Weird, I've just ordered one today.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/blog/baader-classic-ortho-plossl-review.html

I have a pair of 18mm BCO's for my bino, they are very good. They have 50° FOV but the last 7° off axis is mainly for target acquisition. They won't have huge eye relief though Ray.

 

You could get the 18mm BCO and use the TV 3x Barlow to make it a 6mm though. That way you could also make it a 9mm with a 2x Barlow as well.

I've also actually ordered a 5mm SW UWA. It will give me 180x in the Bazooka. It will save me Barlowing a 10mm or 15mm. Early on in a session, often lunar/planetary I like to start off around 130x, then slowly up the magnification to judge the conditions. Eventually I put the 2x Barlow or 2.5 Powermate and find a magnification I'm happy with and usually stick with it. It's time consuming with one arm though. I was observing Saturn yesterday at 128x but it wasn't until I went to 150x (AH ortho') that I saw Titan.



Now I've got a load of bolt cases I'm putting together a pick'n'mix selection for the Bazooka as a sort of grab'n'go. I spent well over 2 grand on expensive eyepieces (TeleVue, Baader, AH) for the Mak and the Big Cat convinced I couldn't use the Bazooka again. Virtually all the expensive eyepieces are housed in two EP cases which aren't conducive to grab'n'go lol. Although I'm limited with what I can observe with the Bazooka (low elevation/plane of the ecliptic) it is proving ideal for a quick planetary session and being over an inch bigger than my 102mm Mak is much better at light gathering.

 

I considered the 5mm X-Cel. Most people consider the 9mm to be the best of the series. The 5mm looks good though.

 

You should pretty easily get 240x on the Moon with your scope. I've always been able to get 300x with the Bazooka (60x per inch). It's not often that I have to drop down to 200x or less. It was 50/50 X-Cel or SW with me. I tossed a coin lol.

 

I think it's pot luck with a lot of eyepieces. I still can't believe I've had to return six borked 7mm eyepieces, especially the two DeLites. I mean, that's *extracting the urine on an industrial scale lol. You'll have to tell me what the 5mm X-Cel is like.

*A more polite version of a common British expression of disbelief.

 

We can only get luckier, surely lol. I've set the Bazooka up to try and catch Saturn again. They say it will be clear by 21:00 BST. I hope the clouds know this.

 

Well, the 5mm Sky-Watcher UWA and 6mm BCO have arrived.



So far they look fine and unborked!



Time will tell.

 

Budget AP my behind! You will soon be draining your bank account on this gadget or that gizmo. Good luck!

 

Have you thought of looking into Video-Astrophotography? It can be much less costly to do than AP itself. It can be done in such a way that you can stay indoors in the warm, with your scope and video-cam outside - and see what your scope is seeing on your computer-screen or video-monitor.

A good book on this is 'Deep-Sky Video Astronomy' by Steve Massey & Steve Quirk.

Dave

 

Thanks, unfortunately it's raining pants here at the moment so I can't test them.

 

I got first light on the 6mm Baader BCO and the 5mm Sky-Watcher UWA observing the Waning Gibbous Moon from about 23:30 to 01:30 (BST). Azimuth 311.4°, altitude 20.1°, illumination 96.9%, 369, 381 km distant (Aquarius). Magnifications were 128.5x, 150x, 180x, 300x. Transparency wasn’t as good as I’d have liked but was better than last night.



Highlights included Mare Crisium, Cleomedes, Endymion, Newcomb B, G & J and Rimae Petavius.



The 5mm Sky-Watcher (Barsta) UWA gave a good account of itself at 180x with a bright, sharp image. After some experimentation with the twist-up eye cup I discovered a more comfortable eye placement. I’m not usually a fan of eye cups of any description but I find the ones on these eyepieces work well. The BCO volcano top was more comfortable than it looks and actually has a slightly bigger eye lens than my 6mm Astro Hutech orthoscopic.



The extra 7° or so of FOV of the Baader is noticeable though. The clarity and contrast of these little eyepieces is almost legendary and it easily compared with the Hutech. The winged eyeguard of the Baader is more practical than it looks although I mostly had it folded down. The BCO easily handled a 300x magnification combined with a 2x (TeleVue) Barlow.