are plossl eyepieces good


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. A Kellner eyepiece has 3 lenses, while a Plossl has 4. 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. still, i somehow managed to avoid the eyepiece pitfalls when buying used off ebay. Thanks, Angelo M. You picked a great first scope. a Celestron 8-24 Zoom with a 2x Barlow 30 = 60 = 1.3 Look those up, seeing and transparency in the context of astronomy. If you want a very good eyepiece with a bit wider field of view but are on a budget, these are very good choices. Even though there are more sophisticated types of EPs, Plossls hit the right spot between high-quality optics and price. 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.) 8.5-ish mm (75x & 150x) Pentax K-70 Astrophotography: The Ultimate Camera on a Budget! These are just a few examples of eyepieces that I have used, and some that I own. Omni 15mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. In most cases, these are eyepieces that are focused on wider AFOV or better correction for low focal ratio scopes. The 4000 SWA's were way overpriced for their performance IMHO. If you read the article you know how to calculate the magnification and field of view. Well-made lenses are expensive though, so in general the more lenses, the higher the price of the eyepiece. No price limit. Orion Q70 38 mm works well. Despite one being fundamentally superior to the other in terms of image correction, Kellners and Plossls are generally quite comparable in terms of the image you actually see. This is where the cheap eyepiece will frequently fail to deliver a good image, around the edges. In the world of eyepieces, when you want the very best, turn to Tele Vue, but be prepared to pay a truly premium price. It is pretty much worth it for everyone that has a telescope with a 1.25 inch focuser to have a 32mm Plssl. I agree with your comment on zooms for kids. If one Super Plossl specifies it uses a 5 lens design, then you can definitely consider it a true Super Plossl that might offer better performance, but no brand has released any of those for decades. Simple Plosels work well and unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would start with simple affordable eyepieces. PS. Disclosure - If you buy something via our link, we may earn a commission with no additional expense to you. All are good eyepieces and diagonals, and would be excellent for star party use. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. 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. Higher values are slower and lower values are fasterthis is a holdover from camera lens terminology and has to do with exposure times.). 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: 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? At one time Plssls were premium eyepieces. This saves money and helps you shop in an organized manner. 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! Orion Sirius Plossl eyepieces are ideal for any type of telescope; refractor, reflector, or catadioptic. 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. Also, atmospheric conditions can limit how much magnification you can use on a given night. Why not go back to the people who sold you the scope and get their help. And new proprietary designs come out from time to time. 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. When selecting the best eyepiece for you, consider: Eyepieces are standardized so whatever investment you make today, the eyepieces will continue to serve you in any future scopes you may own. Plossl eyepieces have a wide FOV and are known for their clarity and sharpness. Between $100 and $250, I will call it mid-range. This means less time trying to figure out which way your images should be oriented before examining them. Outstanding job Jack. And of course, NEVER look through a telescope pointed at the sun that does not have a safe solar filter covering the front. I continue to be very pleased with the ES82 eyepieces. 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. Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. I owned an XT8 Intelliscope which is the same optical tube on a PushTo mount. This type of eyepiece provides you with wide-field views without any distortion due to its use as an achromatic lens system which reduces chromatic aberrations by combining two lenses made from different types of glass materials together on each surface. Later in the article, I will also give my top recommendations for both the best Kellner as well as the best Plossl eyepieces. 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. This can be very helpful for star hopping. For it's cost, a 32mm Plssl eyepiece is hard to beat. Ive read reviews about my scope. Optics manufacturers began selling and popularizing Plossl eyepieces, albeit with a generally simplified design where each achromatic doublet had the same focal length. Plssl eyepieces are good all-around performers, producing sharp images at the center of the field, but they have only four lens elements. What should one opt for a 2 EP over a 1.25? Most telescopes come with one or two eyepieces, which gives you one or two magnification options. Or we say that F10 would be easier or less demanding on the eyepiece than the F5. . For me personally, even though I don't use glasses to observe, I still don't want to dig out the view through a plossl or ortho eyepiece which tend to have short eye relief. 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. How Good Are Super Plossl Eyepieces for Astronomy? You can use the same eyepiece on planets and deep-sky objects (DSOs). One of the main drawbacks of this eyepiece, though, is the eye relief. 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. No results, please adjust your filters. 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. 