Nagler 13mm or Panoptic 19mm

[PeteMo]

Hi all
Originally I was looking at getting 2 eyepieces, the Pentax XF 12mm and Denkmeier D 21mm, to plug the gap between my Kasai Konig 32mm and Hyperion 8mm, but due to circumstances only want to get one premium eyepiece. I also have a Radian 6mm, and, a Siebert Star Splitter custom 2mm eyepiece for lunar viewing. My 40mm, 25mm and 10mm Super Plossls are all with my little Tasco scope I've loaned out.

I like TeleVue eyepieces, and as there are price reductions across the entire range, I was considering the Nagler Type 6 13mm or the Panoptic 19mm. Both are popular eyepieces and give about 12mm of Eye Relief and there is not much separating them price wise. These will yield magnifications of 92 x with the Nagler and 63 x with the Panoptic in my SkyWatcher 10" f 1200mm, f ratio 4.72 dob.

Which would be the better middle ground option between my 32mm and 8mm eyepieces?
Pete

[wavelandscott]

Armed with those two choices, the 13 mm T6 Nagler is a nice option, in my opinion. I have one and like it a lot. I'd also offer for consideration the 11 mm T6 similar to the 13 but will give you a touch more magnification. The Pentax 10 mm XW is also a good eyepiece.

[anj026]

I vote for the 13mm Type 6 too. I would expect better edge correction at the fast focal ratio of your dob. With a 2x barlow this may make your 6mm radian redundant.

[PhilW]

My preference is for T6s too. Significantly wider field; good edge correction; adequate eye relief; great on-axis sharpness.

I think the idea of the 11mm T6 has merit too btw. This would give you 109x, 0.75 degree true field, with 2.3mm exit pupil; all pretty much ideal for deep sky observing on many objects such as galaxies and globulars. And if you barlowed that, you might possibly make both your 6mm Radian & 8mm Hyperion redundant.

Phil

[MikeyB]

I have both the Nagler and the Panoptic, Pete, and they're both keepers for use in my SCT's. I'm in Kewdale, so if you'd like to shoot me a PM, we can arrange a time and I'll bring them over and you can try them out in your dob and see what you think at first-hand.

[dugnsuz]

In my visual days!!!! I used the setup you have (10" Dob) wuth the 13mm Nagler - beautiful combo, I would recommend that over the Pan.
Doug

[Paddy]

I wouldn't be without my 24mm Panoptic or my 17mm Vixen lvw, which in my scope give mag.s of 89 and 63 respectively. Get both the ones you're thinking about I reckon! The Panoptic barlows so nicely that I don't feel a burning need to get 13 mm nagler to complement my set, but...

[PeteMo]

Thanks Andy, Doug, guys, I guess it's worth paying the extra few dollars for the Nagler 13mm.

WavelandScott & Phil I did originally consider a T6 11mm, since TeleVue's website recommends that and a Radian 6mm for the medium to high power eyepieces, but felt that 11mm was too close to 8mm in both magnification and TFoV.

I'm not really into Barlows, and for a bit more money than the TV Barlow, could get another eyepiece.

Patrick, the Vixen LVW 17mm was on my shortlist but with TV's at such great prices, decided on the Nagler and Panoptic as my candidates.

MikeyB Thanks for the offer, I will definitely take you up on it!

[rwong]

Hi Pete

You already received some excellent advice. May I refer you to IIS Equipment Review an article by Mike and J Bambury dated 19 Oct 05, which virtually said that Nagler 13mm is faultless.

[PeteMo]

Hi Reg
It was Mike and John's review in their 13mm/14mm shootout that helped me select the Nagler 13mm for my shortlist. Part of my problem is that I am deciding between 2 very different eyepiece designs, each with their own strengths and drawbacks. I know the Panoptics suffer from pincushioning as a trade-off for edge to edge sharpness. I will be extremely happy with either eyepiece.
Cheers
Pete

[koputai]

I have the Nagler 13mm T6 in my 1200mm dob, and it's great. However, I must admit that at this early stage of my serious viewing, I find looking through 68 degree eyepieces feels much more natural than the 82 degree Nagler. With the Nagler I really have to move my eye about to see different parts of the field, so I don't really get the whole 82 view at any one time.
I'm tossing up between the Nagler 31mm and Panoptic 35mm at the moment. I know the contrast would be better, and field wider in the Nagler, but I think I'll likely go for the Panoptic due to the ease of viewing.

Cheers,
Jason.

[PeteMo]

Thanks Jason
Mike has pointed out to me that eye positioning is critical with the Nagler, so we'll see how things go when we try it side by side with the Panoptic 19mm.
If I remember rightly the human eye has a field of view of about 65 degrees which would confirm your own observations. Thanks for the tips.
Cheers
Pete

[ausastronomer]

Hi Pete,

I think you made the right choice. FWIW I think the 19mm Panoptic has been surpassed by more modern eyepieces using newer technology and better materials, notwithstanding that 20 years ago it was an excellent product. I rate the 21mm Denkmeier and the 20mm Pentax XW's as clearly superior eyepieces to the 19mm Panoptic. While the 19mm Panoptic may have a slightly flatter field in "some" scopes than the 20mm Pentax, the Pentax walks all over it in terms of contrast and throughput. It goes significantly deeper in any given scope with a lot more detail.

Cheers,
John B

[PeteMo]

Well Mike came round last night with his Nagler 13mm and Panoptic 19mm plus a Panoptic 24mm. Had great fun even if we had trees and a street lamp at point blank to contend with. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play these eyepieces off side by side along with my own eyepieces.

The Nagler and Panoptics are very different eyepieces as the demo proved. I had absolutely no kidney beaning or black-out issues with the Nagler and now understand the 82 degree "spacewalk" effect that Nagler folk rave about. By contrast the Panoptic was more natural with its 68 degree APOV, and I never noticed any 'pincushioning' when panning the scope. The Panoptic showed a little more detail in M42, making the bluish coloured gas cloud around Trapezium take on an almost 3D perspective, compared with slightly less detail and flatter perspective of the higher mag Nagler.

Both eyepieces were sharp to the edge and I did not notice any coma, softening at the edge in either eyepiece using my fast f4.72 dob. I actually found myself leaning more towards the Panoptic, although it's impossible to forget or dismiss the experience of a huge peripheral vision afforded by the 82 degree Nagler.

It's a tough one and I now have to sell one of my current eyepieces, the Hyperion 8mm, if Jo is to agree to me buying BOTH eyepieces!
Cheers
Pete

[PeteMo]

Just to update everyone, I now have the Nagler T6 13mm and have used it over the weekend and l:)ve the view. The 82 degree view won, but I still liked the Panoptics.

Cheers
Pete

[wavelandscott]

Congratulations on the 13 T6 Nagler! It was a good choice (I think).
I hope you gets lots of enjoyment from it under dark clear skies.

[rmcpb]

First get the clear skies :)