The best Telescope Eyepieces: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

No they are not good value. The only useable parts are the case itself, the 32mm - 13mm plossls, and the moon filter.

• Plossls are fine, but you can spend you money more efficiently and buy EPs à la carte.
• As for which EPs to buy depends on what scope you have.
• The issue with plossls shorter than 13mm, is that the eye relief becomes annoyingly small, as does the glass lens that you look through.
• Color filters are liked by some, but not liked by many others. They can increase contrast of certain planetary features. But myself and others find the color hue more distracting than the slight increase in surface feature contrast.
• The moon filter can be nice to have but is not needed. I would rather put that money towards an app, eyepiece, Telrad, etc…
• Oh and the barlow is not the best

These 66° UltraWide “goldlines” are the most recommended budget eyepiece. They are sold under a few different brand names and can be found for cheaper on AliExpress (where I bought mine). But first off, what scope do you have?

This is a "goldline" set from Amazon. I don't know if they are available on Amazon UK.

SVBONY Telescope Eyepiece Fully Mutil Coated 1.25" Telescope Lens 66 Degree Ultra Wide Angle HD (6mm 9mm 15mm 20mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MR78I42/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_p5WJCbYXWP7ZX

Hi :-)

Great!

> anything I should know?

Yes, it comes with free clouds ;-)

> know

> first telescope

Grab a copy of "Turn left at Orion" - the missing manual :-)

Ideally a long eye-relief 6mm for planets, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8YZHFT/ref=twister_B07MVSSW4V?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

And binoculars if you're new to finding deep-sky objects :-)

Clear skies, have fun!

Yes, the 5mm and 6mm are redundant, and both are overpriced eyepieces. If you want the 6mm, don't get the Orion Expanse, get the more generic 6mm "gold line": https://www.amazon.com/MEOPTEX-66-Degree-Ultra-Eyepiece-Telescope/dp/B07H8YZHFT/. Same eyepiece, different branding, lower price. That said, 6mm is quite high magnification and may not be usable all the time. There are other eyepieces to prioritize.

The Moon filter and polarizing filter are redundant. And frankly, you don't need a moon filter. Just let your eyes adjust to the brightness of the Moon and you will see it in the best possible contrast.

The 40mm plossl is not appropriate for this scope since the exit pupil will be too big, and will actually not allow all the light leaving the telescope to enter your eye, effectively reducing the telescope's working aperture. For a low power eyepiece, don't go above 32mm. If you want wider field, get a 2" eyepiece instead of a 1.25" 32mm Plossl. Something like the 30mm GSO SuperView, or ideally, the 30mm APM Ultra Flat Field / 30mm Meade UHD / 30mm Celestron Ultima Edge (all the same eyepiece).

That SkyGlow broadband filter is basically useless. I own one. It won't help much. You want a good quality narrowband or O-III filter. The Orion Ultrablock is a decent narrowband, and so is their O-III. Not the best, but decent.

With the exception of the solar filters, the other accessories you've chosen are either not necessary or not optimal for that scope.

For what it's worth a 10" scope is a pretty serious investment and it's worth picking some nice quality accessories for it. Don't be afraid to upgrade or replace the two eyepieces that came with the scope, with something nicer. The 10mm Plossl that came with the scope can be upgraded to a better quality 9-10mm wide field eyepiece that will get a lot of use in the scope.

What budget do you have for eyepieces and filters and what not?

A lot of people talk about the SVBONY redline in a positive light, it sounds like maybe you received the wrong product.

I'll offer an alternative MEOPTEX 6mm 66 degree goldline. I purchased this one as my planteary eyepiece and it is fantastic. It has a long eye relief and the field of view is excellent.

Either one is a good choice. The DT6 has a better focuser. The 2" focuser of the Sky-Watcher is a lie since the secondary mirror is not big enough to fully illuminate 2" eyepieces. So I would consider both scopes to be limited to 1.25" eyepieces only.

