tv nagler or radian

[Paddy]

I'm in the process of replacing the gso eps that came with my 302 mm f5 Newtonian. I have a 17 mm vixen lvw which I really like and a 5 mm Orion Stratus to look at planets up close. I'm looking at a 9-10mm ep to sit between these and plan to take advantage of the great tv prices now on offer. I like the idea of a 9 mm nagler, but having read a few posts about shorter eye relief and peering around inside the ep, I am starting to wonder if I might be better off with the 10 mm Radian.

I wonder what people with experience of both think. If I choose a Radian am I settling for second best? Are they as good as naglers ( I don't mind sacrificing a bit of FOV, being quite happy with that of the lvw. Pentax xw is a bit out of the price range.

I'm also looking at replacing the 32 mm gso Kellner with a tv 32 mm plossl (again a Panoptic is not affordable at present.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Miaplacidus]

Forget the sale. Get a Pentax 10 XW.

Sorry.

Cheers,

Brian.

[MikeyB]

IMHO the 32mm TV Plossl is a superb eyepiece - sharp and contrasty, with plenty of eye relief. On special at present, it's $149 that you won't regret spending.

[wavelandscott]

Depending on your need for eye relief and what you want to look at I'd choose between the two.

Radian more eye relief, less field of view...Nagler (depending on series) tighter on eye relief but the field of view WOW!

I have a 13 mm T6 Nagler and a 16 T5 Nagler and a 24 Panoptic...There are all fine eyepieces and would gladly recommend them all...but, I don't wear glasses and don't mind less than 20 mm of eye relief.

Best to try one or two before you splash out even when they are on the sale.

I used to have an 11 mm T6 and a 10 mm Pentax XW...I kept the Pentax and traded the 11 mm T6 for the 13 mm T6...

I give a very slight (and I do mean slight) edge to the Pentax...Yes, I do miss the slightly larger field of view from the Nagler but in most other areas the Pentax was just a touch better to my eyes...I also have a 7 mm Pentax XW and would also highly reommend it.

The Naglers are wonderful eyepieces but I would strongly urge you to try them before you buy...Each of the series T4, T5, T6 (etc.) have slightly different characteristics that make them different...I've known people who loved the T6s and did not care for the T4s and so on...

Good Luck with your choice...I am sure you will get enjoyment from either choice!

[Stephen65]

10XW is the best EP in that focal length. Price is not that much different either:

Nagler 9t6 - A$360 from Bintel
Radian 10mm - A$295 from Bintel
10XW - US$309+shipping from OPT = A$355 + shipping

[matt]

Yep. Go the extra yard and buy the 10mm XW from the US.

You won't be disappointed:D

[monoxide]

another vote for the 10XW here :thumbsup:

[MortonH]

I agree that the Pentax is better, but I like my Radians. I use a 5mm with my 8" Dob for 240x planetary viewing. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Radian, unless you do a side-by-side comparison...!!!

Morton

[Paddy]

Thanks for the feedback - there seem to be a lot of happy pentax owners out there. I hadn't thought about getting one from the US. In case I do go for one, which outlets have them for US$309?

[monoxide]

if it helps i got my 10xw from frontier optics, i think there are a few other places that stock pentax ep's in aus but i wouldnt know their names.

http://www.frontieroptics.com.au/

[MarkN]

G'day there Paddy,

If you are looking at EPs around 10 mm then you might also be interested in the 9 mm TMB/Burgess. 60 deg. AFOV, reasonable ER and very respectable performance to boot! Around $140 from Frontier Optics.

On the other side of 10 mm is the 12 mm Pentax XF. A bit dearer at $215, again 60 deg. AFOV and a generally accepted good performer.

I have an 18 mm TV Radian and like it but if you don't want to pay that much for one EP you can have the 32 mm TV Plossl and a 9 TMB/Burgess for less than a Radian.

Decisions, dedicisions.

Mark.

