Ultra Low Power Svbony 40 mm Plossl Eyepiece

Svbony have kindly sent me their 40mm Plossl to have a look at and at 40 mm it's about the lowest power you can go when it comes to eyepiece focal length. So why on earth would you need such low power/magnification for astronomy?
Well the answer may just be the solution to one of the more common frustrations beginners get when learning to use a telescope.
PLEASE NOTE:
I DO NOT GET PAID IN ANY WAY TO REVIEW PRODUCTS THE AGREEMENT I HAVE WITH ANY SUPPLIER IS THEY JUST SEND ME THE PRODUCTS FOR FREE AND I GIVE YOU GUYS MY HONEST OPINION. I WILL NEVER FEATURE ANYTHING THAT I THINK WONT BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU MY AMAZING AUDIENCE... Thanks for watching folks see you on the next one.
Svbony 40mm Eyepiece: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0747MPC1...
Svbony Store: www.amazon.co.uk/svbony

[@rik94sivie]

I follow you from 2021 and never missed a video since then. I never stopped learning and seeing your channel growing is making extremely happy. Hope you the best, Jason!

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, That's great to hear. Thank you so much for your support I really do appreciate it. Best wishes my friend.

[@artyombeilis9075]

Few points: 1. Also you mentioned that it may be too low - you can reach easily lowest useful magnification and very large exit pupil so you'll start using some light - so you need to make sure that aperture divided by magnification doesn't pass 7mm - and even better around 5mm in case your pupils aren't fully dilated 2. If you compare it to something like Redline 20mm/68deg or Aspheric 23mm/62deg you still get about 85% or 89% of this plossl field of view but much higher magnification. And if you observe open clusters more magnification vastly improves the contrast of the object (by dimming all but pinpoint light sources)

[@tuunaes]

Usually the easiest and fastest way to get exit pupil is divide eyepiece focal length by telescope's focal ratio. That way you can skip need to calculate magnification.

[@oninoyakamo]

Despite having an Apparent Field of View in the low 40-degrees, 40mm is basically max True-Field in a 1.25" Eyepiece. Same TFoV, but higher power and wider AFoV can be achieved in 32mm Plossls, or 24mm Wide-fields though, so it's a matter of preference. I'd still recommend this 40mm for ETX-125 or 8" SCT users, as it's a comfortable 50x at their focal lengths

[@k.h.1587]

In the case of the c8 you are better off with a 2" diagonal and a 40mm superwide or 55-56mm plossl

[@RoderickSpoke]

Brilliant information for us beginners . Thank you .

[@paullewis7818]

Really interesting and enjoyable video Jason, thank you.

[@jonathanr2830]

Thank you very much for this and your many other excellent presentations! You obviously enjoy the fun and know what you are talking about; and that is great for anyone wanting to learn about this fascinating and often tricky hobby that we love. I, too, am a big fan of SvBony (or Svbony?). I have previously purchased several fine products from them, and just today purchased this 40mm Plössl eyepiece from them as a Christmas gift for a friend's young child. I am certain that for many years it will bring many hours of fun and beautiful awe in combination with a new refractor that one of Santa's helpers secretly told me will soon be under the family Christmas tree. I am now certain that I will also purchase one for myself for the occasion of my birthday in a few months. You have confirmed for me that it will be a good one that I will use extensively. Thanks, again! All the best from East Texas!

[@buckbrown823]

Great appreciation for these videos. At a minimum, they sum up the common sense. They are also very informative to "us that did not know."

[@vincentscott6168]

I am a newbie and learning so much from you. My go to site. Thanks.

[@richardrojas6306]

I love your wealth of knowledge and how you share it with all of us. Thank you for the explanation on this eyepiece.

[@smalloptics753]

Thank you and you're more than welcome my friend.

[@mbrforza4601]

My 30mm is my favourite one..takes in such a wide view 👍..I agree the lower power eye pieces are good for centering...just recently got into astronomy ..love it👍

[@allancopland1768]

I have both the 40 and 25mm Svbony eyepieces. They are great value for money. I like them a lot.

[@rik94sivie]

Also big up for the Facebook group, lovely guys always helpful. I lost count on how many times I solved many stuff I was struggling on

[@ronm6585]

Thanks for sharing. 👍🏻

[@lornaz1975]

I have that eyepiece and it is surprisingly good!

[@Harutjun]

good tips man thanks

[@matiasyelmini4226]

This awesome review just made me order one of those

[@stanleybest8833]

That super wide eyepiece would just give me a big center shadow. I doubt it's steel. Black dyed anodized aluminum. Nice workmanship, again.

