Calling all nagler owners!

[asimov (John)]

I'm on the verge of having to wear glasses at the EP....within the next few years I would imagine, my main reason for choosing a pentax over a nagler.

May I also add my 3.5 XW on a reasonable night/morning is Mars Madness.... I was hoping to show Astro_South this but the weather or maybe it was the sky glow at AstroFest 2005 that limited it's use.

But hey I think he maybe investing in the 10mm hehehe

regards, Clear "friggin cold" Skies

Originally Posted by asimov

I'm on the verge of having to wear glasses at the EP....within the next few years I would imagine, my main reason for choosing a pentax over a nagler.

You will definitely enjoy the ER then, I like the way they are build with an adjustable & removable eye cup for ease of cleaning is great too.

regards, CS

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by Starkler

If only they came in 6mm I would already have one
Im thinking maybe a 6mm radian might be the go , but I would have to try and compare first.

Geoff,

I barlow the 14mm Pentax XW in my 2.5X TV Powermate for the equivalent of a 5.6mm Eyepiece and 220X in my 10"/F5 scope. I find this combination performs superbly and is somewhat more forgiving on the seeing than a Native 5mm eyepiece at 250X. A perfect planetary combo IMO.

CS-John B

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Dave47tuc

I have a 31 Nagler and 12 Nagler.

I find it hard to explain how good high end EP's are. I rate Pentax's, Tele Vue,
Great wide field EP's. There others that do a good to very good job as well.

So why do people say "oh get a Nagler" there the best. There probably more Tele Vue EP's owned around the world than any other high end EP.
So you will get more saying by a Nagler etc.

I used my 31 ( see below) to do a Open Cluster tour last night and at a 2 Deg, field of view it was great. Geoff used a 31 in his scope some time ago and now owns one I too finally have one and love it

When the Star Camp in Victoria is on I will be there. For those who have never had a Nagler in there scope, You can use mine and see for yourself what its like to own a Nagler. Then you will buy one

Yes I'm the first to say Naglers are not the be all to end all, but there very good. There not cheap and a Panoptic is in my opinion is just as good.

Yes it true, Dave doesn't deserve his nagler i went and bought two eyepieces recently a 24mm ultrawide meade and a 34mm super wide meade. I was extremely happy with the performance and the price (both for the price of a 31mm nagler). They were very sharp and contrasty at f5, f6.3 and f10. and very comfortable to use Used in a 30" they were supurb, and the scopes owner even commented that they are just a good as a nagler, and in a 10" they offered great views as well. The 18mm 1.25" meade ultra wide was also great. The 20mm Nagler I have when viewed on the same objects, (tuc47 and M57, ngc1355) in comparison was a very good eyepiece. I am still waiting for my nagler 9mm. (all 2")

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

Geoff,

I barlow the 14mm Pentax XW in my 2.5X TV Powermate for the equivalent of a 5.6mm Eyepiece and 220X in my 10"/F5 scope. I find this combination performs superbly and is somewhat more forgiving on the seeing than a Native 5mm eyepiece at 250X. A perfect planetary combo IMO.

CS-John B

John,

Do you have the 7mm & 5mm XW's. If so any thoughts on them? I'll sit here and drawl at your reply

I like the sound of what the 2.5x powermate does, it the lil diffence in powers sometimes that makes all the difference.

Do you still have the 20mm Xw for sale?

regards

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by xrekcor

John,

Do you have the 7mm & 5mm XW's. If so any thoughts on them? I'll sit here and drawl at your reply

I like the sound of what the 2.5x powermate does, it the lil diffence in powers sometimes that makes all the difference.

Do you still have the 20mm Xw for sale?

regards

Rob,

I have the 7mm,10mm,14mm and 20mm Pentax XW's
5mm,6mm,7mm,9mm,12mm and 18mm UO HD orthos, a 27mm TV Panoptic and a 30mm GSO Superview (for the kids to put their chocolate coated fingers on). I also have a 2" 1.6X Antares APO Barlow, a 1.25" 2X Orion Shorty Plus and the 1.25" 2.5X TV Powermate. I have most bases covered.

