Good entry level zoom - Celestron 8-24mm 1.25" Zoom Eyepiece for 1 1/4-in Celestron Telescopes 93230

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 this as your only eyepiece, but I do find it a useful addition to my eyepiece case and the price is very reasonable. It's the type of eyepiece I like to use when taking a first look - or a quick look - at an object. By zooming in and out I find approximately what size eyepiece will frame my subject best, as well as how much power a particular object can stand under the seeing conditions of that instant.
Pros: price, acceptable performance
Cons: some kidney beaning, little mechanical roughness, small field of view

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.