PSA: Stacking cheap eyepieces on a budget telescope isn't worth the hassle

I compared a $35 Plossl eyepiece I bought online against a $15 used one I found at a camera shop in Tucson. The difference in clarity on Jupiter's bands was night and day, even with my old 6-inch Dobsonian. The cheap one had more glare and a tighter eye relief that made my eye strain after 20 minutes. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in quality just from switching to a basic branded eyepiece?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sam1mo ago

Hell yeah, you're spot on. I went through the exact same thing with my 8-inch dob. Bought a three-pack of those cheapos online and I was ready to toss the whole setup after one night. Swapped to a used Orion Plossl for like 30 bucks and it was a completely different scope. The eye relief is the killer for me too my eye was glued to the lens trying to find that tiny sweet spot. Branded stuff just has better coatings and glass, even at the low end. You can find good used eyepieces for cheap if you're patient, way better than fighting with a plastic lens.

coleman.gray1mo ago

@the_sam nailed it with the eye relief point. Those cheap online sets are basically torture devices for your face. I got an old Celestron Plossl at a garage sale for ten bucks and it cleaned up Jupiter way better than that three pack I ordered from Amazon. Spend the twenty bucks on a used brand name, not a new plastic lens.

nina_campbell1mo ago

That $15 used Plossl from a camera shop is exactly the kind of deal that makes the hobby click. I grabbed a 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl for twenty bucks at a swap meet and it made my old 4.5 inch Newtonian actually fun to use on the Orion Nebula. The cheap one I had before gave everything a weird blue halo and fogged up after ten minutes in the desert night. Branded secondhand glass is always better than new plastic trash.