eyepiece recommedations for Perseus 6" f/10?

[kp3ft]

Hi all,
I just purchased a Perseus 6" f/10 achro, and was hoping for some advice on eyepieces.  Won't be able to try it for a few more weeks since the scope is in NY and I'm in Puerto Rico.  I don't have a lot of experience with various scope apertures or focal lengths.  The only other decent scope I had in the past was a Unitron 4" f/15.  I only own two eyepieces and a Barlow:
1.  University Optics 25mm orthoscopic, 1.25", approximately 43-degree FOV
2.  University Optics  12.5mm orthoscopic, 1.25", approximately 43-degree FOV
3.  University Optics 2.8x Klee barlow, 1.25"

I want to get three 2" eyepieces for a wider FOV, and maybe a 2" barlow.  I can't afford the super-duper "designer" eyepieces.  After much searching, it appears orthos and plossls are the best choice for planetary and lunar viewing.  I'm also interested in DSO's but have no idea how a 6" f/10 will do on them.  Any advice on which eyepiece focal lengths to get?  Also, in case I want to reduce any achromatic color, what would be a good 2" filter for reducing color for the Perseus?  I've read good things about the Baader Fringe Killer, but again, I don't have enough experience with using various instruments to see firsthand what works the best.  Thanks for any info.

[bigsky]

Jeff,

I got a killer deal on some Televue Radians when they were phasing them out. There may still be a few left but your choices might be limited. Those work quite well with my 6" f-12. Baader Planetarium has some decent orthoscopics at the OPT website. If that's outside your budget, then there's the house brand OPT Plossl's that I would guess are pretty decent at the price, but no experience with those. I mostly stick with the middle of the road on price for the major brands/designs. I haven't found that the cost justifies the performance difference on the upper side of the price scale.

73,

Mark, K7SFA

[bigsky]

One more thing. I've got the Baader 2" fringe filter mounted in conjunction with the Moonlite focuser. It helps on the brighter objects, but that's why I went for the f-12 focal length in the first place. My guess is that the longer focal length helps more than the filter. The difference with versus without the filter is more noticable on my f-8 refractor. It's a somewhat pricey accessory, so you may want to go with the 1.25" version.

Mark

[bigsky]

As far as DSO's, your Perseus f-10 should be adequate for planetary nebulae and the like. But I think a better design for the purpose is a fairly fast Newtonian. Assuming you have a mount that can handle your 6" Perseus, you might be better served to go with an 8" f-4 to f-5 Newtonian and pair it with something like a 2" 35mm Panoptic. My refractors are dedicated to lunar, solar system and binary star targets, because that's what refractors do best. My other system for DSO objects is a fast Newtonian with Panoptic eyepieces.

Mark

[boomboom]

Vixen NLV eyepieces give beautiful views in my frac. Every bit as good as my Pentax XW's too. I have both Semi APO and Fringe Killer filters and prefer the Semi APO. It gives a creamy white view and no violet. The Fringe Killer turns everything yellow...not what I like to see. Other cheaper eyepiece choices, Agena Astro SWA series should be good at f 10, and cheap too. I use the 1.25" set in my WO bino's.
Matt

[bigsky]

Good advice. I thought the yellow was just some quirk of my f-8 optics on the Synta. You sort of learn to live with the faint violet fringe in an achromat. For visual observing, which is what I do, it's not that big a deal. I've got a 4.3" WO APO, but unless I get into photography I prefer the larger 6" f-12 for visual use. As long as one is informed going in, there's not a thing wrong with quality achromat optics like Istar puts out. At least not in my experience.

Mark

[aviegas]

Assuming you are keen to stay below $100 per eyepiece, I'd recommend the ES series. You can find these on Cloudy Nights or Astromart used for usually under $100 and you could get a 18mm 2" and maybe a 4.7mm and 11mm 1.25" for higher power. These are all 82 degree FOV so they are relatively good all around mid-price performers. Although I have bought a couple of eyepieces at retail, I suggest you really only do that at NEAF or other astro discount meet (Stellaphane up here in the North East also).... Apart from those times, I sincerely think you get much better value buying used rather than paying full retail. An earlier poster suggested the Radian line by Televue, these are good options also, although 72 FOV they give you more eye relief which if you wear glasses can be important. For planetary viewing, a high power University Optics or TMB planetary can be a decent option and usually you can get those for under $40 used.

