Kellner and Plossl- both are two different types of eyepieces for telescopes. 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. This has nothing to do with your scope or eyepiece. Even though the design has existed for more than a century, it has stood the test of and is still today the standard against which other eyepiece designs are measured. The Hexagon Zoom Eyepiece is made from durable plastic material that resists scratching and it has an eye relief distance of 15mm. For your application and the eyepieces you have or are going to get, you really dont need anything else. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/. Over $250, I will label premium eyepieces. Lets take a look. For what it's worth: I believe the Omni 1.25 inch 2x Barlow is one of the Shorty Barlows manufactured by GSO. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Since 2011, we've published astronomy related content and reviews to help guide the community better. Super Plossls offer a smaller field of view, which makes them good for close-up views and examining small objects. This is perfect for a 25mm Plossl (an extremely common standard) and downright luxurious with a 32mm Plossl, but when you get below about 12.5mm or 10mm, it can begin to get difficult to use. This means you will be able to see a greater expanse for the objects in space but with fewer magnification levels than Kellner or Plossl lenses. Plssl eyepieces are affordable and they're outstanding additions to amateur telescopes. But for the targets requiring higher mag Im still undecided between: An Austrian inventor Georg Simon Plossl came up with the Plossl eyepiece design in 1860. What follows are specific eyepieces that I have tried, own, or have read so many good reports about that I feel very comfortable recommending them. Warranty Limited Warranty against defects in materials or workmanship for one year from date of purchase. But the longer FL units are certainly useful. You can do that by using this long focal length eyepiece. If we want to get VERY specific to a combination then inherent aberrations of this scope and that eyepiece could produce a unique result. Thanks for your comment. Inexpensive Plossls that are manufactured using low-quality lenses are susceptible to internal reflections when viewing bright objects at high magnification. It was grueling, because I couldnt even get the entire field of viewI had to keep my eye hovering above the exit pupil. With a refractor, SCT or MCT, it is usually better to get a correct image diagonal than a correcting eyepiece. The BHZ in a 2X Barlow will take an XT8 to 300X. A good modern eyepiece like a BST starguider 12,8 and 5mm are excellent eyepieces. Understanding and using a Barlow Lens On many occasions, that will be too high power for the atmospheric conditions. And I continue to read excellent reports on the AT Paradigm and similar under different labels. 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. Glad you found it helpful. 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. Optics manufacturers began selling and popularizing Plossl eyepieces, albeit with a generally simplified design where each achromatic doublet had the same focal length. Like going from a 32 TV to a 65? A large field lens makes the ocular easy to look into. Your email address will not be published. Very worth it for me, as I like to use bino-viewers. 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. Whether it is cars or telescope eyepieces, there are inexpensive ones, upgraded models, and very expensive ones. In the beginning, you are not going to know what the atmospheric conditions might be in your area. About Us | Privacy Policy | ContactLittle Astronomy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. So save yourself this future unnecessary expense and just buy a Plossl. Do you think the Baader Hyperion Zoom would work OK with the Skywatcher 150p? They are all made by the same OEM manufacturer. For one thing, a wider field of view is almost always more pleasant. Finally, a wider field of view just makes it easier to find stuff. short answer: yes. In some cases, an object is so large (i.e., the Moon, the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy) that a narrow field of view can only show you part of the object, whereas a wider field of view could show the whole object at the same magnification. They also have good eye relief, making them comfortable to use for extended periods. Since there are so many different types of eyepieces available on the market, choosing the right one for your situation can prove to be a harrowing task. Sooooo helpful! This was very useful, I got a meade infinity 90mm ( after read the review here -. A Televue Plssl may be better than a generic one, but the difference is probably not worth the additional cost. They deliver sharp images in almost all telescopes. Second? 