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 . Something in the 30 to 38 mm range with a 65 to 70 degree AFOV. As the clear cut worlds best eyepiece manufacturer, their name should at least be mentioned in an article like this. This is the link to the one I plan to buy as I know some others come with add ons: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-hyperion-mark-iv-8-24mm-universal-zoom-eyepiece.html, Thats great you had an XT8i that makes me feel confident I got a good telescope . Because some objects look better at low power, some at medium power, some at high power, and some at very high power. Think of these as your Ford, Chevy, and Toyota of eyepieces. A typical zoom eyepiece has a focal length range of 8 mm to 24 mm. With a refractor, SCT or MCT, it is usually better to get a correct image diagonal than a correcting eyepiece. In comparison, Aspherical lenses generally have no color distortion but might not work out well if the telescope user needs really high magnification. By the 1980s, amateur astronomy equipment suppliers were still selling new telescopes with Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces, not merely because they were cheap but because they lacked internal reflections. Not all are Plossls, but excellent eps at f/10. If there is a local club, I would suggest you visit and consider joining. Most people prefer the wider TFOV. The field of view of a p Plossl eyepiece is typically 60 to 120 degrees. Celestron Omni Eyepieces: The Omni series is the most economical eyepiece offering from Celestron. Second? Many thanks. These are exceptional eyepieces, and only available on the used market nowadays. thanks for all your help. At shorter focal lengths they have less eye relief, and at all focal lengths they have a narrower field of view, than newer types. Plossls are available from many suppliers in a wide range of focal lengths in 1.25 and 2 sizes. If you are completely new to stargazing, Kellner eyepieces are absolutely fine. There are three types of Plossl eyepiece: the regular, Super, and Orthoscopic. 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. But with 2 eyepieces and a Barlow, you have the full effective range of your telescope. Higher priced eyepieces usually include more elements in the optical path that are there to help reduce or eliminate aberrations that can be seen around the edges of lower cost eyepieces. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, Then you look at the optical tubes. If money is not a concern, you cant go wrong with Tele Vue eyepieces, any Tele Vue eyepieces. Can you help me. This is your Lexus, Acura, and Infinity types that offer more features, better build, and a bit more polish. 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. What happens if you use an eyepiece that has a the wrong exit pupil? For the price, I think the eyepiece is still a good pick. Despite this, I also have some Plossls which are indispensable. When you are shopping, if you need long eye relief, make sure you are selecting the correct ones. It is as simple as that. The one exception I would keep in mind would be when working with Newtonian reflector telescopes below F5. To achieve six magnifications, you can have six eyepieces. Meanwhile, Plossl eyepieces are much more common and easy to find. And that is pretty much what Super Plossl are today. The Plossl has good color correction plus is free of the ghost images that plague the Kellner. 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. I would expect it to be similar to the Celestron in image quality. The original design for Plossl eyepieces has existed since 1860. If you are buying your first telescope, and you are choosing between the telescope that includes a Kellner or a telescope that comes with a Plossl, with all the other specs being similar, pick the telescope thats offering you the Plossl, even if its slightly more expensive. Press Esc to cancel. When discussing eyepieces, you will hear people comment on how well the eyepiece is corrected. Fortunately, the investment can be leveraged with future scopes since eyepieces are standard sizes so they work in almost any telescope. Gosky Plossl 40 mm Telescope Eyepiece - 1.25inch This is probably the worst eyepiece I can recommend. Every review suggests replacing the 10mm Kellner eyepiece (and possibly 25mm Kellner) that comes with it. They also have good eye relief, making them comfortable to use for extended periods. Are Plossl eyepieces good? 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. Magnification or power = focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece, Focal ratio = focal length telescope / aperture telescope, maximum practical aperture = aperture X 2, Edges of the optics are blackened for increased contrast, which prevents internal reflections, Anti-reflection, fully multi-coated optics provide enhanced light transmission for bright and clear images. 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? They offer a 52-degree apparent field with clean, high-contrast images. Just give yourself some time to learn the app and to understand the scope. No other type can compare with it when it comes to that quality. 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. Jupiter and Saturn are low in the sky now. They deliver sharp images in almost all telescopes. You can find the eyepieces I use and recommend in this article. The big problem with Plssls is that the eye relief is about 0.75 times the focal length. This will give you a maximum target for planning purposes. They are also good for those who have astigmatism because they are designed to be more forgiving with eye placement. In this article, we will only focus on the differences between Plossl and Kellner eyepieces. So, if your scope is F6 or lower, you may want to consider some of the higher priced, better corrected eyepieces if you want the best image to the edge of the field. Do you think the Baader Hyperion Zoom would work OK with the Skywatcher 150p? 5-Minute Read, How To Increase The Magnification Of A Telescope; 5-Minute Read. To say it a different way, in general, an F5 scope will place more demands on the eyepiece around the edge of the field of view than an F10 scope. If you look up transparency and seeing in the context of telescopes you can learn more about how atmospheric conditions will affect what magnifications you will choose on any given night. For planetary viewing, comfort is essential in helping to increase viewing time . Your email address will not be published. A key thing to remember is that eyepieces are universal. Thanks for going through the entire post. They have a 50-56 degrees field of view, better eye relief, and cost more than Kellners. I cannot thank you enough! now it all makes sense, you did a great job explaining all this information it was a lot to take in but i have it now. I guess my curiosity is mostly about the diagonal. 