The category is over $300 and some of these are way over $300. 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. Sorry but I am not offering a configuration and pricing service. Thanks all. These lenses are connected together. Of course, the entire eyepiece must be manufactured and finished correctly to realize the design's full potential. Plossl eyepieces are great. No price limit. I would suggest you also get a 2 low power wide view. For modern eyepieces, the differences between Plossl and Super Plossl is going to depend on the manufacturer. But dont fear that you will waste your investment as eyepieces are standard sizes. You can build a full set of these with good results, but be aware of eye relief, especially if you wear glasses. You see the object in a wider expanse of space with more stars. Choosing the most appropriate can completely change your experience in using telescopes. But what are the other differences? At 32mm, a Plssl will give you as wide a field of view as any 1.25mm eyepiece can. The Regular Plossl eyepiece is made to be a basic type of scope for viewing objects that are nearbysay within two feet or so from where youre looking through it. If you have a longer focal length telescope, your shortest focal length eyepiece will be a higher number than what I have shown here. In that respect, they are similar to the Explore Scientific 82 degree mentioned earlier. With modern multi-coated optics that thwart internal reflections, Plossls and Kellners have little difference in glare or transmission/opacity. I have a variety of eyepieces, including Explore Scientific and Meade 82 degree series so I have choices. Focal length telescope / focal length eyepiece = magnification or power. 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. In my opinion, there are no wrong exit pupils. This gives us more flexibility at the low end of the magnification range. Lets give an example. There is one aspect in which a Kellner can actually outperform a Plossl: eye relief. To get the best performance, you have to be willing to pay the price. Best suited for telescopes with f-ratios f6 or slower. Once we are done, they will make sense. The original Meade 5-piece Super Plossl hasnt been in production for decades and at this point is more of a collectors item than a high-performance eyepiece. Or take one of your eyepieces and measure across the bottom of the barrel. If you read the article you know how to calculate the magnification and field of view. Note that we also gained a 16 mm magnification at no additional cost. One learns by observing. If you are upgrading, avoid ones that say correct image as these add a prism system into the diagonal which can reduce the light transmission. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. 32 mm = 18.75X 16 mm = 37.5X (32 mm eyepiece with a 2X barlow), 12 mm = 50X (If you have a 25 mm that came with your scope, use Barlow for 12.5 mm), 4 mm = 150X (8 mm eyepiece with a 2X Barlow), 3 mm = 200X (6 mm eyepiece with a 2X Barlow), 24 mm = 25X (the low power end of the zoom), 8 mm = 75X (24 mm zoom setting in a 3X Barlow), 2.66 mm = 225X (8 mm zoom setting in a 3X Barlow), True field of view or FOV = Apparent field of view (AFOV) eyepiece / magnification. I took notes and now can shop with confidence The difference isnt that severe, and I often track more often than is strictly necessary to keep the object centered anyway. 32 mm = 18.75X12 mm = 50X8 mm = 75X6 mm = 100X4 mm = 150X3 mm = 200X. With an f/10 telescope, Plossls are as sharp as any other kind of eyepiece of the same focal length. I havent been into the hobby for long but my experience is in line with whats been said. I really like the simplicity and compactness of these simpler designs (ie: Plssls, Orthos, Kellners, etc). Using your example: We will use a 100 mm telescope with a 600 mm focal length and Another way to look at it is that a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow works like a 10 mm eyepiece.. 5-Minute Read, How To Increase The Magnification Of A Telescope; 5-Minute Read. I have seen elsewhere discussions about the exit pupil of eyepieces. Have Any Astronauts Been Lost in Space Forever. Offered in both 2 and 1.25, these are excellent eyepieces. As a kid, I loved looking at the moon (which can be seen any time of day, regardless of ones bedtime) so make sure that the field of view is wide enough to see the whole shebang. I have not had an opportunity to test it yet but the general discussions have favorable. 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.) I often recommend it. 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. Am I correct? 