32mm (20x & 40x). Gold Line eyepieces also offer better eye relief than Plossl eyepieces, especially at the shorter focal lengths. 600 mm / 200X = 3 mm This will be the focal length of our highest power eyepiece. Note to spectacle wearers: Plossl eyepieces with 15mm and longer focal lengths are good choices for spectacle wearers but for shorter focal lengths the Celestron XCel LX series have greater eye-relief so are better suited. Now we have a maximum established. Orion Q70 38 mm works well. Its quite long but that is what we are aiming for and hopefully, it was useful to you. Other brands have joined and have used the Super Plossl label, but they all keep the original 4-piece design. 1200 mm FL scope / 10 mm FL eyepiece = 120X, 40 degree AFOV / 120X = .33 degrees (less than 1 full moon wide), 60 degree AFOV / 120X = .5 degree FOV (about one full moon with no space around it), 82 degree AFOV / 120X = .68 degree FOV (about one full moon with a star field around it to frame it). Quality this good usually costs a lot more. Higher than 3X is usually reserved for astrophotography. Note that the full moon appears to be approximately .5 degrees across, so use that as a mental reference when looking at the numbers. These are the best in optical performance and build quality. One of the TMB Planetary eyepieces are extremely nice for 50. So, for your 30 mm, 82/60 = 1.36 degrees. Now, for my one or two low power eyepieces, I also like to know the field of view provided by that eyepiece. 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. 32 mm = 18.75X12 mm = 50X8 mm = 75X6 mm = 100X4 mm = 150X3 mm = 200X. If you are completely new to stargazing, Kellner eyepieces are absolutely fine. If the above guide has helped you understand the terms and workings of eyepieces, scroll up and make a selection from our recommendation list. Yes, Plossl eyepieces are some of the most popular with amateurs and professionals alike. I just ordered Hyperion 13mm and 21mm but I really like how sharp and crisp view is in plossl 40mm. I have since moved up to a 12 Dob but I use the same eyepieces and the BH Zoom continues to be my most used. They are just OK, but I dont recommend them, especially in a low focal ratio scope. Every new skill takes time. How Good Are Super Plossl Eyepieces for Astronomy? These sizes have become the industrys standard sizes. Field of view, is about finding, framing, drift time, and context. Recall that your lowestpower eyepiece's exit pupil should not exceed 6mm. Any exit pupil between 7 mm and .5 mm is just fine. 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. This is why many telescopes come standard with at least one Plossl eyepiece. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Orion+Q70&ref=nb_sb_noss_2, Understanding Telescope Eyepieces- There are recommendations, based on budget, I have seen wider-field Plossls. Again thank you very much for all the information in the page, excellent notes. 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. 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. They are 82-degree AFOV eyepieces. For our experience level, would you recommend changing anything right now? One learns by observing. What happens if you use an eyepiece that has a the wrong exit pupil? Nice, thank you again for the additional inputs. Sony A7III vs A7RIII Astrophotography: Which One to Shoot Infinity! A Plossl eyepiece has a lens thats plano-convex, which means it is flat on one side and convex on the other. Question: would it perform well with 1.5/2x and 3x Barlows? Do you need a 10 mm planetary and a 10 mm DSO eyepiece? Ideally, you want a minimum of three eyepieces for (1) low power (2) peak visual acuity and (3) high-power viewing. Both solutions offer somewhat similar mag-fov-er-price. I have four telescopes, but I use the same eyepieces in all of them. I also have an older smoothtop 20mm Meade 4000 that is also 5 element, and it is a fine eyepiece too, compared to another 20mm of the same vintage. Im just starting out with astronomy and this really helped my understanding. The stock 9 and 15mm Omnis were very good. I beleive this is the same as they ones you asked about. 50 150X, no Barlow Even though both eyepieces are very common in beginner telescopes, it has become harder to find Kellner eyepieces on their own in the last two years, whether they come from a brand name or the original equipment manufacturer or a reseller. I have an F4 Newtonian reflector and if I use an eyepiece of longer than 25 mm, an exit pupil of 6.25, I start to get a dark area in the center of the field of view which is a shadow of the secondary mirror. Put the zoom on the Barlow for the high range. They can be recognized by a thin gold line just below the eye cup. Even if the scope comes with the more acceptable Kelner or . The difference isnt that severe, and I often track more often than is strictly necessary to keep the object centered anyway. This is a fairly inexpensive zoom that I wanted to try. I would expect it to be similar to the Celestron in image quality. Youll find yourself adjusting these type of factors less than. 