For a good set of eyepieces that don't cost too much, I recommend this one:

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/

This is now on sale for Prime Day, and you will not be able to easily beat this price. All four are good performers in an F/8 scope like the DT6 or SkyWatcher 6, and the focal lengths have you covered for lunar/planetary to DSOs.

Hi ! You might want to consider this kit or maybe a few of the individual “gold line” eyepieces. https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=svbony%2Bgold%2Bline&qid=1607735751&s=electronics&sr=1-2&th=1&psc=1

I also recently got an xt8 and the 10mm plossl it came with is very uncomfortable to use, very short eye relief and narrow field of view. I imagine this 6mm plossl suffers in the same way, and maybe the 12.5mm one as well but I’m not sure!

You could get the 6mm "gold-line" eyepiece from amazon, ebay, or aliexpress instead of the Expanse. The gold-lines are just a generic Expanse for half the price or less. I use the gold-lines in my 6" Skywatcher classic and they're well worth the money. I paid about $100 US for the 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm together.

If you get the 6" classic, it's large enough that it can sit on the ground (a big advantage over table-top dobsonian options). All you will need is a chair or stool to sit on since it's not quite tall enough to look through without hunching over.

For eyepieces, I recommend this kit:

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/

Normally the 15mm and 20mm won't work great in telescopes with shorter focal ratios, but the F/8 focal ratio of the 6" classic means all four eyepieces will work very well. At $28/each, they are an excellent value. Wide field of view, comfortable eye relief. Much, much better than standard Plossl eyepieces. That range of focal lengths for that scope is a good spread, and will give you flexibility for different objects, including planets and the moon. Eventually you might want to get a low power wide angle eyepiece like a 24mm 68 degree eyepiece, or an 18mm 82 degree eyepiece, but to get started with, that eyepiece kit will be sufficient.

If you don't want to spend $110 on the whole kit, then I recommend getting at least the 9mm and 6mm for planetary viewing. If you look around on Amazon, Ebay, or AliExpress, you should be able to get them for about $25-30 each.

These are good and will work well at your F/10 focal ratio:

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/

You can find the same set on Ebay for as little as $80 if you're willing to wait 6 weeks for shipping. Quality is the same, you're just paying a premium to get it faster from Amazon.

Definitely a 6mm for planets! Had a lot of fun with this one: Meoptex 6mm.

I also just picked up a 2" 32mm Orion Q70 for viewing Andromeda Galaxy.

Pick up a Moon filter as well. Moon can be extremely bright and you don't want to gaze at it w/o a filter.

I use a 6mm gold line

Hello :-)

Don't bother, going by those (small) setting circles isn't really the way to do it, it's just frustrating. Star-hopping, a decent finder and overview eyepiece are usually the way to go.

> clearly

What were you able to see?

Your telescope has a focal-length of 1000mm. With the 10mm eyepiece you'll get 100x magnification. That should be enough to recognize Jupiter and Saturn, albeit small.

With a decent 6mm, such as the 66° "gold-line" (Aliexpress, sold out at Amazon atm), you'll get ~167x magnification. I would not recommend pushing the telescope higher, as things will get dim and dull. The bottle-neck is the 90mm aperture (but don't "upgrade" to a 127eq/130eq/114eq from Celestron, those have flawed optics).

Have you tried observing some deep-sky objects?

Clear skies :-)

Yes, the 6mm "gold line" for $30

https://www.amazon.com/MEOPTEX-66-Degree-Ultra-Eyepiece-Telescope/dp/B07H8YZHFT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=9mm%2B66%2Bdegree&qid=1553185137&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&th=1

I also recommend replacing the 9mm plossl that comes with the Z8 with the 9mm gold line as well since 9mm is a nearly ideal general purpose focal length for that scope.

Hi :-)

I'd also recommend the 6mm 66° or 6mm 58° type when starting out.

http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/dobson8eyepieces1200.png

At $29 or so they are very inexpensive (https://www.amazon.com/MEOPTEX-66-Degree-Ultra-Eyepiece-Telescope/dp/B07H8YZHFT, sometimes even cheaper).