[@A0111.]

This shadow is most likely your scope's secondary mirror. Is your scope a Newtonian? What focal lengths is it?

[@stanleybest8833]

@@A0111. 114/500

[@dickwallace8567]

I just ordered one! It'll be here tomorrow. Your videos helped me find some globular clusters, the ring and lagoon nebula but I have trouble getting them into view. Hopefully this eyepiece will make it easier. It took me almost an entire hour trying to get the Andromeda galaxy into view the other night but I was new to EQ mounts. Thanks to your EQ mount video I can handle it with ease now. Thanks!

[@clivecanzy61]

Had this eyepiece for about 8 months now and I can confirm everything you said about it is true,it’s always the first eyepiece I reach for when I set up my telescope,loving the vlogs as always,clear skies.Clive.

[@oninoyakamo]

Curious what your telescope's focal length is

[@brenthann2623]

i have this eyepiece and i love it. i bought it thinking i would use it for deep space but, i use it as a first eyepiece for finding targets. i can center the object and then go lower a step at a time. newbie problems. P.S. another great video for us beginners.

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, thank you my friend. Yes they make great 'finder' eyepieces.

[@10intexas]

I bought one of these to use at star parties as a "finder" on my C9.25. It turns out this is virtually the only EP I use. It is really a very, very good eyepiece for a paltry $20. Jupiter it so clear and bright I use a mid range moon filter to get contrast and detail and to see the cloud bands more clearly. The Orion nebula really pops in this inexpensive EP. Best $20 I have spent on Amazon.

[@Jewellerybybarrie]

Great little video as usual. I have the 40 and the 20 and they are both great eyepieces.. I usually only study the moon so they are a great size for this. I find anything smaller, like the 6.5 that came with my scope to be too grainy to see details.

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, thank you my friend.. Agreed. The moon looks stunning at low to moderate power and even looks great through bino's.

[@zeroalpha7755]

I have the Celestron 40mm plossl i use on my Celestron C6, i love that eyepiece. My two main eyepieces i use is the 40mm and the celestron 25mm xcel lx and very occasionally i will use my 12mm or 9mm xcel lx for planets.

[@geoffreyevans1549]

Thankyou Jason-you've sold me i'm getting one!

[@smalloptics753]

Your welcome Geoffrey enjoy it my friend.

[@jons2447]

Hello, Jason; I have a 32mm Plossl I bought just for this purpose. I looked at the formulas, did the math, & decided 32mm would be the 'optimum' for low power viewing. In a 750mm fl Orion StarBlast 6 I get about 23x & huge fields of view. Any longer & I'd lose some light so that's why I choose 32mm. (Exit pupil formula = Aperture / Magnification = Exit Pupil, 150/24 = 6.25) Old guys lose some pupil diameter so I figured a 6.25 exit pupil would likely lose less light. Thus the 32mm. It so big sometimes I have to back away from the objective to focus on a target. I think mine is a Solomark. It's become my most often used eyepiece because it is a good 'finder' eyepiece. Have a GREAT day, & clear skies.

[@oninoyakamo]

It's important that people know that there is a range of functional eyepieces for each telescope, dependent on their aperture and focal length. Anything outside that range will prove a disappointment to a purchaser who hasn't done the math

[@smalloptics753]

Thank you for your great comment I respect your knowledge and advice my friend.

[@jackieblank4249]

@@oninoyakamo Thanks for the info. I may be better off with a 32mm in my 6 inch reflectors. I don't want to go too low and not be happy with it.

[@oninoyakamo]

@@jackieblank4249 If your scopes are f/5, then a 40mm would produce a lot of wasted light. If they're f/8 Dobsonians, then 40mm is fine

[@tuunaes]

@@oninoyakamo Except that 40mm still doesn't make sense: For picking up details from nebulous objects 2mm exit pupil is kept as best balance between image brightness and image magnification/size. And for getting the widest view, 40mm is useless because 32mm Plössl gives equally wide view. So only thing 40mm achieves is "moving farther away from TV" and making image smaller and details harder to distinguish.

[@donloughrey1615]

Good. 👍

[@ogshotglass9291]

Just ordered this eyepiece to use in my Celestron TS70. It is the absolute lowest useful power on the telescope at 10x. (400÷40=10; 70mm÷10=7mm exit pupil, right at the max.) Looking forward to being able to look at M31, M81, and M82 with this.

