob would be ideal but with what's available in Australia I'm looking at a 6' dob and upgrading the eyepieces carefully so I can have a smaller dob but still get a lot of enjoyment from it with sensible eyepiece upgrades and this video explained some fundamental topics.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it Vicky :) Same situation here in the UK, you can't get hold of half the scopes at the moment including the 8" Dobs : ( Having said this a 6" is still very capable, I had some of the best planetary views of my life with a 6" f/8 Dob. The f/5 is also very capable so I'm sure you will be pleased with either. Eyepieces are the number one upgrade for sure and I can see you're doing your research :)

@marcpopick248

10 ай бұрын

A 6” scope is not small. You will get good views of planets anywhere, but you need dark skies if you want to see DSOs

I own 75mm Dobsonian, using with a 10mm Baader eyepiece! The latter is a really great quality!

I've got a storage spot for "comes with the scope" eyepieces. BUT my Zhumell came with a good quality 17mm Kellner that gives the best Lunar views in my 152mm F5 reflector than anything in its range. Try them with other scopes, it doesn't work very well with the F4 100mm scope it came with, but the 152mm it does work well in.

Geeked out there mate, well done.

Great video Chris!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Vineeth, cheers mate! :)

Great Informative Video Chris!! 👍👏🔭

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate! :) I don't think I missed too much out lol

Great Vid and really helpfull Chris!!! Thanks!!!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Manolis! I'm happy it will be useful for people :)

I love this video!! Now I know why I love my Kellners :) Thank you!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

This makes me happy thanks! p.s. Cool channel name :)

@spacetimewithrobert4438

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista YOU TOO!! Thank you

Awesome video, and information!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!!

Nice video Chris! It’s hard to find info on eye pieces so this was very welcome. +1 for Ghost Ship … nice brew. :)

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Kris! I think you'll agree that eyepiece videos are not as in vogue as Astrophotography videos, but it's good to keep the visual flame alive at least :) Ah yeah, the Ghost Ship deserves a bit of lime light, I've tried various non alcohol replacements for the real thing and this is the best so far!

@krisleslie980

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista it’s all about astrophotography these days. This is fine but there’s something kind of special about star hopping and seeing the target with your own eyes (shameless nostalgic moment).

Wow Chris you just blew my mind with eyepieces. I might actually have to put that eyepiece(is it any good) I got with the 150 in the scope!! Watch out those horses don't catch fire mate.👍🤣

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

lol Give it a go Ollie :D Depending on the scope, Skywatcher either give you a 10mm & 25mm modified achromat which are ok to start with (noticeably better than the Huygen's and Ramsden), or it's that big 2" 28mm Kellner. They're not amazing but could be worse. Hehe yeah, can't you tell I free styled the whole thing. It's 30 degrees here today so the horses might spontaneously combust :D

Well explained thanks

this was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so helpful for someone like me just starting out. 8 inch dob. :)

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful, cheers!

This is a great help, thank you.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

Great video, really helpful thanks

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Just getting into Astronomy, and been doing a lot of research on telescopes and eyepieces lately. Enjoyed your video, and learning a lot! 👍 Sub’d!

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard the Astronomy train :)

Thank you, Chris! Awesome review. Making a complex subject much easier to understand (in less than 15 minutes, no less) is a gift. If I understood your point about optimal Exit Pupil for DSO, a 12mm focal length wide-field view EP would represent the "sweet spot" for my f/5.9 Dobsonian. Is that correct? BTW, great touch with the beer!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Very happy to help Brian, glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. Yes that's right, a 12mm eyepiece will give an exit pupil of 2mm with an F/5.9 scope, and a 2mm exit pupil is thought to be the best compromise between contrast and the risk of showing up eye floaters. Thank you for your kind words :)

I have a full set of Omcon Plossl eyepieces and they are great. Some are about 40 years old.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Anything vintage is cool.....well..with the exception of Huygen's eyepieces perhaps .

Hi Chris excellent video! I just bought my first scope a 10" dobsonian that comes with a 25 plossl. What other eyepieces would you recommend I should buy?

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

Hey congrats on the new scope! You will probably want a higher power eyepiece for the Moon and planets, double stars etc and I can recommend the BST Starguiders at 49 quid a pop or discounts apply when you buy more then one. I don't know which 10" Dobsonian you have but it's likely a 1200mm focal length f/4.7 in which case putting myself in your shoes I would get the 12mm plus the 2x Barlow lens. The 12mm will give you 100x mag for those small DSO's and medium power on the Moon and adding the Barlow will give you 200x for the planets double stars, close up lunar etc: www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-12mm-ed-eyepiece/ref/astrolavista/ www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-2x-short-barlow-lens/ref/astrolavista/ It depends though on your budget. Clear skies!

