Need Advice for buying my new telescope

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Actually, I turned down the offer a couple days ago, but its all good . I think its a good thing that I did because incase the scope ever&nbsp;ended up being kind of a let down, I wouldn't regret buying and saying, "I should've bought the Orion scope". There arn't many customer reviews on the skywatcher dobsonians, and the Orion XT's are always recommended anyways. The tension control is like an adjustable pan handle which is used to tighten the telescopes movement. I currently have it on my Celestron AZ but i dont like it so much because if u tighten it too much it becomes kind of jumpy and can be quite frustrating&nbsp; (It could just be my mount though). Anyways, I'm really excited about gettin my scope, I should be gettin it soon. Just curious, what kind of telescope do you have eddie? Thanks,Taha Siddiqui <br /> Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV></p><p>Well, I started out with a 3.5" Meade refractor on an alt-azimuth mount, which I used for many years, mostly to observe the planets. &nbsp;Then when everyone was going crazy (me, included) with "Mars fever" in 2003, with it's close approach, I went on something of a buying frenzy. &nbsp;I bought a 10" Portaball, which was a disappointment after all the great things I read about them. &nbsp;I sold it. &nbsp;Then I bought a used Takahashi FS 128 refractor, which I still have, and a used Starmaster 11" F/5.4 dobsonian reflector, both of which I use with a Denkmier binoviewer. &nbsp;Since I just bought a one-bedroom condo, I have little spare room, so I just sold the Starmaster, and now have only the Tak, which I plan to keep. &nbsp;I think I prefer refractors, but I might add an 8" reflector if I can find the money and room for it.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[TahaSiddiqui]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Well, I started out with a 3.5" Meade refractor on an alt-azimuth mount, which I used for many years, mostly to observe the planets. &nbsp;Then when everyone was going crazy (me, included) with "Mars fever" in 2003, with it's close approach, I went on something of a buying frenzy. &nbsp;I bought a 10" Portaball, which was a disappointment after all the great things I read about them. &nbsp;I sold it. &nbsp;Then I bought a used Takahashi FS 128 refractor, which I still have, and a used Starmaster 11" F/5.4 dobsonian reflector, both of which I use with a Denkmier binoviewer. &nbsp;Since I just bought a one-bedroom condo, I have little spare room, so I just sold the Starmaster, and now have only the Tak, which I plan to keep. &nbsp;I think I prefer refractors, but I might add an 8" reflector if I can find the money and room for it. <br />Posted by crazyeddie</DIV><br /><br />Wow nice, you really had a whole variety of telescopes. What are so special about the Takahashi's? They are very expensive I know, what's the reason why though? How much was yours?

 

