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. Now, for my one or two low power eyepieces, I also like to know the field of view provided by that eyepiece. This also makes them more resistant to any form of dust getting inside the eyepiece. Required fields are marked *. The BH zoom is optically a 1.25 eyepiece. Skywatcher SP Plossl lenses - Discussions - Stargazers Lounge Quality this good usually costs a lot more. For the $66/$42 of these kits, you can get one or two decent eyepieces (depending on where you buy). Can you give me any specific recommendations on what to buy and from where? A super Plossl eyepiece is a top-performing eyepiece that can be used for a variety of tasks, from viewing objects in the distance to looking at microscopic things. 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. A good modern eyepiece like a BST starguider 12,8 and 5mm are excellent eyepieces. My other eyepieces, ES and Meade 82 degree, stayed in the eyepiece case most of the time. It allows each eyepiece to provide two magnifications. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. How important a consideration is this when deciding on an eyepiece? For it's cost, a 32mm Plssl eyepiece is hard to beat. 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. 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. The atmosphere is typically the limiting factor as we get to higher magnifications. 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. At shorter focal lengths they have less eye relief, and at all focal lengths they have a narrower field of view, than newer types. Very often, those eyepieces will be in the outdated 0.965 format rather than the modern 1.25 or 2 diameter barrel format. It also was considerably more expensive. 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. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. 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. Sometimes you want to see a wider field of view to locate an astronomical object like a nebula by using nearby stars. Like going from a 32 TV to a 65? Take a look at your manual or users guide. In simple terms, high focal ratio scopes, say those over F6, tend to be less demanding on eyepieces than those below F6. What's the difference between two Plssl eyepieces? Prices can run from $20 to $200 so the field is pretty broad. thanks for all your help. However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. What should one opt for a 2 EP over a 1.25? (often referred to as Pseudo Masuyama). I have four telescopes, but I use the same eyepieces in all of them. Aspheric and Plossl Plossl are both lens designs that can be used in most telescopes. As the clear cut worlds best eyepiece manufacturer, their name should at least be mentioned in an article like this. But just because an eyepiece is 2 doesnt mean it has a wider field of view than one that is 1.25. 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. If you were considering a Meade Super Plossl, in that case just get the regular one also by Meade. I have an SCT and my eyepiece case only hasPlssls (and one Ortho) in it. OK that makes sense, many thanks. 4mm Eyepiece vs 20mm Eyepiece. Now we can establish a target magnification range. It also gives the widest possible exit pupil in my dob and SCT, very handy when using nebula filters. 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. While eyepieces with relatively complex, proprietary, or bespoke designs are becoming more commonly available in the beginner price bracket, there is often good reason to choose a much simpler design. Suggesting an F6 scope becomes an F18 would also imply things like reduced CA in a refractor. This is the link to the eyepiece I am looking at potentially buying, would you recommend this over the Orion one or vice versa do you think? Do you have any additional comments to help me? EP-mm = magnification = afov But for the targets requiring higher mag Im still undecided between: From planetary viewing to deep sky watching. Hayppy that now I have more facts to put in my decision. Lets give an example. 8.8 = 240 = .34 As long as you take good care of them, Plossls can last you a lifetime, and you will be able to use them with your next telescope if you upgrade at some point. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. I can say that most of my plossls have been replaced by other eyepieces for various reasons. The focal length range for 1.25 Plossls is about 6mm to 45mm. I think Id really enjoy a zoom for all the reasons you mention, But Im having a difficult time assessing how much weight to put on the field of view of given eyepieces. Again, I only do this for my low power wide views. 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. Now we just divide it up and fill in some sample focal lengths. Again, it only costs $30 to $40 to find out, so the education is not that expensive. 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. Lets take a look. The only one not in the article is the Orion Q70 which is available in 38 mm, 32 mm and 26 mm. They can also be found as Orion Expanse sporting a blue line rather than gold. Thanks, Angelo M. You picked a great first scope. 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. So if you need to go to Arcturus and then go 2 degrees to the right to find your target, you can use the FOV of the eyepiece to estimate 2 degrees. Super Plossl eyepieces are generally a little smaller than this at around 16-20 mm in size, which is why theyre sometimes referred to as wide-angle or low power plossls. The longer FL Plossls (>15mm) have some distinct advantages over more complex designs without the major disadvantage of Plossls which is short ER. But I think you will feel more confident about your purchases and be less likely to be disappointed if you read through the guide. Simple Plosels work well and unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would start with simple affordable eyepieces. 