5 Best Telescope Eyepieces in 2023 [+Beginner's Guide] With a 8" dobsonian, a 6mm is very versatile. Like going from a 32 TV to a 65? It allows each eyepiece to provide two magnifications. Offering a wide 52 apparent field of view, these 10mm, 17mm, and 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl Telescope Eyepieces provide extremely sharp images of impressively high contrast. All registered. So, if your scope is F6 or lower, you may want to consider some of the higher priced, better corrected eyepieces if you want the best image to the edge of the field. . Understanding and using a Barlow Lens However, I have eyepieces that have larger exit pupils than 7 mm and they work well. The three-lens eyepiece that came out of this was much better at controlling false color fringing and other distortions, even in telescopes with short focal lengths. But those EPs mentioned were all great too! I must say Im quite confused about eyepieces. Plossl eyepiece is good for astronomy and microscopy. It uses two symmetrical pairs of glass elements (one convex and one concave) to pass the light. After these, we have mostly proprietary designs from various eyepiece companies. Buy Astromania 1.25" 4mm Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - 4-Element Plossl Design . It will also make your life easier if youre out observing on windy days that would otherwise blow off the front cover of your telescope. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. As I mentioned earlier in the article, not all Plossls are created equal, which simply means that there are good Plossls and then there are bad Plossls. This will give you a maximum target for planning purposes. Perhaps another review would be helpful. Choosing the best eyepiece for you - Astronomy Now 14 = 128 = .6 Even though there are more sophisticated types of EPs, Plossls hit the right spot between high-quality optics and price. Learn more about our story and the team behind the scene. If you don't like the reflections, there really aren't many other budget options at its focal length beside a Plossl which will be super uncomfortable to use, or spending over $100 for something like a Meade UWA. I really like the simplicity and compactness of these simpler designs (ie: Plssls, Orthos, Kellners, etc). SVBONY Direct . I also like to have my face physically in contact with the eyepiece (or the eyepiece cup) so the tight eye relief of the shorter focal lengths actually works really well for me. Do you think it would be sensible for me to look at getting a higher magnification specific eyepiece? We will now discuss the specifications of eye relief and apparent field of view. I had a TV 20mm Plossl once. What Is A Barlow Lens For A Telescope? You can read a thorough review of Goldline eyepieces here. In this case, I am going to define this by the focuser and eyepiece size. Once we are done, they will make sense. Kellner vs Plossl Eyepiece - What is the Difference? https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-barlow-lens-and-how-to/, https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece-review/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8879-1-25-Inch-Enhanced-Telescope/dp/B000BMPBLK/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3KKUJRXYYN7DI&dchild=1&keywords=telescope+diagonal+1.25&qid=1610887695&sprefix=telescope+diagonal%2Caps%2C512&sr=8-8, https://telescopicwatch.com/orion-skyquest-xt8-intelliscope-review/, https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-hyperion-mark-iv-8-24mm-universal-zoom-eyepiece.html, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Orion+Q70&ref=nb_sb_noss_2, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-eyepieces/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8829-Wide-Field-Telescope-Eyepiece/dp/B000M89H7C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Orion+Q70&qid=1606584502&sr=8-2, https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Scientific-68%C2%B0-40mm-Eyepiece/dp/B007LMG3F6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=explore+scientific+68&qid=1606584676&sr=8-1. Plossls tend to come with large, ground-standing Dobsonians, whereas youre more likely to find a Kellner sold with a tabletop Dobsonian. When a beginner is choosing eyepieces on a budget, there are a number of possible designs they may choose between. Their eye relief is limited to about 70-80% of their focal length. I still use my 30mm Celestron Ultima fairly often with some of my telescopes. I continue to be very pleased with the ES82 eyepieces. Lets just say that once you get below F5, it is really hard for the eyepiece to deliver a clean image to the edge. Hello sir, thanks for your article its realy helpful. Magnification or power = focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece, Focal ratio = focal length telescope / aperture telescope, maximum practical aperture = aperture X 2, Edges of the optics are blackened for increased contrast, which prevents internal reflections, Anti-reflection, fully multi-coated optics provide enhanced light transmission for bright and clear images. I would recommend the Orion Q70 series over that. Hi - I