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4mm 1.25" Planetary Eyepiece, Black 58 Degree Planetary Deep Sky Objects Eyepiece for Telescope JS?
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12 reviews of this product found across Reddit:
u/zipson1
u/RynoForceMinion
Hi :-)
Consider the HR Planetary clone eyepieces (58°), they have long eye-relief, large eye lens, and don't break the bank ($20-$35 via Aliexpress, eBay, depending on the focal length). It's available in a variety of different focal-lengths.
130/650 telescope http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png
Random listing https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=4mm+58+eyepiece&qid=1619639275&refresh=1&sr=8-8 (not to be confused with the cheap 4mm 62° rubbish eyepieces)
A barlow will introduce chromatic aberration.
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/barlowandstuff.png
Glad you found it useful :-)
Do you mean the Skyscanner?
The little telescope is certainly fun and portable. A planetary eyepiece is missing though. You could get a 3.2mm or 4mm HR Planetary for example,
[Amazon HR Planetary 4mm](https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16/
The 2.5mm is currently cheaper, 160x magnification pushes the telescope's limits though. Lonk
The 58° type are cheaper via Aliexpress, but that'll take a while.
Budget solution: A barlow. It doubles (or tripples...) any eyepiece's magnification, but reduces the contrast (the cheaper, the worse). 1, 2
Seems like the z100 is back as well (few in stock), another telescope in the same class.
https://www.amazon.com/Zhumell-Portable-Altazimuth-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B07CD3MS17/ - the included eyepieces are a bit minimalist though.
Though the z130, 130p, onesky would be a vast improvement. ( https://www.amazon.com/Zhumell-Portable-Altazimuth-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B07BRLSVWM/ ) And there's the 114 that's at least a bit better than the 100mm table-tops (https://www.amazon.com/Zhumell-Portable-Altazimuth-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B07BR6G589) though at that point... Perhaps someone can join with the gift? :-) Sorry, didn't mean to nag or anything, just saw that they were back in stock, as they've been sold out recently.
Hi :-)
@ u/sensfan088
Field of view simulation http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png
5mm and 4mm 58° (HR Planetary clones) are often on sale (avoid the cheap 4mm 62°)
I use a 3.2mm 58° with my 130p, which is okay. I'd get a 4mm if I had to choose now, as more is pushing things a little. I've tried a 2.5mm but it's not useful (and neither going over 200x with a barlow IMHO :-) )
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/barlowandstuff.png
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/5MagnificationSaturn-crop.png
Amazon Marketplace, 5mm 58° $22 ships from China
Clear skies :-)
I may be missing it in your post, but what objects are you interested in seeing? Driving to the maximum theoretical magnification is going to make the view somewhat dim (you'll have a 0.5mm exit pupil)...so if your wanting to view the planets it might be a bit disappointing. The moon however will take all the mag your scope can throw at it (and splitting double stars can be fun too.)
Anyway, I see you've gotten a lot of responses and it's been a bit frustratiting...so I'll throw in my two cents at your original question. I have a 5in reflector, so similar aperture...and I get a lot of use out of my 4mm TMB Planetary (like this or if you want to go bargain hunting you could try this)...so I would go with a new eyepiece and use the 2x Barlow you already have. That will give you 112x native, which is a good useful mag for a lot of things, and then with the 2x Barlow you'd be at 225x which is about all the scope will let you have.
As far as staying with Orion, if it's compatibility you are worried about, I promise it's ok to go with other makers. My primary, higher end, eyepiece case has 3 brands in it. Most stuff comes from two or three factories in China and just gets different labels slapped on it. Even the "brand name stuff" like Meade, Celestron, APM, etc. you can find the same eyepiece rebadged several ways.
Best of luck and clear skies!
Oh boy this get's to be a slippery slope.
Eyepieces tend to be a very personal thing. So to start with a disclaimer...what one person likes as far as FOV, eye relief, etc. may not be what someone else prefers and everything that follows is only one man's opinion. Also, you can very easily spend double or triple what a Z130 costs on eyepieces alone once you get into wider FOV and better edge correction for fast optics (ask me how I know :D) so be aware.
All that being said, the generic gold/redline eyepieces (I think they're essentially equivalent optically, maybe small FOV difference...but someone can correct me) will certainly give you more FOV and likely some better contrast and sharpness than the stock eyepiece, and at a reasonable price for someone just starting out. I'd start by checking out this link and plugging in the scope and eyepiece specs and see how it frames up targets you're interested in. I also suggest checking out this post by u/Gregrox.
For the Z130 a 4mm eyepiece will yield 162.5x mag. I've found this to be a good starting spot for planetary viewing, and unless your seeing conditions are horrid, you'll be able to see details on Jupiter and the rings on Saturn (forget Mars until 2022). I started with a 4mm TMB clone similar to this. It's not bad for what it is at that price point.