The 4mm 58° can be nice if atmospheric seeing is excellent (which it usually is not).

Clear skies!

I'm going to return the eye pieces so redundancy is not an issue. As for my sky, it's suburban and bright. However I intend to travel to darker locations occasionally. Is the overview section meant for dso like Andromeda, m clusters, etc?

If I wanted more info on the 6/9/15/20 where can I find those?

I also saw a svbony set for $109 but I don't trust it. Have you seen these before?

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42

Hello :-)

Don't push too far. 250x is really going to give you a dim, dull image, and Mars will not even be that much larger. And as others said, it has to be closer to really be observable well.

A barlow introduces chromatic aberration. Usually it's best to get a decent eyepiece. Especially avoid short Plössl (poor eye-relief) and kits.

If you want to try it, the 6mm 66° or 6mm 68° type costs $17-$35 (Aliexpress, eBay, Amazon, Agenaastro- sold under various names, the thin golden or red line is what gave it the nickname "gold-line").

https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B07H8YZHFT/ - but 250x isn't ideal.

https://www.amazon.com/Astromania-58-Degree-Planetary-Eyepiece-Telescope/dp/B01B2OGQYQ/ ~200x.

(You can get them about $10 cheaper via Aliexpress, eBay from China).

Clear skies :-)

For wide-angle views, if you're just starting out, folks recommend the generic gold line eyepieces like these from any number of manufacturers. It will get you 66* AFOV without costing more than the scope itself. The Paradigm/Starguider/BST's (same eyepiece in different wrapper) give you 60* AFOV and are also well reviewed for a few more dollars per eyepiece.

schorhr has some pretty detailed posts on eyepieces, he may also chime back in here as well.

No, the plus doesn't add enough value to justify the cost IMO. You're better off getting the normal version and putting that extra money into a set of eyepieces that compliment it well: https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B07JWDFMZ4

Adding a 32mm Plossl (Celestron Omni, Meade Series 4000, Orion Sirius, GSO), rounds out that set nicely. A 32mm Plossl gives you the widest true field of view possible in that scope, so it's a good focal length to have (especially for star hopping).

That will give you 200x, which will require fairly steady atmospheric conditions and won't be usable all the time. But when the night is steady, it's a good magnification to have.

If it's the normal XT6, it only came with a 25mm Plossl, so you'd probably want to consider getting both the 9mm and 6mm focal lengths from those lines (which are the same eyepiece, just different branding applied) to do planetary viewing.

9mm gets you 133x which is a good conservative magnification for when the atmosphere isn't all that steady. Then when the atmosphere cooperates, 200x is a good place to be.

In general, if you can swing the cost, this whole line is a great value in that telescope:

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/

Cost works out to just over $27 / eyepiece. The long F/8 focal ratio of the scope means all four will work well in it, and the focal lengths are a good fit for the 1200mm focal length of the XT6. Eventually round it off with a 32mm GSO Plossl to represent the widest possible true field of view in that scope, and you have a full set of focal lengths for everything you need.

For planets another eyepiece is almost required.

Depending on your budget, a 6mm 66° "gold-line" or red-line will do. There are better ones of course, but these are great budget eyepieces to get your toes wet. Even if you ever decide to spend $200 or $300 on high-end eyepieces, these will remain good "visitor's eyepieces" :-)

(Random link, a bit cheaper on Aliexpress or eBay sometimes. You'll find them under various names).

The AD8's 30mm overview eyepiece, the 9-10mm kit eyepiece, and the 6mm will give you the basics to get started. Of course it would be nice to replace/add a few more. But IMHO get used to those. Get a good guide (e.g. "Turn left at Orion", adjustable chair, dimable red light, warm socks ;-)

You can spend a lot of money on accessories, but a lot of sets are rubbish (avoid almost all eyepiece sets even if they have good reviews. Overpriced, redundant, mediocre. You don't need a dozen magnifications.)

