Reviews - Celestron 8-24mm 1.25" Zoom Eyepiece for 1 1/4-in Celestron Telescopes 93230 Reviews - CI-TA-93230

Author: Hawks53 (verified customer) , Skywatcher, from Ramona, OK on Jan 7, 2009
Pros:  Works Great
Cons:  None that I can find
Would recommend:  yes

Hawks53 wrote:

This lens makes using both my scopes a real pleasure. Don't have to keep swapping lens.

Author: Clay1993 (verified customer) , Two months astronomy experience., from Ocean Springs, MS on Feb 9, 2008
Pros:  Works as advertised. Virtually parfocal throughout.
Cons:  Eyeguard too rigid for my taste.
Would recommend:  yes

Clay1993 wrote:

For the price, this is a great eyepiece. The eyepiece operates smoothly and stablely, you actually twist the large checkered part of the eyepiece. Excellent for beginner refractor-type scopes or a scope where changing eyepieces can cause vibrations or field-of-view (FOV) movement. Eliminates the problem of targets moving out of FOV when changing eyepieces, a frustration for beginners. Timesaving. Virtually parfocal throughout entire range, a very slight focus adjustment is all needed from 24-8mm. Eyeguard actually is on the piece, which is flipped down in the picture, and not really mentioned in specifications. Eyeguard is a little too rigid for my taste, (as compared with the Meade Series 4000 eyepieces). Functionally, the eyeguard does block out neighbors' lights and other such annoyances. Overall, great buy, good quality, and a good alternative for someone considering purchasing a more expensive set of eyepieces in this size range. Hey, if this is a gift for someone who 'might' ...
Read full review / Buy this product

Author: Num1machinist (verified customer) from Everett Pa on Sep 21, 2007
Pros:  Replaces many seperate eyepieces.
Cons:  A little loose internally.
Would recommend:  yes

Num1machinist wrote:

This eyepiece even works great with a 3x Barlow.

Author: DanielL from Chicago,IL on Jul 30, 2007
Would recommend:  yes

DanielL wrote:

This is a great eye-piece. It can't be used to view absolutly everything and doesn't work on all zooms, but combine this eyepeice with your other ones, and you get a great set! I reccoamnd this eyepeice without a second thought! :P

Author: Greg (verified customer) , Amateur astronomer for 50 years and regularly give observing lessons. Own a dozen scopes ranging from 60mm rafractor to 15-inch computer guided reflector., from Westport, MA on Jul 28, 2007
Pros:  price, acceptable performance
Cons:  some kidney beaning, little mechanical roughness, small field of view
Would recommend:  yes

Greg wrote:

I think eyepieces of a fixed focal length still outperform zoom eyepices, but the differences can be small and the zoom is great for getting a quick feel for what power to use on a particular object, for giving you a sense of approaching the object in a spaceship, and for providing the ability to zoom out and recapture the object if it drifts out of a tight, high-power field of view. They're also simply a lot easier to use than switching from one eyepiece to another and/or adding barlow lenses. The Celestron delivers these typical zoom advantages. But it also has typical zoom disaadvantages. The apparent field of view at low power is a miserly 40 degrees. It's difficult to know exactly what power you are using at any instant and the performance falls off in terms of sharpness, brightness, and contrast from a comparably-priced, single-focal length eyepiece. I noticed some kidney beaning - some of the time - with the Celestron which is an irritant. Bottom line: I would not recommend ...
Read full review / Buy this product