Celestron Nexstar Plossl 40mm

Having took a year out of astronomy the bug just wouldnt go away. So along came the 80 f5 skywatcher to get me back observing properly. I remembered the view through the 32mm nexstar plossl with my orion optics 150 f5 and when i saw the 40mm on ebay i bought it very cheaply. I know that technically speaking an exit pupil of 8mm is a waste of light for my eye but there is a good reason for having this eyepiece. Anyone who has the 80f5 eq1 setup will understand the balance issues, all of the heavy stuff ( rack, focuser, eyepiece , 6x30 finderscope, stardiagonal, barlow?) cause the tube to be very back heavy with some people only using one tube ring to balance the scope. This eyepiece provides a nice 10 times magnification and you can do away with the finder alltogether! Saving weight at the back of the scope and helping the balance. As for use as an eyepiece i must admit there is a slight sensation that you are looking through a tunnel but the image quality is bright and stars are sharp. M31 M32 M110 fit easily in the view , M13 jumps out of the sky as a messier smudge, this is what makes it good as a finder eyepiece , no mistakeing messiers. In fact M57 even makes itself noticed at this power. Through the day the image is incredibly bright and detailed , vains on leaves and midges dancing round in the view! On the negitive side it is fussy about where your eye is positioned but i dont find it a problem. Build quality is great with this ep , i certainly felt i got a lot for my 14 pounds! Nice rubber grip so handling is a breeze in the dark. This eyepiece even came with the big threaded plastic ep containers , bargain!! Overall it is a great eyepiece , not one that i would sell on. But it is a case of right i have a 40mm dont need to upgrade it and would not spend a lot to get one. I suggest getting a second hand one , people wont bid a lot on them for fear of the "exit pupil being to big" Go on be a rebel and buy a 40mm Eyepiece! Just expect funny faces being pulled when you happen to mention it to hardcore astro purists.

Pros

• A LOT of ep for your money
• big window to look in and big eyerelief
• low power finder substitute!
• nice image quality bright , sharp
  

Cons

• you are going against the rules technically
• eye position fussy
  

Rating

7/10