Hi Paul - While I do agree with Patrick's cautions, I have an 8" Nexstar myself and can tell you about some of the eyepieces I like with it. I have a few of the Ultimas (35mm, 24mm, 7.5mm). The 35mm is a nice eyepiece, but I don't use it that much. It's a little hard to get and hold an image--almost too much eye relief. The 24mm was discontinued. Too bad. It's actually a very nice eyepiece. Comfortable to use and good magnification for lots of moderate-field stuff. The 7.5mm is a great eyepiece in the N8 (about 270 power), but you can only use it on nights with very good seeing. But it's nice and crisp. I've also got an Ultima Barlow which gets rave reviews, but can be a little snug on some eyepiece barrels. Some months ago, I bought a 19mm Axiom. It's a Celestron eyepiece with a 70-degree AFOV (compared to 50 degrees on the Ultimas). It's a comparatively inexpensive substitute for the Televue Panoptics. The central third of the field is very sharp, while the image gets a bit streaky toward the edges (this is where the Panoptics win). Still, it's one of my favorite eyepieces in the N8. Screw on an O3 or UHC filter and M42 is beautifully framed. I also have a Televue 11mm Plossl. On most nights, this will get you about the most magnification the scope can deliver. It's good for lunar and gas giant viewing. And of course I keep a few junk Plossls for star parties. But you know, those Celestron Plossls that you bought with the scope are pretty darned good eyepieces. While they don't give you that spacewalk field of view, they're sharp and have good contrast. Are you keeping the scope in collimation? That makes an enormous difference. Hope this is useful information. Michael On Feb 27, 2004, at 9:43 PM, Paul C Johnson wrote:
I am looking to upgrade my eyepiece collection this year. Last year, I bought an 8" Nexstar. I love it so far but I bought the set of eyepieces that came with it for an extra $100. I am starting to think these eyepieces aren't going to give me very good images. I was wondering if anyone would be able to recommend a better alternative to me. I am a bit poor, especially after buying the Nexstar, and am looking for some nice mid range type of eyepiece. I have considered the Meade 4000 and Celestron Ultima eyepieces.
Any recommendations out there?
Thanks,
Paul.