[Stephen65]

The Pentax v Nagler wars are back on over in the CN Eyepiece forum. What started as a routine thread asking about XWs which largely drew fair comments and comparisons with the Naglers has deteriorated, now I am reading that XWs show a "mushy" image and lack contrast, that a 16mm Nagler shows a darker sky background than a 5XW etc.

I'm not so much interested in the merits of the specific points, which we can all debate in that thread if so minded, but more the general issue - why is it that whenever a thread on CN contains praise of the XW a few (and I emphasise a few) Nagler fans feel compelled to bag it with exaggerated criticisms? That sort of thing never happens here.

Is it simple patriotism (US company v Japanese company), familiarity only with the US product, the need to justify large expenditures on Naglers or what? Regardless its an interesting cultural phenomenon particularly from the perspective of someone who is neither American or Japanese.