Decided to setup for a viewing session last night with the TEC160FL mainly to test out recently acquired Panoptic 19mm and Masuyama 16mm.
Oddly, being a rather warm evening, the atmosphere was really stable and gave great views of Jupiter and Saturn.
I have to say the Panoptic 19mm and Masuyama 16mm are great eyepieces, clear and sharp to the edge but I really liked the performance of the Masuyama. Must checkout other FL in the range.
Also contemplating getting a second Panoptic 19mm to test out my Zeiss Binoviewer .. once I work out what Glasspath Corrector I need.
Otherwise an enjoyable evening ... with one exception ... damn Mosquito's. If there is a God .. does he/she/it/their/they hate Astronomers. You think everything has a purpose in life ... I have yet to work out the Mosquito's.
Yes, stupid trivial things you ponder during a viewing session.
My last dark sky night was similar, we had beanies and gloves on to reduce the amount of skin available to the small swarms each of us had hanging over our heads. Luckily around 9:30 it got too cold for them and they finally backed off...
I have to say the Panoptic 19mm and Masuyama 16mm are great eyepieces
Hi Hans,
The 19mm Televue Panoptic was introduced in 1996. It is still in current production. To be in current production for 26 years it must get a few things right. I like eyepieces with a touch more eye relief than the 19mm Panoptic, but the first to agree that it is a very sharp, high quality eyepiece. Put both of those into a fast Newtonian and it's likely the 19mm Pano will just outdo the Masuyama. Both great eyepieces.
The Tele Vue 19mm Panoptic is a soulmate to the Tele Vue BinoVue and a very nice eyepiece in any telescope in its own right. However, if you are comparing with 16mm Masuyama then a better comparison would be the 16mm Type 5 Nagler. It has the same focal length, same eye relief and nearly the same apparent field as the Masuyama.
The 16mm T5 Nagler is a fine eyepiece in both mono and bino and the volcano top form factor (same as 19mm Panoptic) makes the shorter eye relief a non-issue for many (not for eye glass wearers though without sacrificing apparent field). I understand there are some that still prefer a longer eye relief, and this is a personal preference.
I have a Masuyama 10mm and its a great eyepiece in the centre. The small number of lenses translates into a bright image.
I also have had a 16mm Nagler T5 and it is a lovely eyepiece. Nice and small.
But back and forth with it and a Morpheus 17.5mm I found I preferred the Morpheus due to the better eye relief meaning a relaxed longer view. In other other ways they were almost the same.
Its not 16mm but the APM 12.5mm HiFi is better than all these.
I had a 19mm Panoptic for years and it was my go to eyepiece for a long time. I also had a pair for binos and it worked really well.
The 16mm T5 Nagler is a fine eyepiece in both mono and bino and the volcano top form factor (same as 19mm Panoptic) makes the shorter eye relief a non-issue for many (not for eye glass wearers though without sacrificing apparent field). I understand there are some that still prefer a longer eye relief, and this is a personal preference.
Being an eyeglass wearer with "some" astigmatism I find the short eye relief to be a non issue with narrow AFOV eyepieces like orthoscopics, as I take my glasses off and the AFOV is narrow enough that my astigmatism doesn't kick in. It's also less noticeable with the shorter focal lengths I use with orthoscopics, due to the smaller exit pupil. One of my observing buddies has a 16mm Nagler T5, which he absolutely loves, but I just cannot use. The 10mm of eye relief (about 6 to 8mm useable) combined with the wider AFOV, just doesn't work for me. I can appreciate what a high quality eyepiece it is, but it's just not for me. I'll take the 17mm Nagler T4 in a paracorr every day of the week. Or better still, the 17mm Nikon NAV HW.
But back and forth with it and a Morpheus 17.5mm I found I preferred the Morpheus due to the better eye relief meaning a relaxed longer view. In other other ways they were almost the same.
Its not 16mm but the APM 12.5mm HiFi is better than all these.
Greg.
Have you tried the 17mm and 12.5mm Nikon NAV HW? They are in a class by themselves IMO, both optically and in terms of comfort and ergonomics. They aren't cheap but you do get 2 focal lengths for the price of each eyepiece.
Have you tried the 17mm and 12.5mm Nikon NAV HW? They are in a class by themselves IMO, both optically and in terms of comfort and ergonomics. They aren't cheap but you do get 2 focal lengths for the price of each eyepiece.
Cheers
Hi John,
No I haven"t but have read several times about how good they are.
