24 mm Panoptik with spectacles?

[PeterHA (Peter)]

Hi All,
Has anyone tried the 24 mm Panoptik with glasses?
I am looking to extend my Delos range above the 17.3mm and I am looking for a eyeglass friendly EP with the max field in the 1 1/4 barrel (~27mm filed stop).
Comments from experienced users welcome.
Regards,
Peter

[anj026]

Hi Peter

I can't say that I have tried a 24mm Panoptic with glasses on but I can say the TV 32mm plossl has a lot more eye relief and is more likely to succeed.

[Wavytone]

Apart from the Delos range, others you should consider are Vixen LVW's (the largest in a 1.25" barrel is 22mm, beyond that 2") which have good 20mm eye relief, Baader Hyperions (copies of LVW but not so sharp), or the ES 68° 24mm which has a 27mm field stop and 18mm eye relief.

I wear specs full-time and have culled my eyepiece collection to a set of Vixen LVW's, having tried and sold quite a few others.

The TV plossl is OK, though the field is a bit narrower than the 22mm LVW or 24mm Panoptic. The 24mm Panoptic is quite similar to the 22mm LVW but IMHO the LVW is more comfortable and doesn't have much distortion, whereas the Panoptic has less eyerelief and strong pincushion distortion.

[Profiler (Profiler)]

In line with Wavytones comments other suggestions above the 17.3 Delos could include the Pentax XW20mm and other low power Panoptics and Naglers (I am not factoring in price with these suggestions).

Although the 27mm and 35mm Panoptics are not marketed as long eye-relief eyepieces they certainly do have IMO ample ER for eyeglasses. Likewise, both the 26mm and 31mm Naglers also have generous amounts of ER.

[anj026]

The Tele Vue 32mm and 40mm Plossl's and Panoptic 24mm all have a 27mm field stop and therefore all have the same actual field of view in use. They will however show different magnifications and different apparent fields of view. The 32mm has 22mm eye relief and the 40mm has 28mm.

The Hyperion aspheric 31mm is a 2" eyepiece but it comes with a screw on 1.25" barrel that allows it to be used as a 1.25" eyepiece. It's field of view will be less than in 2" mode but is still effectively wider than other 1.25" options. It has 17mm eye relief and a 30mm field stop in 1.25 inch mode. I've not had an opportunity to try one.

http://www.alpineastro.com/Eyepieces...ic-Okulare.pdf

[Profiler (Profiler)]

Apologies - I previously missed the 1.25 barrel parameter and was merely focused on the ER aspect. In this circumstance Vixen LVW 22mm, Pentax XW20mm as well as Anj's suggestions. Also, as an alternative to the 24 Pan Explore Scientific also make a 24mm 68' which attracts considerable praise.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

I had a 24 Pan for a couple of years and in my old 12" was my favorite EP. Field is nice and wide, sharp nearly right to the edge even at f5. Eye relief is nothing special at 16mm but I could use glasses with it no probs.
IMHO it is dollar for dollar the best value EP in the Televue range. I am not a user of other brands so will not offer opinions as to whether it is the best value overall, but unless you want to spend the $$ on Ethos, you will be very happy with a 24P

Malcolm

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I agree with Malcolm here I only use TV's only as well but don't wear glasses and I have friends that do and none of them have commented that they need them off when using my 24mm Pan .
I agree the Panoptics are the gem's of the TV range , I have the 19mm , 22mm , 24mm and 27mm and these are my most used eyepieces , almost perfect in my Takahashi SKY90 at f5.5 .
Brian.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

If I try to use my 24mm Pan with my glasses on I can't see it the whole field, whereas the ES68 24mm has a little more eye relief. Both great eyepieces IMO

[Profiler (Profiler)]

Yes - I have heard opine from a number of senior Televue sources that many regard the 24Pan as pound for pound the best design/eyepiece Televue have made.

Having said this there are many other good eyepiece options as well - the Pentax XW & XF range being excellent examples. The new Nikkons are also supposed to be excellent provided you don't have a mortgage on your home.

[PeterHA (Peter)]

Thanks All for you input.
After this and some off-line input as well I have decided on the Explore Scientific 68 degr. 24mm EP, it has same filed stop, has sufficient eye relieve, similar optical performance and great price. That will do until a 24mm Delos comes out

[jamespierce (James)]

I hear the ethos go rather well with glasses :-)...

Mind you I think the 13mm is the largest without a 2 inch diagonal.

Try some of ours next time we are out... Alex has 21/10/4.7mm

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Eye relief with Ethos isn't quite enough for glasses IMO, to fully appreciate em anyway and I wouldn't feel happy putting the 13 in a 1.25 diagonal unless it felt really solid...that's just $700 of potential energy

[PeterHA (Peter)]

Ok I now have received the Explore Scientific 24 mm 68 degree EP.
James from VTI Optics was very helpfull and quick.
The ES 24 mm compares very well to my Delos, color looks identical to me and also star image/ sharpness looks similar to what my Delos show.
Center sharpness is spot on and at the edge of the field it gives in slightly like the Delos do.
Transmission seems identical to the Delos.
I tested most of the features on objects in Orion which is quite high in the sky.
The 18 mm eye relieve are just enough to see the entire field with my glasses. Any less and I would not be able to use it with glasses!
Viewing comfort is the same as I have with the adjusted Delos eyecup.
So for me this is like I would expect a 24 mm Delos to be, just in a slightly smaller package, I am happy with it.
I must be said that the 24 mm is the only Explore Scientific 68 degree with such long eye relieve!

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Congrats on your new EP

FWIW, the eye relief on the 24 and 30mm 82 degree series are fairly generous too. But they're MUCH bigger and heavier

[PeterHA (Peter)]

The whole post was about max field in 1.25" so that did reduce the applicable eyepieces!

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

A little but you can't go wrong with either IMO. The Pan shows a little pin cushion, the ES is supposed to be a tiny bit brighter, but I've only tried them in my travel scope and any difference in brightness is imperceptible in that.

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by PeterHA

Ok I now have received the Explore Scientific 24 mm 68 degree EP.

Hi Peter,

I think you made a wise choice there. While a couple of people have commented they can use the 24mm Panoptic with eyeglasses, over 90% of observers can't. The eye relief of the 24mm Panoptic is listed as 15mm but like all Televue eyepieces the "USEABLE" eye relief is about 2mm or 3mm less than the stated eye relief. The Televue ETHOS are in exactly the same boat with 15mm stated eye relief, but only about 12mm of "USEABLE" eye relief and again only about 1 in 10 people are able to use the ETHOS eyepieces with eyeglasses. It's unfortunate the 24mm Panoptic doesn't have a bit more eye relief as it is an excellent performing eyepiece optically, outside the pincushion distortion, which has minimal effect on astronomical targets.

The reason the eye relief of Televue eyepieces is overstated is because it is measured to the top of the eye lens and not to the top of the eyepiece housing. Unfortunately humans can never get their eyeball right against the eye lens, particularly when wearing glasses. Some other manufacturers measure the eye relief to the top of the eyepiece housing which provides observers with a more accurate "USEABLE" eye relief estimate.

A couple of other good options, albeit with a slightly shorter focal length and a slightly narrower FOV would have been the 22mm Vixen LVW and the 21mm Denkmeier. Both of these eyepieces are excellent optically with a stated eye relief of 20mm and a useable eye relief pretty close to the stated figure. Both are suited to eyeglass wearers.

Enjoy your new 24mm ES

Cheers,
John B