Eyepieces can move from scope to scope and can be sold I figure, easier than the scopes themselves so if you can, go for the better quality, understanding that you can sell them if you need to. For buying look used.

Excellent video. Just what I wanted to know, how to calculate exit pupil factor. Thank you for sharing.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it was useful, cheers :)

@amp2amp800

2 жыл бұрын

My tip : its easier (to remember) that the exit pupil is the diameter of the objective glass divided by the magnification. That's kind of intuitive. In the end you have the same sums to do (if all you have is the eypiece focal length) but you wont forget the formula. For bino's it becomes dead easy - just divide the big number by the small one.

30mm ES 82 on a f6 scope is 5mm exit pupil. My eye dilutes to a maximum of 5.5mm (I'm 52, exit pupil measure by my optometrist btw). It's close enough to the Nagler 31mm and I've had the pleasure of using that, albeit with a 18" dob that a friend had to see both the Western and Eastern veil. No issues and that's a faint object.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds good. You're only missing 0.5mm of light cone entering your eyes max, and dark skies trump everything else. I'm guessing you have dark skies if you're looking at the veil with no mention on filters?

@davepastern

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista we were observing from bortle 1 skies yes. 18" aperture does help! I can't remember the f stop of the dob in question. This was circa 2010/2011. I recently had the chance with my local Astronomy club to view 47 Tucanae and Tarantula nebula with 2 different 14" dobs (Orion and SkyWatcher, effectively the same scopes other than branding). Just gorgeous! Mars was a treat too (this was December 2020 - haven't been back out with the club since due to either covid19 or health issues). Not working at the moment, but seriously considering a hubble optics 14" lightweight goto dob when I'm working again and out of debt and can afford it - the aforementioned SkyWatcher/Orion dobs are just far too heavy for me as a I have some serious lower back issues. aperture and dark skies trump everything else imho. The average adult will end up with 5mm pupils in dark skies by the time that they are in their 50s. I'm finding that my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be and I'm not dark adapting anywhere near as well. Such is the price of getting older! I also have mild astigmatism in my L eye (my eyes have been doing funky things the past 5-6 years with eye pressure being too high, astigmatism swapping from R to L eye [weird!] etc). I can't read for shit now lol, need glasses for everything except distance viewing. I find the wider AFOV eyepieces (82 onwards) are too large for me and I get black outs/kidney beaning quite often. The exception to this is my wonderful TAL 24mm 80 degree eyepiece which is amazingly comfortable to observe with) . Highly recommended, but long since discontinued. They do come up now and then on the used market for reasonable prices. I think I paid USD $150 for mine back in 2017.

Great Video! Sorry if this has come up already someplace, but I recently picked up a Heritage 150p and was wondering what kind of eyepiece you would recommend to get the most out of this telescope for planetary viewing? Thanks

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Peter, it depends on your budget. If we're talking 50 quid then I'd opt for a BST Starguider 5mm which will give you 150x mag with an exit pupil of 1mm. These have a huge eye lens so they are immersive and comfy to use with good eye relief. www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-5mm-ed-eyepiece/ref/astrolavista/ What's your budget?

@peterbushell5683

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Budget is not so much of an issue, but I don't really know if it is worth it to go out and spend a fortune on eyepieces that will not benefit from such an entry-level telescope. I don't know if I would do top-end, but I could possibly do a little higher range pieces. I was thinking of picking up a new 20mm, 10mm, and then a 6mm or 4mm. I could do 50 to 100 quid on two of these and maybe spend a little more on whichever you feel would be most beneficial. How has your experience been with various eyepieces on your Sky-Watcher Heritage 150p? Which do you feel helped you get the best planetary views out of this telescope? Is spending a little extra on eyepieces even worth it. (discounting the fact that they would be useful down the line when upgrading to a better scope) Also, I would be using it with my son(7 years old), so a larger comfy lens diameter would be helpful. I really appreciate any advice. Thank you for your reply.

Nice video Chris! how have you been this period of summer?

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Loan, many thanks :) Yeah good thank you for asking. I've mainly been working as I'm virtually full time at FLO, so not as much time for videos, but finding the time from somewhere. It's only just really felt like summer here the last 2 days, it's been cloudy and relatively cold and rainy the few weeks. How have you been loan?

@GalaxyArtMedia

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Nothing spectacular for me this summer, weather was not so good i have been working on some videos and bought a star tracker

Ahh "Ghost Ship!" sounded like someting else! :| Very useful info. I'm upgrading eyepieces for an old Skywatcher 80mm, thanks! :)

@paganphil100

11 ай бұрын

@barticoch: I misheard him.....I thought he said "Goat shit"

Upgrading my 30yo plossls to Televue Delites.from 18.2 on down to 9mm.