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Wow nice, you really had a whole variety of telescopes. What are so special about the Takahashi's? They are very expensive I know, what's the reason why though? How much was yours? <br /> Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV></p><p>I've always wanted a 5" apochromatic refractor. &nbsp;Actually, I'd love to have an 8" or a 10" apo refractor, but since that would cost me almost as much as my house, one has to be practical. &nbsp;You just can't beat the crisp, color-free, contrasty views you get through a fine apo refractor, with no annoying diffraction spikes, no long waits for mirror cool-down, no collimation chores, and none of all the other bothersome things you have to put up with with a reflector. &nbsp;Of course, the down side is, you are limited by the aperture and the expense. &nbsp;Most of my interest is in lunar and planetary viewing, where contrast and resolution is more important than light-gathering ability. &nbsp;But if I were forced to choose and have only ONE telescope, it would be a superb 5" apo refractor. &nbsp;Astro-Physics started the "apo revolution" more than a decade ago, but their wait list for one of their 5" apos is absurdly long. &nbsp;Takahashi was famous for making top-of-the-line fluorite apo refractors, and when I had the opportunity to buy the FS 128 locally, I jumped at it. &nbsp;Some of the newer models from various manufacturers that use 3-element objective lenses are probably slightly better, but I'm no longer in a financial position to buy any more expensive telescopes. &nbsp;It doesn't matter, because I love this scope. &nbsp;You can crank the magnification well beyond 60x per inch of aperture on nights of clear seeing, with no image breakdown. &nbsp;It's just a finely crafted instrument, and the quality is beyond anything coming out of China these days (although that may not be the case for much longer). &nbsp;I paid $3,500 for it; the new TOA 130 models cost a couple of thousand dollars more.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[TahaSiddiqui]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I've always wanted a 5" apochromatic refractor. &nbsp;Actually, I'd love to have an 8" or a 10" apo refractor, but since that would cost me almost as much as my house, one has to be practical. &nbsp;You just can't beat the crisp, color-free, contrasty views you get through a fine apo refractor, with no annoying diffraction spikes, no long waits for mirror cool-down, no collimation chores, and none of all the other bothersome things you have to put up with with a reflector. &nbsp;Of course, the down side is, you are limited by the aperture and the expense. &nbsp;Most of my interest is in lunar and planetary viewing, where contrast and resolution is more important than light-gathering ability. &nbsp;But if I were forced to choose and have only ONE telescope, it would be a superb 5" apo refractor. &nbsp;Astro-Physics started the "apo revolution" more than a decade ago, but their wait list for one of their 5" apos is absurdly long. &nbsp;Takahashi was famous for making top-of-the-line fluorite apo refractors, and when I had the opportunity to buy the FS 128 locally, I jumped at it. &nbsp;Some of the newer models from various manufacturers that use 3-element objective lenses are probably slightly better, but I'm no longer in a financial position to buy any more expensive telescopes. &nbsp;It doesn't matter, because I love this scope. &nbsp;You can crank the magnification well beyond 60x per inch of aperture on nights of clear seeing, with no image breakdown. &nbsp;It's just a finely crafted instrument, and the quality is beyond anything coming out of China these days (although that may not be the case for much longer). &nbsp;I paid $3,500 for it; the new TOA 130 models cost a couple of thousand dollars more. <br />Posted by crazyeddie</DIV></p><p>Wow nice, looks like u really enjoy ur scope!! Anyways, I have some great news !! I called the telescope shop today and was going to ask them to keep an Orion XT8 aside for me since I was planning on gettin it as soon as they were in stock again, and the guy remembered me and said, "its your lucky day"! He said that someone that bought the last XT8 in stock just returned there scope for a larger one. He said it was used once and is in perfect condition. The reduced price is down to $279 CANADIAN which is excellent because the price for brand new is 325 US. The Canadian dollar is much lower than the US right now : 0.82250 from today :/. Me and my dad are heading out there this Saturday to check it out . I have a few more questions regarding eyepieces and stuff. I was lookin at the Orion telescopes eyepieces but I just don't know much about them. I am planning on buying a 32mm (for DSO's)&nbsp;or something around that and maybe something around 8-12mm for planets and planetary nebula as well as globulars&nbsp;(since I have a 17.5mm eyepiece). But which kind of eyepieces should I be getting. I've heard about the Stratus and like Widefield orion eyepieces that are good for DSO's. But widefield is not good for planetary because the object will "seem" to be smaller because such a wide view. Anyways, my other question is, how much is a good amount of money to be spending for each eyepiece (for a good but not top top quality that is like over $80 each). My last question is, about two nights ago I found my first planetary nebula (M57)&nbsp;and my first globular cluster (M15). They were pretty good in my light polluted backyard but I had to stick with 57X magnification because otherwise the object became too faint. Will my 8" give much brighter images that will be pretty bright even if I jack up the magnification towards like 100+? Cuz i was reading and people said that planetary nebulas and globulars benefit from higher magnification but everything got really dim after 100X (only got 50X, 57X, and 100X and barlow to double to 50, 114, 200). Anyways, the best view was from my 17.5 mm that was a 4 element possl. Sorry this ended up being a very very long post :/ when I intended it to be small lol.</p><p>Thanks alot dude,</p><p>Taha Siddiqui</p>

 

