A 6mm Plossl has a tiny eye lens. My own lineup (with a C8) is 32mm Plossl, 18.2mm DeLite, and 10.5mm Pentax (the last one not chosen to match, but rather because it belonged to a deceased friend). Despite this, I also have some Plossls which are indispensable. Most people will be fairly comfortable with eye relief of 12 mm or higher. Not really. Eyepieces are a religion. They have a narrow AFOV but have a reputation for being very sharp.. Even big telescopes are subject to limitations imposed by the atmosphere. The reason a plano-convex lens is good for using with a telescope is that it provides for both magnifying and erecting the images. Focus on the magnifications rather than the mm of the eyepieces. I did sell them all when I adopted Dioptrx, and the Naglers are amazing! Many brands of eyepieces are available, including SVBony UltraWide, Astromania UltraWide Angle, Agena Astro StarGuider Enhanced UltraWide Angle and others. The Orthoscopic Plossl eyepiece is for those who are interested in performing close-up work on specimens up to three inches away from them and still get high magnification. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. It also produces an erect image, meaning you see what youre viewing rather than seeing everything upside down or sideways as some types do.
Planetary eyepieces: Ploessl or Orthoscopic and which brand You are talking about the technical details of how a Barlow works, and I agree.
Telescope Zoomable Eyepiece; Better or Worse Than Plossl The 5-lens-element pseudo-Masuyamas that telesonic mentioned are/were fine eyepieces. 6.5-ish mm (100x & 200x) Be aware of the focal ratio of your scope. And I continue to read excellent reports on the AT Paradigm and similar under different labels. Looking forward to first use. You have selected a very good starting telescope that will serve you for many years to come.
Celestron Eyepieces | Celestron Telescope Eyepieces - High Point Scientific But the longer FL units are certainly useful. Lets look at the minimum.
Amazon.com : SVBONY SV137 Barlow Lens 1.25 Inch 2X Barlow Lens Metal I need your advice on it. Meanwhile, Plossl eyepieces are much more common and easy to find. 4. We may earn commissions by recommending products on this website. Warranty Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from date of purchase. Newer multi-coatings are better, I suppose, but newer does not always mean better in the ocular game. The Astrovid 40X60mm Zoom Telescope Camera Lens Kit is a great choice for those looking to get a variety of lenses, at different magnifications. But you need to know, first, if you will be wearing glasses when you observe. 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 ocular for your highest visual acuity - for viewing deep-sky objects and the like - should have an exit pupil around . At that price point, it couldnt compete with other 5-element devices like Erfle and Nagler eyepieces that had better performance. They all work, but as you go up in price, you gain features or performance or both. With your glasses on, you simply cant get your eye close enough to an eyepiece that only has 10 mm of eye relief. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. Imagine you are looking at the moon with each of these eyepieces and consider what you would see. Sooooo helpful! I agree with your comment on zooms for kids. After these, we have mostly proprietary designs from various eyepiece companies. For the price, I think the eyepiece is still a good pick. However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. is pretty forgiving of eyepiece faults and a wide variety of eyepiece designs will work just fine in it. I just added the 4.7 mm. i didnt have all this simply-put information when i bought my orion st-80 as my christmas present to myself in 2020. i started out with several pair of binoculars i bought used off ebay, then bought the scope. A standard Plossl eyepiece is typically between 20mm to 25mm but can range anywhere from 15mm up to about 40mm in diameter. Buy Astromania 1.25" 4mm Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - 4-Element Plossl Design . 30 = 60 = 1.3 The Hyperions work well in SCTs and you can't beat that large eyelens and eye relief ,JMO. 1. If we look at the range I provided above, we see that we could replace several eyepieces with one zoom. 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.
