Typically, these will be 25 mm and 10 mm or something close to that. Lets illustrate with an example using a 1200 mm FL telescope. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Omni 32mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. There is no guarantee that you will be able to get a good image of any given target at that level of magnification on any given night. If you stumble the first few uses, dont be discouraged. Outstanding job Jack. I think you will change your mind. Is it just about finding and framing, or do wide fov EPs create a more immersive experience? Some of these series also offer 2 eyepieces for telescopes that can accept 2 eyepieces. In addition, the eyepiece would be a Huygens or Ramsden design, where two lenses made of the same type of glass could be combined to yield minimal false color fringing, as long as the focal length of the telescope remained fairly long. How does that field of view impact the viewing experience? But those EPs mentioned were all great too! I wont go into all the types of aberrations that can be there. You will get varying opinions on this but I would not worry too much about this. Meade 32mm 2" 5-element Super Plossl Wide Field Eyepiece They deliver sharp images in almost all telescopes. Their 50 to 52 degree AFOV is wide enough for general observing. (often referred to as Pseudo Masuyama). Theres a wide range of quality when it comes to Plossls and trusting the brand you are getting one from matters a lot if you dont want to get an eyepiece with lots of reflection or optical issues. We also joined our local Astronomy Club and look forward to joining others under the night sky when the opportunity presents itself again. This is perfect for a 25mm Plossl (an extremely common standard) and downright luxurious with a 32mm Plossl, but when you get below about 12.5mm or 10mm, it can begin to get difficult to use. A key thing to remember is that eyepieces are universal. Over time, you will likely spend more on eyepieces than on the telescope. The Plossl was also called a Kellner Type III in some earlier references; in the 1950's, Edmund Scientific sold a "Kellner" eyepiece made from war surplus lenses, but it actually consisted of two achromats in the classic Plossl configuration. There are some very good choices in this range. Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" $17.01 Super Plossls offer a smaller field of view, which makes them good for close-up views and examining small objects. These are highly sought after ep's, and hold their value well. Understanding and using a Barlow Lens Now, for my one or two low power eyepieces, I also like to know the field of view provided by that eyepiece. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. So speaking of the Barlow as if it modifies the FL of the eyepiece, while technically not correct, does provide an easier model to understand the net effect. SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Set Telescope Accessory Kit with 2x Barlow Lens 4 Element Plossl Design 6.3mm 32mm 40mm for Astronomical Telescopes. When you add eyepieces to your collection, you will want to consider what field of view you want and how much you are willing to pay for it. You can find the eyepieces I use and recommend in this article. Not all are Plossls, but excellent eps at f/10. I would recommend the Baader Hyperion Zoom for any telescope. Lets look at the minimum. Meanwhile, Plossl eyepieces are much more common and easy to find. Stargazing Help is a participant in Amazon Associates program. Free shipping for many products! As to a more immersive experience, yes, I would say a wider FOV does provide a more immersive experience. Generally, to maximize the number of stars you see in an eyepiece with a given telescope, both the magnification and field of view should be maximized. This might contain more of what you need. A common problem are eyepiece kits, which are big boxes that some telescope suppliers will sell you with half a dozen eyepieces, most of which include annoyingly short focal length Plossl eyepieces. Over $250, I will label premium eyepieces. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-barlow-lens-and-how-to/, Celestron 8-24 Zoom Review I have just one Meade product currently and that is a series 4000 1.25 inch UHC type filter which I use for outreach. The telescope comes with a 2x Barlow so I was thinking of getting one of the zooms you recommended. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. In my opinion, there are no wrong exit pupils. Regular Plossl eyepieces with maybe just a slightly better coating or build quality. 3. In the early days of telescopic astronomy, refractor telescopes were designed with a single lens at the front and a single lens at the back. If you want a very good eyepiece with a bit wider field of view but are on a budget, these are very good choices. Have Any Astronauts Been Lost in Space Forever. 100-300X, 2X Barlow. You are looking through a LOT of atmosphere which distorts the image. I also just bought the Celestron Starsense 102mm refractor (650mm focal length, f/6.5) as a first scope for me and my kids. I have four telescopes, but I use the same eyepieces in all of them. Plossl eyepieces are often included in better telescope packages as the starter eyepieces. Each eyepiece gives you a unique magnification based on the formula listed at the start: Why do you need more than two eyepieces? Its quite long but that is what we are aiming for and hopefully, it was useful to you. 5 Best Telescope Eyepieces in 2023 [+Beginner's Guide] So its best for use during duller times when there isnt much brightness visible. You are asking about a very specific eyepiece in a very specific scope combined sometimes with a Barlow. Correct image diagonals are easier for beginners and they are great for using the scope during the day, but experience people dont use them for astronomy. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. The "sharpness" you are seeing may well be better explained by the focal length of the ep than the quality of Plossls in general. Scott. We will talk more about the field of view later, but note that if you can use 2 eyepieces, you will typically only have one or two for very low power wide field views. I found an ES 70 degree AFOV 35mm eyepiece and am wondering whether I should get this or the Orion 38 70. Plossl vs Kellner Eyepieces. - Little Astronomy . I want these as possible as wide, magnification and astrophotography purpose. > Click here to jump to the Best Eyepieces section. Plossls provide very good eye relief for eyeglass wearers in focal lengths of about 25mm and longer. Required fields are marked *. However the package includes a 1.25 to 2 adapter so if you have a 2 focuser you can treat this like a 2 eyepiece leaving the adapter normally included with the scope for use with other 1.25 eyepieces. Also worth mentioning i wear glasses which I will wear while observing. When you use a Barlow lens with an eyepiece, you get the magnification, but the eye relief is not affected. With a refractor, SCT or MCT, it is usually better to get a correct image diagonal than a correcting eyepiece. New and used eyepieces + 2 diagonals - Updated There is the 56mm Meade Plossl which magically turns my short FL refractors into their own finder scopes. The sharp/crisp view you get from your 40mm Plossl comes down to the relatively low magnification it provides. Worth is a subjective evaluation, so here is my subjective input: 1. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase. Very often, those eyepieces will be in the outdated 0.965 format rather than the modern 1.25 or 2 diameter barrel format. Even though the design has existed for more than a century, it has stood the test of and is still today the standard against which other eyepiece designs are measured. I dont know if they make anything like this anymore, but as a kid, I had plastic slides with images on them (the Milky Way, Horse Head Nebula, etc.) For example, if you put a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow, it will triple the magnification you get from that eyepiece. I am very near-sighted, barely see the big E on the vision chart without glasses. I would expect it to be similar to the Celestron in image quality. This will become more apparent the wider the AFOV is of the eyepiece, in my experience. I recommend it often to beginners on a tight budget. It was grueling, because I couldnt even get the entire field of viewI had to keep my eye hovering above the exit pupil. Fortunately, the investment can be leveraged with future scopes since eyepieces are standard sizes so they work in almost any telescope. The views through it are very impressive, and it always amazes me when I get that one out. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. Sorry but I am not offering a configuration and pricing service. They are usable, but your eye will be extremely close to the top lens glass. One last thing, as a kid I used my telescope to watch squirrels and birds (which was interesting because the image was flipped around :-) so, you might consider getting an eyepiece that flips things the right way around so that navigating terrestrial nature is easier to manage. At 32mm, a Plssl will give you as wide a field of view as any 1.25mm eyepiece can. The Plossl is a good all-around eyepiece design, is well suited for generic use and is relatively inexpensive to make. Another useful aspect of a wider field of view is that, assuming the entire eyepiece is sharp enough to show good images right to the edge, you dont have to nudge the telescope to track the rotation of the Earth as often with a Plossl (50 degrees) compared to a Kellner (40 degrees). Is there much of a difference between the celestron and haader? We will use 10 mm as the eyepiece focal length, but we will look at three different 10 mm eyepieces, each with a different apparent field of view, AFOV. If the above guide has helped you understand the terms and workings of eyepieces, scroll up and make a selection from our recommendation list. These are just a few examples of eyepieces that I have used, and some that I own. They also offer more eye relief than Plossls at the shorter focal lengths. That said, I should also tell you that not all Plossls are created equal. Remember that visual and AP have very different requirements, so plan on at least two different optical tubes. Plossl vs Kellner Eyepieces: Which Is The Best? - The Big Bang Optics A good modern eyepiece like a BST starguider 12,8 and 5mm are excellent eyepieces. The bottom line is that it is best to have several magnification choices so you can optimize the view. short answer: yes. However, sometimes i am at the end of the range of the binocular focus adjustment. NEW. https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-102-130-reviewed/, If I was to upgrade these lenses, I was planning on working toward something like this: The Big Bang Optics is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In my scopes a simple zoom eyepiece like the Celestron 24-8mm or the Baader has replaced the higher powered plossls. Suggesting an F6 scope becomes an F18 would also imply things like reduced CA in a refractor. Astrophotography with Nikon D3200: Can It Be Better? (Compare, for instance, 20mm of each type, or 10mm of each type.) A 32mm Plssl is worth it. If you want to buy him $200 eyepieces so he can grow into them, that works. I am going to use 6. How you divide up your magnification range is up to you. As you learn more about astronomy and you gain more experience with time, you may want to move to Plossls or even higher-quality eyepieces. Under my sky it was rare that I would be able to get over 225X and still maintain a good quality image, except on the Moon. Question: would it perform well with 1.5/2x and 3x Barlows? The components of a Plossl eyepiece are the two groups of lenses. My 20, 26, and 32mm Plossls will probably stay around. Plossl eyepieces are perfect for astronomical viewing because the field of view is wider. But some people demand the very best, and it is available, at a price. If your scope uses eyepieces that are closer to 1, then you have an old style .965 that is now obsolete.