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A Kellner eyepiece has 3 lenses, while a Plossl has 4. In the box you'll receive 5 1.25 eyepieces at following sizes, a 32 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 17 mm Plossl Eyepiece , 13 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 8 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 6 mm Plossl Eyepiece, a 2X Barlow Lens 1.25. 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. 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. I use some plssl eyepieces, since I still have quite a few in my kit, and yes, the others are correct. the shorter the focal length eyepiece = the shorter the eye relief. Also, children do not often have highly developed motor skillsso I would avoid the frustration of switching out eyepieces, and consider a zoom lens. No surprise there. A zoom eyepiece works like the zoom lens on a camera. A typical zoom eyepiece has a focal length range of 8 mm to 24 mm. I need your advice on it. Kellner eyepieces were first designed by Carl Kellner in 1849. Kellners can be as little as half the price of a Plossl in the same focal length, but they are generally very comparable, especially in recent years as telescope prices have fluctuated in response to changing supply chains and demand. Read the full Earning Disclosure here. A decent barlow might cost as much or even more. I would like to know what is best for a 7 year old that would be getting his first telescope. SV207 30mm Super Plossl Eyepiece. Higher priced eyepieces usually include more elements in the optical path that are there to help reduce or eliminate aberrations that can be seen around the edges of lower cost eyepieces. 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. I had a bino pair of TV 20mm Plossls, very fine for high power planetary observation with my long focus 8" Mak, then I also bought the older TV 21mm Plossl, after trying the 21mm I sold the more recent 20mm. https://telescopicwatch.com/orion-skyquest-xt8-intelliscope-review/. . 75-225X, 1.5X Barlow Stargazinghelp.com 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 linking to Amazon.com. Plossl eyepieces are great. Explore Scientific, like many eyepiece providers, have higher-priced and budget lines. This eyepiece was even better at correcting false color fringing, but because of internal reflections, the glare was even worse. I often recommend it. Poorly chosen eyepiece might give you poor experience and sometimes even make stargazing difficult. The BHZ in a 2X Barlow will take an XT8 to 300X. It comes with two Barlow lenses, one Newtonian eyepiece, and three Plossl eyepieces in the set. Does having a 70 vs 52 fov make a noticeable difference for double the price? So yeah, they are good.. and some are even better than others, and more collectible. i still use the binos. The Plossl eyepiece is a type of optical system that was invented by Ernst Abbe. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. So we say that an F5 scope benefits from better corrected eyepieces more than the F10 scope. Note to spectacle wearers: Plssl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers. All are good eyepieces and diagonals, and would be excellent for star party use. I have personally tested a few Super Plossl and compared them to their regular counterparts by the same brand. The ES is actually slightly cheaper than the Orion but my understanding from your reviews and replies is that ES might actually be the better eyepiece have I got that right? If your focuser/diagonal only accepts 1.25 eyepieces, I would recommend you use a 32mm as your longest focal length, lowest power eyepiece. If that is the case, it will give me another reasonably good, inexpensive zoom to recommend to beginners. If you are investing for the future, get the BH zoom. Orion Q70 38 mm works well. My friend has one and he really likes it, and it is his third telescope. Is there much of a difference between the celestron and haader? Im fairly picky so would extend budget for better eyepieces if its worth it. The big problem with Plssls is that the eye relief is about 0.75 times the focal length. The view being presented to your eye in a low power eyepiece minimizes everything from optical aberrations in the telescope, to distortions from thermals or atmospheric conditions. The Japan made 16mm Meade 3000 was a very nice medium power plossl and the 40mm in that series was surprisingly nice as well. In my opinion, you do not. For the price, I think the eyepiece is still a good pick. That is why I suggest, if you can use 2 eyepieces, you will want one or two low power wide view 2 eyepieces. This is why many telescopes come standard with at least one Plossl eyepiece. The telescope comes with a 2x Barlow so I was thinking of getting one of the zooms you recommended. 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. Plossls are the clear winner here in most cases, unless you have one of the wider-field 50-degree Kellners. At shorter focal lengths they have less eye relief, and at all focal lengths they have a narrower field of view, than newer types. ORION SIRIUS PLOSSL 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" - $17.01. Etc.? 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). Best suited for telescopes with f-ratios f6 or slower. I recommend it often to beginners on a tight budget. Over $250, I will label premium eyepieces. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. Required fields are marked *. 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. If the above guide has helped you understand the terms and workings of eyepieces, scroll up and make a selection from our recommendation list. Worth it is a tough question to answer. 