Filters can help, but don't do miracles (color filters for planetary detail, subtle, and you don't require a dozen different ones. Light pollution filters are limited, a tank of gas to a dark site is the best investment. Nebula filters can be great, but the best way to observe DSO still is a dark sky ;-) ).

 

~6mm, ~10mm, ~15mm and ~30mm will cover almost anything.

http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/dobson8eyepieces1200.png

More than 200x can work, but atmospheric seeing conditions often limit what's possible anyway. Even if you'd like to use more. A 4mm 58° type (HR Planetary clone) costs $30-$35 (a bit less on Aliexpress sometimes) and is a nice addition to have without breaking the bank. At the high magnification the planets will typically remain significantly less than a minute in the field of view. Not ideal, but still tolerable.

 

Hello :-)

The 9mm 66° / 68° are decent and don't break the bank ("gold-line" / "red-line" sold under various names, $18 via Aliexpress, $29 via Amazon. Brand name is Orion Expanse for $50 or more).

They suffer a bit of kidney-beaning (partial black-out when not looking through it straight) but I never noticed it using the eye-cup. They are considered good budget eyepieces. The 58° HR Planetary clones are better in that regard.

For planets, do consider the 6mm though.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8YZHFT/ref=twister_B07MVSSW4V?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/dobson8eyepieces1200.png

Clear skies :-)

I'm looking at the 6mm one personally ...I've got a 10" dob on order, and this one was recommended. Check them out, hopefully someone who has used one can provide more detailed feedback.

You're welcome.

Amazon link to those eyepieces I mentioned, they're also on eBay and others for usually less money. These transfer well to most other telescopes too.

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescopes-Eyepieces-Eyepiece-Degree/dp/B07C6LRCNN?th=1

Unless you've spent some time looking through various quality barlows and eyepieces, it's hard to get a frame of reference for when a barlow is working well vs when it's degrading the quality of the view. Based on my experience, that cheap plastic housing + melted plastic means that barlow is most definitely degrading the view.

If you're open to buying an eyepiece for the scope, then I recommend getting either the 6mm or 9mm "gold lines". They are a good value. Reasonable performance and comfort for a low price.

• 6mm
• 9mm

Either one is $30, which is the best value you're going to get for eyepieces at this focal length that are still comfortable to look through.

The 9mm will give you 128x magnification

The 6mm will give you 192x magnification

The 9mm is the safer bet. ~130x is still enough to see detail on the planets, and if the atmosphere is turbulent or the telescope's optics aren't that great, the view will be more presentable. The 9mm is also a better performer than the 6mm.

The 6mm is a riskier bet. The 192x magnification will be better for viewing the planets, IF the atmosphere and telescope optics can handle that kind of magnification. The 6mm is almost as good as the 9mm, but it is a tiny bit "softer". IF the atmosphere is steady and the optics are in good condition (good figure, well collimated, thermally acclimated), the 6mm will pay off more simply due to higher magnification that can better take advantage of the telescope's aperture.

If you only buy one, I would strongly suggest the 9mm over the 6mm.

Hi :-) You can get hem for $39 at Amazon. That one is more expensive than the Orion Expanse brand-name one.

For around $20 you can get the gold-line from Aliexpress that will ship internationally.

As you already have a barlow, just use that for the time being?

Clear skies!

Love it so far. I would highly recommend getting some of the gold-line eyepieces from Amazon or Ebay if you don't want to spend a ton right off the bat on accessories. I use the 6mm, 9mm, and 20mm quite a bit. The 15mm I really only use for a crescent Moon overview. I got the whole set for $100 on Amazon, but if you just want 1 or 2 they're cheaper to buy individually on eBay or AliExpress. This is my first telescope too, at least since the toy Tasco one my parents got me as a kid that never quite worked right. I also got a Telrad because I find it very hard to use the finder scope that mine came with.

