are plossl eyepieces good

They are most useful in medium and longer focal lengths for terrestrial, planetary, and lunar viewing. However, there can be a problem bringing the eyepiece into focus. Each eyepiece gives you a unique magnification based on the formula listed at the start: Why do you need more than two eyepieces? These will normally be higher priced and may be outside the price range we show here. Yes, the wider field of view of a Plossl is very helpful, but 40 degrees of Kellners isnt a soda straw (unless you are used to looking through very wide field eyepiece. I need some eyepieces with long FL for low magnifications. 20 = 90 = .8 This saves money and helps you shop in an organized manner. In this article, we will only focus on the differences between Plossl and Kellner eyepieces. Comparing to Plossl eyepieces, Super Plossl is somewhat better for astronomy. It has made learning the Constellations and star-hopping more fun and engaging for my whole family exactly what I was hoping for. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. No other type can compare with it when it comes to that quality. 4mm Eyepiece vs 20mm Eyepiece. I need your advice on it. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/. They are just OK, but I dont recommend them, especially in a low focal ratio scope. Are plossl eyepieces still worth it? What diameter eyepieces will my telescope accept? 32mm (20x & 40x). I have CPC 925 and I currently own Hyperion 10mm, Hyperion 17mm and Celestron plossl 40mm. Not all are Plossls, but excellent eps at f/10. 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. There is a little bit more to it than that and there are other design . 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. I started with the Celestron zoom. 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. Take the AFOV of the eyepiece (provided by the mfg) in your case 82 degrees However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. Every new skill takes time. You also get 7 1.25 filters which include the following, #80A Blue Filter, #58 Green Filter, #56 Light Green Filter, #25 Red Filter, #21 . If you just want a quick answer, skip to the conclusion at the end of the article. or a Baader Classic Ortho 18mm with both a 1.5/2x Barlow and 3x Barlow. They are a good brand with high-quality eyepieces, you just dont need to spend the extra money for almost no gain in performance. Optics manufacturers began selling and popularizing Plossl eyepieces, albeit with a generally simplified design where each achromatic doublet had the same focal length. Below 20 however, the eye relief makes it difficult for me and my glasses so Ive been replacing my 5-15 EPs with 82 degree EPs with more relief. The Expanse is a lens that provides an extra sharp image, and it also has a wider field of view compared to the Plossl eyepiece. Am I correct? Note to spectacle wearers: Plssl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers. Note that we also gained a 16 mm magnification at no additional cost. This makes them a bit more complex and expensive than other designs, but also gives them a wider field of view, reasonable eye relief, and reduces optic aberrations. Is there much of a difference between the celestron and haader? In some cases, the eyepieces are waterproof to protect them from internal contamination caused by heavy dew conditions. A typical zoom eyepiece has a focal length range of 8 mm to 24 mm. This will give you a lower power and a medium to high power eyepiece, depending on the focal length of your scope. Etc.? Perhaps another review would be helpful. Plossls are the clear winner here in most cases, unless you have one of the wider-field 50-degree Kellners. The quality of a Plossl eyepiece completely depends on the brand and model, so be very careful in our selection. If you go this route, you can always add single focal length eyepieces along the way to serve specialized purposes. I still use my 30mm Celestron Ultima fairly often with some of my telescopes. They deliver sharp images in almost all telescopes. But, if you have a plan, you can fill in those slots, working toward a well-balanced set of magnifications. PS. Here we focus on becoming a knowledge hub for astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. Then you can judge for yourself if it is worth it. Can you help me. When you use a Barlow lens with an eyepiece, you get the magnification, but the eye relief is not affected. This determines how much light the telescope will gather. That's how cost-efficient the entire package is! I had a newer - purchased in 2016 Meade 32mm (white lettering) that was no better than the older 32mm 4000. The Hexagon Zoom Eyepiece is made from durable plastic material that resists scratching and it has an eye relief distance of 15mm. short answer: yes. It was grueling, because I couldnt even get the entire field of viewI had to keep my eye hovering above the exit pupil. A 2 barrel on the eyepiece will allow the manufacturer to create an eyepiece that provides a wider field of view. 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. The stock 9 and 15mm Omnis were very good. Your eyepieces do not need to be the same brand as your telescope. It may be a bit less than that in reality but for practical purposes that is close enough. 