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. Once we are done, they will make sense. As a kid, I loved looking at the moon (which can be seen any time of day, regardless of ones bedtime) so make sure that the field of view is wide enough to see the whole shebang. There are some very good choices in this range. This can be especially helpful in telescopes of focal ratios below F8. They are referring to how much or how little distortion is visible as you look from the center of the image out toward the edge. There are certainly much better options out there but at a significant cost. Some people have more than 6 and some have as few as 3. These Astromania Plossl eyepieces provide a good way to do exactly that without breaking the bank, and this is what I love about them: they're an affordable way to significantly upgrade your telescopes. These will eventually be used in an 8in dob whenever it arrives. Just search on Astronomy Club and you will probably find one in your area. I really enjoy usingPlssls. This is a good thing, because normally the shorter the focal length of the eyepiece, the less eye relief you have. I guess my curiosity is mostly about the diagonal. There are three types of Plossl eyepiece: the regular, Super, and Orthoscopic. Do you need to have the best to enjoy astronomy? My Barlow is a 2X with a removeable Barlow element that can be screwed right onto an eyepiece giving a 1.5X effect. Comparing to Plossl eyepieces, Super Plossl is somewhat better for astronomy. A good modern eyepiece like a BST starguider 12,8 and 5mm are excellent eyepieces. This means less time trying to figure out which way your images should be oriented before examining them. When I had a 6mm Kellner, I found the eye relief annoyingly short, sure, but when compared to the 6mm Plossl that often comes with eyepiece kits, it was luxurious. Overall, I would highly recommend the goldline eyepieces. Press Esc to cancel. I did sell them all when I adopted Dioptrx, and the Naglers are amazing! dnrmilspec is right. Within the budget-friendly realm are the 6mm and 9mm Goldlines/Redlines (66-degree Ultra-Wide-Angle) for telescopes with a focal ratio of f/8 or longer, and the excellent 58-degree Planetary eyepieces, sold by a variety of sellers on Amazon and by Agena Astro, which come in a wide variety of focal lengths and are optically superb for their price. . I beleive this is the same as they ones you asked about. In my opinion, there are no wrong exit pupils. A 2 barrel on the eyepiece will allow the manufacturer to create an eyepiece that provides a wider field of view. Omni 12mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. If you are looking at eyepieces that are wider than 55 degrees AFOV, you will again need to consider looking at the better corrected, and typically more expensive, eyepieces. Combining a cheap eyepiece with a cheap barlow isn't a elegant solution. 50 150X, no Barlow 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. Even if the scope comes with the more acceptable Kelner or . Know what diameter eyepieces your scope takes. They deliver sharp images in almost all telescopes. Look at the apparent field of view specs and understand what this means for the field of view. An exit pupil larger than 6 mm may start to show a shadow of the secondary mirror. Ever since, I have been attempting to cram in every fact about the Universe, I can find into my head. As for tabletop scopes, dont forget that you need a table, stool, or bench to place them. Differences and Similarities. You noted eye relief is important for those wearing glasses. There is no shortage of accessories for the Nexstar series. 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. 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. This also makes them more resistant to any form of dust getting inside the eyepiece. Generally, Plssl eyepieces are best suited to Newtonian and fast telescopes. If you just want eyepiece recommendations and dont care about the details, Im adding that section right below before we go into the specifications that answer the above questions and make use of the formulas. For visual use, 1.5X, 2X, 2.5X, and 3X Barlow lenses are common. The Plossl's are very easy to modify, allowing me to use the bino-viewer on, all my refracting telescopes without having to cut down the tube length, p.s. 1.25" Power mates with T ring adapter. Offered in both 2 and 1.25, these are excellent eyepieces. Inexpensive Plossls that are manufactured using low-quality lenses are susceptible to internal reflections when viewing bright objects at high magnification. The only reason it's in this list because of its price and a long focal point. A 32mm Plssl is worth it. Also, atmospheric conditions can limit how much magnification you can use on a given night. But what are the other differences? But, if you have a plan, you can fill in those slots, working toward a well-balanced set of magnifications. Visual astronomy is all about aperture, the more the better. 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.) Youd have to look into more complex designs which include a barlow lens, or simply use a longer focal length eyepiece with a quality barlow. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. This is why we recommend you try to locate the object first at low power, then use a higher magnification if you likethe wider field of view on the sky provides more context in terms of asterisms and reference stars and makes it more likely that youll catch the object you are looking for. If you want a very good eyepiece with a bit wider field of view but are on a budget, these are very good choices. Every new skill takes time. Some of these series also offer 2 eyepieces for telescopes that can accept 2 eyepieces. Ive added comments on where you may find and use them. 