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. In 1860, Georg Simon Plossl invented the Plossl eyepiece. If you just want a quick answer, skip to the conclusion at the end of the article. The ocular for your highest visual acuity - for viewing deep-sky objects and the like - should have an exit pupil around . If youre still wondering between a Kellner vs Plossl, my advice to you would be invest a little extra cash and go for a good quality Plossl. That is a wonderful expression. The components of a Plossl eyepiece are the two groups of lenses. It is pretty much worth it for everyone that has a telescope with a 1.25 inch focuser to have a 32mm Plssl. The longer FL Plossls (>15mm) have some distinct advantages over more complex designs without the major disadvantage of Plossls which is short ER. Kellner eyepieces work perfectly with small and medium-sized telescopes. In simple terms, high focal ratio scopes, say those over F6, tend to be less demanding on eyepieces than those below F6. OK that makes sense, many thanks. Eye relief is the distance from the eye lens to your eyeball, and the higher the better (within reason). As Im sure you know, a Barlow actually narrows the cone of light that enters the eyepiece, hence it affects the apparent focal length and thus the f/ratio of the telescope objective. This type of design also helps provide for eye relief; its a better experience if your eyes. I guess my curiosity is mostly about the diagonal. Their 50 to 52 degree AFOV is wide enough for general observing. Press Esc to cancel. Plossl eyepieces have an eye relief equal to about 80% of their focal length. But I think you will feel more confident about your purchases and be less likely to be disappointed if you read through the guide. By having a range of magnifications, you can optimize the image, which means you need more eyepieces. This will give you a lower power and a medium to high power eyepiece, depending on the focal length of your scope. And certainly, if you are getting into AP you are going to need that big budget. Good evening everybody. Orion Sirius Plossl 1.25" eyepieces are ideal for all types of telescopes: reflector, refractor, and catadioptrics such as Maksutov-Cassegrains. I purchased the Celestron Starsense 102mm refractor, focal length 660mm, stated highest useful magnification is 240x; it should arrive in about 2 weeks. But these are only intended to get you started. Prices can run from $20 to $200 so the field is pretty broad. This can be debated 100 ways, but that is my advice. 8.5-ish mm (75x & 150x) I still have it and still use it from time to time. but the meat of the article is about understanding the considerations and specifications to know when selecting eyepieces. This four-element Plssl design is the most popular eyepiece optical design that gives you excellent image quality, good eye relief, and a 50 to 56 degrees apparent field of view. 30 = 60 = 1.3 They also offer more eye relief than Plossls at the shorter focal lengths. 6.7 = 268 = .3 These "other" ones I speak of, aren't technically that, they are a 5 element eyepiece, of a different design. They are also really sharp. https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-mounts-for-astrophotography/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-astrophotography-telescopes/, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-barlow-lens-and-how-to/, https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece-review/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8879-1-25-Inch-Enhanced-Telescope/dp/B000BMPBLK/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3KKUJRXYYN7DI&dchild=1&keywords=telescope+diagonal+1.25&qid=1610887695&sprefix=telescope+diagonal%2Caps%2C512&sr=8-8, https://telescopicwatch.com/orion-skyquest-xt8-intelliscope-review/, https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-hyperion-mark-iv-8-24mm-universal-zoom-eyepiece.html, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Orion+Q70&ref=nb_sb_noss_2, https://telescopicwatch.com/best-telescope-eyepieces/, https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8829-Wide-Field-Telescope-Eyepiece/dp/B000M89H7C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Orion+Q70&qid=1606584502&sr=8-2, 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. Pentax K-70 Astrophotography: The Ultimate Camera on a Budget! My Meade 4000 56 and 60 degree Meade Plossls are pretty sharp to my eyes and do pretty well for me. A long eye relief is also important for those who wear eyeglasses at the eyepiece, whether thats a member of the general public at a star party or an astronomer with astigmatism, which, unlike near- or far-sightedness, cannot be corrected with the telescopes own focuser. 