Hi, i have a celestron NEXSTAR 45. I find I have to move my eye around alot to view clearly. Can anyone recommend an accessory that will allow me to press my eye against?

Great info Chris, I am about to purchase a Stella Lyra 8" dob and am hoping you can give me your view on the included eyepieces and any recommendations for additional /replcements to get the best from the new setup, like you I also wear glasses. Thanks

@AstroLaVista

6 ай бұрын

Hi there, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The included 9mm Plossl and 30mm 2" Superview are decent, however you will likely want a bit more image scale on the planets than the 9mm (133x mag) eyepieces provides. I would recommend the StellaLyra 6mm planetary eyepiece which will provide a decent 200x magnification for planetary views and it also has 20mm eye relief so you can see the whole field of view even whilst wearing glasses: www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-eyepieces/stellalyra-6mm-125-ler-planetary-eyepiece/ref/astrolavista/ I would also recommend a 15mm eyepiece to fill the gap between the 30mm and 9mm. This would be ideal for small deep sky objects and will perfectly frame the Moon. There is a really good deal on an open box 15mm Ultra flat eyepiece at the moment: www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_stellalyra-15mm-ultra-flat-field-125-eyepiece_343320/ref/astrolavista. Bear in mind you will only need to wear glasses whilst observing if you suffer from moderate/severe astigmatism. If you have no/mild astigmatism you can compensate for long or short sightedness simply by focusing. I hope that helps and enjoy your scope when you get it :)

@Honitonman

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much, all on order from FLO this morning.@@AstroLaVista

What make and model over 100 degree field of view eyepiece would be best for quality and affordable point for Nexstar 127SLT telescope, please? I want to show my wife Saturn and we both wear glasses and she is clumsy so the view needs to be big.

Hello. I know you have probably answered the question in the video but really want to be sure as as extremelly new to this and the technical side lost me a little. I have bought the heritage 150p but due to a house move i have misplaced the 25mm eye piece supplied with the telescope .. is it worth replacing it or could you recommend a good upgrade/replacement this isnt too expensive. really apreciate if you could reply and I trust your opinion

Two questions. First regarding the exit pupil, if I understand it correctly (beginner here). For a 203/1200mm f6 (Sky Watcher Traditional), I should be looking into getting a good 12mm for DSO with a broad FOV ? I do wear glasses (nearsightedness), but not when watching through the telescope. The telescope comes with the stock WA 10mm, 25mm which you also have in your video. Secondly (not mentioned in your video), is the effect of "x2 Barlow" then in the order of a two times smaller exit pupil?

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

Hi Terence it's a yes to both questions :) a 12mm eyepiece will give an exit pupil of 2mm in your Classic f/6 200p Dobsonian (basically an exit pupil below 1mm can show up eye floaters and large exit pupils give a light sky background thus poorer contrast so 2mm is a good compromise) However a simple 12mm eyepiece may have a relatively narrow field of view so might not be suitable for large deep sky targets, you can get around this by using an eyepiece with say an 68 or 82 degree field of view. I have another video all about Barlows and Powermates, but these effectively double your telescopes focal length so your Dobsonian used with a 2x Barlow lens will become an f/12 and a 12mm eyepiece would then give a 1mm exit pupil. I hope that makes sense, clear skies!

Hi Chris great information and detail on these eye pieces plus different types! I'd like to upgrade my Vixen Custom 80m refractor telescopes old eye pieces so which ones you recommend? I need star diagonal that takes 1 25" eye pieces so I can upgrade. I got scope in April 1994 so it's time to upgrade! The original eye pieces done great as I got great views on many objects. I'm still thinking of getting them for my 72ed for visual as well as astrophotography! I'll be glad when the dark nights come back in soon and clear skies hopefully! Thanks for video and take care buddy!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi John, are you currently using the older style 0.96" eyepieces? If so yes grab yourself a decent 1.25" diagonal first, I use this one with dielectric coatings and a brass compression ring so it doesn't leave marks on your eyepieces: www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/william-optics-125-dura-bright-dielectric-diagonal/ref/diyastro/ Eyepiece wise I need to know budget? do you want planetary/Lunar or a deep sky eyepiece? and do you need to wear glasses when observing? Yeah, I don't want to wish the summer away or any thing, but it does play havoc with the old astronomy :D Take care mate.