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. 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. They also offer a generous 16 mm of eye relief which is most important in the shorter focal lengths. This doublet design has an apparent field of view of 50-degrees or wider but can suffer from short eye relief making them difficult to use for some . With a 130mm-F5 I would use a Plossl 32mm for its low-mag-wide-view. You can use the same eyepiece on planets and deep-sky objects (DSOs). If you look up transparency and seeing in the context of telescopes you can learn more about how atmospheric conditions will affect what magnifications you will choose on any given night. Plossls are available from many suppliers in a wide range of focal lengths in 1.25 and 2 sizes. Depending on how fussy you are about having a completely clean image across the visual field, if you have a lower focal ratio scope you will want to look for eyepieces with a reputation for being better corrected in low focal ratio scopes. 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. Some optics brands have taken the next step and launched some eyepieces they have labeled as Super Plossl. Wide view and well-corrected view, even in F5 scopes. Both will provide the same magnification. Lets illustrate with an example using a 1200 mm FL telescope. And you don't even have to get the full set if you don't want to. Kellner eyepieces work perfectly with small and medium-sized telescopes. But just because an eyepiece is 2 doesnt mean it has a wider field of view than one that is 1.25. A Plssl is probably as good as any 32mm eyepiece in a 1.25 inch focuser. Stargazing Help is a participant in Amazon Associates program. We also joined our local Astronomy Club and look forward to joining others under the night sky when the opportunity presents itself again. Low focal ratio scopes deliver the light rays to the eyepiece at an ever-increasing angle as the focal ratio number goes down. To estimate the highest practical magnification for your telescope, you take the aperture in millimeters, mm, and multiply it by two. Most modern telescopes use a focuser, or diagonal, that accepts 1.25 eyepieces. 20 = 90 = .8 In terms of eyepieces, my best advice is provided in the article. There is no problem using a Celestron eyepiece in a Meade telescope, for example. That's hard to beat IMO. Because some objects look better at low power, some at medium power, some at high power, and some at very high power. Note to spectacle wearers: Plossl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers but for shorter focal lengths the Celestron XCel LX series have greater eye-relief so are better suited. 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. The Hyperions work well in SCTs and you can't beat that large eyelens and eye relief ,JMO. What apparent field of view and eye relief do I want? Orion Sirius Plossl 1.25" eyepieces are ideal for all types of telescopes: reflector, refractor, and catadioptrics such as Maksutov-Cassegrains. They also improve a bit when it comes to eye relief. This would definitely matter to observers who wear eyglasses when viewing. Of course, the entire eyepiece must be manufactured and finished correctly to realize the design's full potential. You could say Super Plossls are not much more than a marketing tactic these days. 2x Barlow Now you can get good eyepieces for under or around $50. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. However, sometimes i am at the end of the range of the binocular focus adjustment. I've got a one-off plossl like that in my kit that I'll probably never sell, (aside from my 5 element ones) and it's one that is rarely seen. - 32mm plossl. These are just a few examples of eyepieces that I have used, and some that I own. But for the targets requiring higher mag Im still undecided between: I recently purchased the SVBony 7-21 zoom from Amazon. So, for your 30 mm, 82/60 = 1.36 degrees. Also, as the apparent field of view gets wider, the image will require more correction. Ideally, you want a minimum of three eyepieces for (1) low power (2) peak visual acuity and (3) high-power viewing. Stargazinghelp.com is a knowledge hub for professional and amateur astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. Hi Ed, thanks Ed. Depending on your budget, if you only have limited funds and are just starting to fill out your eyepiece collection I would go with the zoom, then zoom with Barlow. The larger barrel allows them to create an eyepiece with a higher AFOV. I am going to use 6. Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . This can be debated 100 ways, but that is my advice. I would recommend the Baader Hyperion Zoom for any telescope. 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. 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. It should list what size eyepieces you can use. I expect such eyepieces are available but I have never seen or used one. Kellner eyepieces have 3 lenses cemented together and have a 35-50 degree field of view. A 6mm Plossl has a tiny eye lens. It doesnt matter what type of telescope you have, as long as your scope takes these standard sizes. All of the Omni eyepieces have a 1.25" barrel size with the exception of the super low power 56 mm, which has a barrel size of 2". Quality this good usually costs a lot more. If your telescopes focal length is different, just change the focal length in the formula.