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Wow nice, looks like u really enjoy ur scope!! Anyways, I have some great news !! I called the telescope shop today and was going to ask them to keep an Orion XT8 aside for me since I was planning on gettin it as soon as they were in stock again, and the guy remembered me and said, "its your lucky day"! He said that someone that bought the last XT8 in stock just returned there scope for a larger one. He said it was used once and is in perfect condition. The reduced price is down to $279 CANADIAN which is excellent because the price for brand new is 325 US. The Canadian dollar is much lower than the US right now : 0.82250 from today :/. Me and my dad are heading out there this Saturday to check it out . I have a few more questions regarding eyepieces and stuff. I was lookin at the Orion telescopes eyepieces but I just don't know much about them. I am planning on buying a 32mm (for DSO's)&nbsp;or something around that and maybe something around 8-12mm for planets and planetary nebula as well as globulars&nbsp;(since I have a 17.5mm eyepiece). But which kind of eyepieces should I be getting. I've heard about the Stratus and like Widefield orion eyepieces that are good for DSO's. But widefield is not good for planetary because the object will "seem" to be smaller because such a wide view. Anyways, my other question is, how much is a good amount of money to be spending for each eyepiece (for a good but not top top quality that is like over $80 each). My last question is, about two nights ago I found my first planetary nebula (M57)&nbsp;and my first globular cluster (M15). They were pretty good in my light polluted backyard but I had to stick with 57X magnification because otherwise the object became too faint. Will my 8" give much brighter images that will be pretty bright even if I jack up the magnification towards like 100+? Cuz i was reading and people said that planetary nebulas and globulars benefit from higher magnification but everything got really dim after 100X (only got 50X, 57X, and 100X and barlow to double to 50, 114, 200). Anyways, the best view was from my 17.5 mm that was a 4 element possl. Sorry this ended up being a very very long post :/ when I intended it to be small lol.Thanks alot dude,Taha Siddiqui <br /> Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV></p><p>Sirius plossl eyepieces are a good eyepiece for the money, so if you want to stick with Orion, those would be OK. &nbsp;But if you want a step up in performance, you might want to go with a University Optics Abbe orthoscopic, which have been around forever and have an outstanding reputation as an affordable planetary eyepiece. &nbsp;Here's there website:</p><p>http://www.universityoptics.com/125inch.html</p><p>Another outstanding planetary eyepiece is the Burgess Optical/TMB Planetary's:</p><p>http://www.burgessoptical.com/EPs/Planetary.html</p><p>Widefield eyepieces are not at all bad for planetary viewing, as long as they are of good quality. &nbsp;I wouldn't waste my money on cheap ones, though....Televue are the only kind I own. &nbsp;Widefields work well with dobsonian telescopes because it takes longer for the object to drift across the field before you have to "nudge" the scope to track it, then wait for the vibration to settle down again before you can resume your observing. &nbsp;Cheap widefields are often very sharp in the center of the field, but not on the edges.</p><p>Here's the eyepieces I own:</p><p>Televue 32mm plossl, Orion Sirius 32mm plossl, Televue 20mm plossl, Orion Epic 12.3mm,&nbsp;University Optics Abbe Orthoscopic 12.5mm, Burgess Optical/TMB 9mm Planetary eyepiece, Televue 3-6mm zoom</p><p>And yes, the 8" aperture will allow you to observe the planetary nebula and fainter fuzzies at a higher magnification.....that's what light-gathering ability is all about.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[astro_anthro]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Sirius plossl eyepieces are a good eyepiece for the money, so if you want to stick with Orion, those would be OK. &nbsp;But if you want a step up in performance, you might want to go with a University Optics Abbe orthoscopic, which have been around forever and have an outstanding reputation as an affordable planetary eyepiece. &nbsp;Here's there website:http://www.universityoptics.com/125inch.htmlAnother outstanding planetary eyepiece is the Burgess Optical/TMB Planetary's:http://www.burgessoptical.com/EPs/Planetary.htmlWidefield eyepieces are not at all bad for planetary viewing, as long as they are of good quality. &nbsp;I wouldn't waste my money on cheap ones, though....Televue are the only kind I own. &nbsp;Widefields work well with dobsonian telescopes because it takes longer for the object to drift across the field before you have to "nudge" the scope to track it, then wait for the vibration to settle down again before you can resume your observing. &nbsp;Cheap widefields are often very sharp in the center of the field, but not on the edges.Here's the eyepieces I own:Televue 32mm plossl, Orion Sirius 32mm plossl, Televue 20mm plossl, Orion Epic 12.3mm,&nbsp;University Optics Abbe Orthoscopic 12.5mm, Burgess Optical/TMB 9mm Planetary eyepiece, Televue 3-6mm zoomAnd yes, the 8" aperture will allow you to observe the planetary nebula and fainter fuzzies at a higher magnification.....that's what light-gathering ability is all about.&nbsp; <br /> Posted by crazyeddie</DIV></p><p>Last I checked the Burgess Planetary eyepieces were out of stock and backordered. I called Burgess a month ago and they said that they expected new ones in "soon," but then again they also said that when I called previously in June. They are excellent though, and occasionally show up on the used market. UO Abbe Orthoscopics are superb, but because that have limited eye relief are difficult to use if you have glasses (like me). There are also the Televue Plossls, as well as GSO Super Plossls to consider, all are excellent. Probably the best planetary eyepiece out there that has decent eye relief is the Televue Radian, but they are expensive. I'm told that Orion's long eye relief planetary eyepieces are pretty good--price is right too. In my experience cheaper "widefields" like the ubiquitous GSO superviews don't perform well as planetary eyepieces less because of edge performance and more because they have less "contrasty" views and can introduce a bit of chromatic aberration. Of course, Naglers or the current holy grail, the $700 Ethos don't have these problems. But the UWAN eyepieces made by Williams Optics are reasonably priced and good performing widefields. Also consider the Antares Speers-Waler series--good edge performance, 70-80 degree views, limited CA and reasonable prices. Widefields are particularly useful when using a Dobsonian at mid to high powers. Anyway, sorry to butt into the conversation but I love discussing eyepieces! Tom</p>

