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Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:20 pm
by ic_1101
Hi all! Being mainly an AP imager I have only a few eyepieces for visual use (20&30mm). Lately my grandkids have shown an interest in viewing the planets (Saturn, Jupiter) using my EdgeHD11.
I need some advice as to which eyepiece would give the best views. Eye relief is also an issue as I wear glasses. Your help would be much appreciated.

Alex

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:17 pm
by Bigzmey
Based on my experience with EdgeHD9.25 here a few recommendations for planetary/lunar EPs:

Pentax XW 14mm, TV Delite 13mm or Pentax XF 12mm. All are very comfortable to observe with, I also wear glasses. Those focal lengths work nicely for planets on a typical night. If you seeing is great you could go with lower focal lengths: Pentax XW 10mm, TV Delite 9mm, Pentax XF 8.5mm.

They also work nicely for other targets, DSOs, comets, doubles, etc.

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:51 pm
by JayTee
I recently acquired the Pentax SMC XW eyepieces (7, 10, 14, & 20mm). They are an excellent match for my C11.
  • The lunar/planetary views are superb.
  • Fainter galaxies and pneb's pop out just a bit brighter with these EPs.
  • Globs and Opens sparkle.
The AFOV is just right and the eye relief is more than adequate. You can't go wrong with these EPs. These are by far my best set of EPs.

Cheers,

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:26 am
by ic_1101
Thx guys for those suggestions. I think I’ll go with the TeleVue Delite 9 and the Pentax SW 14.
Those two should cover good seeing as well as the average to poor seeing we get around here most of the time.
Cheers
Alex

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:01 pm
by Bigzmey
ic_1101 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:26 am Thx guys for those suggestions. I think I’ll go with the TeleVue Delite 9 and the Pentax SW 14.
Those two should cover good seeing as well as the average to poor seeing we get around here most of the time.
Cheers
Alex
Both EP lines, Pentax XW and TV Delite are great, can't go wrong with either (or both :)).

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Tue May 23, 2023 4:16 pm
by Don Pensack
ic_1101 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:20 pm Hi all! Being mainly an AP imager I have only a few eyepieces for visual use (20&30mm). Lately my grandkids have shown an interest in viewing the planets (Saturn, Jupiter) using my EdgeHD11.
I need some advice as to which eyepiece would give the best views. Eye relief is also an issue as I wear glasses. Your help would be much appreciated.

Alex
The planets won't be back in a good position for observing by little kids for a while (maybe Venus, though).
But in that size scope, a decent magnification that shows the planets well and doesn't have issues with seeing conditions would be in the 170-200x range.
That is 14-16mm.
So I suggest a few possibilities for glasses use:
Baader Morpheus 14mm.
TeleVue Delite 15mm
TeleVue Delos 14mm
Pentax XW 14mm
StellaLyra 14mm 80°
Founder Optics 14mm 80°
Another advantage is that that focal length would also mate well with your 20mm and 30mm as a logical increase in magnification.
For additional magnifications beyond, you could use a 2X Barlow on the 20mm and 14-15mm.

I see you made a couple smart choices. You'll be set when the planets come around again.

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Wed May 24, 2023 7:03 pm
by JayTee
Hi Alex,

At Don's recommendation, I purchased 4 Pentax XWs (7, 10, 14, & 20 mm). They all are wonderful EPs for my C11. They provide a bright crisp image edge to edge. I highly recommend them.

Cheers,

Re: Eyepiece for EdgeHD11

Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 11:41 pm
by OzEclipse
Lot's of good recommendations already posted.

My 18" f5.5 has a 2500mm focal length, not that different to the Edge 11.

For planet observing all these eyepieces give me excellent views

FL....Brand............Mag........Frequency of use (as limited by seeing at my site)
21mm Denkmeier....119 X.........Most nights
17mm Nagler.........147 X.........Most nights
14mm Denkmeier...178 X.........Most nights
10mm Pentax XW....250 X.........moderately often
7mm Nagler...........357 X.........Handful of nights in past 6 years
5mm Pentax XW......500 X.........still waiting for "that night" :lol:

I have only owned the Pentax XW’s for 2 years and the 5mm was primarily purchased to use with my 6" f7 reflector. In those 2 years, no nights during planet season have allowed it to be used on the 18". I agree with others that a good eyepiece that yields magnifications 170-230x is the most used for planets. A short focal length is less frequently used.

Joe