Celestron 2" Eyepiece and Filter Kit 94305

For many years, I was a 1.25" eyepiece man.

They did the job, and with my midsized reflectors and refractors, I enjoyed the range of 40mm down to a 3.5mm.

But then I got a C11 SCT and of course... dictated that I start using 2" eyepieces.

No comparison.

As administrator for the "Chicago Astronomer", 2" eyepieces are the way to go, not only for personal viewing comfort, but for public star parties. The extra wide fields make for wide eyed observation, instead of intense peering with a 1.25. This helps a great deal for those visitors to our observation sessions who just can't find the "sweet spot" with 1.25's. These 2" eyepieces are good performers as well. The 40mm makes for great low power - wide sweeping FOVs...and with a focal length of 2800mm on the C11, I can fit the entire lunar disk in the field...something I could not with the 1.25's. Progressing with the 32mm & the 26mms...I take our visitors closer with each new magnification....work great on Jupiter & Saturn. Images are crisp, with slight aberrational fringing at the edges, but nothing to fret about.

The included 2x barlow doubles your range down to a 13mm. Good for planetary work, and if I need to study more closely, I'll just pop in a 1.25" single digit eyepiece with the included 2"/1.25" adapter.

The right diagonal is decent, as are the filters, (which I use often). The carrying case is sturdy and has taken abuse admirably. I also use these eyepieces for astrophotography, bringing in satisfactory results with the proper adapter on my Canon Powershot S3. And I use them on my smaller C5 SCT with great results and wide open low powered easy views.

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My fellow astronomers like the set bunches and I recommend it.

Chicago Astronomer Joe

I got an Orion SkyQuest 8" Dobsonian telescope for Christmas 2007 from my in-laws (thank you so much!!!) I have always wanted to get into amateur astronomy but never took the plunge. So now I have a nice telescope, and it came with a 25mm and a 10mm 1.25" eyepiece. I wanted to add some more EPs so after some searching I came across this 2" set from Celestron. I had wanted to try a 2" EP so I bought this set. After a week of use, here are my findings:

First impressions: These things are HUGE. I mean holding one of these EPs is like holding a can of soda. They are not only big, but heavy. I wondered if I would have a balancing problem on the scope (I didn't, even with barlow & EP combination). The case is OK, the EPs look great and come with top & bottom covers. The barlow has a bottom lens cover and a 2" - 1.25" adapter with a plug to keep out dust. The filters come in a case too. I was very pleased with the kit so far. The only disappointing thing was that two of the EPs had their rubber light shields (eye cups, or whatever you call those things) crushed by the cap. They were all wrinkley and looked pretty awful. The third EP didn't have this defect, but it was shorter (the 26mm EP) so maybe the case crushed the cap down on the light shields... the EPs as I said are big, and the case top has to be pushed down to close. I have tried to call Celestron to see if I can get replacement light shields, but so far they have not responded to my email or answered the phone when I call. It doesn't affect the performance of the EPs but it looks bad.

Performance: The view through these EPs is fantastic. Way more visibility than the 1.25" EPs. I can watch Saturn for a long time before I have to reposition the scope; in the 1.25" EPs it was gone in a matter of seconds. Orion nebula never looked bigger or better. With the 2" - 1.25" adapter, I can use the 2" barlow with my 1.25" EPs. Images in the 2" EPs were sharp and bright.

Recommendation: If you want expansive, wide views, and your scope can take a 2" EP, this kit is a very economical choice that provides great results.

These opened up a whole new world. I bought both the 1.25 and this 2 inch kit and find myself using this kit almost all of the time. The eyepieces are well made and the case is a tank! There could have been more room left in it for other small accessories but then it would be bigger.

I very much value this kit. Good filters, very good eyepieces and a solid case. Ohh the things I've seen with this. It's almost like a bought a new telescope! My CPC8 got a new life.

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