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. By having a range of magnifications, you can optimize the image, which means you need more eyepieces. 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. Well-made lenses are expensive though, so in general the more lenses, the higher the price of the eyepiece. For your application and the eyepieces you have or are going to get, you really dont need anything else. The 50 apparent field of view is plenty for me. Heres the short answer Plossl eyepieces are generally better than Kellner eyepieces, but they also tend to be more expensive. Most of Celestrons entry-level telescopes are sold with Kellners (and other cheap but reasonable-quality designs like RKEs or Konigs), whereas their more expensive SCTs tend to come with a single 25mm Plossl. Those are significantly more expensive than the 1.25 focal lengths. Divide that by the magnification of that eyepiece in that scope. You can still get eyepieces, but there are few choices. Even though there are more sophisticated types of EPs, Plossls hit the right spot between high-quality optics and price. I am very interested in viewing Nebulae do you think this set up will work well for that or do I need other eyepieces or filters? They have decent eye relief and little curvature of field. The BHZ 2 Adapter has threads on it so you can attach filters to it allowing you to use 2 filters with the zoom. Looking forward to first use. 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. Let us know in the comments if there is anything else you want to ask or share your thoughts on this post, always looking forward to feedback from others who will benefit from it as well! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We have compared Plossl against Kellner eyepieces in a previous article. I just added the 4.7 mm. However, some lateral color error is apparent when looking at bright subjects, such as Jupiter or Venus, against a dark sky. When you add eyepieces to your collection, you will want to consider what field of view you want and how much you are willing to pay for it. I foolishly destroyed it while experimenting with solar projection, because I hadnt realized the metal-and-glass construction was aided by a plastic retaining ring on the field stop, and I hadnt realized you do not need to change the eyepiece focal length when doing solar projection. In some cases, an object is so large (i.e., the Moon, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy) that a narrow field of view can only show you part of the object, whereas a wider field of view could show the whole object at the same magnification. Focus on the magnifications rather than the mm of the eyepieces. But will the Baader CO with 1.5-2-3x Barlows deliver a visibly sharper and more contrast view of the Moon and planets than the zoom lens with a 2x Barlow, to compensate for the zooms convenience that is the question! Oh the pain of uh having access to really cool eyepieces.). Edited April 23, 2010 by russ teh_orph Members 28 198 Author I am not aware of any such solutions for Newtonian reflectors. THANK YOU x 12! I do not miss beating my eyelashes against a 9.7mm Meade Plossl that I used to own. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. A Barlow lens will not reduce the CA in a low FR achromat refractor so to speak of it changing the focal ratio would, I think, introduce confusion in most situations. As you saw in the article, they eyepieces that would be best for you, or your child, is based on your budget and what your goals are. A wide range of focal lengths are available, all in 1.25-inch size. A Barlow lens is an optical device that goes between the eyepiece and the focuser. Plossl eyepieces are great. This Super Plossl design was better than regular Plossl eyepieces, but not by much. I also have an older smoothtop 20mm Meade 4000 that is also 5 element, and it is a fine eyepiece too, compared to another 20mm of the same vintage. A four-element eyepiece was made by putting together two achromatic doublets with different focal lengths. Understanding and using a Barlow Lens Read our full affiliate disclosure here. You are looking through a LOT of atmosphere which distorts the image. The magnification range that is appropriate to your scope. If we look at the range I provided above, we see that we could replace several eyepieces with one zoom. The original design for Plossl eyepieces has existed since 1860. But those EPs mentioned were all great too! With an f/10 telescope, Plossls are as sharp as any other kind of eyepiece of the same focal length. The design of a Plossl eyepiece consists of an objective lens with one side that is convex (wider than its length) while the other side is plano-convex or flat in shape. . If you are a glasses wearer and plan to keep your glasses on while you are observing, then you will likely want eyepieces with at least 17 mm of eye relief, and some glasses wearers prefer at least 20 mm. The components of a Plossl eyepiece are the two groups of lenses. 100-300X, 2X Barlow. It allows each eyepiece to provide two magnifications. Pentax K-70 Astrophotography: The Ultimate Camera on a Budget! Gold line eyepieces are available in 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm focal lengths. The TFOV will be as wide as your 40mm Plssl, but with greater magnification and a slightly darker sky background. So, even if you have a Maksutov-Cassegrain scope, you should get a good experience from this eyepiece. If you upgrade the telescope or add a second one, the eyepieces will work on that telescope too. Now looking for a couple of decent eyepieces. The difference in TFOV will be significant at this focal length. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. Choosing the most appropriate can completely change your experience in using telescopes. 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. Kellner eyepieces work perfectly with small and medium-sized telescopes. We may earn commissions by recommending products on this website. The zoom can be used with any 1.25 focuser too. 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. Thanks for a very helpful guide. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our team of experts has reviewed and ranked 180+ telescopes based on price and quality. They have a 50-56 degrees field of view, better eye relief, and cost more than Kellners. 14 = 128 = .6 They all work, but as you go up in price, you gain features or performance or both. I already got the 10mm super wide because of the added eye relief but at 15mm both have the same eye relief. Ive added comments on where you may find and use them. Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. Quality this good usually costs a lot more. And you don't even have to get the full set if you don't want to. Some accept 2 and have an adapter that allows you to also use 1.25. You could say Super Plossls are not much more than a marketing tactic these days. With regards to budget, whatever works well and is on par with the quality & capability of the telescope. In simple terms, high focal ratio scopes, say those over F6, tend to be less demanding on eyepieces than those below F6. Because of this setup, you might also hear a Plossl eyepiece referred to as a symmetrical eyepiece. For astronomical observations, such as viewing craters on the moons surface from Earth, high-magnification models are preferred because they offer more detail. Plossl eyepieces have an eye relief equal to about 80% of their focal length. In your case, I would do this for the 30 and the 20. So plan this into such a purchase. Does having a 70 vs 52 fov make a noticeable difference for double the price? My Baader Hyperion Zoom is my most used and favorite eyepiece. So we say that an F5 scope benefits from better corrected eyepieces more than the F10 scope. Sorry but I am not offering a configuration and pricing service. I have an SCT and my eyepiece case only hasPlssls (and one Ortho) in it. 1.25" Power mates with T ring adapter. I was looking on a OPT website and they have celestron 32mm and 15mm plossl. but the meat of the article is about understanding the considerations and specifications to know when selecting eyepieces. It offers good color correction and high-contrast images. Here's the short answer - Plossl eyepieces are generally better than Kellner eyepieces, but they also tend to be more expensive. Thinking in a super ploss 32mm and maybe something between 9mm and 15mm . I often had to drop back to about 180X because of poor seeing and transparency. The BHZ in a 2X Barlow will take an XT8 to 300X. In the 1990s Meade instruments came up with a new design for the Meade 4000 line similar to Plossl that added a fifth glass element on top of the two pairs (4 total). This will give you a maximum target for planning purposes. I think you will love it! You have selected a very good starting telescope that will serve you for many years to come. I am a BIG fan of zoom eyepieces, especially if you dont have many. 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. If you had to choose 1 low-power 2 EP for chasing deep sky objects (again, at 600mm f7.5), what size piece would you go for? A decent barlow might cost as much or even more. Great article on eyepieces but I am still undecided exactly what eyepiece & Barlow to buy and from where since some buying sites dont provide all the info you cite in your article. That can only be shown through actual testing. (often referred to as Pseudo Masuyama). SVBONY Direct . 5-Minute Read, How To Increase The Magnification Of A Telescope; 5-Minute Read. See if you will observe with or without your glasses. 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. Better edge correction with a short-focus telescope is one of the things you pay extra money for, and sophisticated eyepiece designs have as many as eight elements. Kellner vs Plossl - Comparison table. Again, it only costs $30 to $40 to find out, so the education is not that expensive. I really enjoy usingPlssls. My love affair with space began in a field in India at the age of 7, when I looked up at the Milky Way for the first time. Plossls and Kellners, like other simple eyepiece designs, have moderate fields of view and tend to have short eye relief as you scale them down to shorter focal lengths. Good quality. 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. The generic GSO Plssl from many manufacturers, including Astronomics (Astro Tech) and Agnena Astro, is as good as the Celestron and a few bucks cheaper. These eyepieces have about 35 to 50 degrees apparent fields of view and reasonable eye relief, though quite short for high magnifications. A Kellner eyepiece has 1 double lens and 1 single lens. 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. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. EP-mm = magnification = afov We enjoy binoculars for the moon, but having never looked through another telescope, my kids and I do not know what internal reflection, ghosting, vignettes, or diffraction spikes look like! If you have a longer focal length telescope, your shortest focal length eyepiece will be a higher number than what I have shown here. But in this scope, the 32 mm doesnt work well. One learns by observing. Buy Astromania 1.25" 4mm Plossl Telescope Eyepiece - 4-Element Plossl Design . They are also good for those who have astigmatism because they are designed to be more forgiving with eye placement. Finally, a wider field of view just makes it easier to find stuff. Its made up of four lenses in two groups. I couldnt find any suggestions on your site about diagonal recommendations. Choose three focal lengths. Most people will be fairly comfortable with eye relief of 12 mm or higher. Since there are so many different types of eyepieces available on the market, choosing the right one for your situation can prove to be a harrowing task. Lets illustrate with an example using a 1200 mm FL telescope. So speaking of the Barlow as if it modifies the FL of the eyepiece, while technically not correct, does provide an easier model to understand the net effect. 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. Plossl eyepiece is one of the reasonable options when it comes to telescope eyepieces for stargazing or astronomy. that I could slide into my telescope and look at. Eyepieces are a religion. At that price point, it couldnt compete with other 5-element devices like Erfle and Nagler eyepieces that had better performance. These are considered to be the least expensive eyepieces for serious astronomy and are offered in focal lengths from about 6mm to 40mm. This is where the second formula comes into play. FOR SALE! 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. It also gives the widest possible exit pupil in my dob and SCT, very handy when using nebula filters. However, if you want to optimize your viewing experience, youll need to invest in a better-quality eyepiece. This wider field of view will make it easier to find your targets, allow you to view larger deep-sky objects, and provide a more immersive experience for everything that you view. 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.) When discussing eyepieces, you will hear people comment on how well the eyepiece is corrected. And, the quality of the eyepiece clearly comes into play here. Field of view, is about finding, framing, drift time, and context. It costs three to four times as much as the Celestron Zoom, but if you have the budget, this is the one to get. I can say that most of my plossls have been replaced by other eyepieces for various reasons. The only reason it's in this list because of its price and a long focal point. If you want to observe the fine details of a specimen, Plossl eyepiece has a higher magnification than an ocular with lower lenses. SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Set Telescope Accessory Kit with 2x Barlow Lens 4 Element Plossl Design 6.3mm 32mm 40mm for Astronomical Telescopes. The biggest advantage is much better ER in a large ocular. eyepiece shows signs of use with caps and bolt case, 32 mm Plossl very good cond. Generally, dont mess around with solar projection unless youre okay with damaging the instrument. We also joined our local Astronomy Club and look forward to joining others under the night sky when the opportunity presents itself again. Celestron 2026 Erecting Prism Barlow Lens Set is another great choice for those looking to get a variety of magnifications. As for tabletop scopes, dont forget that you need a table, stool, or bench to place them. 50 150X, no Barlow For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. Note that the full moon appears to be approximately .5 degrees across, so use that as a mental reference when looking at the numbers. Plus the FOV expands as you zoom to the higher powers. IF you like your Hyperions , you could get a 2 inch visual back and 2 inch diagonal / or 2 inch SCT diagonal and add the 31 or 36 Baader eyepieces in 2 inch . Perhaps you have read about planetary eyepieces, DSO eyepieces, and other types of specific eyepieces. We often end up spending more on eyepieces than we did on the telescope. Regular Plossl eyepieces with maybe just a slightly better coating or build quality. The Plossl eyepiece is a four-element design consisting of two doublets. I havent addressed .965 eyepieces in the recommendations. A Plossl eyepiece lens provides more eye relief than anything else out there! It is pretty much worth it for everyone that has a telescope with a 1.25 inch focuser to have a 32mm Plssl. short answer: yes. So, for your 30 mm, 82/60 = 1.36 degrees. Or we say that F10 would be easier or less demanding on the eyepiece than the F5. 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 also struggled to see features on both (gas bands on Jupiter and clear rings on saturn). Although Kellner eyepieces will help you learn a lot in the beginning but soon will realize that youre missing out on something, and eventually you will be tempted to spend money on another good quality eyepiece.

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