@bushcraftandastronomer.3775

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Hi Chris. I'm still using the old eye pieces that came with the custom 80m. I still think they still good but showing there age. Could do a upgrade so I can use other better eye pieces. Scope still in good condition. I used scope for planets and deep sky objects and I usually take glasses off which I find better. I think glasses just get in the way. I'm more into viewing planets and deep sky with scope. Moon through scope were nice and a bit bright but gave clear views of craters etc. Clear skies lately as last night I saw moon while cooking next to my tent and moon is low down. I have some interest in the moon but don't know much because I'm more into deep sky and planets. Scope gives nice views of Saturn and it's rings as it's WOW! Looking forward to the dark nights again next month. Scotland still in twilight all night. Stay safe buddy and clear skies!

@bushcraftandastronomer.3775

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Hi Chris just to let you know I've uploaded quick video on my youtube channel on my astrophotography gear and bivi tent which wasn't good at waterproof. Just a quick video though! Hope you are well and safe!

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@bushcraftandastronomer.3775 Hey John, excellent I'll check it out now :)

@robertsonsid

Жыл бұрын

Celestron 94115-A is the diagonal that I use on my Vixen made Celestron 80mm F11 refractor. It came with a Vixen Ortho 18mm eyepiece which is as good or better then modern Plossl eyepieces.

Stop saying I'm suffering from astigmatism. I don't know any different. I am not suffering. Love the video really helpful.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

lol Cheers!

I got a set of 1.25" Plossl eyepieces to upgrade the included pieces with an Orion 4.5EQ. Overall, most of them give better views. My problem with the higher powered Plossls is the tiny eye opening. I just got one 1.25" SWA 6mm to try it out before getting an entire spectrum, just for the AFOV and eye relief. It's been bitter cold and somewhat cloudy the last few nights, so I haven't tried it yet. One other explanation I've read about having the secondary mirror and spider in view is going with too low power for a specific scope. I was going to get a GSO 2" SWA 42mm for low power wide views through my Orion XT8, but the math suggests the secondary might be in view. It'll be something like a 35-36mm instead. The 42 should work using a 2x Barlow doubling effective focal length (and magnification to a 21mm eyepiece), but at $75 to experiment, I think I'll pass. ....I have found one good use for the Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces.... the protective caps can be used to replace lost ones on better replacements.

@petset77

Жыл бұрын

....oh, I also got a Celestron Firstscope 76mm after the other two. It's just for grab and go for partly cloudy nights, and works pretty well for the purpose. Focus is a bit more challenging with higher powered eyepieces, but I got it for casual viewing of the moon, Pleiades, conjunctions, and wider targets using a 20mm or 25mm eyepiece anyway. Clear Skies!

@tuunaes

Жыл бұрын

That 42mm eyepiece is more fit for Cassegrains with their long focal ratios... Unless you're like 30 or below, exit pupil would be likely too big wasting light and making your telescope effectively smaller than 8". (with wide person to person variation max pupil diameter can be below 6mm even for young) Also like pollution can prevent full pupil dilation. While very low magnification makes background brighter (especially with any light pollution) lowering contrast between it and stars. So shorter focal length/higher magnification but wider AFOV eyepiece is more safer. And actually that 42mm GSO SuperView has far narrower than advertised AFOV making it not significantly wider than 30mm SuperView resulting mostly just lower magnification and contrast instead of actually wider view.

@petset77

Жыл бұрын

@@tuunaes, I ended up getting the Orion Q70 38mm (2") eyepiece. It just came in Saturday, and it was cloudy/snowy the last two nights. I did use it in the afternoon yesterday to align new finders (8x50 angled and Telrad) I got to replace the included red dot. Outside of my living room window are three 14,000' peaks about 18-20 miles from me to the top. I ended up finishing with a longer but narrower 1.25" 12.5mm Plossl to arrive closer to center in the eyepiece. I was pretty close using the 38, but the AFOV was enormous. I would have had DSO targets in the eyepiece, but I ended up adjusting just west to be spot on. I don't know the exact AFOV of the Q70 (claimed 70 degrees), but it's considerably wider than the 28mm 2" eyepiece supplied with the XT8. Clouds are rolling in again this afternoon, but I'll be checking it out as soon as I get even a 50% clear evening.

Are reflector eyepieces and refractor eyepieces different?

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

Same eyepieces for both but you can get focusers that are only 1.25" which can only take 1.25" eyepieces, and some focusers are 2" which can take both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. Most modern eyepieces are 1.25" so if you stick with those you can use them in any modern telescope :)

I have an Xt8 with a 25mm plossl, and I want to get a lower power eyepiece for under 100$. Does anyone know of a sub 100$ eyepiece for looking at the pleiades cluster and orion nebula? I am considering the Orion Q70 and the Agena Swa, but I would prefer something less expensive

Hello I was wondering if you could help I want to get a first telescope but I'm stuck between the skywatcher star quest 130p and the skywatcher explorer 130p I like the looks of the starquest mount but like the way you can do collimation yourself if when/needed on the explorer?