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. The first group is made up of a convex lens and concave lens, while the second one has four small cylindrical lenses that work together to magnify what you see through them for your viewing pleasure. 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. The view being presented to your eye in a low power eyepiece minimizes everything from optical aberrations in the telescope, to distortions from thermals or atmospheric conditions. I need some eyepieces with long FL for low magnifications. The Big Bang Optics is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. At this point, a Plossl and a Kellner are so close in price and performance that you may as well get the Plossl. condition as described, a good transaction. We will use a 100 mm telescope with a 600 mm focal length that only takes 1.25 eyepieces. If you do upgrade, youll probably want to go for a different eyepiece design than a Plosslsomething with a sharper image or a wider field of view or a longer eye relief (or all three.). If we look at the range I provided above, we see that we could replace several eyepieces with one zoom. If you read the article you know how to calculate the magnification and field of view. Just search on Astronomy Club and you will probably find one in your area. If you are a glasses wearer and plan to keep your glasses on while you are observing, then you will likely want eyepieces with at least 17 mm of eye relief, and some glasses wearers prefer at least 20 mm. In my opinion, you do not. As we continue, what would you recommend adding first? What Is A Barlow Lens For A Telescope? Because some objects look better at low power, some at medium power, some at high power, and some at very high power. This determines how much light the telescope will gather. 2. This means less time trying to figure out which way your images should be oriented before examining them. Although Kellner eyepieces will help you learn a lot in the beginning but soon will realize that youre missing out on something, and eventually you will be tempted to spend money on another good quality eyepiece. Astrophotography with Nikon D3200: Can It Be Better? A very good quality eyepiece for a reasonable sum. You have a very wide choice of brands and styles to choose from. There are certainly much better options out there but at a significant cost. Major telescope brands such as Celestron supplies Kellner eyepieces with their r least expensive telescopes and still may. In essence the design differences between Kellner and Plossl comes down to the number of lenses within the eyepiece barrel. . So plan this into such a purchase. So perhaps you do your line up like this. Required fields are marked *. As you learn more about astronomy and you gain more experience with time, you may want to move to Plossls or even higher-quality eyepieces. The Plossl eyepiece is a four-element design consisting of two doublets. Your eyepieces do not need to be the same brand as your telescope. Even big telescopes are subject to limitations imposed by the atmosphere. Interesting points Philip. Telescopes Cost: Acceptable, Good, and Really Good Telescopes, Used Telescopes Buying Guide The Complete Guide, Different Types of Asteroids (C, S, and M) The Definitive Guide, Top 10 Night Sky Objects for Astronomy Beginners, Asteroid Mining Know Everything About It, German Equatorial Mounts (GEMs) Overview and Working. The 4000 SWA's were way overpriced for their performance IMHO. Plossl eyepieces are often included in better telescope packages as the starter eyepieces. Plossl eyepieces have a wide FOV and are known for their clarity and sharpness. Another way to look at it is that a 30 mm eyepiece in a 3X Barlow works like a 10 mm eyepiece. Soft rubber eye guard that's custom fitted . The 21mm is simply amazing, I can't believe that TV decided to discontinue this little gem, it is better than the newer version in every category including eye comfort, the overall shape along with fit and finish is one of the best from TV. Some will offer longer eye relief which can be important to eyeglass wearers. There are inexpensive adapters that will let you use standard 1.25 eyepieces in a .965 focuser/diagonal. I am a BIG fan of zoom eyepieces, especially if you dont have many. Many compare these favorably to eyepieces that are much higher priced. It's no surprise that the eyepieces in our Sirius Plossl line are our best-selling telescope eyepieces. . Because the eyepiece was still similar enough to a Plossl and still kept the symmetrical design, they called it Super Plossl. The focal length range for 1.25 Plossls is about 6mm to 45mm. 4mm Eyepiece vs 20mm Eyepiece. Achromatic vs Apochromatic refracting telescopes. 