Thanks so much. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. These eyepieces have about 35 to 50 degrees apparent fields of view and reasonable eye relief, though quite short for high magnifications. A four-element eyepiece was made by putting together two achromatic doublets with different focal lengths. I have a variety of eyepieces, including Explore Scientific and Meade 82 degree series so I have choices. Is there much of a difference between the celestron and haader? There is one aspect in which a Kellner can actually outperform a Plossl: eye relief. A 15mm Plssl might be worth it, if you dont wear glasses. Another really helpful article, Ed. Type above and press Enter to search. 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. This determines how much light the telescope will gather. Plossl vs Kellner Eyepieces: The Ultimate Comparison At shorter focal lengths they have less eye relief, and at all focal lengths they have a narrower field of view, than newer types. If you do choose to go with a Plossl eyepiece, I highly recommend spending some extra cash to get yourself a decent good quality branded Plossl eyepiece rather than going for a cheap, generic eyepiece which is a Plossl only for the namesake. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our team of experts has reviewed and ranked 180+ telescopes based on price and quality. In the next section, we will talk about the AFOV of an eyepiece. All the rest will likely be 1.25. The stock 9 and 15mm Omnis were very good. I loved my Baader Mark-IV 8mm-24mm Zoom+Barlow combo in my 8" EdgeHD. See if you will observe with or without your glasses. How important a consideration is this when deciding on an eyepiece? This eye piece provides the maximum true field of view in the 1.25 inch format. The availability of good quality relatively wide field-of-view inexpensive eyepieces has kind of put them in the second tier of eyepieces, but they still hold their own in the longer focal lengths and excel if one does not demand a wide field-of-view. If you are on a strict budget, this is a good choice as a zoom eyepiece. Eyepiece Field of View Simulator astronomy.tools Field of View Simulator Change Telescope Reset Change Target Add Equipment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kellner eyepieces were first designed by Carl Kellner in 1849. now it all makes sense, you did a great job explaining all this information it was a lot to take in but i have it now. Amazon.com : SVBONY SV137 Barlow Lens 1.25 Inch 2X Barlow Lens Metal My understanding of eyepieces was very limited until I read this article, you explain things in a clear and understandable way which made my understanding so much clearer. It comes with two Barlow lenses, one Newtonian eyepiece, and three Plossl eyepieces in the set. Do you think the Baader Hyperion Zoom would work OK with the Skywatcher 150p? Here we get into the BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and Ferrari of eyepieces. However, I have eyepieces that have larger exit pupils than 7 mm and they work well. I havent been into the hobby for long but my experience is in line with whats been said. Consider something between 35 and 40 mm in focal length with an AFOV of 65 degrees or wider for your lowest power eyepiece for your telescope. Eye relief of less than 10mm gets really uncomfortableyou tend to rub your eyepieces against the eyepiece or lens, and you have to hold your eye at just the right distance to keep from touching the lens. 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. How will my telescopes focal ratio affect my purchases? Thanks for a very helpful guide. Hi Ed, If you would prefer to buy him $60 eyepieces or even $30 eyepieces because he is only 7 and he can upgrade later, that is also OK. Quality this good usually costs a lot more. And, the quality of the eyepiece clearly comes into play here. Pentax 10.5mm Eye Piece Excellent Condition (#314374986239) r***d (1910 . What happens if you use an eyepiece that has a the wrong exit pupil? The Baader offers wider fov, but at quite the price premium. Oh the pain of uh having access to really cool eyepieces.). 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.) Note to spectacle wearers: Plssl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers. Not everything in the sky benefits from high magnification. Celestron Eyepieces | Celestron Telescope Eyepieces - High Point Scientific That's hard to beat IMO. I am not aware of any such solutions for Newtonian reflectors. A long eye relief is also important for those who wear eyeglasses at the eyepiece, whether thats a member of the general public at a star party or an astronomer with astigmatism, which, unlike near- or far-sightedness, cannot be corrected with the telescopes own focuser. You use the 8-24 zoom for the midrange. They have a 60deg apparent field, long eye relief, adjustable eye shield and extremely well corrected. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-eyepieces/. And since this article is intended as an aid to beginners rather than a rigorous optics lesson, I think the context I provided works well enough. I have four telescopes, but I use the same eyepieces in all of them. 