[Rodstar]

Paddy, the one remark I will make about the Radians is that they tend to correct a bit better for coma in faster mirrors than some of the other EP's mentioned. So, the Radian may give slightly sharper views across the FOV than some of the others. It is always a trade off.......each Ep has its own distinctive characteristics. All of the Ep's mentioned would be great.

[Mark]

I owned a 10mm radian a while back. For DSO's it was very nice, but I found that when used for planetary work, there was a nasty 'halo' effect happening.

This was with an 8" scope, so I imagine that with your lightbucket it may be an issue if you plan to view very bright objects.

Mark

[janoskiss]

Paddy, I hear you. Radian no way - even on sale it's still too expensive. But given your requirements and budget 9mm T6 would be my pick. Try it out for eye relief to see how you like it. If you don't wear glasses you'd get used to it after a while IMO. But if you want more ER (and cannot stretch budget to XW) grab a Pentax XF 8.5mm: better than Radian IMO and less expensive.

[Stephen65]

Try www.optcorp.com (http://www.optcorp.com)

I've bought several EPs from them, including a 30XW, and only had good experiences. One tip - send them an email and inquire about shipping costs, they can send it to you much cheaper than the default shipping costs that the online ordering system applies.

[Paddy]

Many thanks for all the helpful input. I've decided to go for the Nagler. I'm not keen on overseas ordering both because of warranty limitations and because I like to support local suppliers. I don't wear glasses so the eye relief is not an issue - if someone wants to look who has astigmatism, I can barlow the lvw 17mm. The 82 FOV is quite appealing.

Many thanks again for all your thoughtful help.

Patrick

[wavelandscott]

Which one did you decide on?

9 or 11 T6 (assuming that you were going to stay at the higher power end of the range)...

Regardless of which one you pick, I am sure that you will get many hours of viewing enjoyment from it...

Enjoy the sky!

[Lee]

I agree with Mikey - I have a pair of TV Plossls - 20mm and 32mm, can't fault them in my 200mm f/6 Newt.... The 20mm is by far my most used EP (DSO's).....

[Paddy]

I ended up going for the 9mm T6 - I'm pretty keen for some clear skies later in the week to try it out. I also ended up opting for a 24 mm Panoptic as I find I want a little more magnification than my current 32 mm supplies and I worked out that I would have the same FOV as a 32 mm plossl. I had been planning on getting a good wide field 24-26mm later and thought I might as well do it now while they're cheap. Suspect a Paracorr might be on the agenda in a while.

[wavelandscott]

Congratlations on getting some fine eyepieces!

While I have not used a 9 mm T6 mself, I have used the 11 and 13 mm T6s and found them to be very nice eyepieces to use.

I own and use regularly the 24 mm Panoptic...it is my lowest power eyepiece (as I have tried to stay with 1.25 inch only eyepieces) and I adore it! It gets used in every telescope in every viewing session.

Hope you get some clear skies to try them out soon!

[MarkN]

Yep, class choices Paddy. I have the 27 Pano (2") and it's fantastic with a Paracorr. Oops, shouldn't be tempting you any more at this point!

Don't know whether you've visited the Televue site but the calculator takes the guesswork out of FOV and magnification. Makes it easier to plan your future purchases.

http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?ID=107

Now, as pointed out, all you need is some decent night skies.

Mark.

[Paddy]

Just got out into a starry night with my new 24 Panoptic and 9 mm Nagler. I am a very happy chap! It is so good to have a low power eyepiece of such quality. No coma! Clear and flat wide views. I'm afraid the gso 32mm kellner that came with the scope may never leave its box again. I was hypnotised by tuc 47, the lagoon, trifid and tarantula nebulae. The pano was perfect for seeing them clearly and in context, leading nicely into my 17 mm vixen for a more detailed view. I found it worked perfectly with my 2x 2" gso barlow. I also love the 9 mm nagler and its wide fov. Best night of dso viewing so far! Thanks again for all the help in making my choice.

[janoskiss]

sounds like your new EPs are serving you well! :thumbsup:
24mm Pano is on my wishlist too