Good quality plossl eyepieces - Discussions - Stargazers Lounge 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 . It may be a bit less than that in reality but for practical purposes that is close enough. I took notes and now can shop with confidence
Kellner vs Plossl eyepieces for dobsonians? : telescopes - reddit It appears to be a custom-made 90 degree binocular built from two 90 degree diagonals and binocular-size objectives attached in place of the usual OTA. Thanks for your comment. Aspheric and Plossl Plossl are both lens designs that can be used in most telescopes. Between $100 and $250, I will call it mid-range. They are 82-degree AFOV eyepieces. I was just wondering if plossls are still worth it or should get a better eyepiece in a 30mm range. Over time, you will likely spend more on eyepieces than on the telescope. Does this sound like something you would recommend based on the telescope I have? Come join the newest, most engaging and inclusive astronomy forum geared for beginners and advanced telescope users, astrophotography devotees, plus check out our "Astro" goods vendors. To get the best performance, you have to be willing to pay the price. Just search on Astronomy Club and you will probably find one in your area. . Sorry but I am not offering a configuration and pricing service. (Compare, for instance, 20mm of each type, or 10mm of each type.) The BH zoom is optically a 1.25 eyepiece. Plossls provide very good eye relief for eyeglass wearers in focal lengths of about 25mm and longer. 50 150X, no Barlow I would like to know what is best for a 7 year old that would be getting his first telescope. Note that the Explore Scientific 68 and 82 degree eyepieces are also available in 2 size for your low power wide view requirements. It is all about your budget, your goals, and your objectives, as outlined in the article. This will become more apparent the wider the AFOV is of the eyepiece, in my experience. What diameter eyepieces will my telescope accept? Good quality. Plossl eyepieces are very good and fairly inexpensive, typically between $25 and $50 each. It offers good color correction and high-contrast images. 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. There are inexpensive adapters that will let you use standard 1.25 eyepieces in a .965 focuser/diagonal. 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. 2x Barlow For that purpose it is probably easier to find one to borrow. 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. These tend to run toward the more expensive price range.
Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" $17.01 They work great every day and get you where you want to go, but dont have what the higher priced models have. Hello sir, thanks for your article its realy helpful. A Kellner eyepiece has 3 lenses, while a Plossl has 4. Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . I cannot thank you enough! But in this scope, the 32 mm doesnt work well. Good value. Meade went back to the drawing board and they removed the fifth element, keeping the original Plossl design, however, they kept the Super Plossl brand and added some premium materials. Visual astronomy is all about aperture, the more the better. However, Orion has managed to make one that is quite compatible with most styles of telescope. Like going from a 32 TV to a 65? How do you focus - I would have expected helical focusers in the eyepiece holders but don't see any? 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. Hi, I have recently bought a Orion XT8 and am trying to work out which eyepieces to add to what is provided with the scope. But what are the other differences? 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. The Hexagon Zoom Eyepiece is made from durable plastic material that resists scratching and it has an eye relief distance of 15mm. Through the 32mm eyepiece, objects will look larger, and though they may have a lower surface brightness, the surface brightness of the background sky will also be lower. Also, note that the pricing is based on 1.25 eyepieces.