bought these from another AM'er 1 year or so back, thinking I will get into visual astro, But never found the inclination, So here it is for sale 9mm Nagler type 6 mint with box and caps,16mm Nagler type 5,optics are exc. About Us | Privacy Policy | ContactLittle Astronomy 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. And of course, NEVER look through a telescope pointed at the sun that does not have a safe solar filter covering the front. To determine a magnification range, we will start with the aperture of the telescope, the size of the front lens, or the mirror in the back. How does that field of view impact the viewing experience? The Plossl design has become the mainstay of the modern ocular business and probably represents the best value in terms of performance and price, especially in medium and long focal lengths. You also get 7 1.25 filters which include the following, #80A Blue Filter, #58 Green Filter, #56 Light Green Filter, #25 Red Filter, #21 . What's the difference between two Plssl eyepieces? I possess an embarrassing array of fine eyepieces with names like Ethos and Nagler and Delos. Are plossl eyepieces still worth it? - Eyepieces - Cloudy Nights I see that there are some optical limits to how wide an FOV a 1.25 EP can manage at bigger (like 32mm) focal lengths. Fully coated with magnesium fluoride on every air-to-glass surface for excellent light transmission and high contrast views. The focal length range for 1.25 Plossls is about 6mm to 45mm. She has been looking at the sky for years and hopes to introduce more people to the wonderful hobby that is astronomy. Better edge correction with a short-focus telescope is one of the things you pay extra money for, and sophisticated eyepiece designs have as many as eight elements. a Celestron 8-24 Zoom with a 2x Barlow I have a 4 element (traditional) and a 5 element 32mm Meade, both from the same era in Japan, and the 5 element is much better by quite a bit. Many compare these favorably to eyepieces that are much higher priced. The generic GSO Plssl from many manufacturers, including Astronomics (Astro Tech) and Agnena Astro, is as good as the Celestron and a few bucks cheaper. At that price point, it couldnt compete with other 5-element devices like Erfle and Nagler eyepieces that had better performance. Some optics brands have taken the next step and launched some eyepieces they have labeled as Super Plossl. It comes with two Barlow lenses, one Newtonian eyepiece, and three Plossl eyepieces in the set. Or, if you are buying from an online like Amazon, then look at the eyepieces I recommend and see if any suit your needs. Astrophotography with Nikon D3200: Can It Be Better? Quality this good usually costs a lot more. But you need to know, first, if you will be wearing glasses when you observe. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. EP-mm = magnification = afov For what it is worth, a slow scope like your CPC9.25 (f/10?) If you stumble the first few uses, dont be discouraged. I saw Jupiter today and its 4 moons but when I looked at saturn I struggled to get a really clear image and it was very small. Gold line eyepieces are available in 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm focal lengths. For shorter focal lengths, the StarGuider BST series eyepieces have greater eye-relief, so are better suited. I have several 10mm eyepieces in my eyepiece boxalmost all of them are eyepieces that came with some telescope I boughtand I will almost always choose to use one of the Kellners over one of the Plossls, because the Kellners have a longer eye relief, which is comparable to the focal length. Those that still come with Huygens and Ramsdens are generally cheap and low quality, since practically the only reason to use those designs in modern times is that they are extremely cheap to manufacture. Wide view and well-corrected view, even in F5 scopes. If you cant use 2, that 32 mm Plossl, which has a 50 degree AFOV, will give you about as wide a field of view as you can get in a 1.25 eyepiece. But, at least get the 32mm Plssl. I was looking on a OPT website and they have celestron 32mm and 15mm plossl. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. Divide that by the magnification of that eyepiece in that scope. 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. 130 mm scope will have a max of 260X for planning purposes. The length of eye relief on a Plossl eyepiece ranges from 12 millimeters (less common) all the way up to 45 millimeters with added benefits being that you dont have any issues seeing into your view. I have seen elsewhere discussions about the exit pupil of eyepieces. But will the Baader CO with 1.5-2-3x Barlows deliver a visibly sharper and more contrast view of the Moon and planets than the zoom lens with a 2x Barlow, to compensate for the zooms convenience that is the question! Required fields are marked *. Is there much of a difference between the celestron and haader? If we combine a Barlow with an 8-24 mm zoom eyepiece, we have an amazing range. Other eyepieces of more advanced design can have better eye relief and field of view. In most cases, these are eyepieces