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi John, you can think of the Starquest as the replacement for the Explorer. The mount is nicer on the Starquest - love the large clutches and it's a well made mount for the price (I've reviewed the Starquest 130p and previously owned the Starquest 102R so I'm basing this on a fair bit of use). I was sceptical about the factory fixed primary mirrors to begin with, however everyone I've tried so far (6?) has been great. They've really earnt my trust so far.

@johnregan3591

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Thanks for the reply Chris, yes I saw your very helpful video on the starquest 130p but I was still a bit sceptical about not being able to adjust the collimation. Ever heard of one being knocked out of line or know what would happen if it was? The reason I ask is I would probably take it out in the car a fair bit

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnregan3591 No worries, I haven't heard of any issues as of yet John. I bought a Celestron Firstscope to review a while back, it's a tiny 76mm table top Dobsonian with a factory fixed primary. It wouldn't reach focus with my ZWO planetary cam so I decided to remove the primary mirror cell to look at moving the primary mirror up the tube to gain more in focus. Well it didn't go to plan, when I saw how firmly the mirror was glued to the thick plastic cell I decided to forget about the idea. The factory fixed mirrors are really fixed/glued to a flat solid surface. The only way I can envisage the primary going out of collimation is if the optical tube was dropped on concrete and dented. Further to this, 3 of the factory fixed mirrors I've used have had very fast f/4 steeply curved mirrors where collimation is more critical than the 130p f/5, and they have all been fine to my surprise! I think you would need to be unlucky to get a dud from what I've experienced so far. The original Explorer 130p on an EQ2 will be fine also, if you would like the control over collimation, neither are a bad choice :)

@johnregan3591

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Thanks for the reply and your personal experience into how well they are glue/fixed, I am still undecided but will commit to one shortly. I'm also tempted to get a travel telescope but have no idea what to get, have you done a video on it yet? 👍

I got 4 68° svbony eyepiece from ebay for around £90 and think there very good ,also I got a cheap 8-24mm eyepiece from China to help me get on target and that was only £20 and well worth it then swap it over but I'm doing everything on the cheap 🤣

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Andrew, I also had the cheap 8-24 zoom and thought it was awesome for the money (Avoid the 7-21 version though). I think they SVbony's might be 58 degrees? I've not tried them though, are they any good?

@andrewpattie358

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista yes I was told to stay away from all the 7/21mm eyepiece I had the celestron 8-24mm before and dropped it and broke it so though £18 worth a go svbony do a few different eyepiece ranges I got the 68° ones there is 4 different sizes there about 25/30 each or around 100 for the 4 I think there good but I don't have any other really good eyepieces to compare them too I do get a reflection in my table top scope but its only 300mm long and after waiting this video I no y allways wondered y it went away with a barlow lenses 🤷‍♂️ but I had no such issues with my other too scopes I'm just starting out in this hobby really and think like anything u can spend as much or as little as u want as I don't know much about what to get at the moment im spending little and if I drop one and it brakes its not as bad at 20ish rather then 100+ 🤣

What is a 82 degree eyepiece good for if your eyes have only around 60 degree FOV? Does it permit some freedom of movement of the eye?

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

Hi Akos, 82-100 degree eyepieces give a space-walk sensation. You only see around 60 degrees well at any one time but the remainder is always in your periphery, it's like the field stop disappears and you are dipping your eye into space. That's the best way I can describe it. The only downside is eye relief, most 82 degree eyepieces I've tested have relatively poor eye relief so you need to push your eye right in to perceive the full apparent field of view. The 100 degrees are better but more expensive.

maybe its a stupid question but can I use any eyepiece for any telescope? Ive got the CELESTRON StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ telescope and I wanted to buy a new eyepiece and new filters but I dont know if I can use any filters by any brand maybe someone can help me Thanks in advance!

@AstroLaVista

Ай бұрын

Hi, you unfortunately can't use any eyepiece with any telescope. I believe your telescope has a 1.25" focuser, so you need to choose the smaller format 1.25" eyepieces and not the larger 2" eyepieces. There is also a limit to how much magnification your telescope can take; I would choose an eyepiece with a focal length of 6mm or above (A 6mm eyepiece provides 167x magnification with your telescope, and that is a realistic maximum). You can use any brand of filter as long as they are 1.25" filters designed for astronomy. I hope that helps.