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. Can you suggest the total . With a refractor, SCT or MCT, it is usually better to get a correct image diagonal than a correcting eyepiece. is pretty forgiving of eyepiece faults and a wide variety of eyepiece designs will work just fine in it. They offer a 52-degree apparent field with clean, high-contrast images. If you wish to find a short-focal length eyepiece with a longer, more comfortable eye relief, you could use a long-focus eyepiece with a separate, high-quality barlow lens (an achromatic or apochromatic fully multi-coated barlow would be necessary), or you could purchase one of the several designs incorporating a smyth/barlow lens into the eyepiece design. I have seen some gatekeeping in this hobby about Kellners, and Im not sure I understand it. Note that the price categories are approximate, as prices can vary between retailers. These eyepieces have about 35 to 50 degrees apparent fields of view and reasonable eye relief, though quite short for high magnifications. Are plossl eyepieces still worth it? Of course, for the cost of the two Plossls, you could justify having them as spares or outreach EPs. Cheap to try, and if you don't like it, easy enough to sell also. 50 150X, no Barlow The only difference is that they have a different design as well as a shape with their lenses, which affects the magnification of your telescope view. A Barlow lens can save you money and add flexibility. In our example, we targeted 200X as the top magnification. They have good center sharpness but exhibit some field curvature and astigmatism. Plossls tend to come with large, ground-standing Dobsonians, whereas youre more likely to find a Kellner sold with a tabletop Dobsonian. That is up to you and your budget. The ES 82s are my favorite eyepieces, especially in the 1.25 format. If you wear glasses when observing, you probably want 15mm or more of eye relief, which the 20mm Plssl provides, but the shorter fl ones dont. However, your budget must guide your purchases. Do you need a 10 mm planetary and a 10 mm DSO eyepiece? The more light that is gathered, the more magnification that can be applied to the image, up to the limits that are imposed by the atmosphere. We often end up spending more on eyepieces than we did on the telescope. Very often, those eyepieces will be in the outdated 0.965 format rather than the modern 1.25 or 2 diameter barrel format. Kellners are the other popular design for amateur stargazing, go ahead and check out that article if you want to dive deeper into the subject. This was my first zoom eyepiece and the one that caused me to fall in love with zoom. But your point is well taken. For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. Its quite long but that is what we are aiming for and hopefully, it was useful to you. My other eyepieces, ES and Meade 82 degree, stayed in the eyepiece case most of the time. In essence the design differences between Kellner and Plossl comes down to the number of lenses within the eyepiece barrel. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. But are they really? If you plan to go longer than that you can get an AC adapter or a power tank. One last thing, as a kid I used my telescope to watch squirrels and birds (which was interesting because the image was flipped around :-) so, you might consider getting an eyepiece that flips things the right way around so that navigating terrestrial nature is easier to manage. Plossl eyepieces have wider fields of view than Kellners. Kellner eyepieces use three glass elements in two groups to minimize color fringing. short answer: yes. So perhaps you do your line up like this. There are certainly much better options out there but at a significant cost. Apparent Field of View: This is a measure of how wide a view the eyepiece will provide as compared to alternate eyepieces. The biggest advantage is much better ER in a large ocular. If we want to get VERY specific to a combination then inherent aberrations of this scope and that eyepiece could produce a unique result. Stargazinghelp.com is a knowledge hub for professional and amateur astronomy and astrophotography enthusiasts. This is where the cheap eyepiece will frequently fail to deliver a good image, around the edges. A common problem are eyepiece kits, which are big boxes that some telescope suppliers will sell you with half a dozen eyepieces, most of which include annoyingly short focal length Plossl eyepieces. These are often compared to the higher priced offerings. There is always more to learn but it helps if you go in with a good base understanding, and that was my goal. Some accept 2 and have an adapter that allows you to also use 1.25. How will my telescopes focal ratio affect my purchases? What happens if you use an eyepiece that has a the wrong exit pupil? Plossls are extremely versatile and can be used for all use cases. The price ranges we show here are the typical prices. This type of design provides for both total magnifications as well as an erect image with little distortion. But I think you will feel more confident about your purchases and be less likely to be disappointed