Affordable Planetary Eyepieces

While my 5mm ortho has performed admirably, I need something with longer eye relief in the 7-10mm range that will provide comparable sharpness and contrast for primarily planetary observing. Is there anything affordable ($50-$100) out there that might accomplish this for me other than high end Tele Vue, Ziess and others that I can't possibly afford?

Thanks for your recommendations.

Yes, try the new Orion ED-2 at 9.5mm ($69) and/or Barlow a longer EP that has decent eye relief.

My advice is to get a TeleVue 3x Barlow and
then a University Optics Ortho that works out
to whatever focal length you need. In my
experience this gives performance close to
high-end Pentax / Zeiss orthos, more eyerelief,
and at a small fraction of the cost. - John B.

Check out the eyepiece reviews on http://www.excelsis.com

I have tried many eyepieces and tend to very much agree with the ratings there.

Thank you all for some excellent advice. Quite a lively discussion.

It sounds like barlowing an already excellent planetary like an 7-9mm ortho or RKE may be the best solution for increased eye relief for those of us on a budget with fast scopes (mine's a 6" f/5). They lead to two additional questions . . .

Does anyone have any experience with the 5mm Ultrascopic versions that already have a barlow built in, yielding the eye relief of a 10mm. Does this perform better or worse than using a separate barlow.

And second . . . the best barlows for this application?

Thanks again!

I would go with the high eye relief eyepieces from "Hands on optics" There cheap, have 20mm of relief, provide a good image, and are made by Anteres, I believe, at least that is what I was told on the phone, when I called them. All sizes also on ebay.