Wow, The Best Eyepieces Guide on KZread :D

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! :)

im having a skywatcher flextube 150p, still considering what eye piece to upgrade. now using the 2 eye piece come with 150p, is quite frustrated, people said a good eye piece gave the tube second life...any recommendation for 150p? some really expensive eye piece almost same price with 150p :(

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Hengkian, I also own an Heritage 150p so I can help you out here. You probably want a choice for planetary and Lunar and something for deep sky objects right? Firstly, do you need to wear glasses for observing?

@MyClassicify

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista hi chris thx for reply, nope i did not wearing glass. Living in city, bought a UHC filter. Yes want to see Deep sky object at beginning and later planetary. Has been months still cant see Orion (i know where is orion but just cant see it)

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyClassicify It may be that you need to travel to darker skies to help see deep sky objects. Upgrading your eyepieces will make a bit of difference, but if your sky is washed out with lights there is a limit. The UHC will help block some of the light pollution, so that should help at least. Other than that all you can do is optimise your contrast by going for an eyepiece that will give you an exit pupil of around 2mm to 3mm, maybe something like a 12mm-15mm 60 degrees BST Starguider: www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/ref/diyastro/ Or something like a 16mm 82 degrees OVL Nirvana for an even wider field of view www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/ovl-nirvana-es-uwa-82-ultrawide-eyepieces/ref/diyastro/ Both have great reviews. For planetary I would look at adding a 5mm to your collection, this will give you 150x with an exit pupil of 1mm . This isn't the highest mag your scope will take, but it should be usable most nights regardless of the seeing conditions, and you shouldn't get the eye floater issue. For example you could either go for a 5mm BST, or something like this StellaLyra: www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-eyepieces/stellalyra-5mm-125-ler-eyepiece.html. These are just examples, but it gives you the idea.

@MyClassicify

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista thanks for the recommendation but these brand hardly can find in asia, shipping fee from FSO to Malaysia cost £30 way too expensive. I can get Explore Scientific 52degree 4.5mm at £35 include shipping from china, for planetary, replace StellaLyra 5mm. And Explore Scientific 82degree 14mm at £75 included shipping, replacing OVL Nirvana 16mm. For deep sky object. Is that cool?

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyClassicify That's very cool! The Explore Scientific are way more expensive over here so I didn't use them as an example, and they're out of stock. That should be great, I have the ES52 10mm and it's very good optically, and has exceptional build quality. I've owned the 14mm ES82 and again very nice, just a bit tight on the stated eye relief of 15mm, so you need to push your eye into the eye cup to see the full field of view. This is the case for many 82 degree eyepieces but they do give you that space walk feeling which is something special :) The ES82 14mm is £155 over here, more than double the price ! ! www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-82-degree-series-eyepieces.html

The three second rule lense

Plossl type eyepieces can be superb sharp and contrast at the center of view. They can beat more expensive wide FOV (field of view) eyepieces when observing small objects like planets. Good wide angle eyepieces, like Explore Scientific, have good sharpness at almost whole FOV and they have wider FOV. They incomparable better for observation big objects like Moon, Sun, deep space. But their maximal sharpness can be a little lower then good and significantly cheaper plossls. So compare both types at different cases and don't harry throw plossls away.

Why is it that buying omni Plossl eyepieces are much cheaper from China than buying them in uk?they come from the celestron factory.I’m a newbie and a 2xbarlow is 21 pounds from China and up to 70 pound in uk?

I don't really know of anyone that needs to wear eye glasses while viewing at high power because of astigmatism. My astigmatism is quite severe at 6.5 in my viewing eye. So not sure why they would want to stay away from a Plossl ep other than getting eyelash oils on the lens and being hard to clean it off because of the tiny eye lens, I tend to think they make good planetary ep's because of the limited number of lens elements. It is kind of annoying to use them without a motor drive tracking the object though because of the limited Fov especially if you are moving the scope by hand. But I would like to hear from others that do need to wear eye glasses while viewing high power planetary viewing. Astigmatism usually goes away at small exit pupils.

Amused by the red hot favourite at 3 o'clock Newmarket :-) I'm looking for a good budget choice at 10mm for an ST80 Chris (F5). Any suggestions? I prefer reasonable eye relief and a wide field and anything that isn't prone to adding to CA. Probably too much to ask for :-)

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Hehe I have no explanation for the things I say sometimes :D Ah if only you were looking for an 8mm or 12mm, then I would point you towards the BST Starguider's which work really well down to f/5, have good eye relief, and contain ED glass to reduce CA. www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/ref/diyastro/ The Baader Classic Ortho in 10mm would be great, they are incredibly sharp and contrasty, but they don't have particularly good eye relief or a large field of view. www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece/ref/diyastro/ There is a reduced Vixen SLV 10mm on the FLO clearance section. It's more expensive, but they are as sharp and contrasty as the above Baader, only they also has great eye relief and are very comfortable to use like the BST's, www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_vixen-slv-eyepieces_229260/ref/diyastro/ Depends on your budget? Less than £49 you might need to give up the eye relief and go for the 10mm Plossl which I personally think is as low as you want to go in a Plossl. Only £20 though! www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-essentials-eyepieces/astro-essentials-super-plossl-eyepiece/ref/diyastro/

@Mouxbar

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Thanks Chris, insanely helpful 😆

I am not rich, I concentrated my money on the aperture of a DOB 10, I have no money to buy an eye piece priced same as my DOB 10.