Kellner vs Plossl Eyepieces (Pros And Cons) - Scope The Galaxy My most used eyepiece is an 8-24 mm zoom. I already got the 10mm super wide because of the added eye relief but at 15mm both have the same eye relief. The Plossl is a good all-around eyepiece design, is well suited for generic use and is relatively inexpensive to make. That is up to you and your budget. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. Finally, a wider field of view just makes it easier to find stuff. - 32mm plossl. I still use my 30mm Celestron Ultima fairly often with some of my telescopes. Worth it is a tough question to answer. 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 have to say that your questions are answered in the article. The Big Bang Optics was started because of our love for astronomy and to help others like us find the best telescope and accessories. I want these as possible as wide, magnification and astrophotography purpose. Outstanding job Jack. They include links to them where they can be ordered. 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. This can be very helpful for star hopping. No results, please adjust your filters. Or, you may find that you like the 8 mm and 6 mm used with the Barlow and can avoid the expense of two eyepieces. This SVBONY eyepiece review should get you up to speed with the budget stargazing options. To estimate the highest practical magnification for your telescope, you take the aperture in millimeters, mm, and multiply it by two. This will give you a maximum target for planning purposes. Orion SkyQuest XT8 Intelliscope Review Note to spectacle wearers: Plssl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers. Stargazinghelp.com is a knowledge hub for professional and amateur astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. 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. Or take one of your eyepieces and measure across the bottom of the barrel. This number can range from 30 degrees to 120 degrees. That said, I should also tell you that not all Plossls are created equal. However, you may see them at higher prices for the short term. All are good eyepieces and diagonals, and would be excellent for star party use. Typically a Barlow does not add or subtract from this, but there again we have bad Barlows and Good Barlows. ORION SIRIUS PLOSSL 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" - $17.01. You have to decide how fussy you are about the edges and what your budget can tolerate. I dont dabble in AP. 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. Ive read, and re-read, and re-re-read this page. In my opinion, you do not. But, if you have a plan, you can fill in those slots, working toward a well-balanced set of magnifications. A wide range of focal lengths are available, all in 1.25-inch size. I have not had an opportunity to test it yet but the general discussions have favorable. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Or we say that F10 would be easier or less demanding on the eyepiece than the F5.
Gosky 1.25inch Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - Amazon.com Conclusion. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. For one thing, a wider field of view is almost always more pleasant. This gives us more flexibility at the low end of the magnification range. Thanks for going through the entire post. Now here is something that some of us classic scope nuts know - there are plossls, and there are plossls. Its made up of four lenses in two groups. This has nothing to do with your scope or eyepiece. These are the best in optical performance and build quality. If we combine a Barlow with an 8-24 mm zoom eyepiece, we have an amazing range. I couldnt find any suggestions on your site about diagonal recommendations. Because the eyepiece was still similar enough to a Plossl and still kept the symmetrical design, they called it Super Plossl. For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. Other than the limited AFOV, which you are apparently fine with, and limited eye relief in the shorter focal lengths there is certainly no reason not to choose Plssls. Celestron 2026 Erecting Prism Barlow Lens Set is well suited as an astronomical viewing lens kit or for enjoying terrestrial sights like nature walks, sporting events, and more! One of the main drawbacks of this eyepiece, though, is the eye relief. 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. I can recommend these with confidence. A Plssl is probably as good as any 32mm eyepiece in a 1.25 inch focuser. 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. NEW. Can you help me. Very nice article. I have Celestron and the Baader Hyperion. Thus the 30 mm eyepiece in a 600 mm telescope produces 600/30 = 20X magnification while with the Barlow, we have 1800/30 = 60X. So you ended up with: Lenses are fully multi-coated for excellent light transmission and reduced internal reflections. I can say that most of my plossls have been replaced by other eyepieces for various reasons. Even when I upgraded to a 6mm Goldline, I kept the Kellner around because of pretty annoying kidney-bean blackout issues on the Moon with that eyepiece. As we go up in price range, we gain capabilities that may not be immediately obvious. With the XT8i I usually used the zoom configured with a 1.5X Barlow giving me a 75X to 225X which I found to be nearly perfect for that scope. 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. Plossls tend to come with large, ground-standing Dobsonians, whereas youre more likely to find a Kellner sold with a tabletop Dobsonian. Was compairing the Apertura standard 15mm Plossl with their 15mm super wide angle eyepiece (70 afov). The eye relief is the distance between your eyes and the eyepiece where you are able to view the whole image comfortably. These and the essentially identical AT Paradigm are universally praised as good quality eyepieces with a wider 60-degree apparent field of view. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Since 2011, we've published astronomy related content and reviews to help guide the community better. In the case of the Celestron, you get all the focal lengths from 24 to 8mm in one eyepiece that costs $100. Free shipping for many products! Some people have more than 6 and some have as few as 3. Suggesting an F6 scope becomes an F18 would also imply things like reduced CA in a refractor. 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. And, the quality of the eyepiece clearly comes into play here. Can You See The ISS With A Telescope? Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. 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. This is my all-time favorite eyepiece and the one I use more than all the others put together. You can accomplish a longer eye relief by barlowing a longer f/l plossl, so that is something to think about as well. If you are investing for the future, get the BH zoom. Thanks for a very helpful guide. So plan this into such a purchase. So, even if you have a Maksutov-Cassegrain scope, you should get a good experience from this eyepiece. But for the targets requiring higher mag Im still undecided between: 75-225X, 1.5X Barlow Is it just about finding and framing, or do wide fov EPs create a more immersive experience?