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. All of the Omni eyepieces have a 1.25" barrel size with the exception of the super low power 56 mm, which has a barrel size of 2". It's no surprise that the eyepieces in our Sirius Plossl line are our best-selling telescope eyepieces. While it covers the same range as the Celestron zoom, it offers better optics, better mechanical operation, and a wider field of view. Best suited for telescopes with f-ratios f6 or slower. Do I need an adapter if my scope has a Plossl lens? I started with the Celestron zoom. Now we can establish a target magnification range. https://telescopicwatch.com/?s=barlow, Best of luck with your new telescope. That is why I suggest, if you can use 2 eyepieces, you will want one or two low power wide view 2 eyepieces. Once I knew how much I liked the zoom I upgraded to the Baader Hyperion Zoom. If you do choose to go with a Plossl eyepiece, I highly recommend spending some extra cash to get yourself a decent good quality branded Plossl eyepiece rather than going for a cheap, generic eyepiece which is a Plossl only for the namesake. So plan this into such a purchase. . If we want to get VERY specific to a combination then inherent aberrations of this scope and that eyepiece could produce a unique result. I have CPC 925 and I currently own Hyperion 10mm, Hyperion 17mm and Celestron plossl 40mm. They have decent eye relief and little curvature of field. My Meade 4000 56 and 60 degree Meade Plossls are pretty sharp to my eyes and do pretty well for me. Be sure to read the following as you consider your eyepiece purchases. However the package includes a 1.25 to 2 adapter so if you have a 2 focuser you can treat this like a 2 eyepiece leaving the adapter normally included with the scope for use with other 1.25 eyepieces. It also produces an erect image, meaning you see what youre viewing rather than seeing everything upside down or sideways as some types do. Now here is something that some of us classic scope nuts know - there are plossls, and there are plossls. philhas Members 61 459 Location: North East England For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. As we go up in price range, we gain capabilities that may not be immediately obvious. Despite the narrow field of view and short eye relief, it showed shockingly good views of Saturn, Jupiter, and even the Moon. A Kellner eyepiece has 1 double lens and 1 single lens. Those are significantly more expensive than the 1.25 focal lengths. 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. The tradeoff was that each lens surface added another internal reflection, reducing contrast and adding glare. The TFOV will be as wide as your 40mm Plssl, but with greater magnification and a slightly darker sky background. Not everything in the sky benefits from high magnification. Celestron's 4-element Plossl eyepiece features include blackened lens edges to minimize internal reflection and maximize contrast, fully multi-coated optics for maximum light transmission. Can you suggest the total . I must say Im quite confused about eyepieces. I still use my 30mm Celestron Ultima fairly often with some of my telescopes. But I think you will feel more confident about your purchases and be less likely to be disappointed if you read through the guide. Age is not part of the equation. I had one and sold it. Perhaps you should seek out help from your local astronomy club. I often recommend a 32 mm Plossl as a good low power wide view eyepiece for scopes with a 1.25 focuser. The Wiki article(s) were very good if anyone else is confused. https://www.amazon.com/Explore-Scientific-68%C2%B0-40mm-Eyepiece/dp/B007LMG3F6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=explore+scientific+68&qid=1606584676&sr=8-1, Thanks for your reply, I think I will go for the Orion Q70 . These come in focal lengths from 2.3 mm to 25 mm. Is it just about finding and framing, or do wide fov EPs create a more immersive experience? You can buy a range of these from Modern Astronomy. I do not miss beating my eyelashes against a 9.7mm Meade Plossl that I used to own. 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. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. There are inexpensive adapters that will let you use standard 1.25 eyepieces in a .965 focuser/diagonal. 1.25" Power mates with T ring adapter. (Compare, for instance, 20mm of each type, or 10mm of each type.) Though not the Meade. For modern eyepieces, the differences between Plossl and Super Plossl is going to depend on the manufacturer. Not perfect to the edge but better than the Bresser, in my opinion. I wants to install one in house(fixed place) another I need movable. You alluded to them, but you never mentioned Tele Vue. Tele Vue offers several series with apparent fields of view from 50 degrees to 120 degrees. 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. Thank you so much for taking the time to provide all this information! Thanks for your comment. Thanks so much. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. Compared with a zoomable telescope eyepiece, they are pretty much the same in terms of the quality of the image. 