32mm (20x & 40x). Gold Line eyepieces also offer better eye relief than Plossl eyepieces, especially at the shorter focal lengths. . . I loved my Baader Mark-IV 8mm-24mm Zoom+Barlow combo in my 8" EdgeHD. Your email address will not be published. I do not miss beating my eyelashes against a 9.7mm Meade Plossl that I used to own. Even if we were next-door neighbors this would take weeks of discussion and planning. We may earn commissions by recommending products on this website. You might be able to find a Kellner, or perhaps a high-quality Orthoscopic. On many occasions, that will be too high power for the atmospheric conditions. Kellner eyepieces use three glass elements in two groups to minimize color fringing. I recently purchased the SVBony 7-21 zoom from Amazon. Are plossl eyepieces still worth it? - Eyepieces - Cloudy Nights NEW. I would expect it to be similar to the Celestron in image quality. These come in focal lengths from 2.3 mm to 25 mm. However, you may see them at higher prices for the short term. Both will provide the same magnification. These are effectively simple designs like Plossls, Kellners, Konigs, and RKEs, with long focal lengths, that have a lens included to increase their focal length. Dont worry about the math, as its simple stuff you can do with any calculator, on paper, or perhaps in your head. Lets look at the minimum. It comes with 1.25 Plossls 25mm (26x) and 10mm (66x) eyepieces. Many thanks, Sophie. Eye relief is the distance from the eye lens to your eyeball, and the higher the better (within reason). They have a pop-up eye guard and they are threaded to accept filters. Astro Essentials Super Plossl Eyepiece | First Light Optics The ES 82s are my favorite eyepieces, especially in the 1.25 format. In the beginning, you are not going to know what the atmospheric conditions might be in your area. Cheap to try, and if you don't like it, easy enough to sell also. This series of eyepieces may provide better value in this price range. SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Set Telescope Accessory Kit with 2x Barlow Lens 4 Element Plossl Design 6.3mm 32mm 40mm for Astronomical Telescopes. Top 10 Best Best Plossl Eyepieces 2023 - Complete Buying Guide Very worth it for me, as I like to use bino-viewers. We will use a 100 mm telescope with a 600 mm focal length that only takes 1.25 eyepieces. With an f/10 telescope, Plossls are as sharp as any other kind of eyepiece of the same focal length. I also really liked my E-Lux 32mm, a Kellner. A 10mm or shorter Plssl is probably not worth it unless you want to see how you personally cope with short eye relief. A Kellner eyepiece has 1 double lens and 1 single lens. An Austrian inventor Georg Simon Plossl came up with the Plossl eyepiece design in 1860. Your email address will not be published. There is the 56mm Meade Plossl which magically turns my short FL refractors into their own finder scopes. This 10 mm Orion Sirius Plossl Eyepiece is a great, moderately high power ocular for observing small planetary nebulas and globular star clusters, as well as for planetary probing when seeing conditions don't permit higher magnifications. Every new skill takes time. Some brands will add better lens coating, darker edges, or a higher quality case to their Super Plossl products, but strictly for performance, there isnt a difference between the two. The result in magnification is the same and the eye relief associated with the eyepiece is retained or, in some cases, actually lengthened a bit. 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. a Celestron 8-24 Zoom with a 2x Barlow Orion Sirius Plossl 1.25" eyepieces are ideal for all types of telescopes: reflector, refractor, and catadioptrics such as Maksutov-Cassegrains. Sooooo helpful! The only reason it's in this list because of its price and a long focal point. Explore Scientific recently extended this offering by adding a series of 82 degree eyepieces labeled LER, or Long Eye Relief. Ideally, you want a minimum of three eyepieces for (1) low power (2) peak visual acuity and (3) high-power viewing. Again, this is more noticeable in lower focal ratio scopes. You can still get eyepieces, but there are few choices. None of my fancy EPs have enough contrast for this application. 6mm Kellner eyepiece that I enjoyed a lot. Plossls tend to come with large, ground-standing Dobsonians, whereas youre more likely to find a Kellner sold with a tabletop Dobsonian. Plossl eyepieces are perfect for astronomical viewing because the field of view is wider. 8.5-ish mm (75x & 150x) 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. A 6mm Plossl has a tiny eye lens. 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. The difference isnt that severe, and I often track more often than is strictly necessary to keep the object centered anyway. 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. Focus on the magnifications rather than the mm of the eyepieces. These sport a 60-degree apparent field of view, about a 20% wider apparent field of view than Plossl eyepieces. I think you will love it! To achieve six magnifications, you can have six eyepieces. 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. 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. Thanks in advance I really appreciate it! 