What is Reddit's opinion of Bewinner 1.25" Astronomy Telescope 4 Piece Eyepiece Kit, FMC Eyepiece Kit 6MM/9MM/15MM/20mm for Telescope, FMC 68 Degree Ultra Wide Long Eye Relief Eyepiece?

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What about these ones?

https://www.amazon.com/Bewinner-Astronomy-Telescope-Eyepiece-Degree/dp/B07ZTNSX5D

I'm afraid of the super cheap price, but it sounds like the ones you mentioned above, the 68 degree set. Just want to confirm before ordering.

I believe the 30mm stock eyepiece has a FOV of 68° and a 22mm eye relief. The 9mm plossl has a FOV of 52° and a much shorter eye relief. The zoom EP has a FOV of 40° at 24mm and 60° at 8mm and eye relief from 15mm to 18mm.

So it sounds like you enjoy eyepieces with a larger FOV and might enjoy a longer eye relief as well. These are generally traits of more expensive EPs, but not always. These 68° “redlines” might fit your needs.

But you can get higher quality eyepieces with that FOV, or get EPs with 82°, or even 100° FOV.

> 1. ⁠can I observe DSOs with dark sky's

Yes. From dark skies you can see plenty of DSOs. For reference, I am up to 70 DSOs with 10x50 binos. What is your light pollution like? Click on this map to see your Bortle Class.

> 2. ⁠can I take pictures of planets

Yes(ish). Head on over to r/askastrophotography for more info. But quality results will require a decent bit of work (video recording, stacking, editing, etc…)

> 3. ⁠if the answer to either of these is yes, what should I buy extra (hand controller/eyepieces/camera connectors).

Idk how much a replacement hand controller is for that scope. Also, idk how well it operates without the controller. Definitely get other eyepieces (5 is a good number, 3 is the minimum). Hold off on photography gear, that is not the best scope/mount for the job, and I would recommend visual observing first. If you want a copy of your observations to share, consider astronomical sketching.

Assume that you want 5 eyepieces for a full useful range. Look into this set and a 32mm plossl.

Sounds like a plan! Just don’t want you to miss out on the views. Everything else in the night sky will be there next year, but mars is fickle.

Also consider getting an 8mm and 6mm eyepiece to view mars. It requires higher magnifications to see detail. The included 10mm eyepiece only gives 120x. An 8mm will give 150x which will be useful on most nights. Here is a good budget 8mm and these are other good budget eyepieces (I couldn’t find the 6mm being sold separately).

You will want more eyepieces anyway, so might as well get them now to view mars.

Gotcha, so here are my thoughts, and sorry if these links aren’t useful in Australia: - These 68° “Redline” Eyepieces are the most recommended budget eyepieces. You can also find them on AliExpress. They are sold under many different brand names but always look the same and include “68° Ultra Wide” - the next budget option are these BST Starguiders. Again they are also sold as Agena Starguider, Astrotech Paradigm, etc… And they all look the same and are 60° and often have keywords “dual ED”. I have some of these and really like them. - and then there are the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. - Avoid kits, I had one and they come with a lot of useless crap (eyepieces that you can’t really use, crappy barlow, and useless color filters). The case is nice though.

But some other thoughts: - are you already familiar with observing with the equipment you have? - are have you explored many DSOs? - do you know about averted vision and dark adaptation? - how are you at star hopping?

For budget eyepieces: - These 68° “Redline” Eyepieces are the most recommended budget eyepieces. You can also find them on AliExpress. They are sold under many different brand names but always look the same and include “68° Ultra Wide”. But as mentioned earlier, you can do better than these. - the next budget option are these BST Starguiders. Again they are also sold as Agena Starguider, Astrotech Paradigm, etc… And they all look the same and are 60° and often have keywords “dual ED”. I have some of these and really like them. - and then there are the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. - and then these Astrotech UWAs - if you want to spend up to $200 per eyepiece then there are going to be a lot more quality options. - and don’t forget about buying used from cloudy nights classifieds or astromart

If you wear glasses for a bad astigmatism, you will want to observe with them on. This means you will want to buy eyepieces with a long eye relief. This costs more. If you are just near/farsighted or have a mild astigmatism, then just observe without glasses.

Bortle 5 is fine, that is where I observe. But again you would ideally want to take your scope to a darker location to let it stretch its optical legs so to say. So make sure you can transport the scope if needed.

As for where to buy, try to avoid Amazon. Instead buy from telescope or camera specific retailers like First Light Optics and others.

And I would strongly suggest joining an astronomy club first and going to a star party. A 14” telescope is a pretty huge first telescope and it makes a lot of sense to look through some scopes and seem them in person before diving in the deep end. If you attend a star party you will see all different size scopes from binoculars to scopes over 20”. The usual recommended scope is an 8” because it can show you a lot and is easy to handle and transport.

Check these out, or these (they are essential the same thing.

If you think the full sized dobs will be too big, then there is no point in saving up for them. The 150P and 130P (same as the AWB OneSky) will be the next best things.

As for light pollution, take a look at this light pollution map, click on it to see your Bortle Class.

As for accessories, you will probably want to upgrade the supplies eyepieces. These are highly recommended budget options. And the 130P/150P will actually benefit from getting a quality 2x barlow or another eyepiece (something around 5mm to 3mm depending some things).

Instead of a zoom eyepiece, check out this set. Has a wider FOV.

This barlow is pretty well regarded.

A lot of people like the convenience of a zoom EP. The gold standard is the Baader Hyperion Zoom. The issue with zoom EPs though is that at longer focal lengths, the FOV becomes smaller. I believe the FOV at 24mm is smaller than that of a plossl. So if you want wider FOVs, you will want individual EPs.

As for barlows. Because you only really need a few focal lengths, a lot of people just prefer to buy individual EPs (imo 5 EPs can make an entire set). If you get a barlow, you will end up building a set of focal lengths around that barlow. And I think this is a bit silly. But someone more experience here migt have definite answers as to why a barlow is not preferred. Here is an example of an EP set built around a 2x barlow: 28mm, 18mm, 28mm+2x (14mm equivalent), 12mm, 18mm+2x (9mm equivalent), 12mm+2x (6mm equivalent). With this setup you have 3 eyepieces and 1 barlow, and the 12mm and 14mm equivalent are very similar. But you could make the same set with just using 5 eyepieces. It is one more expense, but simplifies the user experience while at the scope. And then when you add the the variable of 2” eyepieces and filters, you just end up with too many things going on.

Instead a better set might be just : 28mm, 18mm, 12mm, 8mm, 6mm. Magnification range of 43x to 200x.

And unless you get a quality barlow, it could degrade the view.

These 68° “redline” EPs are the most recommended budget EPs.

I own some of these which I highly recommend.

But there are a ton of options. Someone recently posted a summary of recommended EPs at different budgets.