[@tuunaes]

Andromeda Galaxy will look small at such hyper low magnification. And M81 and M82 will be closer to fuzzy stars than objects with size. (kind of like how Orion Nebula M42 is for naked eye) 32mm Plössl would have been better with little more magnification, but equally wide view. For nebulous objects you can go down to 2mm exit pupil giving magnification to squeeze out details. At that point image brightness starts getting simply too low countering bigger image size making it easier for eye to distinguish weaker details. (eye's low light scotopic vision has low resolution for low contrast details)

[@kevinoverbeck4250]

I have smaller scopes ( 6" and 90mm ), and I went with the 32mm instead of the 40mm. I use it and my Celestron Zoom every time I got out.

[@nekite1]

Nice video! You've convinced me into getting one of these, if only to make finding targets easier. For the price, it's a no-brainer.

[@oninoyakamo]

What is your telescope's focal length?

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, Yes they are great for finding targets and brilliant for things like star clusters and brighter deep sky targets.. Hope you enjoy your new eyepiece my friend.

[@nekite1]

@@oninoyakamo I have two scopes - a 150 mm f5 reflector and a 127mm f12 maksutov.

[@oninoyakamo]

@@nekite1 A 40mm will give you an 8mm exit pupil on your Reflector. Too big. Try a 32mm Plossl instead for max field on both scopes, and 50x on your Mak

[@ericfrizzell2450]

Hi Jason I have a 40mm celestron omni plossl and love it.i use this more with my longer focal length scopes for lower power options well clear skys!!!

[@k.h.1587]

The omni is significantly better than the svbony

[@Mike197245]

I'm thinking of buying this eyepiece. It would be used with a 650mm focal length, 130mm diameter (f/5) Newtonian, giving a magnification of 16.25. My concern is that at such a low power the secondary mirror might become visible so degrading the image quality. I'd be interested to know if anyone has had a problem with this. Great video as always.

[@robertsonsid]

Research minimum magnification on Newtonian telescopes.

[@markmorris8385]

I've tried. It doesn't work. You need a 36mm or less

[@edufau815]

I don't have that one specifically but I do own other brand eyepieces and I can attest that the optical and mechanical construction is good for the cost. In the most common focal lengths, between 600mm and 900mm, the visual field of the eyepiece would be between 2.5º and 1.7º. But I think it is important to note that it is not an eyepiece suitable for Newton reflectors below F/6, since the exit pupil becomes excessive and you will end up visualizing the central obstruction.

[@mikeh.8912]

Good point. I start seeing a shadow in my f/4.7 even with a 32mm when doing solar observing (but don't notice on darker objects). A 40mm would likely amplify the shadow considerably in a fast scope like mine. I mainly use these lower power EPs for finding stuff, then upping the magnification with a 25mm or more depending on what I'm looking at. They can be helpful at finding faint galaxies, though.

[@edufau815]

@@mikeh.8912 I agree, certainly increasing the focal length of the eyepiece will increase the exit pupil and also the blackout effect. As you say, perhaps it can be useful for locating diffuse objects due to its enormous field of vision, since on a dark background the darkening in the field can go more unnoticed, but I don't think it provides equally comfortable vision (in my opinion). In your case I think that a 28mm 2" can do your delight.

[@free2befree]

I used this eyepiece last night to show people the full moon. Simply beautiful viewing.

[@Spinalsembrace]

I ordered one today for 34 euro's on amazon. and it will be my first eyepiece i've bought ever! If i don't forget... i'll share my thoughts.

[@ThomDoonan]

Great review. I will probably get one of these to add to my collection. I can't find out the eye relief for this one though. Can you share with us that bit of information. Keep up the good work.

[@tuunaes]

Eye relief of Plössl is always ~2/3 of its focal length. All old designs like Kellner, Orthoscopic etc have eye relief in fixed relation to focal length, with ratio varying little, but with eye relief always shorter than focal length. And get 32mm Plössl instead. 40mm is nonsense eyepiece with 1.25" barrel crippling it and making only image smaller instead of wider, just like if you moved farther from monitor/TV.

[@stebecool]

It’s worth noting that if you go below your telescope’s minimum magnification, you will run into issues like having a black circle in the center of your view. This eyepiece wouldn’t be appropriate for a scope with a focal ratio less than about f/6 or so (don’t exceed 7mm exit pupil) or you’ll run into these issues. SVBony does make the same eyepiece in a 32mm that would work better on “fast” focal ratio scopes

[@user-ok4ks6ti3f]

ON DSO eye pieces you cane push it .5 mm over the 7. So take 7.5 and multiply it by your f/ratio will give you your max eye piece.Thats your mln. focal length. your right f/6 would be the slowest f/ratio I would go. nything between 7 and 7.5 will work for you. That my give you a choice between3 or 4 eye pieices.

