Quality Plossl eyepieces

[cydonia]

Hi,

What would be the better plossl eyepiece between the current TV Plossl or 2nd hand vintage Celestron Silvertop Plossl

I could get a decent silvertop for less then half of a new TV but if the quality in not the same then I would rather buy TV new

Cheers

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

I reckon the Celestron silvertops, and the identical Vixen range are easily equal to Televues. The only difference may be that the FOV can be slightly smaller 48 as against 50 degrees.

[LewisM]

I personally believe that the old (discontinued) Parks Gold Series EP's out-perform the TV Plossls. My Parks 25mm is by far my favourite EP (even comparing it to TV Naglers in similar size). The most I have ever paid for one was $120, new, in the box.

The Takahashi LE series is another fine option, but quite expensive. Or the Celestron Ultima series (same maker as the Parks), or any of the Masuyama clones (Orion Ultrascopics being amongst the more readily available).

I have owned TV Plossls, Panoptics, Radians and Naglers, but no longer have even one, having kept my Parks, Masuyama (real), and Tak LE's (plus a Pentax Zoom that I use for casual Grab N Go nights)

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

I have some Celestron Silvertops (15,22 & 26mm) and have found them to similar to the original TV Plossls.

However, I consider EPs in the 2nd (& current) series of TV Plossls to be slightly better.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Like the others here have a TV Plossl set 40mm >8mm and like them a lot finding I use these more often than not out of all my eyepieces , they are very easy to use , small and light .

Also have a Celestron silver top 26mm and its as good or better than my TV 25mm , very sharp with great eye relief , its almost my favorite eyepiece ever .

Brian.

[Prickly]

Hi

I used to own a 26mm celestron silver top and still have a 26mm Televue plossl. In terms of sharpness I couldn't tell hem apart. The televue has the warmer hue which I quite like but I could not pick a winner. I kept the Televue for name sake. Both are equally great eyepieces. The televue works well in very low f ratio scopes but I didn't test the celestron at very low f ratios - fairly sure it would be identically good though. Both were super sharp at f5.7.

I'm presently looking for a pair for the 26 televue for binoviewing rather than buying 2 x 25 plossls - but they are hard to find. Is there a site where you found the silver top with 2nd hand eyepieces (maybe I could find a televue pair).

Cheers,
Dave

[cydonia]

I have been very interested in the Parks eyepieces and other clones but they go very quick on the 2nd hand market. I’m hoping to get about three focal lengths in the same series of plossl.

I see Bintel have TV on sale atm for $140, $150 with shipping. As a posed to a silver top from O/S for about $70 delivered in excellent condition.

I have a 20mm Nagler but like the narrower F.O.V of plossl eyepieces as they frame craters on the Moon better for me. however I want a plossl that’s sharp to the edge in my C8 and perform good in f4.5 Newtonian.

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by cydonia

however I want a plossl that’s sharp to the edge in my C8 and perform good in f4.5 Newtonian.

What is the mirror diameter of your Newtonian? The larger the size, the easier it is to justify spending more on quality EPs.

Personally, I find the TeleVue Delites perform better at F4.5, but I may be older (early 60s) and my eyes do not handle these fast ratios very well these days. In my 30s, the only thing that I did like about Plossls at fast ratios was the small field of view.

Sometimes, personal preferences feature strongly and I can only suggest that if it is possible, visit an Astronomy Group/Club and try out a few of the members EPs before you buy.

[Wavytone]

Plossls should perform extremely well in Newtonians ... less so in SCT’s.

I’m somewhat surprised a manufacturer hasn’t attempted to make a set of Plossls optimised using modern glass types and coatings.

A much underrated eyepiece provided you are happy with 50-55 degree afov.

Only downside is the eye relief in focal lengths under 12mm, which is abysmal.

[LewisM]

Interestingly, I find the ER in the Parks 10mm much more comfortable than the Takahashi LE10 (the Parks is also a much warmer tone).

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

Plossls should perform extremely well in Newtonians ... less so in SCT’s.

I’m somewhat surprised a manufacturer hasn’t attempted to make a set of Plossls optimised using modern glass types and coatings.

A much underrated eyepiece provided you are happy with 50-55 degree afov.

Only downside is the eye relief in focal lengths under 12mm, which is abysmal.

I like using plossls in SCTs (particular the non-edge versions), however, I do agree with the remarks about eye-relief.