@AstroLaVista

Жыл бұрын

That's fair enough :)

(Places tongue firmly in cheek and takes up grumpy Patrick Moore stance...) This video is very good, apart from the use of the ghastly Merkin pidgin English phrase 'swap out'. 😁 Please, it's just 'swap'. Accidental typos [12:35] are easily forgiven, but let's have a bit less of this 'grey' spelt with an 'a' stuff, please. What? Of course it matters! 🧐 I've got my eye on you, young man...

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

lol you caught my attention with the phrase 'Merkin pidgin', simplified English with a pubic wig hey, very interesting (Strokes moustache that most definitely isn't a merkin). Would the phrase 'swap out' actually be considered pidgin English? Its more complicated than simply saying the word swap, and historically pidgin is grammatically simplified correct? Anyway back to Astronomy Ennit :D

I would like to have some better eyepieces, I just can't afford them being on a fixed income.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

If you ever find you have some extra money, the BST Starguiders are extremely good value for money. They are called Agena Starguiders or Paradigms in the states. A lot of eyepiece for £49 or around $60. I used to own really nice eyepieces, now I have 3 kids instead :D

don't waste money by either Takahashi or Televue. You can't go wrong, it will cost you but you have them for life.

Thumbs up for NGAF about dropping the crap EP 😆

All Of My Plossl Have Fold Down Eye Relief

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

Fold down eyecups? The eye relief is the distance from the eye lens to your eye where you can still see the full field of view. This scales with the eyepiece focal length so a 6mm Plossl will only have 4mm where as a 20mm will have about 15-16mm

dude you dropped it

Non alcoholic ! So your admitting to zero street cred

Your generalizations on eyepiece designs and focal lengths are not useful. Plossls not good for planetary ? Huygens not good ? You need to go back to the drawing board. You are parroting what others have said without having your own wide experience for context. You need to know that 2nd yr. tech students are laboring in China 10 hours a day for 1000 RMB per month (less than 200 CDN) for a year making eyepieces, in an effort to make the Communist party business owner rich while wiping out all competition abroad. DO NOT BUY CHINESE SCOPES AND EYEPIECES. It looks like that is about all You have.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

I've pinned your comment which I'm sure will raise awareness of your China plight. You're welcome : ) p.s. I'm sorry but there just isn't a way you can make an Huygen's compete with modern eyepiece designs. Also there are no eyepieces mentioned in the video that I haven't used myself. E.g. I used nothing put Plossls for several years, but before that I tested everything I could get my hands on. I had nice collections of Ortho's, BST's ES52 degree to 100 degree's. I've owned Nagler's Luminos, Panoptic's, StellaLyra etc etc. Sorry but you're wrong about me parroting what others have said. I've pinned your comment, but wouldn't it be better to make your own channel to shout about the issues in China? You know, rather than spamming other peoples channels? Just a thought. P.s. Thanks for the thumbs down ;)