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. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Meade telescope maksutov eyepiece ETX-105EC Super Plossl 6.4mm 1.25" w capsule at the best online prices at eBay! The focal length range for 1.25 Plossls is about 6mm to 45mm. Such eyepieces are able to offer great performance, i.e., satisfactory degrees of deviations, to about a 50.degree field. 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. However, there can be a problem bringing the eyepiece into focus. 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. 40mm Orion Sirius Plossl Telescope Eyepiece | Orion Telescopes And remember, when all else fails, read the instructions. A Barlow lens can save you money and add flexibility. It costs three to four times as much as the Celestron Zoom, but if you have the budget, this is the one to get. This SVBONY eyepiece review should get you up to speed with the budget stargazing options. 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. If you want to observe the fine details of a specimen, Plossl eyepiece has a higher magnification than an ocular with lower lenses. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide all this information! Conclusion. But those EPs mentioned were all great too! Also, as the apparent field of view gets wider, the image will require more correction. What apparent field of view and eye relief do I want? I have not had an opportunity to test it yet but the general discussions have favorable. These are highly sought after ep's, and hold their value well. Many compare these favorably to eyepieces that are much higher priced. The computerized pad and motor work on AA batteries which can last you a few hours. Differences and Similarities. It may be a bit less than that in reality but for practical purposes that is close enough. I foolishly destroyed it while experimenting with solar projection, because I hadnt realized the metal-and-glass construction was aided by a plastic retaining ring on the field stop, and I hadnt realized you do not need to change the eyepiece focal length when doing solar projection. I am going to use 6. With an f/10 telescope, Plossls are as sharp as any other kind of eyepiece of the same focal length. I would like to know what is best for a 7 year old that would be getting his first telescope. It doesnt matter what type of telescope you have, as long as your scope takes these standard sizes. As new anti-reflection coatings were developed, it became possible to actually make use of complex lens arrangements (not just in relatively simple 4-element systems but also in convoluted, extreme wide-field eyepieces such as the TeleVue Nagler). And that is pretty much what Super Plossl are today. A very good quality eyepiece for a reasonable sum. These have the advantage that the front section with the optics can be unthreaded and threaded on to the filter threads of a 1.25 inch eyepiece. This type of design provides for both total magnifications as well as an erect image with little distortion. Lets look at the minimum. Generally, dont mess around with solar projection unless youre okay with damaging the instrument. Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space With a 8" dobsonian, a 6mm is very versatile. In High School, they told me that F=MA In college I learned that F=dp/dt But F=MA works well enough for most situations and that is how I think of it. It sounds cool, they must be better than regular Plossls with that name, right? 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, The Explore Scientific 68 degree series would be better but at a much higher price. And, in general terms, the higher the AFOV, the harder it is to make an eyepiece that will present a good image all across the field of view, which also drives up the cost. I found an ES 70 degree AFOV 35mm eyepiece and am wondering whether I should get this or the Orion 38 70. These companies rebranded them under their own names. For me personally, even though I don't use glasses to observe, I still don't want to dig out the view through a plossl or ortho eyepiece which tend to have short eye relief. The BHZ in a 2X Barlow will take an XT8 to 300X. Le migliori offerte per Celestron 1,25 pollici Omni Plossl telescopio astronomico britannico 32 mm J8R6 sono su eBay Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati Molti articoli con consegna gratis! Most people prefer the wider TFOV. These sport a 60-degree apparent field of view, about a 20% wider apparent field of view than Plossl eyepieces. But are they really? And you don't even have to get the full set if you don't want to. But for AP you should really start your planning with the mount. As a result, this can cause aberrations in the image as you move from the center of the view toward the edges. Plossls provide very good eye relief for eyeglass wearers in focal lengths of about 25mm and longer. I just added the 4.7 mm. However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. Some people have more than 6 and some have as few as 3. There is a little bit more to it than that and there are other design . A large field lens makes the ocular easy to look into. thanks for all your help. Hayppy that now I have more facts to put in my decision. The price can run to over $1000 per eyepiece. But your point is well taken. I would wait till you get the scope and use the included eyepieces. For astronomical observations, such as viewing craters on the moons surface from Earth, high-magnification models are preferred because they offer more detail. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. i did buy an astro-tech 3.2 paradigm ed from a cloudynights.com forum member. And certainly, if you are getting into AP you are going to need that big budget. Read our full affiliate disclosure here. We will now discuss the specifications of eye relief and apparent field of view. i still use the binos. EP-mm = magnification = afov 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 . This was my first zoom eyepiece and the one that caused me to fall in love with zoom. Very nice article. Gold line eyepieces are available in 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm focal lengths. 20 = 90 = .8 Do I need an adapter if my scope has a Plossl lens? Disclosure - If you buy something via our link, we may earn a commission with no additional expense to you. (Compare, for instance, 20mm of each type, or 10mm of each type.) Kellner eyepieces, on the other hand, are generally pretty close to each other in terms of quality so theres little chance you will get much variance in image definition between brands. 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. The design of a Plossl eyepiece consists of an objective lens with one side that is convex (wider than its length) while the other side is plano-convex or flat in shape. Was compairing the Apertura standard 15mm Plossl with their 15mm super wide angle eyepiece (70 afov). For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. Inexpensive Plossls that are manufactured using low-quality lenses are susceptible to internal reflections when viewing bright objects at high magnification. Now put the zoom on a 3X barlow and you have: Using the zoom approach with a Barlow your eyepiece set would consisit of a 32 mm low power eyepiece. Skywatcher SP Plossl lenses - Discussions - Stargazers Lounge In my opinion, you do not. Your email address will not be published. Meade telescope maksutov eyepiece ETX-105EC Super Plossl 6.4mm 1.25" w capsule. Was $38.99 - $99.99 Now $31.19 - $84.99 Compare Orion Edge-On Planetary 1.25" Eyepieces Fully coated with magnesium fluoride on every air-to-glass surface for excellent light transmission and high contrast views. This also makes them more resistant to any form of dust getting inside the eyepiece. Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. Sooooo helpful! The longer FL Plossls (>15mm) have some distinct advantages over more complex designs without the major disadvantage of Plossls which is short ER. Telescope Eyepieces | Orion Telescopes: Shop By having a range of magnifications, you can optimize the image, which means you need more eyepieces. A Barlow lens is an optical device that goes between the eyepiece and the focuser. In this article, were going to talk about what is a Plossl eyepiece, what are its components, how do they work, how many types are there and how youd buy a good Plossl eyepiece. That said, I should also tell you that not all Plossls are created equal. https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/explore-scientific-70-eyepieces.html. Sometimes you want to see a wider field of view to locate an astronomical object like a nebula by using nearby stars. This eyepiece was even better at correcting false color fringing, but because of internal reflections, the glare was even worse. Here are a few types of eyepieces you may read about and their typical AFOV. short answer: yes. They also have good eye relief, making them comfortable to use for extended periods. Second? 2019-2023 Little Astronomy. Kellner vs Plossl Eyepieces (Pros And Cons) - Scope The Galaxy It allows each eyepiece to provide two magnifications. Tip Its almost always cheaper to buy directly from Agena Astro. As Im sure you know, a Barlow actually narrows the cone of light that enters the eyepiece, hence it affects the apparent focal length and thus the f/ratio of the telescope objective. Plossl eyepieces are very good and fairly inexpensive, typically between $25 and $50 each. 600 mm / 200X = 3 mm This will be the focal length of our highest power eyepiece. That is a wonderful expression. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Stargazing Help came into existence when some young minds got mesmerized by outer space while camping. Suggesting an F6 scope becomes an F18 would also imply things like reduced CA in a refractor. As of the past couple years, it seems possible that the choice between Kellners and Plossls has been made for usyou either get what you get with your beginner telescope, or you will have to find a Plossl. The Hyperions work well in SCTs and you can't beat that large eyelens and eye relief ,JMO. We enjoy binoculars for the moon, but having never looked through another telescope, my kids and I do not know what internal reflection, ghosting, vignettes, or diffraction spikes look like! TeleVue Naglers, Plossl and Powermates | Astromart Explore Scientific 68 34 mm or ES 82 30 mm would also be good choices at a significantly higher price but with better edge correction. Focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece = magnification or power. No surprise there. It also was considerably more expensive. There is the 56mm Meade Plossl which magically turns my short FL refractors into their own finder scopes. Lenses are fully multi-coated for excellent light transmission and reduced internal reflections. I have personally tested a few Super Plossl and compared them to their regular counterparts by the same brand. How Good Are Super Plossl Eyepieces for Astronomy? The atmosphere is typically the limiting factor as we get to higher magnifications. If you are new around here and you want to get started with the hobby, check out our astronomy for beginners guide or the recommended gear page. You probably dont need to worry about upgrading them as soon as you get your telescope, unless you can see an optical problem in the one youre using or you find the short eye relief for the short-focus eyepiece uncomfortable. I have Celestron and the Baader Hyperion. Fully coated optics provide crisp and bright views of the cosmos. Telescopes Cost: Acceptable, Good, and Really Good Telescopes, Used Telescopes Buying Guide The Complete Guide, Different Types of Asteroids (C, S, and M) The Definitive Guide, Top 10 Night Sky Objects for Astronomy Beginners, Asteroid Mining Know Everything About It, German Equatorial Mounts (GEMs) Overview and Working. The zoom can be used with any 1.25 focuser too. The tradeoff was that each lens surface added another internal reflection, reducing contrast and adding glare. Do you need to have the best to enjoy astronomy? Omni 6mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. It is all about your budget, your goals, and your objectives, as outlined in the article. A Kellner eyepiece has 3 lenses, while a Plossl has 4. Gold Line eyepieces also offer better eye relief than Plossl eyepieces, especially at the shorter focal lengths. Each eyepiece gives you a unique magnification based on the formula listed at the start: Why do you need more than two eyepieces? The Wiki article(s) were very good if anyone else is confused. 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. All registered. No other type can compare with it when it comes to that quality. If you are a glasses wearer and plan to keep your glasses on while you are observing, then you will likely want eyepieces with at least 17 mm of eye relief, and some glasses wearers prefer at least 20 mm. Best suited for telescopes with f-ratios f6 or slower. I hope I can say that someday. Here's the short answer - Plossl eyepieces are generally better than Kellner eyepieces, but they also tend to be more expensive. The TFOV will be as wide as your 40mm Plssl, but with greater magnification and a slightly darker sky background. Etc.? Achromatic vs Apochromatic refracting telescopes. Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . The Plossl eyepiece has 4 lenses, consisting of 2 identical double lenses. 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. The bottom line is that it is best to have several magnification choices so you can optimize the view. A 2 barrel on the eyepiece will allow the manufacturer to create an eyepiece that provides a wider field of view. At that price point, it couldnt compete with other 5-element devices like Erfle and Nagler eyepieces that had better performance. Plossl and Kellner eyepieces are two very common examples of a simple eyepiece design, and they are probably the most common type of eyepiece you are likely to come across when eyepieces have been bundled with a telescope; they are also a very common aftermarket accessory. You really understood the material. Question: would an 18mm Baader Classic Ortho mostly used for Moon and planets loose sharpness and contrast if used with a short F5 telescope like the Celestron Astro-Fi 130? That is why I suggest, if you can use 2 eyepieces, you will want one or two low power wide view 2 eyepieces. They are also really sharp. On many occasions, that will be too high power for the atmospheric conditions. Its quite long but that is what we are aiming for and hopefully, it was useful to you. If the above guide has helped you understand the terms and workings of eyepieces, scroll up and make a selection from our recommendation list. This will become more apparent the wider the AFOV is of the eyepiece, in my experience. Even if we were next-door neighbors this would take weeks of discussion and planning. In your case, I would do this for the 30 and the 20. 6.5-ish mm (100x & 200x) Orion SkyQuest XT8 Intelliscope Review The BH zoom is optically a 1.25 eyepiece. What's the difference between two Plssl eyepieces? 