New ETX-125, eyepiece lust has set in.....

Took delivery of my ETX-125EC UHTC a little over a week ago - after much research, decided it presented the best combination of portability, aperture, and features for me. First night's viewing, hand/eye guiding to Orion Nebula, Jupiter, Pleiades, went well, but the included 26mm Plossl is impossible to use with glasses on (much preferred), and only barely useable with them off - must be replaced!

Thus it begins! First, I have a Celestron Ultima Barlow on the way. Second, acquired a lovely TV 32mm Plossl that I haven't had a chance to use yet, and may end up selling (explained below). Third, picking up a Mead 24.5 SWA, making the TV32 redundant as they have very similar FOV (but will use the TV until the Meade arrives, then compare).

So, what next? Since the ETX-125 is a modest aperture, "slow" scope, FOV is an issue, particularly with Autostar, which I attempted (unsuccessfully) to set up on my second night out. Small FOV and nasty eye relief from the Meade Plossl had me sighting along the barrel with my glasses on to see if the scope was in the neighborhood of the alignment stars, then taking off the glasses and slewing about trying to get the star into view. So, I've decided that I'm only really interested in Wide Field EPs for now, in spite of the cost. (Also, I should note that the short days and lousy weather in New England made the finderscope alignment less-than-good - will be remedied this weekend.)

Continued..........

Because of the scope's 125mm diameter and 1900mm focal length, I figure that 250-300x is about the useful limit, so don't really need to go lower than 13/14mm (+barlow) to get there. Between the 24.5 SWA and 13/14mm, I have a few choices.

First, I know I can go with the Orion Expanse series for a good price, but after receiving my TV32mm, the Expanse seems decidedly, well, *un-sexy*. Shopped around, read every review I could think of on Excelsis, read this board, and decided that I feel a great deal of flat-out lust for both the Pentax XL series and the Vixen/Orion Lanthanum wide-field EPs.

I'd like to cover the ground below 24.5 down to 13/14 with 2 EPs, and from the reading I've done, it looks like I should try to hit about 16/17mm with one, and 12/13mm with the other. I'd like to pick up one each of the XLs and Lanthanums, primarily to compare them, but the Pentax focal lengths come in a bit high for each of my optimal calculations, with the Lanthanums almost perfect.

Nevertheless, I'm leaning toward the Vixen/Orion 17mm and the Pentax 14mm - I figure I can add a higher power EP down the road if I find these, combined with the 24.5, don't quite cover everything adequately. Have also considered the Meade 14mm UWA, but it's very pricey, and haven't had any luck on the used market so far.

Any and all advice gratefully accepted - I'm really enjoying getting back into astronomy, but I'm discovering that you can easily drive yourself completely insane poring over statistics and reviews trying to make the "best" decision.