Yeah, that's the unfortunate thing about those ebay eyepieces - they take a long time to get. So if you wanted something quicker, then buying them from Amazon is a good alternative. The 68 degree eyepiece is effectively the same thing as the one I linked you to. They claim a wider apparent field, but I'm willing to bet those new "red lines" are optically identical to the original "gold lines".

All that being said, they sell a kit of four of these (6, 9, 15, and 20) for just $99.

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Broadband-Astronomical/dp/B07C6LRCNN/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1546203389&sr=8-4&keywords=68+degree

Since you'd already be spending like $80 for the 6 and 9mm separately, getting the whole kit for $99 is a bargain, especially since the 20mm in that kit would be a significant upgrade to the 20mm that came with your scope.

FYI, I have a scope very similar to this (114mm / 910mm focal length) and my 19mm 68 degree eyepiece, and 9mm "gold line" are WONDERFUL eyepieces in that scope. If you got the 20mm 68 degree eyepiece, it would give you extremely pleasing low power views through it.

Lunar and planetary viewing is good at between 120x and 300x in an 8" scope. You can push an 8" scope higher, but it will require a very steady atmosphere to get meaningful detail out of it. 350x would be the absolute limit I would recommend.

120x to 300x means eyepieces between 10mm and 4mm in focal length. I strongly recommend getting the 9mm "gold line" to start with. This is a good general purpose focal length for this scope, and can be used for lunar, planetary, and deep sky viewing of medium sized DSOs. If you look around for "9mm 66 degree eyepiece" on Ebay and AliExpress, you can get it for even less money, but you'll have to wait a month to get it. The one on Amazon for $30 will arrive in a few days and is a damn good deal.

9mm will produce 133x in that scope, which is good enough for planetary detail and will look decent most nights. For nights when the atmosphere is very steady, you can push magnification higher. For that, you can get the 6mm "gold line" for 200x magnification. 200x may be a bit much for most nights depending on how bad your local atmospheric seeing is, but on nights when the atmosphere is steady, 200x will be nice in that scope.

Note that those are good eyepieces, but still budget options. If you want to invest in some really good quality eyepieces, consider the Explore Scientific 82 degree line (8.8mm and 6.7mm focal lengths). Alternatively, the 8.8mm and 14mm for use with your 2x barlow would be acceptable as well). These are currently on sale, but are pricey ($150/each). However, they are lifetime eyepieces.

Just so you're aware, a 2" focuser can accept both 1.25" and 2" eyepieces. It comes with a removable adapter that reduces the focuser down from 2" to 1.25".

You will generally not find many 2" eyepieces in shorter focal lengths because you don't need a 2" barrel for short focal lengths. Technically you don't even need a 1.25" barrel most of the time, but that's a standard size so it's what manufacturers go with as the minimum size.

2" barrels are needed when you want both of the following:

1. Mid-low magnification
2. Wide or very wide apparent field of view

(e.g. the 9mm Explore Scientific 120 degree eyepiece, or 30mm Explore Scientific 82 degree, 40mm 68 degree eyepiece etc...)

So that being said, if you've ordered the 5mm Agena Dual ED for higher power planetary viewing, then you might as well order the 8mm Agena Dual ED as well. That's a great line of eyepieces for the money, especially at the F/8 focal ratio of the 6" dob.

Bear in mind though that the 5mm is quite high power, and will require very steady atmospheric conditions to use. The 8mm will be useful more often.

An alternative set of eyepieces, if you wanted to save some money, is the Gold Line kit from Amazon for $110.

https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B01MR78I42/

Those 4 eyepieces will work well in your scope. The 6mm will probably be a bit more usable on most nights than the 5mm Agena just because it's 200x rather than 240x. The 9mm will give you 133x, which will be useable pretty much every night and is still enough magnification for planetary viewing. The 15 and 20mm eyepieces will be good for DSOs. Eventually you might want to replace the 20mm with an 18mm Explore Scientific 82 degree or 19mm Celestron Luminos to get a wider true field of view and more immersive apparent field of view.