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. But, if you have a plan, you can fill in those slots, working toward a well-balanced set of magnifications. They have good center sharpness but exhibit some field curvature and astigmatism. One of the main drawbacks of this eyepiece, though, is the eye relief. Meade telescope maksutov eyepiece ETX-105EC Super Plossl 6.4mm 1.25" w Another way to look at it is that a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow works like a 10 mm eyepiece. Just start with 32 mm for your low-power eyepiece. If you were considering a Super Plossl made by an entry-level brand, just use those extra funds to instead get a regular Plossl made by a more reputable manufacturer. In my opinion, there are no wrong exit pupils. Focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece = magnification or power. Plossl eyepieces have 4 lenses that are paired in two doublets. As you learn more about astronomy and you gain more experience with time, you may want to move to Plossls or even higher-quality eyepieces. As is outstanding in the workmanship, a Plossl type eyepiece is a moderately wide field eyepiece involving two colorless doublets in which the crown components generally face each other. Can you suggest the total . A zoom eyepiece works like the zoom lens on a camera. . Generally, to maximize the number of stars you see in an eyepiece with a given telescope, both the magnification and field of view should be maximized. Fortunately, the investment can be leveraged with future scopes since eyepieces are standard sizes so they work in almost any telescope. I have seen wider-field Plossls. Differences and Similarities. It all comes down to cost-benefit. I still have it and still use it from time to time. Kellners tend to have narrower apparent fields of view (40 degrees rather than 50 or 52 degrees in a Plossl), and in short focal length telescopes (focal ratio f/5 or shorter) they can have more false color fringing, but for the most part it is hard to notice the difference between a well-made Kellner and a well-made Plossl in terms of image quality. This saves money and helps you shop in an organized manner. 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. We also joined our local Astronomy Club and look forward to joining others under the night sky when the opportunity presents itself again. It was named after Peter Barlow who invented it in the 1800s, so it is usually capitalized. Then there is a pair of 32mm and 20mm TV Plossls which make my binoviewers work well with a Daystar Quark H-alpha solar filter. Plossl telescope eyepieces are the most popular type of eyepiece on the market. How does that field of view impact the viewing experience? 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. 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. All are good eyepieces and diagonals, and would be excellent for star party use. As I discussed earlier, the zoom lets you explore your target over a wide range of magnifications without having to change eyepieces. Look those up, seeing and transparency in the context of astronomy. If you go this route, you can always add single focal length eyepieces along the way to serve specialized purposes. If you feel the need to buy something now, consider this Orion diagonal. 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. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. Perhaps you should seek out help from your local astronomy club. THANK YOU x 12! 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. This determines how much light the telescope will gather. However, for your extra money you get the finest manufacture, the best polish and coatings available. Plossl vs Kellner Eyepieces. - Little Astronomy This will give you a maximum target for planning purposes. So you ended up with: Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . In my scopes a simple zoom eyepiece like the Celestron 24-8mm or the Baader has replaced the higher powered plossls. All the rest will likely be 1.25. In our example, we targeted 200X as the top magnification. As for Barlow Lenses, take a look at this article. This is where the second formula comes into play. A four-element eyepiece was made by putting together two achromatic doublets with different focal lengths. If you are just testing the waters or on a tight budget, get the Celestron, which is still pretty good. Some of these series also offer 2 eyepieces for telescopes that can accept 2 eyepieces. Plossl against Kellner eyepieces in a previous article, 5 Budget Telescopes That Are Sneakily Powerful. If you are investing for the future, get the BH zoom. Theres a reason Plossls are usually kept at 52 degrees. Inexpensive Plossls that are manufactured using low-quality lenses are susceptible to internal reflections when viewing bright objects at high magnification. A couple of them felt fancier, but the jump in performance was either insignificant or non-existent. Omni 9mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. The 66-degree AFOV of the Gold Line series provides a 32% wider field than Plossl eyepieces. Visual astronomy is all about aperture, the more the better. If you read the article you know how to calculate the magnification and field of view. . For example, if you put a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow, it will triple the magnification you get from that eyepiece. Also, as the apparent field of view gets wider, the image will require more correction. A standard Plossl eyepiece is typically between 20mm to 25mm but can range anywhere from 15mm up to about 40mm in diameter. Hi Ed, I cannot thank you enough! That's hard to beat IMO. 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. Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space Scott. 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. 