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. The Plossl has good color correction plus is free of the ghost images that plague the Kellner. Comparing Orion Telescope & Binoculars options, it appears that a Kellner can be found for almost half the price of a Plossl of the same focal length, although there are also equally cheap Plossls available from various sellers on Amazon that are highly comparable. - 32mm plossl. Many Kellners are made with field stops opened up to 50 degrees, in which case it can truly compare to a Plossl in any telescope with a focal ratio of f/6 or slower. THANK YOU x 12! Worth is a subjective evaluation, so here is my subjective input: 1. However, some eyepieces have an eye relief as short as 5 mm. The Celestron Omni Plossl eyepiece range offers a nice entry-level range into the higher quality 4-element Plossl design. If you want to buy him $200 eyepieces so he can grow into them, that works. 6.7 = 268 = .3 They have good center sharpness but exhibit some field curvature and astigmatism. Yes, eyepieces is a large and complex topic. Even though both eyepieces are very common in beginner telescopes, it has become harder to find Kellner eyepieces on their own in the last two years, whether they come from a brand name or the original equipment manufacturer or a reseller. This can be debated 100 ways, but that is my advice. OK that makes sense, many thanks. The difference in TFOV will be significant at this focal length. 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. This four-element Plssl design is the most popular eyepiece optical design that gives you excellent image quality, good eye relief, and a 50 to 56 degrees apparent field of view. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, Then you look at the optical tubes. A rubber safety cap protects the lens when not in use while also providing additional grip on this 35 mm Plossl eyepiece. Here we have very good eyepieces with some extra features. In order to help you narrow down your choices, weve created a short guide that can help you figure out what the best viable option is. The magnification and field of view is the same as a 10 mm eyepiece (AFoV being unchanged) in a 600 mm telescope but the eye relief is that of a 30 mm eyepiece. They are most useful in medium and longer focal lengths for terrestrial, planetary, and lunar viewing. Even if you did need a 4mm focal length (for high powers in an f/4 telescope, of course), neither a Kellner nor a Plossl would have long enough eye relief for that to be comfortably usable! FOR SALE! 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. I tested out my BH zoom yesterday for the first time and it is a great eyepiece so thank you for the recommendation! Visual astronomy is all about aperture, the more the better. However, if you want to optimize your viewing experience, youll need to invest in a better-quality eyepiece. Plossl against Kellner eyepieces in a previous article, 5 Budget Telescopes That Are Sneakily Powerful. Perhaps you should seek out help from your local astronomy club. Scott. The image quality is very good and the additional field of view and longer eye relief makes them very comfortable to use. Hi Ed, I wont go into all the types of aberrations that can be there. 8.8 = 240 = .34 but the meat of the article is about understanding the considerations and specifications to know when selecting eyepieces. . eyepiece shows signs of use with caps and bolt case, 32 mm Plossl very good cond. Now, for my one or two low power eyepieces, I also like to know the field of view provided by that eyepiece. If you are buying your first telescope, and you are choosing between the telescope that includes a Kellner or a telescope that comes with a Plossl, with all the other specs being similar, pick the telescope thats offering you the Plossl, even if its slightly more expensive. The price ranges we show here are the typical prices. Top 10 Best Best Plossl Eyepieces 2023 - Complete Buying Guide You are asking about a very specific eyepiece in a very specific scope combined sometimes with a Barlow. Note that as we get into the higher magnifications, the millimeter jumps between eyepiece focal lengths gets smaller. If well made, Plossls are bright, with good contrast, and a flat field, and excellent sharpness. One of the main drawbacks of this eyepiece, though, is the eye relief. To say it a different way, in general, an F5 scope will place more demands on the eyepiece around the edge of the field of view than an F10 scope. For our experience level, would you recommend changing anything right now? Eyepieces are a religion. You have selected a very good starting telescope that will serve you for many years to come. Do you have any additional comments to help me? Plossl eyepieces have 4 lenses that are paired in two doublets. I believe the 5000 UWA's are good as well. Every new skill takes time. You can still get eyepieces, but there are few choices. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. I often recommend the use of a barlow to achieve the higher range of magnifications. that I could slide into my telescope and look at. As for tabletop scopes, dont forget that you need a table, stool, or bench to place them. If your focuser/diagonal will accept 2 eyepieces, then I will suggest you get one or two 2 eyepieces for your low power wide view eyepieces. In terms of eyepieces, my best advice is provided in the article. The more light that is gathered, the more magnification that can be applied to the image, up to the limits that are imposed by the atmosphere.