[@user-ok4ks6ti3f]

Anything between 7 and 7.5 will work for you. The other error is.Thats your Max. focal length. This old lap top doesn't react as fast as it once did.Its like me slow and old 76y. But I can still get my 8 ln. and 14 in scope outside when called for. Love that 14, THATS my winter scope and early spring, After that the dew is just to heavy here on the east coast.Not to mention the foggggg.

[@johnmaguire5018]

Love this eyepiece I use it on an orion xt10 dobsonian and still love it over some 2 inch eyepieces

[@Boxxkarr]

It works well on a 10 inch Dobsonian?

[@tuunaes]

@@Boxxkarr Working and being good are very different things: For start 40mm Plössl makes most 10" Dobsons effectively 8" in aperture by wasting light, because of excessive exit pupil. Also because of 1.25" barrel being limiting factor it gives no wider true FOV than 32mm Plössl giving only smaller image. So it achieves only making stars dimmer/showing some stars less and making small image with harder to distinguish details.

[@k.h.1587]

​@@tuunaesbeat me to it

[@davidscobey7737]

Great video as usual. Why did you remove the last video you did, it was great and I bought the telescope you reviewed. Just wondering. Thanks for the videos.

[@pascalduquenne5947]

From France 😎👍

[@EdwardVivier]

I have the SVBONY 32mm and 40mm eyepieces for my 130mm Newtonian telescope. They do make finding things easier in the sky. Can you do a review on an entry level bino viewer (maybe Williams Optics)?

[@dhbull]

Hi is it possible to a indepth setup of a nexstar 130 slt if possible as I've yet to find one for beginners thanks for the videos there very informative.

[@hashtaglobotomy2655]

I have a 28,32,28 and a 40 and a 55 should be here sometime for my 8" newt. they say that over about 45 isn't real good for a larger newt but we shall see. i love there price to performance eyepieces. TONS of value here.

[@oninoyakamo]

If your Newt is an f/6 Dob, and you want maximum field in a 1.25mm EP, try a 24mm Wide-field for an immersive 50x view.

[@hashtaglobotomy2655]

@@oninoyakamo thanks for the reply but it's a 2 inch crayford on an 8" Orion skyquest xt8 plus on a custom wedge with a fine adjustment alt setup. I have a 42mm ultrawide at 86° fov that really looks good with a coma corrector and a lp filter. It's solid combo. I use a Sony imx 8mp guide scope to home in on what I want and to take a few photos now and then. With flak paper, a shield on the front, 140mm fan on the main mirror inside of a cover over the mirror...it sure does look pretty when you get the views dialed in. Kinda excited to see how bad the 55 is. It has a bout an 80° fov. Not that I need it but I figured what the heck, I got a couple bucks to spare this month. Oh almost forgot. It's an f5.9

[@oninoyakamo]

@@hashtaglobotomy2655 Interesting. What brand are these Eyepieces?

[@yardsaleuw3075]

I use my cell phone mounted to my finder scope with stellarium app opened. And use my 32mm to find what I'm looking for.

[@mikebrown9902]

Funnily enough I bought this eyepiece prior to seeing your video. New for £20.99 delivered from Dark Skies Ltd which seems a bit of a bargain

[@Lordenzus]

So I just came from the basics eyepiece video. I have the 10 mm and another 20 mm erecting eyepiece coming with the telescope. Xmas is coming so I will get each memeber of the family to get one for me one xD 6mm, 17 mm and the 40 mm. I will get myself the barlow (1.5x) and the filters. I like a lot the Omni ones but still investigating. Thanks a lot!!

[@sharpthingsinspace9721]

Have an Orion 40 mm for 20 years, great eyepiece for my Orion 80 mm short tube but a flood destroyed that so I got an SVbony 80 mm telescope. Very impressive views with that combination.

[@Cheapass-tro]

I love my 32mm Plossl for the same reasons. Can't go as low as 40mm with my scope.

[@typhoonrider3733]

Hello. Would this be suited for a 102mm 1250mm FL Maksutov? What would I be able to see with it? I'm thinking of adding an eyepiece. I only have a 25mm, 12.3mm and 2x barlow. Thanks for your videos. They are very informative and helpful. Cheers!

