Must Have Televue Eyepieces.

[HCR32]

Hi Guys.

My question is if you where given the opportunity to choose from the Televue range of eyepieces which ones would you have. You can only choose 5. :thumbsup: Your answer will help me figure out which eyepiece are TV best product or most wanted by ppl out there.

[Wavytone]

On the scope - aperture and focal ratio, and what you want to look at...

... anything shorter than 10 mm is pointless on a f/15 scope, while anything longer than 35mm is pointless on an f/7. And I somehow don't see much point in putting a Nagler 31mm V on a Tasco 60mm refractor or 4" Newtonian.

On any given scope it usually turns out that the useful range of eyepiece focal lengths usually spans a range of perhaps 4:1 between highest and lowest. Using ratios around 2:1 from one eyepiece to the next means three eyepieces should cover the range - 4 definitely will, and 5 are unwarranted, especially when a zoom will cover at least half the range.

For double stars, lunar and planetary, the priorities are sharpness, high transmission and no ghosts - a wide field is not important, so spending big $ on a set of Naglers is a waste when you really want a set of Monocentric's or at least orthoscopic. Plossl would do but they aren't the best. The fewer the elements the better, too.

For rich field observing, a high apparent field of view field and sharpness to the edge are priorities, several to choose from in the TV range.

[HCR32]

I know there are many kinds of telescopes out there, Im just asking what ppl would want to have for there own setup. If the question gets enough response you can get some sort of stats from it. I wouldnt bother with the stats if only 10 ppl respond, it would have to be over 20 or so to consider.

[Starkler]

Do you want the best 5 eyepieces, or the best 5 Televue eyepieces? :whistle:

[Ian Robinson]

Can't think of any ... guess medium or longer fl Tele Vue eyepieces suitable for a fast newtonian .... already have a Paracorr Visual.

Their prices are a real turn off (to me) .... as in their prices are extortionate and I doubt they are value of money..

[dugnsuz]

Cut to the chase guys...
A couple of goodies...
13mm Nagler and 24mm Panoptic for starters!
Classics!
...and that from an imager!!!!:P
Doug

[Fox]

For my scope: panoptic 27, panoptic 24, ethos 13, powermate 2.5x. Fox

[Starkler]

I have a 31mm nagler, a 24mm panoptic and a paracorr. The rest of my eyepiece case consists of Pentax XL/XW's

[Paddy]

I'm very happy with my 24mm Panoptic and 9mm Nagler. Plan on a 13mm Nagler at some point (couldn't come at the price of an ethos) but currnetly 2x barlow the 24 Pan and find that gives a very nice result.

[erick]

I can tell you what I have. Which are the best from Televue - don't know.

I have 35mm Panoptic, 32mm Plossl and 20mm Plossl.

I love the 20mm Plossl. I will love the 35mm Panoptic when I finally get a chance to look through it!

[mercedes_sl1970]

Eric - how do you find the 32mm TV plossl? Curious how it works in the f5 reflector (in your signature).

Thanks

Andrew

[HCR32]

Thanks for the kick start Dudnsuz sometimes keep it basic is best.

[anj026]

I am a big fan of Televue eyepieces though I admit to not having tried any by Pentax. I own a 31t5, 17t4, 13t6 and 9t6 naglers, 24 Panoptic, 3-6 Nagler zoom as well as 32,25,20,15,11 and 8 Plossl's.

My 5 favorites depend on the scope being used. I really like using the Plossl's on the long focal length achromats. With the Megrez 90 the Naglers are my favorites (31,17,13,9 and 3-6 zoom). With the 66SD the 24 Panoptic replaces the 2" Naglers.

I have not tried any Ethos yet.:thumbsup:

[Stephen65]

I have a 13mm Ethos and a 20mm Nagler, other than that I mainly use XWs.

[erick]

Andrew, in both the 12" f5 and my previous 8" f6, I found I have to hold my head in exactly the right location otherwise I get blackout (if that is the right description/term) - side to side or in/out. That location can be found and it's not enough of a problem to be impossible, but enough to be always noticeable. I don't notice that with any of my other eyepieces.

[OneOfOne]

Although most of my eyepieces are XWs, I do have a 24 Pan which has become my most often used eyepiece since going from 8" F5 to 11" F10. It is a truly excellent eyepiece, and apparently I am not the only one that thinks so looking at the posts to date!

