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[Kalvis]

I would be thankful for any advise that could be obtained from fellow Chicago Astronomers on which eyepiece to purchase next. The focal length I am interested in is in the 5 to 6 mm range. I would like it to be multi-coated, have a minimum 55 degree field of view and an eye relief of at least 8 mm. I would also like to save money. I realize that I'll have to pay a minimum of $40, but I would not want to spend more than $75. I am still a beginner without a narrowed down list of preferred viewing targets, so this e.p. should allow me to do lunar/planetary/nebula/cluster/galactic viewing about equally. With it I intended to push my scopes close to their magnification limits:

• 80x to 96x (or 160x to 192x barlowed) in my 80mm f/6 (480mm focal length) achromatic refractor
  
• 200x to 240x (or 400x to 480x barlowed) in my 150 mm f/6 (1200mm focal length) reflector
  

Here are my candidate e.p.'s in order of increasing price:

Antares W70 with F.L. of 5.8 mm -- my first choice
67 degree AFOV, 15 mm eye relief
$47 new
~$35 used

University Optics Abbe Orthoscopic with F.L. of 5mm or 6 mm
45 degree AFOV (too narrow?), "very comfortable" eye relief
$60 new

Orion Epic ED-2 with F.L. of 5.1 mm
55 degree AFOV, 20 mm eye relief
$65 new
~$50 used

Stellarvue SWA with F.L. of 6 mm -- my second choice
66 degree AFOV, 13 mm eye relief
not available new from Stellarvue
$70 new from ScopeTronix
~ $50 used

University Optics "HD" Abbe Orthoscopic with F.L. of 6 mm
This is their "high definition" version, but I can't find any specs
$80 new

Meade Series 5000 with F.L. of 5.5 mm -- my fourth choice
60 degree AFOV, 7 mm eye relief
$89 new
~$70 used

Orion Stratus Wide-Field with F.L. of 5 mm -- my third choice
68 degree AFOV, 20 mm eye relief
$120 new
~$85 used

Thanks in advance for your recommendations and guidance!

[stargazer]

Hi Klavis

I HIGHLY rec the ED2. I have the 5.1 and use it often. Actually I rec the whole set of the ED2's. nice EP. I got my first one as a Bday gift and then got most likely 15 other people to buy them as well. Well worth the money. You wont be disappointed with it.

B

[atomant]

Hey Kalvis,

For eyeglass wearers like myself, the Orion ED series provide very good eye relief. Very similar to the Vixen LVs I have.

However, I personally would not recommend HIGH power eyepieces. I recently sold two from my collection: a Tak 5mm LE and a Televue 4.8mm Nagler . I found these eyepieces sitting in my case collecting stardust waiting for those rare steady skies. It was neat to use them one weekend to push my scope's optics.

I find the rule of thumb 50X your scope's objective in inches as the max in magnification to hold true, especially in the turbulent Chicago skies. 150x for your 3in and 250x for your 5in.
That is for those rare sticky, steady skies.

Invest in a very nice MEDIUM power eyepiece that you will use the most. Recommendation: Televue Plossls, Tak LEs, Vixen/Celestron LVs, Meade 4000 series. Try before you buy. Attend star parties to experience different equipment.
If you really need high power, you can always barlow. If you are still power hungry, stick with the orthoscopics for excellent high power lunar, planetary viewing.

Have fun eyepiece hunting!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

What Bill & Becks says is all true.

I prefer to remove my specs when observing and the wider the field of view....the better.

At the Adler, tucked in the special black eyepiece case is a 3.8mm - I think it's an Orion. Rarely have I used it, but when I have, I prefer to use it on the biggest aperture scope we got - the SCT 10". Even here, the image degrades much, and although it provides a bigger image, it is very dim, not helpful for public viewing, but it is nice to have around when the skies are steady. On my favorite adopted scope, The Nikon Refractor - it's just too much magnification most of the time.

The ED series are good too, no complaints against them. But with a good barlow, it doubles your eyepieces and I'm sure your are already in the 5mm range. Ok, the extra glass elements steal some of the observable light, but that's not as critical here in the the mucky Chicago skies.

Of the choices you provided, I would go with your first inclination -

Antares W70 with F.L. of 5.8 mm -- my first choice
67 degree AFOV, 15 mm eye relief
$47 new
~$35 used

The price isn't bad and the FOV is good. I would get the new one, after all...who wants other peoples scratches and drops!

[Kalvis]

Thanks to Becky, Bill and Joe for your valuable words of wisdom. I remain open to additional recommendations from others, so please keep sending them in.

I just realized that I forgot to include one additional e.p. on the original list. At the beginning of May I purchased a used 15mm version of this same brand and have thoroughly enjoyed using it. It really blows away my Astrola 9mm and 25mm Plossl e.p.'s that came packaged with my refractor. Here are the specs:

Orion Expanse Wide-Field with F.L. of 6mm
66 degree AFOV, 13 mm eye relief
$50 used
$35 used (I got my 15mm for the bargain price of $27!)

As it stands now my top contenders are the 5.8mm Antares W70, and this 6mm Orion Expanse. I appreciate the strong recommendations of the 5.1mm Orion Epic ED-2. However, I got to thinking that closer to 6mm would be better than 5mm. In other words: to make it a more frequently used e.p. I should not push the limits too much, but instead stay conservatively "safe and long."

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Kalvis,

I would still go with the Antares:

Antares W70 with F.L. of 5.8 mm -- my first choice
67 degree AFOV, 15 mm eye relief
$47 new
~$35 used

It's almost a 6mm - One degree more in FOV - and cheaper. And squeeze in a 2x Barlow and you got a 2.9mm eyepiece!!! I think it's your best choice here. And get the new one, as you will probably spend the $12.00 in savings on gum and candy anyway...

Any eyepiece that stays in the case is an eyepiece not worth it. Most of my sessions are with low powered to medium power eyepieces. Only rarely will I push the scope to ultra-high magnification...and that is usually with the Moon.

I get a peek when you get the new addition!