[@lucasmorawetz4934]

I wouldn't even need a low powered eyepiece to find objects because my finderscope has an accuracy, so i can use about 400x magnification, and if it's in the finderscope it will be in the telescope

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

40mm 48 degrees F.O.V. lets you see the inside end of your 1.25" focussing tube. 40 degrees is the maximum viewable angle for a 40mm and is the best choice.

[@k.h.1587]

43 degrees, if televue specs at 43deg, the 43 and 44deg 40 plossls are the max. A 48deg 40mm is impossible in 1.25. The 35mm ultima was 49 degrees and was the max. 40 degrees is more like a kellner and those didn't give the max field

[@hmuphilly9129]

I always wondered why SVBONY does have low cost eye pieces. I do have their zoom one its pretty sturdy

[@tuunaes]

They don't have bigger company structure to carry, buy eyepieces directly from factories and sell straight from Asia. Usually eyepieces might come to shop through distributor taking their profit margin, with also branding company in between distributor and factory/actual manufacturer. That's Celestron Meade etc eyepieces are such with also big brand adding brand extra. Shop brands bought directly from factories are better priced. Meade 5000 PWA is brand overpriced version of Astrotech etc UWAs.

[@seasonsdigital439]

What’s your opinion of zoom eye pieces?

[@entropytango5348]

Sweet but I prefer the Panoptic 35 as a good standard low power EP

[@10intexas]

Who would not prefer a $430 35mm TeleVue Panoptic over a $21 eyepiece. I have a Panoptic and to be frank the price difference is way to much. If the Panoptic had not been gifted to me I would never have acquired one after I got a peak through one of these.

[@TheSamBaltazar]

Thanks for another great video, Jason! Just a quick question, would this be suitable for an f/5 reflector with 150mm aperture?

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, thank you and you're more than welcome my friend. Even though I've not tried it with a f/5 I would say yes.. I tested it with a f/ 6.9 f/10 and a f/4.2 and it worked great with all scopes so I can't see why it shouldn't in a f/5.

[@TheSamBaltazar]

@@smalloptics753 Cool. The Svbony store in my area will be having a sale in a couple of days so I might get one of these. More power to your channel and thanks for your time to respond to my question. ☺️

[@kirtimodakwar2062]

Can I attach this to my celestron powerseeker60az telescope?

[@deanblackwell2090]

I had akways thiught my 26mm 52° was about the longest focal length EP I"d ever need

[@paganphil100]

I've just ordered my first Plossl, a 32mm which will give me a magnification of just over 40X with my 1300mm focal-length Maksutov.

[@smalloptics753]

Enjoy my friend😃

[@philwalker2265]

Hi Just a quick question, we have a Skywatcher 150p which came with a few eye pieces, 25, 15 and a 6 plus a barlow x2. Which make of upgraded eyepieces would you recommend that will jot break the ban? Thanks

[@tuunaes]

What's the precise telescope model? "Tabletop" Heritage 150p Dobson, full size Classic/Skyliner 150p Dobson, or some equatorially mounted OTA? Focal length or focal ratio is needed to tell what eyepiece work well. (in fact focal ratio alone would be enough to tell what eyepieces would work)

[@jackieblank4249]

Nice tip there Jason. Does the green coating make for better viewing or does it depend on seeing conditions. The price seems good. May get one.

[@ogshotglass9291]

The green coating does make for better viewing. What it does is it cuts down on light loss due to reflections inside and out of the lens

[@smalloptics753]

Thank you my friend... Exactly what @ogshotglass9291 says... It can also be referred to as anti reflective coating which helps with contrast

[@sotiristriantoulis209]

would a focal length reducer (like a 0.5 paired with a 20mm eyepiece) achieve the same thing or do you find that the individual eyepieces are better?

[@edufau815]

Reducers are generally used more in deep sky astrophotography. In any case, any element that you add to the optical train is susceptible to introducing aberrations in the visualization. The same happens with focal extenders (usually Barlow lenses), if they are not of a certain quality, it is better to refuse them, but if they are of quality they can be very useful. If you have a good reducer and a Plössl 20mm I suppose that the final result when observing it will be comparable to doing it with this 40mm.

[@ADF_Cable]

Thanks mate! I thought the 40mm would be in a 2 inch mount? I've got a 30mm gso plossl and it's a 2 inch, would this be a wider view with the narrower barrel?

[@tuunaes]

That GSO SuperView isn't Plössl, but Erfle/some variation. Also widest view 1.25" eyepiece can give is fair 35% narrower that that GSO 30mm SuperView. And 40mm Plössl would be double bad, because it would also make that crippled narrower view still smaller.