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. Hello sir, thanks for your article its realy helpful. They work great every day and get you where you want to go, but dont have what the higher priced models have. Below .5 mm exit pupil, floaters in the eye become more apparent and can be bothersome. But what are the differences between these two and how do you know which one to choose? The image will be reversed left to right so you will need to get used to that. The Wiki article(s) were very good if anyone else is confused. We will now discuss the specifications of eye relief and apparent field of view. (Svbonys Plossls, for example, are optically identical to Orions Sirius Plossls). As the clear cut worlds best eyepiece manufacturer, their name should at least be mentioned in an article like this. These will eventually be used in an 8in dob whenever it arrives. 1:10 . If you are on a strict budget, this is a good choice as a zoom eyepiece. You alluded to them, but you never mentioned Tele Vue. Gosky Plossl 40 mm Telescope Eyepiece - 1.25inch This is probably the worst eyepiece I can recommend. The BHZ 2 Adapter has threads on it so you can attach filters to it allowing you to use 2 filters with the zoom. thanks for all your help. Hi Ed, Their eye relief is limited to about 70-80% of their focal length. Most likely it will be used as a loaner eyepiece to go with one of my two loaner telescopes. Oh the pain of uh having access to really cool eyepieces.). 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. 8.8 = 240 = .34 For shorter focal lengths, the StarGuider BST series eyepieces have greater eye-relief, so are better suited. We have a range of 32 mm to 3 mm. However, sometimes i am at the end of the range of the binocular focus adjustment. Eye relief of less than 10mm gets really uncomfortableyou tend to rub your eyepieces against the eyepiece or lens, and you have to hold your eye at just the right distance to keep from touching the lens. Tele Vue offers several series with apparent fields of view from 50 degrees to 120 degrees. So you ended up with: But just because an eyepiece is 2 doesnt mean it has a wider field of view than one that is 1.25. Videos for related products. The eye relief is the distance between your eyes and the eyepiece where you are able to view the whole image comfortably. In stargazing, eyepieces are as important as telescopes are. Note that the Explore Scientific 68 and 82 degree eyepieces are also available in 2 size for your low power wide view requirements. It is all about your budget, your goals, and your objectives, as outlined in the article. If you feel the need to buy something now, consider this Orion diagonal. When I had a 6mm Kellner, I found the eye relief annoyingly short, sure, but when compared to the 6mm Plossl that often comes with eyepiece kits, it was luxurious. Any 1.25 eyepiece will work with the BH Zoom 2 adapter. In 1849, Carl Kellner invented the Kellner eyepiece, which is essentially a Ramsden eyepiece where one lens has been replaced with an achromatic doublet made of two different types of glass. Omni 6mm Eyepiece - 1.25" Learn More. At shorter focal lengths they have less eye relief, and at all focal lengths they have a narrower field of view, than newer types. The Orthoscopic Plossl eyepiece is for those who are interested in performing close-up work on specimens up to three inches away from them and still get high magnification. You can read a thorough review of Goldline eyepieces here. Rating (max 5): 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. My Baader Hyperion Zoom is my most used and favorite eyepiece. With a 8" dobsonian, a 6mm is very versatile. A 32mm Plssl is worth it. https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece-review/. Thanks. As I discussed earlier, the zoom lets you explore your target over a wide range of magnifications without having to change eyepieces. Goldline series of eyepieces provides the best value in this price range, better than Plossls. In the box you'll receive 5 1.25 eyepieces at following sizes, a 32 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 17 mm Plossl Eyepiece , 13 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 8 mm Plossl Eyepiece, 6 mm Plossl Eyepiece, a 2X Barlow Lens 1.25. This may be enough for many eyeglass wearers. This is where the cheap eyepiece will frequently fail to deliver a good image, around the edges. 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. I was looking on a OPT website and they have celestron 32mm and 15mm plossl.