What eyepieces should I have.....

I've narrowed it down to two telescopes for sale on Astromart. 1. Celestron C-8 f/10 (black body) no go-to and 2. a f/6 Discovery 8" Dob DHQ. What scope should I buy first and what eyepieces should I get with each scope? The ep's that come with both are probably crap and I want to take advantage of the "Proper" ep's.
The C-8 is a tad pricer then the Dob but that is to be expected. I like the fact its a no go-to so I can learn the sky and the protability thing, and both are 8" of apeteure.
Thanks for any help. I'm finally going to buy a scope!!
bob ellis - [email protected]

The really cool thing about eyepieces is you can sample them - buy one used from Astromart, and if you don't like it, resell it. You're only out the shipping (usually $5). The scopes you list are not very similar so eyepiece recommendations would not be the same for both. I have a Dob, and my favorite are:

2" widefield - at f6, you could go for a University Optics MK-70 40mm, Siebert 39mm UltraPlus, or the grandaddy of them all, the 35mm Panoptic. The first two cost about half the Panoptic. I use the 32mm Siebert, as I have an f5.

Midrange (14-21mm) - I absolutely love the 14mm Meade UWA - given the 84 degree field, its ok to have such a gap between the 2" you choose and this one. I own a 22mm Panoptic, but will probably sell it (rarely gets used). The Meade 14mm is expensive, but given the range it covers, its as good as owning 2 lesser eyepieces.

High power - This would depend on what scope you go with. I have a Televue 2.5X Powermate, which I really like - hook this to the Meade 14UWA and you get 217X - about as high as you can comforably go on a Dob with no tracking system (although that is quite a long train hanging on the end of a scope - could cause balance problems). I have a 3.9mm Siebert that puts you over 300X, which I use for the Moon and bright planets. At 300+, you can't really sit there and study something because it is moving out of view too fast, and atmosphere/vibrations come into play. The SCT might be better in this regard with a sturdy mount.

As long as you stick to high profile names, you are guaranteed to find a buyer if you decide you don't like the eyepiece. So, dive in and go for it!