[@canbayram87]

I got a 1000 mm 114mm aperture reflector just about two months ago and I try to watch all your videos because you teach nicely and give good tips. My question is I have 25mm and 10mm stock eyepieces. I am considering upgrading to this one as my first upgrade. I really wonder how it will change my vision

[@tuunaes]

Uhh, that specification combo doesn't sound good... Is telescope tube roughly that 1000mm long? If half of that, it's scam design (especially Celestron makes many such) with rejects dumpster quality optics and you won't ever get high magnification views. Unless it's Cassegrain/variation with focuser in tube's rear, tube of reflector is always roughly as long as focal length. 32mm Plössl gives the widest view you can get from 1.25" eyepieces. 24mm 68° AFOV would be another widest possible view, but at higher magnification. (bigger image like having monitor/TV closer) 40mm Plössl only makes for small image like moving farther from monitor/TV.

[@canbayram87]

Yea it is roughly 50 cm long with focuser on front like Jason is showcasing in background in his videos. I know it is not perfect but I was thinking of making it somewhat better. Well I understood that 40 mm wouldn’t make my day anyway. Gotta try out a 32mm perhaps. Thanks for the info

[@tuunaes]

@@canbayram87 There's no way to fix its problem, except if you get some optical engineering shop to custom design and make spherical aberration correcting lens set for it and you can guess how much that would cost. So you're stuck at max magnifications somewhere below 100x instead of being able to push toward 200x magnification. Replacing primary mirror with proper parabolic one would also likely need replacing secondary mirror with bigger one.

[@canbayram87]

@@tuunaes but what do you suggest then? Throw away the whole telescope?

[@tuunaes]

@@canbayram87 Use it for low/medium magnifications. Untill you can buy telescope not made as scam, if you want to observe Moon and planets. Though for deep sky 114mm is small aperture.

[@PhilW222]

Nice video. I have an SVBony 23mm lens with 62 degree field of view, so the net field of view would, I believe, be similar to this 40mm lens, just spread out more, so would this 40mm lens still be of value to me? I have a 130mm x 900mm Skywatcher tekescope.

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there , I think adding to your eyepiece collection always has value to it. Having more viewing options is always a bonus.

[@PhilW222]

@@smalloptics753 many thanks for your reply.

[@TheOpticalFreak]

Is it really made out of steel?!

[@bradwyatt7507]

Just got it on Amazon for $20

[@renegadebt1374]

That's really weird, I am getting up there in the years, And getting back into the hobby I picked up 2 2nd. hand scopes about a year a go...1 is a Meade 4400, and the other is a Celestron Powerseeker 127 EQ, The 127 eq came with 1 eyepiece, A 20mm. Witch has a good eye relief. And the Meade came with a bag of junk eyepieces I find myself having a rough time with some of the junker eyepieces, So last week I ordered This very eyepiece that you are talking about.. weird, lol Hoping that it will help on the eye relief issue .. I was wondering if you could point me in direction on a line of good eye relief eyepieces.. Thank you for your time and input on this matter.. And a big thanks for the brilliant videos, Everything I have questions for you have there in your list of videos... And for that I Thank you good sir.. Wishing you all clear skies, ✌

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there friend, LOL! Like the phone ringing and it's the person you were about to ring🤣.... At the moment I'm really liking the Svbony red line they are about £45 each or about £140 for a set of four a 6 9 15 & 20mm they have a 68 degree fov and a generous 17 mm e/r ... Here's the enormous Amazon link for you so you know what to look for. Happy eyepiece buying my friend. Clear skies. www.amazon.co.uk/Svbony-Eyepieces-Telescope-Accessories-Astronomical/dp/B07B8KVX7G/ref=asc_df_B07B8KVX7G/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309924713643&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2349330877230752124&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046387&hvtargid=pla-564220839758&psc=1

[@renegadebt1374]

@@smalloptics753 Just a little update to the new 40mm eyepiece, I got it in 2 days ago, And of corse as usual, we have had cloud cover sense.. Lol Wishing you all clear skies.. ✌

[@k.h.1587]

I think it is a little better to spend a little more on a name brand or known generic version of the same and get the full 43-44deg. Svbony plossls are noticeably inferior to GSO and Synta made plossls

[@Deruzejaku]

The sharpness is nice, and it's bright enough, but it's annoying to use because it has very narrow field where you can actually look through it, you move a bit and you see black. Can't really compare it to another 40 mil so dunno if it's good for 40 mil or not, but my badder zoom is so much more comfy to look through, and has better contrast that it's kinda sad. Maybe someone more experienced would have some decent 40 mil to recommend, or maybe it's that it's just bad to use on my 130/900 newt?