Good luck,
Al

[kevinbarker]

May 29, 2013 5:46:59 GMT -5 kp3ft said:

Hi all,
I just purchased a Perseus 6" f/10 achro, and was hoping for some advice on eyepieces.  Won't be able to try it for a few more weeks since the scope is in NY and I'm in Puerto Rico.  I don't have a lot of experience with various scope apertures or focal lengths.  The only other decent scope I had in the past was a Unitron 4" f/15.  I only own two eyepieces and a Barlow:
1.  University Optics 25mm orthoscopic, 1.25", approximately 43-degree FOV
2.  University Optics  12.5mm orthoscopic, 1.25", approximately 43-degree FOV
3.  University Optics 2.8x Klee barlow, 1.25"

I want to get three 2" eyepieces for a wider FOV, and maybe a 2" barlow.  I can't afford the super-duper "designer" eyepieces.  After much searching, it appears orthos and plossls are the best choice for planetary and lunar viewing.  I'm also interested in DSO's but have no idea how a 6" f/10 will do on them.  Any advice on which eyepiece focal lengths to get?  Also, in case I want to reduce any achromatic color, what would be a good 2" filter for reducing color for the Perseus?  I've read good things about the Baader Fringe Killer, but again, I don't have enough experience with using various instruments to see firsthand what works the best.  Thanks for any info.

I think your 6 inch f-10 will deliver pretty good performance on deep sky, especially clusters, planetary nebula etc and with high contrast.

As for eyepieces although UO ortho's are sharp I personally prefer Televue plossl's for higher power use. They have a wider apparent field of view and better chromatic performance IMHO. The TV Plossl's do produce warmer tones but to my eyes they are as sharp or sharper than UO orthos. Televue also seem to have nailed quality control.

I recall using a D&G 6 inch f-12 I used to own and I always found the UO eyepieces to show more false colour than in the TV Plossl's I had at the time. I know many swear by them but I have seen one or two UO's that were not up to scratch. Perhaps consider also the Baader 50 degree orthoscopics, their coatings are modern and most probably excellent. I have read the Baader orthos are based on the old Zeiss jena 0.965" design and glass types. I have a set of Zeiss Jena 0.965" orthoscopics (and a 10 mm 1.25" Abbe ortho) and yes they are as sharp as it gets.

For wider field lower power use the suggestion of ES may be the best bet. At f-10 you should get pretty good performance across a wide field.

[gord]

Since no one has mentioned it, I'll suggest a long FL plossl like the Meade 56 or the TV 55. This will get you the lowest power, widest field you can get in this OTA. The 40-ish mm widefields (TV Panoptic, ES, etc) will give you almost as wide at a little higher power, but the plossl is a nice alternative.

I would even go so far as to say it's my favorite EP for this scope. Mine is one of the old Meade 56 smooth side 5 elements versions. Gives around 1.9deg FOV at 27x. And much better field performance than in a short FL scope like an F5 say.

For high power, it's going to be the best ones you can get a hold of. My current favorite is the Leica zoom. Better performance than the Baader ortho's and TV plossl's, and I like both of those. I find the Baader's to be a notch above the TV's, but I also hear that the newer TV's (Delos) are likely on par or a touch ahead of the BGO's. The absolute best seem to be the Zeiss ortho's and the APM/TMB supermono's. These are of course for pulling as much as absolutely possible out of the scope and can help on smaller DSO's.

For bigger ones or just trying to pull things in, any widefield will work well. The more modern and expensive ones will just do it a little better.

Clear skies,
-Gord

[astro16]

I am impressed with the quality and the price on the 55mm and the 70mm Russell eyepieces I use with my 152mm f15 achro. admittedly I have only had this scope out a couple times but the wide field views of clusters was impressive. I have both a Konig and a superplossl. see russell-optics.com/two_inch.html

Edf

[bn1777]

I second that on the Meade 56mm plossl , Gord . Sadly no longer made but they pop up second hand every now and then .
I also have a nice Astrotec Titan 40mm that performs very well in my Istar 127mm f8 achro , a good price for a well made 2 inch eyepiece .
Brian.