[Geoff45]

As a compromise between quality and affordability, I'd go with the radian eyepieces.

[Jone5y]

I have only used the 15 and 25 plossls from Televue but am extremely happy with them. The radian series do seem to be a substantial jump in quality though, so I would have no quarms agreeing with the last post re quality vs affordability.

How many of you have an eyepiece collection like anj026? That's enough to make someone who only held 1 eyepiece plus a barlow for the 1st 6 years with his scope feel very inadequate;)

[anj026]

I went through a lot of lesser quality eyepieces but once I discovered high quality it is very hard to go back.

I also feel it is worth having a few high quality eyepieces as opposed to lot's of lesser ones. Or lot's of high quality ones if you can manage it!

With eyepieces a good quality selection will stay with you for life no matter what types of telescopes you may have in the future.

With Televue the prices can seem very high depending on the exchange rate. When they come on the market secondhand they tend to sell very quickly. Even 10 or 15 year old samples can sell for most of what they cost originally depending on the model and the condition. Many of the earlier types are now considered collecters items.

If I had to guess the top 5 order of popularity of the currently available as new eyepieces I would say;

13 Ethos, 24 Panoptic, 13 Nagler t6, 32 Plossl, 20 Plossl. Anyone else hazard a guess?

[AstralTraveller]

I don't know if my 'vote' should count as both my Naglers were bought second hand. I have a 20mm t2 and a 9mm t6. I think a 13mm t6 would complete the set nicely.

The 20mm is brilliant. The eye position is a bit close and it is harder to see to the edge of the fov than other Naglers I've tried but I can live with that. The other night it ate a Meade something or other (probably a 5000 but I didn't ask) on NGC55. Of course OH&S considerations dictate the use of steel-capped boots when using it ;).

The 9mm is great and is head and shoulders above the 9.5mm ED I was using, but now faces severe competition from the 'new' Zeiss Jena 10mm ortho. On the dumbell the other night the ortho was clearly brighter and more contrasty. Similarly the ortho was better on Jupiter. However on 47Tuc the Nagler framed the cluster nicely with a bit of space around it. With the ortho I could only see the centre of the cluster but the stars were better resolved. I think with these two it will be a case of horses for courses.

[Deeno]

Can only comment on the four I have.

The 24mm Panoptic was the first purchased and is still my favourite. It occupies the most time in the focuser even though it suffers from some coma around the edges.

Love the dark contrasting views through the 13mm T6 Nagler.

My 5mm Radian is a bit much for 90% of the time for plantery viewing but, when the seeing is good. Wow!

Recently picked up a 7mm Type 1 Nagler and looking forward to playing with it.

Cheers
Deeno

[charsiubau]

My husband is into buying Televue eyepieces. Of the ones we have, the most used are the 22 mm T4, the 17 mm T4, the 31 T5, 12 mm T4, and now the 13 mm Ethos. That's because these are the most useful for the focal lengths of our scopes (2350mm, 1250 mm and 600 mm). We use a 2x powermate or a 7 mm Nagler or the 3-6 zoom for when we want higher power (the latter only useful for the 600 mm scope). All great eyepieces.

[Rick Petrie]

For all those people with fast dobs, a Televue Paracorr will bring out the best edge to edge views in all televue eyepieces and quite a number of other good brand eyepieces as well I believe. Well worth the investment.
Sensational!!:thumbsup:

[CoombellKid]

I'm a XW fan myself as are some others here. Been using them for several
years and definitely prefer them over the nagler t6's for their on axis
sharpness and cool crisp views, actually apart from the 14mm which has
slight field curverture towards the EFOV. The rest are tact sharp from edge
to edge. I use t5's for the longer focal lengths the 20mm and 31mm t5's
are a definite must have. I also managed to try out a 16mm t5 over the
weekend, which I quite liked pitty it's in a 1.25" format.

regards,CS

[Starkler]

Indeed! I use my paracorr in every scope that I have including the little 130mm newt and wouldn't want to be without it.

I firmly believe that if you are prepared to spend the money on premium eyepieces, you obviously want the best views that money can buy. If your scope is f5 or faster, you wont get it without a paracorr.

N.B. The paracorr nicely mitigates any field curvature issue in the 14 and 20mm pentaxs.