[@tuunaes]

40mm Plössl is really semi-scam as design: 1.25" barrel size limits its true FOV to same as 32mm Plössl, and it only makes image smaller and details harder to distinguish. Along with lowering contrast between stars and background. 32mm is the longest focal length you'll want in 1.25" Plössl. Though as wide view could be gotten from 24mm Explore Scientific 68 with higher magnification and better contrast between stars and background.

[@Garmy1]

I do have a APM 120 binoscope would these Svbony be good with it

[@A0111.]

I doubt it's a good idea to use it with a binoscope, as It has very long eye relief, and the problem is to position your eye to a right spot in space relative to this eyepiece to see the whole field of view, as if you are getting closer or farther, left or right from this sweet spot, dark shadow appears and blocks the view - it's very confusing at night, as it's very hard to find this sweet spot, with the black shadow blocking black sky, and with a binoscope, I suppose it will be twice as difficult.

[@anthroknight]

Hi Jason, I'm returning to astronomy after a hiatus of 50 years! I've been catching up by scanning your site and am really thankful I've started there. I've just put a 130/900 Skywatcher telescope back together that I originally gave to my dad 18 years ago and he never used. Just figured out that somewhere along the way he'd lost the two eyepieces that came with it. You've said that a Plossl would be a great upgrade, so I was planning on getting a 20mm to start off. But then I watched your video on the SvBony UW eyepieces which seemed like really nice alternatives. So, is there any advantage with going the UW approach versus the Plossl approach? I was thinking of ordering the UW 20mm plus the SvBony 2X Barlow to get going what do you think? Cheers!

[@smalloptics753]

Hello there, I always recommend plossl's as a good budget upgrade but if you can afford something a little better then I would recommend the UW rang. They have a better F. O. V and eye relief. Plossl's usually have a 40° F. O. V as with the UW's that have 68°.... Which is a massive difference really.. The 20mm you mentioned is my go to eyepiece at the moment I think they are brilliant and also will work great with the 2x barlow.. Hope this helps with your decision.. Welcome back to the hobby my friend.

[@anthroknight]

@@smalloptics753 Hi Jason, thanks so much for your response. I'm a nut for constant analysis (my wife would say over-analysis) so I've spent the past few days trying to understand exactly what I'm looking at here, and have just decided to go along with your recommendation. If this the reignites the flame I had for astronomy in the 1960s, then eventually I'll look at better telescope alternatives - but when I compare even this entry-level Skywatcher with what was available to me back in the day (when I worked with a team of friends to grind our own 8" mirror!), it's hard to fathom how far we've come in affordable equipment! Thanks again, and keep up the excellent work!

[@tuunaes]

@@smalloptics753 Plössls have ~50° AFOV. (Apparent FOV) 40mm has smaller AFOV, because 32mm Plössl already maxes field stop fitting into 1.25" eyepiece, and as result is really no use focal length giving nothing over 32mm... Unless purpose is to make details harder to distinguish because of smaller image size. 68° is standard "super wide". Ultra wide is ~80° level AFOV.

[@A0111.]

I have this eyepiece, and I can’t recommend it, as I found it difficult to use. It has very long eye relief, and the problem is to position your eye to a right spot in space relative to this eyepiece to see the whole field of view, as if you are getting closer or farther, left or right from this sweet spot, dark shadow appears and blocks the view - it's very confusing at night, as it's very hard to find this sweet spot, with the black shadow blocking black sky.

[@Vic-pz5oh]

I was told there is no point in going beyond 32mm in 1.25".am I wrong Jason?

[@mikeh.8912]

Depends on the type and speed of the telescope. A faster Newtonian (

[@rogerhart5623]

Yeah yeah yeah yeah it's a 40 mm eyepiece, okay... But the question is, is this particular eyepiece any good?

[@10intexas]

In a word...yes.

[@seanflewin9803]

Are you sure its made of steel ? thats unusual

[@SRT-8]

40mm requires real dark sky, you can't use it in-city sky even with oiii filters

[@A0111.]

Depends on the scope, really. SCTs, Maks, RCs, or any small aperture scopes don't have this issue with 40mm eyepieces.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Does that higher brightness difficultly apply to any eyepiece with a big exit pupil, say a 7mm pupil with f/5.7 or a 6mm pupil with f/6.7 with a 40mm eyepiece? Would say an f/10 telescope be dark enough and not be affected by excessive brightness with that 40mm eyepiece (4mm pupil)? I am a beginner. (I would be able to view in good bortle class 4, almost class 3).

