Well, I finally chased the moths out of the wallet and paid Bintel a visit while we were in Sydney on Saturday. Picked up these 2 beauties. First impressions - just great. No distortion that I could see, wide field, stars sharp to the edge. Weather hasn't allowed much of a look, but Jupiter through the 12 was a revelation. I have NEVER seen so much detail on the planet EVER!! It was as though a veil had been removed. I love the generous eye relief of the T4 Naglers. Balance is not a problem either. I'm hooked on these things. I had to soothe the astro-wife with an emerald ring when she heard how much they cost!!!
Thanks for the comments, guys.
GRAHAM,
I am surprised also that it doesn't seem to drift off, but I only had a quick look last night before that cloud bank rolled in. The fact that the alt bearings on the standard GSO aren't super slippery, plus the springs, probably helps.
JONATHAN,
The 17 is certainly on the list, but I am unsure about the short end, about 8mm. I wish there was a T4 8 (with a 2" barrel of course). Don't want much do I? I might end up with a Radian or Pentax.
SCOTT,
Thanks for the congrats. They are certainly a lifetime purchase, need to be considering their cost. The relatively high Aussie $$ helps, although the lady at Bintel didn't soothe the wifey by saying "You could buy a fridge with these things"!!!
I have 17mm Nagler and 10mm XW Pentax and can tell you that both are an excelent quality eyepieces. I am very pleased with XW's FOV, it takes around one minute for Jupiter to drift from edge to edge!!