 

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'> Anyway, sorry to butt into the conversation but I love discussing eyepieces! Tom <br /> Posted by astro_anthro</DIV></p><p>We LIKE people butting in! &nbsp;But you bring up a good point: does our friend Taha wear glasses? &nbsp;And how much money can he afford to spend on a couple of new eyepieces? &nbsp;This information can help us narrow down our recommendations.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[astro_anthro]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>We LIKE people butting in! &nbsp;But you bring up a good point: does our friend Taha wear glasses? &nbsp;And how much money can he afford to spend on a couple of new eyepieces? &nbsp;This information can help us narrow down our recommendations.&nbsp; <br /> Posted by crazyeddie</DIV></p><p>Hi crazyeddie and Taha, glad I'm not crashing the party! Another consideration is the f ratio of Taha's new scope. Faster scopes (f/6 or less) are less forgiving of the cheaper widefield eyepieces than slower ones. I have a couple of the less expensive widefield eyepieces, and where they do fine on my F/11 refractor they don't do as well in my f/6, particularly in terms of edge performance and field curvature--on-axis performance is ok though. My plossls do well in either, of course, but I have to take off my glasses, and since I have some astigmatism this can cause some viewing issues. So budget, eye relief, and the f ratio are all things that need to considered. As I write this I just realized that another line of eyepieces you might consider Taha are the Baader Hyperions. I haven't used them myself, but some folks swear by them as very good all-arounders with ample eye-relief and decent FOV. Price is good too, usually about $120 US. Clear skies! Tom</p>

 

[TahaSiddiqui]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi crazyeddie and Taha, glad I'm not crashing the party! Another consideration is the f ratio of Taha's new scope. Faster scopes (f/6 or less) are less forgiving of the cheaper widefield eyepieces than slower ones. I have a couple of the less expensive widefield eyepieces, and where they do fine on my F/11 refractor they don't do as well in my f/6, particularly in terms of edge performance and field curvature--on-axis performance is ok though. My plossls do well in either, of course, but I have to take off my glasses, and since I have some astigmatism this can cause some viewing issues. So budget, eye relief, and the f ratio are all things that need to considered. As I write this I just realized that another line of eyepieces you might consider Taha are the Baader Hyperions. I haven't used them myself, but some folks swear by them as very good all-arounders with ample eye-relief and decent FOV. Price is good too, usually about $120 US. Clear skies! Tom <br />Posted by astro_anthro</DIV><br /><br />Hi guys ! I do wear glasses, I don't know if age has anything to do with it, but I am 15 just so you know. I do take off my glasses when viewing through the eyepiece. The scope is a F/6 and Im thinking of buying maybe 2 eyepieces since I already have a 17.5 meade possl, barlow, and the scope comes with a 25mm (Orion XT8 classic). I am trading in my scope and the dealer said he would take it for around $150 (he has to check it out on saturday) which would go straight to acessories like eyepieces and w/e I need. However, I do also need to buy a RACI 9X50 finder which he said I can get a new one for $100 :/. However, I could just buy the eyepieces when i get the scope this saturday, and wait till I get some cash (I shovel in the winter ) to buy me a RACI.</p><p>Thanks for the advice guys,</p><p>Taha</p>

 