Plssl eyepieces are affordable and they're outstanding additions to amateur telescopes. When I was getting my start in the hobby, I bought an ultra-cheap ($15?)
Again thank you very much for all the information in the page, excellent notes. So your 600 mm example (f/6) becomes, in effect, an 1800 mm focal length, f/18 but it does not change the focal length of the eyepiece. Plossl eyepieces have an eye relief equal to about 80% of their focal length. Note that we also gained a 16 mm magnification at no additional cost.
Are plossl eyepieces still worth it? - Eyepieces - Cloudy Nights This means you will be able to see a greater expanse for the objects in space but with fewer magnification levels than Kellner or Plossl lenses. Note that many cheap eyepieces promise a wide AFOV but deliver a view with a lot of distortion or aberration as you move away from the center of the field of view. Plossl eyepieces are great. Omni 6mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. 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. Not everything in the sky benefits from high magnification. For our experience level, would you recommend changing anything right now?
Celestron Telescopes Reviews: Should you buy? - Little Astronomy You can email me also.
Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece | First Light Optics How important a consideration is this when deciding on an eyepiece? My other eyepieces, ES and Meade 82 degree, stayed in the eyepiece case most of the time. I would expect it to be similar to the Celestron in image quality. I guess my curiosity is mostly about the diagonal. I have since moved up to a 12 Dob but I use the same eyepieces and the BH Zoom continues to be my most used. I must also warn you that some of these bad Plossls may actually turn out to be worse than any run-of-the-mill Kellner. I often had to drop back to about 180X because of poor seeing and transparency. If you do not have your Hyperions yet I recommend you wait until you have these and try them out before you buy the Plossls. A Plossl eyepiece has a lens thats plano-convex, which means it is flat on one side and convex on the other. Since it's such a popular eyepiece and allows for quality, planet-viewing, that makes it a great instrument for attracting newcomers to the hobby, especially children. If you stumble the first few uses, dont be discouraged.
Meade 32mm 2" 5-element Super Plossl Wide Field Eyepiece Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike.
eyepiece for Xmas scope - Beginners Forum (No Astrophotography Super Plossls offer a smaller field of view, which makes them good for close-up views and examining small objects. There are certainly much better options out there but at a significant cost. If you wear glasses when observing, you probably want 15mm or more of eye relief, which the 20mm Plssl provides, but the shorter fl ones dont. Here are a few types of eyepieces you may read about and their typical AFOV. Now we can establish a target magnification range. Why not go back to the people who sold you the scope and get their help. But some people demand the very best, and it is available, at a price. There is one aspect in which a Kellner can actually outperform a Plossl: eye relief. If your scope uses eyepieces that are closer to 1, then you have an old style .965 that is now obsolete. There are three types of Plossl eyepiece: the regular, Super, and Orthoscopic. I have owned wider eyepieces, but ultimately I just prefer the Plssls (must be a mental defect).
Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" in very good to excellent 185794462395 Glad you found it helpful. 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. With a 8" dobsonian, a 6mm is very versatile. One more thing if you havent purchased a telescope yet, I would recommend a tabletop version, since they are easier for kids to move than the fiddley ones with spindly legs and complicated dials. 600 mm / 200X = 3 mm This will be the focal length of our highest power eyepiece. Not only is it good to share the experience but you can get first-hand advice on things like diagonals and may even be able to try one in your scope to see if it makes a difference. How will my telescopes focal ratio affect my purchases? Since each eye has a different focal point, I suspect pulling the eyepiece out until reaching focus and then tightening the set screw. Apparent Field of View: This is a measure of how wide a view the eyepiece will provide as compared to alternate eyepieces. Offering a wide 43 apparent field of view, this 40mm Orion Sirius Plossl Telescope Eyepiece provides extremely sharp images of impressively high contrast. 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. Celestron 2026 Erecting Prism Barlow Lens Set is another great choice for those looking to get a variety of magnifications. They are most useful in medium and longer focal lengths for terrestrial, planetary, and lunar viewing. Or is this overkill and am I better off saving money and going forward something like the Celestron Zoom? In this case, I am going to define this by the focuser and eyepiece size. I often recommend it. If you are going to wear your glasses when you observe, you want at least 18 mm of eye relief and 20 mm is better. In 1849, Carl Kellner invented the Kellner eyepiece, which is essentially a Ramsden eyepiece where one lens has been replaced with an achromatic doublet made of two different types of glass. Youll find yourself adjusting these type of factors less than. The 21mm is simply amazing, I can't believe that TV decided to discontinue this little gem, it is better than the newer version in every category including eye comfort, the overall shape along with fit and finish is one of the best from TV. Field of view, is about finding, framing, drift time, and context. But the one I am recommending here is the Tele Vue Nagler series. These eyepiecesproduce a 'standard apparent feld of view' of between 50 and 56 with most set at around 52. I had a newer - purchased in 2016 Meade 32mm (white lettering) that was no better than the older 32mm 4000. I also struggled to see features on both (gas bands on Jupiter and clear rings on saturn). The zoom can be used with any 1.25 focuser too. Focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece = magnification or power. Because of this setup, you might also hear a Plossl eyepiece referred to as a symmetrical eyepiece. but the meat of the article is about understanding the considerations and specifications to know when selecting eyepieces. Question: would it perform well with 1.5/2x and 3x Barlows? 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. I have CPC 925 and I currently own Hyperion 10mm, Hyperion 17mm and Celestron plossl 40mm. Read the full Earning Disclosure here. The Plossl optical design is very good for long and medium focal length eyepieces, delivering a sharp, flat field and an apochromatic image. 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. The design uses a planoconvex, two cemented-element eye lens and a large convex field lens.
Telescope Eyepieces | Orion Telescopes: Shop 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). 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. Videos for related products. The price can run to over $1000 per eyepiece. Nothing will stop you from trying to go higher, but in all likelihood, the image will be poor and not worth the cost of eyepieces to achieve it. 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. thanks Ed. Non-eyeglass wearers can usually tolerate Plossls as short as about 10-12mm before their eyelashes start brushing the ocular lens. If that surface is wobbly the scope will be almost useless. 11 = 163 = .5 It may very well last you a lifetime and in the long term, you will definitely consider it to be a worthwhile investment. Meade telescope maksutov eyepiece ETX-105EC Super Plossl 6.4mm 1.25" w capsule. In most cases, these are eyepieces that are focused on wider AFOV or better correction for low focal ratio scopes. In the beginning, you are not going to know what the atmospheric conditions might be in your area. People may have heard, and rightly so, that Huygens or Ramsdens are crummy eyepieces and that they should get a Plossl instead, and they may believe the same applies to Kellners, but the truth is that Kellners are often good eyepieces. Was $38.99 - $99.99 Now $31.19 - $84.99 Compare Orion Edge-On Planetary 1.25" Eyepieces This Super Plossl design was better than regular Plossl eyepieces, but not by much. You can buy eyepieces specifically focused on a particular scope or you can buy eyepieces that you expect to use with this and all future scopes.