that are focused on wider AFOV or better correction for low focal ratio scopes. Thanks for going through the entire post. Plossl vs Kellner Eyepieces: The Ultimate Comparison Most telescopes come with one or two eyepieces. or a Baader Classic Ortho 18mm with both a 1.5/2x Barlow and 3x Barlow. Orion Sirius Plossl 1.25" Telescope Eyepieces Many approach the quality of the premium brands. And I continue to read excellent reports on the AT Paradigm and similar under different labels. I possess an embarrassing array of fine eyepieces with names like Ethos and Nagler and Delos. These low-quality Plossls lack an internally blackened lens barrel with thread baffles and blackened lens edges and sophisticated anti-reflection multi-coatings, all of which are a necessity to produce an excellent image. The components of a Plossl eyepiece are the two groups of lenses. Every new skill takes time. OHHH, now i get it! This can be very helpful for star hopping. Despite one being fundamentally superior to the other in terms of image correction, Kellners and Plossls are generally quite comparable in terms of the image you actually see. I have not had an opportunity to test it yet but the general discussions have favorable. If you wish to find a short-focal length eyepiece with a longer, more comfortable eye relief, you could use a long-focus eyepiece with a separate, high-quality barlow lens (an achromatic or apochromatic fully multi-coated barlow would be necessary), or you could purchase one of the several designs incorporating a smyth/barlow lens into the eyepiece design. Good 32mm Plssls run around $30-$40. If you are investing for the future, get the BH zoom. Plossls are available from many suppliers in a wide range of focal lengths in 1.25 and 2 sizes. No price limit. By correcting for aberrations, the field of view of these eyepieces could be much larger than the soda-straw field of view in a Ramsden or Huygens, around 40 or perhaps up to 50 degrees. short answer: yes. Generally, Plssl eyepieces are best suited to Newtonian and fast telescopes. This is a fairly inexpensive zoom that I wanted to try. that I could slide into my telescope and look at. Plossls cost a bit more than the Kellners as Plossls are expensive to manufacture because they require good optical glass and precisely matched concave and convex doublet surfaces to prevent internal reflections. The Hyperions work well in SCTs and you can't beat that large eyelens and eye relief ,JMO. You can buy a range of these from Modern Astronomy. If your telescopes focal length is different, just change the focal length in the formula. Of course, for the cost of the two Plossls, you could justify having them as spares or outreach EPs. 8.8 = 240 = .34 Between Kellners and Plossls, this means a 32mm Plossl, which maximizes the field of view in the 1.25 barrel diameter format, will show more stars than either a 32mm Kellner with the same magnification but a smaller true field of view, or a 40mm Kellner (or 40mm 1.25 Plossl, which has a 40 degree apparent field of view) with a lower magnification and the same true field of view. Your eyepieces do not need to be the same brand as your telescope. Plossl telescope eyepieces are the most popular type of eyepiece on the market. Later in the article, I will also give my top recommendations for both the best Kellner as well as the best Plossl eyepieces. They are most useful in medium and longer focal lengths for terrestrial, planetary, and lunar viewing. The only reason it's in this list because of its price and a long focal point. But your point is well taken. 600 mm / 200X = 3 mm This will be the focal length of our highest power eyepiece. Very worth it for me, as I like to use bino-viewers. I can recommend these with confidence. . The one exception I would keep in mind would be when working with Newtonian reflector telescopes below F5. 5-Minute Read, How To Increase The Magnification Of A Telescope; 5-Minute Read. Some of these series also offer 2 eyepieces for telescopes that can accept 2 eyepieces. The TFOV of the Hyperion will be greater than the TFOV of the Plssl, but the magnification will be about the same. The 5-lens-element pseudo-Masuyamas that telesonic mentioned are/were fine eyepieces. The reason a plano-convex lens is good for using with a telescope is that it provides for both magnifying and erecting the images. Warranty Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from date of purchase. Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space Excellent, thank you for the breakdown, very much appreciated. They are just OK, but I dont recommend them, especially in a low focal ratio scope. Hi Ed, Best suited for telescopes with f-ratios f6 or slower. If you were considering a Meade Super Plossl, in that case just get the regular one also by Meade. I couldnt find any suggestions on your site about diagonal recommendations. For one thing, a wider field of view is almost always more pleasant. Centuries of improvements led to achromatic refractors, where the primary lens is made up of two lenses of different types of glass, which reduces false color fringing and allows the telescope to be made considerably more compact. How do you focus - I would have expected helical focusers in the eyepiece holders but don't see any? I am not aware of an ES branded 70 degree series in the USA, but they do have a Bresser branded 70-degree series. Features : 5 superior-grade Plossl eyepieces: 1.25-in, 4-element design with a 52 AFOV (32mm has 44)4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 32mm . We also joined our local Astronomy Club and look forward to joining others under the night sky when the opportunity presents itself again. Aspheric and Plossl Plossl are both lens designs that can be used in most telescopes. there are of course options to plossls which are about the same prices as GSOs such as the BST Discoveries and TMB type eyepieces (new from Skies the Limit on Ebay) which have a wider field and better eye relief than plossls and are probably as good as most things non-premium. In the case of the Celestron, you get all the focal lengths from 24 to 8mm in one eyepiece that costs $100. This general purpose design gives good colour correction and an adequate feld of view at reasonable cost and they are often bundled with new telescopes. Such eyepieces are able to offer great performance, i.e., satisfactory degrees of deviations, to about a 50.degree field. Eye Relief: This refers to how close your eye has to be to the lens in order to see the full field of view. If there is a local club, I would suggest you visit and consider joining. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/. You are talking about the technical details of how a Barlow works, and I agree. A Plossl eyepiece is one of the most decent general-purpose eyepieces that are available on the market. You can do the calculation which will show that the 70 will have a significantly wider field of view as compared to the 52. So plan this into such a purchase. Put the zoom on the Barlow for the high range. 1:10 . But what are the other differences? i dont have 1 of everything, and i bought the best i could afford on a low budget; meade and orion. The Celestron Omni Plossl eyepiece range offers a nice entry-level range into the higher quality 4-element Plossl design. Free shipping for many products! Here we focus on becoming a knowledge hub for astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. So its best for use during duller times when there isnt much brightness visible. 1200 mm FL scope / 10 mm FL eyepiece = 120X, 40 degree AFOV / 120X = .33 degrees (less than 1 full moon wide), 60 degree AFOV / 120X = .5 degree FOV (about one full moon with no space around it), 82 degree AFOV / 120X = .68 degree FOV (about one full moon with a star field around it to frame it). The price ranges we show here are the typical prices. This may be enough for many eyeglass wearers. Or we say that F10 would be easier or less demanding on the eyepiece than the F5. As I mentioned earlier in the article, not all Plossls are created equal, which simply means that there are good Plossls and then there are bad Plossls. A Plssl is probably as good as any 32mm eyepiece in a 1.25 inch focuser. 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. They also offer a generous 16 mm of eye relief which is most important in the shorter focal lengths. If you do upgrade, youll probably want to go for a different eyepiece design than a Plosslsomething with a sharper image or a wider field of view or a longer eye relief (or all three.). This is where the second formula comes into play. Thanks all. They have a 50-56 degrees field of view, better eye relief, and cost more than Kellners. When selecting the best eyepiece for you, consider: Eyepieces are standardized so whatever investment you make today, the eyepieces will continue to serve you in any future scopes you may own. That said, I should also tell you that not all Plossls are created equal. Again, this is more noticeable in lower focal ratio scopes. 32 mm = 18.75X12 mm = 50X8 mm = 75X6 mm = 100X4 mm = 150X3 mm = 200X. Eyepieces are a religion. As for tabletop scopes, dont forget that you need a table, stool, or bench to place them. These are the best in optical performance and build quality. IF you like your Hyperions , you could get a 2 inch visual back and 2 inch diagonal / or 2 inch SCT diagonal and add the 31 or 36 Baader eyepieces in 2 inch . Sony A7III vs A7RIII Astrophotography: Which One to Shoot Infinity! So, basically a Plossl eyepiece is a type of eyepiece that enables the viewer to see a wider field of view than would normally be the case, but at the cost of him/her having to physically put his eye very close to the lens of the eyepiece. What Is A Plossl Eyepiece?(Thoroughly Explained!) - Scope The Galaxy 8.5-ish mm (75x & 150x) Do you need a 10 mm planetary and a 10 mm DSO eyepiece? 1.25" 6.3mm 32mm 40mm Plossl eyepiece set give you a good variation in magnification for a wide range of targets with extra sharpness and long eye relief. thanks for all your help. The first group is made up of a convex lens and concave lens, while the second one has four small cylindrical lenses that work together to magnify what you see through them for your viewing pleasure.