On the low mag end of the spectrum for the Z130 I personally like a wide FOV eyepiece (and I think this is where the scope really shines). The included 25mm isn't terrible, but I upgraded with the Meade PWA 16mm (thus begins the spending slope). It's 82* AFOV gives the same TFOV as a 20mm 68* (~2 deg). This is enough FOV to frame up larger object like the Beehive Cluster/Pleiades/Double Cluster nicely. That Gosky 32mm will give you 2.56 deg TFOV which is more than enough to frame up large targets, though the exit pupil is 7.38mm (and here's where the run down the optics rabbit hole starts) and you'd likely be losing some of that light to your iris unless your dilated pupil is fairly large. Personally I'd come back into the 25mm 66* AFOV range which will get you the same TFOV with a little more magnification and better contrast with an exit pupil around 5.75mm .
Now about zooms. I have the SVBony 8-24mm. If you really want the most bang for the buck with minimal outlay, that and a decent 2x Barlow (not the plastic lens ones that come with most scopes) will cover 95% of your viewing needs at a reasonable price point until your ready to spend serious money on glass. The main point to consider with zooms is that at the lowest magnification (24mm in this case) the AFOV get's pretty narrow...think 40*. Which pulls the TFOV down to 1.5 deg. Is this really a concern, depends on what you like to look at and how much context you like surrounding the targets. This is that personal preference thing. At a minimum it will let you start to get a feel for what magnifications you like and help guide future purchases if necessary/desired. I still use mine in my Z10 to split double stars. I enjoy literally "cranking up" the magnification and watching a single point of light split apart.
Full disclosure, I've let my love of large FOV and generous eye relief get the better of my wallet. But I also have a Z10 and, for now at least, the desire to keep doing this for as long as I can. So I've invested in better "forever" eyepieces like Explore Scientific 82*s, Baader Morpheus, and Pentax XWs. To be clear I AM NOT advocating you go spend $350 on an eyepiece right now...but again just be aware of where this can lead.
Best of luck and clear skies!!
Great :-)
Make sure to pick up a 6mm 66/68° or 58° planetary eyepiece, as that's the only thing really lacking to begin with.
-
- (~$38 4mm 58° https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16/)
- (No sales for the 4mm at the moment. Many different brands, seller, ymmv. $22.69 for the 6mm focal-length. 6mm 66° costs $29 always, a bit of kidney-beaning but larger apparent field of view. While the 58° has a smaller apparent field of view, it has better quality, usually.)
And something like "Turn left at Orion" if you don't have already. :-)
Hi :-)
Field of view simulation
Are you from the US?
The 4mm 58° costs $39 regularly, sometimes on sale for less.
Avoid short Plössl-type (poor eye-relief) and sets (overpriced, mediocre). A $15-$20 achromatic barlow can work, but kit 10mm eyepiece plus budget barlow lacks contrast (->chromatic aberration).
More magnification just results in a dim image (I've the 3.2mm and 2.5mm, with the 130, the 2.5mm isn't really usable IME).
Clear skies!
Hello :-)
The kit eyepiece just barely gets you enough magnification for planets.
Field of view simulation http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png
A 4mm 58° costs $40 via Amazon, $25-$30 via Aliexpress or eBay most of the time.
I have the 3.2mm and 2.5mm. The 2.5mm is really really pushing things. The 3.2mm works but already gets dim. And you don't gain much over the 4mm. You may want to see the things even larger, but it just won't gain detail. Even in a larger telescope the seeing conditions are usually the bottle-neck...
But it will still take practice, good conditions and realistic expectations. Things will not look like on stacked & edited pictures, especially if the conditions are poor.
Barlow http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/barlowandstuff.png
Clear skies :-)
Hello :-)
Be aware that there are some pretty rubbish eyepieces and sets, even if they have great reviews on Amazon :-)
Even Celestron Omni: Short Plössl-type (52°) have horrible eye-relief, you can't really use a 4mm Plössl!
And before you buy one of the overpriced set, you could buy a refurbished Skyscanner 100 for the same price ;-)
What's your budget?
The HR Planetary clones, 58° apparent field of view, are currently/regularly on sale. They are available in very short focal lengths. Magnification = Telescope focal length divided by eyepiece focal length.
So 300mm focal length divided by a 3mm eyepiece would give you 100x magnification.
Don't push the magnification though, this simple small telescope can't handle it.
For an overview, a 20mm, better 32mm Plössl.
Apparent field of view:
Eye-relief:
HR Planetary eyepiece:
- https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16 (sometimes cheaper)
- In China, via Aliexpress, eBay or Amazon marketplace, they typically cost less. https://www.amazon.com/Vbestlife-Planetary-Astronomical-Telescope-Beginners/dp/B083R51LC1
- The 2.5mm is a bit much. I've used it in a Firstscope (76/300) clone and it's not gaining much detail. https://www.amazon.com/070-Telescope-Planetary-Astronomy-Monocular/dp/B08F5H4P7Q As you magnify higher, things also get dimmer. For a future telescope it's usually a too short eyepiece and useless.
Overview eyepiece
- 32mm Plössl, a 20mm would be cheaper. At the very short focal length of the first-scope, it'll do. The 32mm may produce an too large exit pupil under regular skies even! (exit pupil)
- cheap$ :D
- A 20mm or 25mm
- Older eyepiece types (Kellner, Ramsden, ...) are often included with cheap telescopes like that. The longer ones... are okay-ish, the short ones aren't. They are typically cheap.
