A: We regret that we do not make specific product comparisons and recommendations. There are too many variables that go into this - many of them highly subjective - so we refrain from this as a general rule. There are countless combinations of telescopes, eyepieces, cameras and accessories, and it is simply beyond the scope of any company or individual to have the specific input you are looking for.
If you have a product specific question, we will be happy to try and provide any quantitative information we can, but we will not comment on performance issues or comparison between products. Sometimes there is a genuine difference between products and you get what you pay for. In other instances, products may be identical and you pay for the brand. Also, it is not that we don't want to help, but we have fallen into trouble for doing this in the past.
Optical performance depends on how well the focal plane of a telescope, eyepiece or accessory match up. Very good individual products may simply not be compatible. This is often the case when you try and use a wide angle eyepiece in a fast telescope, or insert a focal reducer into the optical path. But perhaps most importantly, a lot of opinions and comments about performance are very personal and subjective. We've seen online comments where one person raved about a certain eyepiece at f/5, yet someone else was disappointed with the same eyepiece at f/8! What is "sharp" or "acceptable" to one person may not be so to another person, even if they use the same equipment.
The only way to know if a specific item works for you is to try it out yourself in your telescope. And we understand that this isn't always feasible. However, with the internet and the tons of information available online, it has never been easier to research such issues before. Read product reviews on our and other sites. We also recommend that you peruse the many discussions on these issues on forums like AstronomyConnect.com, Cloudy Nights, Astromart, etc. and make a choice based on the collective wisdom and feedback of others.
Again, we regret that we cannot give you the specific answers you want, but we're just being very honest. If there was a direct, quantitative answer, we would have given it to you. If there was a "best" eyepiece or camera or accessory, there would be no need for the many hundreds of items sold today in the astronomy market.
If you have a product specific question, we will be happy to try and provide any quantitative information we can, but we will not comment on performance issues or comparison between products. Sometimes there is a genuine difference between products and you get what you pay for. In other instances, products may be identical and you pay for the brand. Also, it is not that we don't want to help, but we have fallen into trouble for doing this in the past.
Optical performance depends on how well the focal plane of a telescope, eyepiece or accessory match up. Very good individual products may simply not be compatible. This is often the case when you try and use a wide angle eyepiece in a fast telescope, or insert a focal reducer into the optical path. But perhaps most importantly, a lot of opinions and comments about performance are very personal and subjective. We've seen online comments where one person raved about a certain eyepiece at f/5, yet someone else was disappointed with the same eyepiece at f/8! What is "sharp" or "acceptable" to one person may not be so to another person, even if they use the same equipment.
The only way to know if a specific item works for you is to try it out yourself in your telescope. And we understand that this isn't always feasible. However, with the internet and the tons of information available online, it has never been easier to research such issues before. Read product reviews on our and other sites. We also recommend that you peruse the many discussions on these issues on forums like AstronomyConnect.com, Cloudy Nights, Astromart, etc. and make a choice based on the collective wisdom and feedback of others.
Again, we regret that we cannot give you the specific answers you want, but we're just being very honest. If there was a direct, quantitative answer, we would have given it to you. If there was a "best" eyepiece or camera or accessory, there would be no need for the many hundreds of items sold today in the astronomy market.