@anandarochisha

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Well, i am over the Pond and have read plenty of History about the efforts England made to get Us to join the fight while Hitler was building Concentration Camps. Now China is building them and a % of the money You sent to buy Chinese Products is going into running them. Maybe it is Our turn to wake YOU up, especially if You think this is my personal problem and am spamming You personally. As for eyepieces..think about it for a second. That 4" refractor You are recommending is actually a large eyepiece with 2 or 3 lenses in it. How exactly are You, then knocking simple eyepiece designs? I have a nice 9mm Nagler, made in Japan. These eyepieces came about for the need of eyepieces to correct for fast systems, like an f/4 Newtonian to arrive at a flat field, and correct for curvature and inherent design compromises. They were not designed for uncompromising resolution in the center of the field with minimum air to glass surfaces to scatter valuable photons.(like your 4" refractor was). An 8mm Brandon offers me even more planetary contrast resolution than my Nagler and is 2 cemented assymetrical achromats (4 lenses glued into 2) made in 1949. Not everything is explained by the newest marketing and made in China.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@anandarochisha I think you've mis understood. I'm not knocking simple eyepiece designs in general. I'm not sure how you got to that? Just Huygen's. They are thrown in with cheap telescopes as they cost pennies, but they really harm the potential of any telescope they're sold with. I love simple 40 degree orthoscopic eyepieces for their sharpness, contrast, and control of scatter on axis. I love Plossls too, just that the eye relief is hard work for planetary unless you have a 2000mm focal length telescope and can start using the 10mm Plossls upwards. I think you're better off with an Ortho in that case because at least they're shaped to jam your eye in close. Wide eyepieces didn't come about for the need of eyepieces to correct for fast systems, like an f/4 Newtonian to arrive at a flat field, they came about simply to give you a wide field. What you said is wrong on another level too because they still can't correct for coma and you need a coma corrector or Paracorr to give a flat field at f/4. You are right in that they aren't as sharp on axis, but they have better contrast because of the exit pupil they allow whilst still allowing a usable AFOV. I bet you didn't get that far into the video though. Well you ARE spamming me personally, I'm not sure how you could deny that? the evidence is in CAPITALS in your opening message. Seriously though, if you're so passionate about issues in China start a channel and raise awareness. Don't drop onto channels of people who have bought things from China in their life and start being negative followed by breaking out the shouty CAPITALS! You've been on my channel before doing the same, make your own channel. It's good that you're concerned about people thousands of miles away because a lot of people don't tend to think about things that are not in their immediate circle. So I appreciate that you're concerned. I just think they way you currently go about it may get peoples backs up rather than getting them on side. If you make a channel you'll build support for your cause. I am curious though, what would happen if everyone stopped buying from China? How would that effect the working class in China? Oh and your analogy with the doublet or triplet refractor would only work if you could use them without any other elements. You would get field curvature without a flattener for imaging, and it would be simply unusable for visual without an eyepiece which contains more elements.

@anandarochisha

2 жыл бұрын

@@AstroLaVista Yes..the new eyepieces were designed for for wide fields.. with the minimum field curvature at the edges and hopefully flat. I like plossls and orthos too, and because most of what i do is planetary and double stars, have the long focal lengths to appreciate the eye relief. So yes..good and valid criticism. On China, however, you are missing the mark. As a Moral Human You are responsible for the fact that You are not here to hurt anybody, and if You are investing in such unethical processes and systems, of which Genocide most certainly is, You no longer have an excuse. I took that from you. You may view it as trolling or spam but it is true and You know it, and now you feel singled out and then you come up with "Well what if we all stopped buying from China, look at all the people it would hurt?" Analogous to, well if we stopped buying from hitler's germany, wouldn't that hurt everyday germans?. (Yes i know about the Death camps) Problem is that in the UK and EU, you no longer have the selection or manufacturing for Astro Products because CHINA TOOK THE MARKET WITH FORCED LABOR AND PATENT AVOIDANCE AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES. Now You have students in China forced to work for a tech degree in Astro companies for 200 bucks a month....AND YOU ARE HOOKED ON CHEAP CHINESE PRODUCTS AND SEE NO ALTERNATIVE!! Your Chinese only buying Choice made sure You would destroy your choices to buy in the UK or EU to the point where EU companies sent their mfg. to China and now you do not have the courage to reverse Your buying choice and blame me for even suggesting it. Well.. HOW ABOUT YOU START BY SUGGESTING IT HERE.

@AstroLaVista

2 жыл бұрын

@@anandarochisha My Question was "what would happen if everyone stopped buying from China? How would that effect the working class in China? " I genuinely want to know but unfortunately you didn't answer the question. You also didn't comment on starting your own youtube channel to discuss what you're passionate about instead of trying to get me to voice this on your behalf? (is that what you're doing?) Look I would love to have factories in the UK churning out astronomy equipment, nothing would make me happier, but the cost of living is cheaper in China and they can undercut us every step of the way on materials and labour. Yes they get paid less and the cost of living is less. They've fine tuned mass production and we just can't compete. There are one or two telescope manufacturers left in the UK and they are small. They don't sell mass produced telescopes, Orion UK mainly do high end reflectors, I don't think they sell refractors. Skylight stopped making scopes. Not sure what Beacon Hill are doing? I don't think much, and Moonraker make bespoke high end refractors, each takes a long time and costs thousands. I guess we could all buy Takahashi's from Japan, but again thousands and you still need to buy the clamshell and finder separate which costs more than an 8" Newtonian from China alone. For reference my car is worth 700 quid, I wouldn't even get a FS60CB for that money. You're not willing to even set up a KZread channel to preach what you're really passionate about, or even a webpage? net alone come over to Europe with a sustainable business model for astronomical manufacture. Your answer is stop buying from China, but I say again, what will happen to the people? Or is it all about sticking your fingers up at their establishment? because that might not actually help the people of China which is why I'm asking.