In-between
- one or two in-between. E.g. 4mm58°, 12mm52°, 25mm52° would work for the Firstscope. Please be aware it's optics are limited when it comes to planets & high magnification.
- Over 10mm, Plössl are okay. So $10 via ALiexpress, $20 or so at Amazon.
- Else the "gold-line"/66° are great budget eyepieces and useful for future telescopes as well (usually, depending on what you get of course). The gold-line are sometimes on-sale for $20 or so. Long eye-relief, wide-angle eyepieces.
So you could get those for under $60.
Even a Plössl-set like this one won't save you money. And performs worse. This set is actually pretty cheap. The 4mm is nearly useless. The 10mm is somewhat tolerable. And it includes a simple barlow.
Big sets like this are overpriced and redundant IMHO. Some stuff useless. Avoid.
<strong>The firstscope eyepiece set</strong> isn't expensive (it usually cost more IIRC). The finder is a plus, as the firstscope doesn't have one. With a 20-30mm eyepiece the firstscope has a pretty low magnification and it'll work, but a finder still makes it easier... The eyepieces are an older design, and not great. You can barely recognize the planets as such with the highest magnification one.
Cheaper options would be a 25mm Plössl and a 5x achromatic barlow. Barlows multiply the magnification, but also introduces chromatic aberration = lowers the contrast. But at least via Amazon it will probably not be cheaper than the mentioned set, only via Aliexpress.
Clear skies :-)
> moon
Yeah, a full moon will make it easier to handle the telescope when starting out, but limits you to mostly moon and planets. The moon's more interesting when there's a shadow on it, too :-)
> Worth noting that I will for sure be using glasses to view.
Do you have astigmatism? If not, you can simply correct the focus with the telescope.
Else you need long eye-relief glasses. (https://imgur.com/FkEaOBG)
The HR Planetary 58° have significant longer eye-relief than some other eyepieces (16mm average, some shorter), but my wife struggles even with those. There are eyepieces that have ~20mm eye-relief but they're usually more expensive.
I don't wear glasses, so my knowledge about long eye-relief eyepieces in these extreme short focal-lengths is limited.
https://agenaastro.com/vixen-4mm-slv-lanthanum-eyepiece-37203.html
https://www.astroshop.de/okulare/omegon-redline-sw-3-5mm-okular-1-25-2-/p,33234
https://www.astroshop.de/okulare/omegon-le-planetary-okular-3mm-1-25-/p,13969#tab_bar_1_select (smaller fov. Possibly sold with different labels.)
https://www.astroshop.de/okulare/televue-okular-delite-3mm-1-25-/p,52411
(Note: 3mm is pretty extreme, just random links on what eyepiece types have 20mm eye-relief. 750/3mm=250x magnfication doesn't gain much with 6", and atmospheric seeing will often prevent it's use)
> US
They are on sale via Amazon regularly, the super cheap ones are out of stock now. But still some around ( https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16)
> negate (or close enough) the need for the 4mm?
For planets it would be good to get the 4mm (as posted, http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fov-150-750.png)
You could modify the 6mm if you like tinkering. Adding a piece of tubing as spacer between the barrels will slightly change the resulting focal length.
(1 - temporary, 2- but discontinued)
> 4mm
A barlow can be an alternative, but a good one usually costs more than a decent eyepiece.
Longer focal length eyepieces, even Plössl, have long eye-relief. Though to reach the eye-relief an ultra-long eye-relief eyepiece has you'd need a Plössl >25mm, and even with a 5X barlow you're not getting into the range of the 4mm eyepiece.
> 2" overview
At F/5 the cheaper ones will only be sharp in the center
- (https://imgur.com/a/lzlNKnd)
- (Erfle-type, 68°-72° typically)
- https://agenaastro.com/gso-30mm-superview-eyepiece.html
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/184628758599?hash=item2afcbb4847:g:3rsAAOSw68ZcxDVQ (Sometimes cheaper via Ali)
And it also depends on how dark your sky gets (http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/exitPupil_and_secondary1.png)
Better ones can get quite costly (https://agenaastro.com/explore-scientific-82-deg-series-argon-purged-eyepiece-30mm-no-box.html).
The kit eyepieces are not too bad compared to what you otherwise sometimes get in telescope sets :-) It'll already show a lot.
A planetary eyepiece is really beneficial though.
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/130-650-high_3.png
http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/barlowandstuff.png
And a good guide such as "Turn left at Orion" as well as binoculars can be a great help too :-)
A 4mm 58° (HR Planetary clone) would be ideal, These cost $25-$35 sometimes on ALiexpress, eBay, and even Amazon atm, https://www.amazon.com/Mugast-Planetary-Eyepiece-Objects-Telescope/dp/B07VQK8K16/
Also a cardboard shroud helps if there's direct light nearby. http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DSC_07391-e1483442518269.jpg#awb_heritage_cardboard
Clear skies!
i was thinking of buying something similar to this. Is this one ok? Sorry I don't know so much about this.
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