if you read through the guide. The TFOV will be as wide as your 40mm Plssl, but with greater magnification and a slightly darker sky background. ORION SIRIUS PLOSSL 10mm telescope eyepiece 1.25" - $17.01. And I am a visually observing focused person. I hope I can say that someday. If you go this route, you can always add single focal length eyepieces along the way to serve specialized purposes. Comparing to Plossl, the Expanse eyepiece is a lot more expensive. You can accomplish a longer eye relief by barlowing a longer f/l plossl, so that is something to think about as well. This is why we recommend you try to locate the object first at low power, then use a higher magnification if you likethe wider field of view on the sky provides more context in terms of asterisms and reference stars and makes it more likely that youll catch the object you are looking for. Dont worry about the math, as its simple stuff you can do with any calculator, on paper, or perhaps in your head. Im fairly picky so would extend budget for better eyepieces if its worth it. But for the targets requiring higher mag Im still undecided between: SVBONY Direct . Plossl eyepieces are perfect for astronomical viewing because the field of view is wider. Orion 12 mm Sirius Super Wide Angle Correct Image Eyepiece has a rubber eyecup that holds in light, which enables you to enjoy this powerful telescope eyepiece at night without glare or reflections from any external sources. You have a very wide choice of brands and styles to choose from. This is the link to the eyepiece I am looking at potentially buying, would you recommend this over the Orion one or vice versa do you think? It offers good color correction and high-contrast images. But you may only be able to achieve that rarely. But those EPs mentioned were all great too! Does having a 70 vs 52 fov make a noticeable difference for double the price? I had a newer - purchased in 2016 Meade 32mm (white lettering) that was no better than the older 32mm 4000. It also gives the widest possible exit pupil in my dob and SCT, very handy when using nebula filters. I also have a 25mm plossl and am happy with that. 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. 2019-2023 Little Astronomy. 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. Youd have to look into more complex designs which include a barlow lens, or simply use a longer focal length eyepiece with a quality barlow. We will use 10 mm as the eyepiece focal length, but we will look at three different 10 mm eyepieces, each with a different apparent field of view, AFOV. At one time Plssls were premium eyepieces. In some cases, the eyepieces are waterproof to protect them from internal contamination caused by heavy dew conditions. In stargazing, eyepieces are as important as telescopes are. The big problem with Plssls is that the eye relief is about 0.75 times the focal length. 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. I need your advice on it. Best Telescopes For 10 Year Old Kids: Reviews and Buying Guide, The Complete Guide to the Planets You Can See With a Telescope, The Best Barlow Lenses: Reviews and Buying Guide. Finally, a wider field of view just makes it easier to find stuff. You can still get eyepieces, but there are few choices. You will see these under many brands, including Orion, Celestron, GSO, and others. I have used these in my F6 and F5 Dobs and find them a good value for the price. As is outstanding in the workmanship, a Plossl type eyepiece is a moderately wide field eyepiece involving two colorless doublets in which the crown components generally face each other. All are good eyepieces and diagonals, and would be excellent for star party use. Hi Ed, My 20, 26, and 32mm Plossls will probably stay around. This is a fairly inexpensive zoom that I wanted to try. It costs a lot to get that last 10% of performance. This might contain more of what you need. Gold line eyepieces are available in 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm focal lengths. None of my fancy EPs have enough contrast for this application. I cannot thank you enough! Would a higher magnification eyepiece help do you think or am I already pushing my telescope (XT8) to highest sensible magnification I can with BH zoom on setting 8mm and 2x Barlow? I think I will go for the BHZ because, as you say, I will be able to use it now and into the future. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Now here is something that some of us classic scope nuts know - there are plossls, and there are plossls. For one thing, a wider field of view is almost always more pleasant. Plssl eyepieces are affordable and they're outstanding additions to amateur telescopes. However, i can read very well without my glasses with almost microscopic vision and can use my binoculars without glasses. If you are very demanding and must have the very best, this is where you want to be.