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. These are the workhorse eyepieces of today. The eye relief is the distance between your eyes and the eyepiece where you are able to view the whole image comfortably. The magnification range that is appropriate to your scope. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" in very good to excellent 185794462395 If you are on a strict budget, this is a good choice as a zoom eyepiece. Be sure to read the following as you consider your eyepiece purchases. I was looking on a OPT website and they have celestron 32mm and 15mm plossl. 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. This was very useful, I got a meade infinity 90mm ( after read the review here -. Not really. I think some of these kits even include 4mm eyepieces, and thats ridiculous! This Super Plossl design was better than regular Plossl eyepieces, but not by much. A Plossl eyepiece has a lens thats plano-convex, which means it is flat on one side and convex on the other. https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/explore-scientific-70-eyepieces.html. Videos for related products. I wants to install one in house(fixed place) another I need movable. For the price, I think the eyepiece is still a good pick. https://telescopicwatch.com/?s=barlow, Best of luck with your new telescope. This type of design also helps provide for eye relief; its a better experience if your eyes. 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, Excellent article and very good recommendations. https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-102-130-reviewed/, If I was to upgrade these lenses, I was planning on working toward something like this: My friend has one and he really likes it, and it is his third telescope. Press Esc to cancel. Every review suggests replacing the 10mm Kellner eyepiece (and possibly 25mm Kellner) that comes with it. The third choice of eyepieces is the Orion 12 mm Sirius Super Wide Angle Correct Image Eyepiece. I have a custom-built 32mm Plossl that has been opened up as wide as possible to 60 or 70 degrees, for use as a 2 eyepiece, although in my 10 Dobsonian at f/5 the edge distortions prevent it from seeing much use. A rubber safety cap protects the lens when not in use while also providing additional grip on this 35 mm Plossl eyepiece. SV207 30mm Super Plossl Eyepiece. I still use my 30mm Celestron Ultima fairly often with some of my telescopes. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a cautionary note. 1.25" Power mates with T ring adapter. 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 are 82-degree AFOV eyepieces. So plan this into such a purchase. 1. Comparing to Plossl eyepieces, Super Plossl is somewhat better for astronomy. There was an old Meade Super-Plossl design that used an additional lens element and could reach a wider field of view. Plossl eyepieces have an eye relief equal to about 80% of their focal length. Free shipping for many products! Something in the 30 to 38 mm range with a 65 to 70 degree AFOV. PS. My Barlow is a 2X with a removeable Barlow element that can be screwed right onto an eyepiece giving a 1.5X effect. It may very well last you a lifetime and in the long term, you will definitely consider it to be a worthwhile investment. This is important to keep in mind because it means brands have to try really hard to one-up each other because the competition in a niche hobby such as astronomy can be fierce. Thanks all. Telescope Zoomable Eyepiece; Better or Worse Than Plossl So you would have to test the set to see the actual result. Best Telescope Eyepieces For Viewing Planets [Top 8 Picks For eyepiece for Xmas scope - Beginners Forum (No Astrophotography philhas Members 61 459 Location: North East England Buy Astromania 1.25" 4mm Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - 4-Element Plossl Design . Yes, eyepieces is a large and complex topic. . The reason a plano-convex lens is good for using with a telescope is that it provides for both magnifying and erecting the images. Those are significantly more expensive than the 1.25 focal lengths. 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. A Plossl eyepiece is one of the most decent general-purpose eyepieces that are available on the market. But some people demand the very best, and it is available, at a price. Most telescopes come with one or two eyepieces. Gosky 1.25inch Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - Amazon.com With your glasses on, you simply cant get your eye close enough to an eyepiece that only has 10 mm of eye relief. Here we have very good eyepieces with some extra features. Tele Vue offers several series with apparent fields of view from 50 degrees to 120 degrees. Us big kids like zooms too. If you want to buy him $200 eyepieces so he can grow into them, that works. Field of view, is about finding, framing, drift time, and context. This means less time trying to figure out which way your images should be oriented before examining them. Celestron Telescope Eyepieces - CHUCKHAWKS.COM The downside to this type of lens is that they can cause chromatic aberration which creates colored spots around bright objects such as planets or stars due to the different wavelengths not going through equally. They are most useful in medium and longer focal lengths for terrestrial, planetary, and lunar viewing. The biggest advantage is much better ER in a large ocular. Not all are Plossls, but excellent eps at f/10. The longer FL Plossls (>15mm) have some distinct advantages over more complex designs without the major disadvantage of Plossls which is short ER. These eyepiecesproduce a 'standard apparent feld of view' of between 50 and 56 with most set at around 52. Hello sir, thanks for your article its realy helpful. Are Plossl eyepieces good?
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