Hi Troy and welcome. I couldn't respond to your post earlier but I have a couple of thoughts to share. Color in deep sky objects is rarely detectable in the eyepiece, although you may see some subtle pinks and/or blues in diffuse nebulae such as M8 (Lagoon Nebula) and M42 (great Orion Nebula), blue in some reflection nebulae such as the dust within M45 (Pleiades), and the blue-green of planetary nebulae such as NGC 7662 (the Blue Snowball) and NGC 6543 (the Cat's Eye Nebula). Scopes larger than your 8-inch may make it more likely to see such color, but the effect will always be difficult to see with direct visual observation. The grays that you report seeing are about all any of us see, but that's OK - it's just the nature of biology, the instruments we use, and the objects themselves. For many of us the hunt alone for "faint fuzzies" is much of the fun of the hobby. I've found that for most people, the view of many deep sky objects is underwhelming, at best. Outside of our own circle of friends and observers we rarely find anyone who can appreciate the barely detectable spiral structure of M51 or the challenge of finding a small obscure object in some remote corner of the sky. With experience and as you train your eye, you'll begin to see more detail and hints of color than you might see now. Newtonian scopes, especially, will need collimation from time to time. You might try Sky and Telescope's website for a detailed description and instructions: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/diy/3306876.html. I know nothing of Zhumell products, and they may be great, but a useful magnification of 479x is all but absurd. A realistic range under most conditions might be from 20x to 30x per inch of aperture. Anything over about 350x pushes the limit of even the largest professional instruments. On rare occasions they might use greater power; the operable word here is RARE. Using the formula that Chuck gave you can calculate the range of eyepieces that you might want to acquire. Years ago I began observing with nothing more than a 7mm orthoscopic and a 32mm Plossl. Shortly after I began using my first scope (10-inch Newtonian) I also added a 1.5x Barlow. As with most of us, over the years I've tried and acquired many eyepieces; I've kept some and got rid of others. Go to SLAS star parties and try out many eyepieces, at someone else's scope or someone might be willing to loan you the use of an eyepiece for a few minutes. Soon you'll know what other eyepiece sizes and designs will best suit your needs. If you go to star parties early enough, you'll see folks collimating their Newtonian scopes and get a better idea how to do yours. You will undoubtedly receive offers of assistance, and don't be afraid to ask. Good luck as you begin your journey through the cosmos. I hope soon to meet you at a star party. Goulash, Kim