[crazyeddie]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hi crazyeddie and Taha, glad I'm not crashing the party! Another consideration is the f ratio of Taha's new scope. Faster scopes (f/6 or less) are less forgiving of the cheaper widefield eyepieces than slower ones. I have a couple of the less expensive widefield eyepieces, and where they do fine on my F/11 refractor they don't do as well in my f/6, particularly in terms of edge performance and field curvature--on-axis performance is ok though. My plossls do well in either, of course, but I have to take off my glasses, and since I have some astigmatism this can cause some viewing issues. So budget, eye relief, and the f ratio are all things that need to considered. As I write this I just realized that another line of eyepieces you might consider Taha are the Baader Hyperions. I haven't used them myself, but some folks swear by them as very good all-arounders with ample eye-relief and decent FOV. Price is good too, usually about $120 US. Clear skies! Tom <br /> Posted by astro_anthro</DIV></p><p>I believe the F ratio of the scope he is buying is F/6. &nbsp;One benefit of the pricer eyepiece lines, such as Televue or Orion's Ultrascopic, are their ability to handle scopes with low F/ratios. &nbsp;Televue tests all of their eyepieces with scopes down to F/4. &nbsp;And they usually have superior multicoatings. &nbsp;You can't go wrong with Televue, if you can afford them.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[astro_anthro]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I believe the F ratio of the scope he is buying is F/6. &nbsp;One benefit of the pricer eyepiece lines, such as Televue or Orion's Ultrascopic, are their ability to handle scopes with low F/ratios. &nbsp;Televue tests all of their eyepieces with scopes down to F/4. &nbsp;And they usually have superior multicoatings. &nbsp;You can't go wrong with Televue, if you can afford them.&nbsp; <br /> Posted by crazyeddie</DIV></p><p>Gotta agree with crazyeddie about Televue, expensive but worth it if you can afford it. I looked through one of the new TV Ethos recently at a star party and the view was spectacular--the 100 degree view was amazing, of course, but ever more remarkable was the sharpness, contrast and flatness of field across the entire view. Blows away even the already market leading Nagler. But at $700 its hard to justify in a budget that also includes car payments, housing and child care. Televue plossls are affordable though. You say you wear glasses Taha, but take them off when you view--do you know if you have any astigmatism? If not, then you probably don't really need to worry too much about eye relief. Since you are working with a budget of $150 or so, its going to be difficult to purchase a RACI and two decent eyepieces. I guess it comes down to how picky you want to be. You can get the RACI from your dealer for $100 or so, then buy a couple of entry level generic plossls--these can be had for $30-40, depending on the retailer. I would recommend spending your budget on one good eyepiece--you have lots of choices in the $100 to $150 range. Another option would be to buy used; Astromart.com or Cloudynights.com are great places to find quality used stuff. There is a registration fee of about $15 to join Astromart. There are obviously risks associated with buying used, but most hard-core amatuer astronomers treat their equipment well. Many buy new pieces of equipment with the idea that they will resell them in the near future to fund yet other purchases. So there is a lot of good equipment on the used market. Clear skies! Tom</p>

 

[TahaSiddiqui]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Gotta agree with crazyeddie about Televue, expensive but worth it if you can afford it. I looked through one of the new TV Ethos recently at a star party and the view was spectacular--the 100 degree view was amazing, of course, but ever more remarkable was the sharpness, contrast and flatness of field across the entire view. Blows away even the already market leading Nagler. But at $700 its hard to justify in a budget that also includes car payments, housing and child care. Televue plossls are affordable though. You say you wear glasses Taha, but take them off when you view--do you know if you have any astigmatism? If not, then you probably don't really need to worry too much about eye relief. Since you are working with a budget of $150 or so, its going to be difficult to purchase a RACI and two decent eyepieces. I guess it comes down to how picky you want to be. You can get the RACI from your dealer for $100 or so, then buy a couple of entry level generic plossls--these can be had for $30-40, depending on the retailer. I would recommend spending your budget on one good eyepiece--you have lots of choices in the 100 to $150 range. Another option would be to buy used; Astromart.com or Cloudynights.com are great places to find quality used stuff. There is a registration fee of about $15 to join Astromart. There are obviously risks associated with buying used, but most hard-core amatuer astronomers treat their equipment well. Many buy new pieces of equipment with the idea that they will resell them in the near future to fund yet other purchases. So there is a lot of good equipment on the used market. Clear skies! Tom <br /> Posted by astro_anthro</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;Sorry, but what's an astigmatism and how can you find out if you have one? lol Yeah I think its a good idea for me to get one or squeezing two eyepieces for $200 if the dealer says $200 or if I ask my dad, I think he will. If I get one or two TV possls' in the range of like 32/40mm or something for planets and globulars around the 6-12mm. What size do you think I should be gettin? In a couple of months when it starts to snow I can go back and pick up the RACI or something. Could you list some good eyepieces that are good for the 100-150 range and 150-200? About buying used eyepieces from those sites, I think they're are more U.S sites so like shipping and stuf would just be a hassle so I think im just going to stick with the place Im going to buy the telescope tomorrow. When I was on the phone with the guy working there he said they have many eyepieces and they probably sell used ones as well.</p><p>Thanks again,</p><p>Taha </p>