[@SRT-8]

@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 i don't quite understand your question. Can you explain what the issue you're facing ? What telescope are you using ? What eye pieces?

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

@@SRT-8 Thanks for replying. Is the 40mm brightness thing largely not relevant in a very long focal length telescope? With say a 670mm focal length with a 100mm aperture telescope, the 40mm eyepiece would give a magnification of 670/40 or x 16.75 with an exit pupil of 100mm/16.75 or *5.97mm.* This would be bright, presumably a real problem near an urban location. Please don’t laugh, I am a retired beginner with a LIDL-Bresser 70mm/900mm (f/12.85) telescope and I want to address the biggest drawbacks with a set of reasonable quality eyepieces and a more stable mounting. Its _lowest magnification_ is with a 20mm Kellner giving a quite dim _in daylight_ x 45 with a 70mm/45 or 1.56mm exit pupil. I plan to get a set of wide view eyepieces and that single plössl at 40mm. The 70/900 LIDL-Bresser is f/12.85, the 40mm eyepiece would give a pupil of 70mm/(900/40) or *3.1mm.* I would use it in a bortle 4-3 transition area most of the time, would that specific combination still be far, far too bright in/near a built-up area? I know there is true field of view overlap but for my _education_ I’d like that bright in daylight 40mm _but only 40 degree_ plössl *and* a wide view 23mm _but dimmer_ 62 degree ‘super wide angle’ Svbony. I plan to get shorter 66 and 68 degree eyepieces for up to x 100 magnification (not x 140 with the modest LIDL-Bresser). I might invest in an ED 100mm refractor later. I had ground a 6" for hobby killing Halley’s. Again thanks for kindly answering.

[@SRT-8]

@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Hi dear, if you mean the entire imagenis bright (you can't see most of stars) then its all about the Area you live in, city light cause light pollution which you describe as bright. You can overcome this issue by using filters like Wideband Filter or O3 Filter. The lens width doesn't matter. If you mean the object you're observing, is plurry (bright light coming from the planet, shift in colors, edges too shiny) then you may be using a low quality Refractor Telescope. You can switch to Reflector Telescope or a higher quality Reractor (High focal length, Know manufacturer..etc). Also the Lens size doesn't affect the brightness. If you get 40mm you will be able to see wider image, low power like 40mm is used for Deep space objects (outside the solar system) such as nebulae or can also be use as a Spotter for solar systems objects to easily find faint planets Hope that answer your question? 😇

[@tuunaes]

1.25" size 40mm Plössl is nonsense eyepiece: 1.25" barrel cripples it to precisely same true FOV as 32mm Plössl, while lower magnification makes details harder to distinguish. Just like if you moved farther away from monitor/TV...

[@antonytheolddog8626]

Hi mate, I feel a bit cheeky asking for advice, but I've been following your channel for awhile and just thought I'd ask anyway.. My question is. Which is the better Teliscope from. A celestron powerseeker 80AZS, which I've seen for about 150 quid. And this.. Slokeys 50080 skyway. Which I've seen in fleabay for around 170. Myself and my 7 year old lad, want to get into astronomy, a little more than the casual stargazers that we are .. I actually have a old 114m powerseeker but it's seen better days. I used to love astronomy as a kid, and want to get back into it, so I'm pretty much a novice but if anyone that reads this could offer me any advice I would appreciate it very much. Thanks folks..👍🏻👽

[@smalloptics753]

Hello Antony, to be honest I would dust off your old 114 powerseeker as that has got a lot more light grasp/aperture than the other two you mentioned. Out of the two though I would choose the Powerseeker80 because that has a better mount and tripod, but remember they wont give you any better views than the telescope you already have...

[@antonytheolddog8626]

Thanks for the reply, I've had a rethink and I may go for a heritage 130 flexitube DOB. I think it's gonna be a better start place for us. But I'll have to learn about collimation 😁 Thanks for the reply again, and I love the channel by the way.. Cheers.

[@antonytheolddog8626]

Hi mate, just letting you know, that I bought the heritage scope, and myself and the boy can't wait to see some stars..we do live south Manchester ish..so we will have to wait for a clear sky around here 😁 But thanks for the bit of advice pal..

[@smalloptics753]

@@antonytheolddog8626 Good choice, you'll have some fun with that.. Enjoy your new telescope my friend.