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). Any 1.25 diagonal should work. Customer reviews Average Rating (16 Reviews): Write a Review and share your opinions! In simple terms, high focal ratio scopes, say those over F6, tend to be less demanding on eyepieces than those below F6. I am looking for as much as best I can buy. Note to spectacle wearers: Plssl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers. A Plossl eyepiece is one of the most decent general-purpose eyepieces that are available on the market. Am I correct? Lenses are fully multi-coated for excellent light transmission and reduced internal reflections. SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Set Telescope Accessory Kit with 2x Barlow Lens 4 Element Plossl Design 6.3mm 32mm 40mm for Astronomical Telescopes. Note that the full moon appears to be approximately .5 degrees across, so use that as a mental reference when looking at the numbers. If the above guide has helped you understand the terms and workings of eyepieces, scroll up and make a selection from our recommendation list. Omni 32mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. If you would prefer to buy him $60 eyepieces or even $30 eyepieces because he is only 7 and he can upgrade later, that is also OK. I had a TV 20mm Plossl once. The "sharpness" you are seeing may well be better explained by the focal length of the ep than the quality of Plossls in general. Do you have any additional comments to help me? You mentioned regarding ORTHO eyepieces: Excellent specialty eyepieces, usually for planets. If your telescopes focal length is different, just change the focal length in the formula. The Plossl eyepiece is a type of optical system that was invented by Ernst Abbe. 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. Over time, you will likely spend more on eyepieces than on the telescope. There are many more designs that are associated with specific brands, but the ones above are designs that are produced by many companies in one form or another. In my opinion, there are no wrong exit pupils. Us big kids like zooms too. Note that we also gained a 16 mm magnification at no additional cost. She has been looking at the sky for years and hopes to introduce more people to the wonderful hobby that is astronomy. I hear that, sometimes you find one that is sweeter than others. While I also have the Baader Hyperion Zoom, mentioned later, I continue to make use of the Celestron, especially in my smaller scopes. 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. Heres the short answer Plossl eyepieces are generally better than Kellner eyepieces, but they also tend to be more expensive. 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. Why two sizes? It uses two symmetrical pairs of glass elements (one convex and one concave) to pass the light. I want these as possible as wide, magnification and astrophotography purpose. Your eyepieces do not need to be the same brand as your telescope. Ever since, I have been attempting to cram in every fact about the Universe, I can find into my head. A 15mm Plssl might be worth it, if you dont wear glasses. Here we focus on becoming a knowledge hub for astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. Again, for no other reason than to compare it to the 17mm Hyperion and draw your own conclusions about Plssls. So we say that an F5 scope benefits from better corrected eyepieces more than the F10 scope. However, because they have more glass elements than other designs, like Kellners, their manufacturing becomes extremely important to get high-quality optics. These and the essentially identical AT Paradigm are universally praised as good quality eyepieces with a wider 60-degree apparent field of view. Now, for my one or two low power eyepieces, I also like to know the field of view provided by that eyepiece. 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 . But your point is well taken. My 20, 26, and 32mm Plossls will probably stay around. They are all 4-element Plossl eyepieces, and most have a 52-degree field of view that is common to the Plossl design. They are just OK, but I dont recommend them, especially in a low focal ratio scope. I can recommend these with confidence. Most telescopes come with one or two eyepieces. Their eye relief is limited to about 70-80% of their focal length. Eyepieces under $100 each are generally considered budget or low-cost eyepieces. This also makes them more resistant to any form of dust getting inside the eyepiece. For the $66/$42 of these kits, you can get one or two decent eyepieces (depending on where you buy). The magnification range that is appropriate to your scope. If you were considering a Meade Super Plossl, in that case just get the regular one also by Meade. The components of a Plossl eyepiece are the two groups of lenses. Explore Scientific, like many eyepiece providers, have higher-priced and budget lines. I use some plssl eyepieces, since I still have quite a few in my kit, and yes, the others are correct. the shorter the focal length eyepiece = the shorter the eye relief. By correcting for aberrations, the field of view of these eyepieces could be much larger than the soda-straw field of view in a Ramsden or Huygens, around 40 or perhaps up to 50 degrees. The image quality is very good and the additional field of view and longer eye relief makes them very comfortable to use. 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. FOR SALE! short answer: yes. I can say that most of my plossls have been replaced by other eyepieces for various reasons. ORION SIRIUS PLOSSL 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" - $17.01. Those that still come with Huygens and Ramsdens are generally cheap and low quality, since practically the only reason to use those designs in modern times is that they are extremely cheap to manufacture. This type of design also helps provide for eye relief; its a better experience if your eyes. Centuries of improvements led to achromatic refractors, where the primary lens is made up of two lenses of different types of glass, which reduces false color fringing and allows the telescope to be made considerably more compact.

James Ellis Capital Group, Chicago Police Department Distribution, Police Incident Leeds City Centre Today, Articles A


are plossl eyepieces good