New Scope, need Eye Pieces and Camera Mount

nagelxj · Guest

I just bought a Meade LX50 10" telescope with wedge and Magellan II and 2" diagonal. The guy said he recommended a 2" 12mm and 32mm eyepiece. He had these and said thats all he used. Are these good for planets (12mm) and wider objects such a galaxies, nebula, etc (32mm)? If so, or not, what two 2" eye pieces would you recommend? My price range is $400 total.

As for the camera mount, what do I need to mount a Canon EOS 40D? I saw a 2" EOS adapter for $80 somewhere, are they really better than a T mount? With the T-Mount what would I need?

Thanks

Mark Nagel

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5022

Hi

You can certainly use those eyepieces, but you can also add others. Your choice of eyepiece depends on what type of object you are trying to observe, what magnification you want, how wide a field of view you want, the eye relief you want or need, how sharp you want at the edge, your personal preferences, what eyepieces you have now and much more.

I generally recommend a range of magnifications in the low, medium and high range and do not recommend more than 200-225x as a maximum for for even a large scope like yours. Usually, three eyepieces or two eyepieces and a barlow will do as a minimum Use high magnifications for the moon and planets, but keep magnifications on the low side for nebuale, star clusters and galaxies.

For a discussion on how to set up and use your telescope, see my article at [url=For a discussion on how to set up and use your telescope, see our article at Telescope FAQs, http://www.opticsplanet.net/telescope-faq.html]Telescope FAQs[/url]

Before you go down the astrophotography road, make sure you have the correct type of mount. If your mount is not motorized, add motors or forget astrophotgraphy and you should also add a wedge if you can find one for that older mount. Also, I strongly recommend you learn the basics of telescopes and astronomy before trying your hand at astrophotography. Adding any EOS, film or digital, to any telescope is simply a matter of a couple of adapters. On any SCT, use a basic t-adapter and add a t-ring for an EOS.
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