 

[astro_anthro]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;Sorry, but what's an astigmatism and how can you find out if you have one? lol Yeah I think its a good idea for me to get one or squeezing two eyepieces for $200 if the dealer says $200 or if I ask my dad, I think he will. If I get one or two TV possls' in the range of like 32/40mm or something for planets and globulars around the 6-12mm. What size do you think I should be gettin? In a couple of months when it starts to snow I can go back and pick up the RACI or something. Could you list some good eyepieces that are good for the 100-150 range and 150-200? About buying used eyepieces from those sites, I think they're are more U.S sites so like shipping and stuf would just be a hassle so I think im just going to stick with the place Im going to buy the telescope tomorrow. When I was on the phone with the guy working there he said they have many eyepieces and they probably sell used ones as well.Thanks again,Taha <br /> Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV></p><p>Hi Taha, sorry, I forgot you weren't in the US, so shipping may be an issue. Astigmatism is a common optical defect in the eyes of people who wear glasses. As I understand it, its a defect where perpendicular focal planes are out of alignment--so if you tried to focus on a cross-shaped target, you could bring the horizontal arm of the cross into focus, or the vertical one, but not both at the same time. When I look through and eyepiece without my glasses on the stars seem to be elongated and it's hard to bring them to point focus. When I put my glasses on the problem goes away and I can focus the stars to pinpionts. If you don't notice that same kind of elogation when you view without your glasses then its unlikely that you have an astigmatism. Astigmatism can also be present in telescope optics.</p><p>As far as eyepieces go, you have a lot of options in the $100 to $200 dollar range. Crazyeddie and I have already indicated that we (an lots of other folks) think Televue eyepieces are among the best you can buy. Televue plossls are very good planetary eyepieces and have FOVs of around 50 degrees. They usually sell for around $100US, although I've seen them as cheap as $85. The next step up in the Televue lineup are the Radians, which usually sell for about $250. The extra money buys a lot more eye relief, 60 degree FOV and better glass. From there prices keep getting steeper, with the Panoptics and Naglers going for $280 to $350 or so, and the Ethos eyepieces for $600 to $700. Pentax also makes superb high-end and (super expensive) eyepieces comparable in quality to TV.</p><p>If you are not worried about widefield views--these days widefield usually starts at 65-70 degrees AFOV or more--then I would recommend either the TV plossls, the Antares Elite or Ultima plossls (I think I referred to GSO Super plossls in a previous post when I meant the Antares Elite plossls--sorry about the brain fart), University Optics Othroscopics, and Baader Planetarium Orthoscopics. I've never tried the Orion Ultrascopics that Crazyeddie mentioned, but many rave about them. All of these can be had for about $70 to $110 or so, and all are regarded as very good to excellent.</p><p>When it comes to widefield eyepieces, I would recommend the Baader Planetarium Hyperions. They do fine in fast refractors (up to about F/5), have 68 degree AFOV and are pretty sharp. Possibly not quite as sharp as the better plossl/orthoscopics, but better than your average plossl. They are also reasonably priced at about $120. They make great all-around eyepieces. For $125-180 the Antares Speers-Waler is a poor man's Nagler, with 82 degree AFOV. These also handle fast scopes well. Another very good widefield option is the Williams Optics UWAN series. The UWANs go from $200 to $380, depending on whether you get the 1.25" or 2" ones. This gets you into Televue territory. There are lots of other possibilities and choices, of course, I've just listed the few types I either own, owned or have tried out. Hope this helps. Clear skies! Tom</p>