The 7mm and 10mm Pentax XW's are outstanding, only complaint is a tad of chromatic aberration right at the EOF on very bright objects. You will get this on any widefield eyepiece. The 14mm Pentax I rate as almost as good as the shorter focal lengths. The 20mm exhibits minor field curvature in both fast and slow scopes and is not quite as good as the shorter focal length XW's IMO. Its also worth noting that it uses a different lens configuration (6 elements in 4 groups) as opposed to the shorter focal lengths which are 7 elements in 5 groups. That having been said its about as good as you will get in this focal length while retaining 20mm of eye-relief. The 20mm Nagler T5 and the 24mm Panoptic are both slightly superior optically but have shorter eye-relief and I cannot use them with glasses on. The 22mm NT4 has sufficient eye-relief but is inferior optically to the other 2 Televue products. The 22mm Vixen Lanthanum wide performs similar to the Pentax XW and 22mm NT4 IMO, so basically if you want to retain long eye relief at this focal length in a 1.25" barrel you sacrifice a little edge performance. Bear in mind I am talking about very minor issues in a premium eyepiece, Louie (Atalas) when I stuck it in his TAK FS102 couldn't detect it, but I was still able to see it, because I know its there. If you need to wear glasses when using a 20mm eyepiece then the 20mm Pentax XW is probably your best option in a 1.25" barrel. If you don't need glasses at this focal length the 24mm Panoptic is a slightly better choice IMO. I had sold the 20mm Pentax XW but my wife told me I couldn't sell it because it was given to me as I gift and had sentimental value, so I reluctantly withdrew it from sale. I wasn't going to have my wife with the "tom tits" at me over a $500 eyepiece. When I crapp her off its going to be over a 100k Lexus or Bima or something similar

The 1.25" TV powermate is the best barlow I have used. Its a cracker and I have used a lot of barlows in the past, including a 2" 1.75X Parks barlow (1960's vintage) about the size of a longneck, which was crapp BTW. Powermate is highly recommeded.

CS-John B

John,

I have the 3.5mm, 10mm, 14mm XW's I haven't noticed chromatic aberration in any of them, but then again it maybe my in-experience, if it were pointed out to me that maybe different. I do find with the XW's if there is a fault with them it is eyeplacement. When I first slotted the 14mm I must say at first I was a lil disappointed. It appeared a tad out of focus towards the edges. However after playing with the eyeplacement and adjusting the eyeguard this disappeared. All three are tack sharp to the EOF in my f/6 newt.

Have you been able to try the 2" 30mm XW?

And what about the nagler 26mm t5? does it suffer the same field curverture like the 31mm t5? I did like the 20mm t5 of Houghy's so maybe they might be a better option for wide FOV views.

regards

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

Originally Posted by xrekcor

John,

I have the 3.5mm, 10mm, 14mm XW's I haven't noticed chromatic aberration in any of them, but then again it maybe my in-experience, if it were pointed out to me that maybe different.

Trust me its there on all of them. Minimal, but if you get Jupiter/Venus/Moon right on the field stop at high power you can see it at the edge, adjacent to the field stop. You will get this on any widefield and it does not affect viewing performance at all.

I do find with the XW's if there is a fault with them it is eyeplacement. When I first slotted the 14mm I must say at first I was a lil disappointed. It appeared a tad out of focus towards the edges. However after playing with the eyeplacement and adjusting the eyeguard this disappeared. All three are tack sharp to the EOF in my f/6 newt.

This is experience. Once you get used to using eyepieces that are a little more critical of eye placement you get used to putting your eye in the right place. The early Naglers are even more critical than the Pentax XW's are for eye placement and blackouts.

Have you been able to try the 2" 30mm XW?

No, but I would like to.

And what about the nagler 26mm t5? does it suffer the same field curverture like the 31mm t5? I did like the 20mm t5 of Houghy's so maybe they might be a better option for wide FOV views.

Not IMO, I rate the 26mm NT5 as the best 2" long focal length widefield eyepiece I have used period. The 20mm NT5 is also up there as one of the best ever, excepting its eye-relief is now too short for my worsening eyes as I now need glasses when using eyepieces of 20mm focal length in fast scopes. If you don't need glasses at the eyepiece the 20mm NT5 is an absolute cracker.

CS-John B

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

Not IMO, I rate the 26mm NT5 as the best 2" long focal length widefield eyepiece I have used period. The 20mm NT5 is also up there as one of the best ever, excepting its eye-relief is now too short for my worsening eyes as I now need glasses when using eyepieces of 20mm focal length in fast scopes. If you don't need glasses at the eyepiece the 20mm NT5 is an absolute cracker.

CS-John B

No, dont wear glasses, actually I found and still find my 7mm HD has comfortable eyerelief... just that me darn eyelashes are a tad long. However this is never a problem with the XW's another thing I find with the XW's is I can swap eyeballs with no adjustment period like I do with the U/O HD's. and I love the way the eyeguard on the XW encaptures your eyeball. Kinda wish they made the 20mm in a 2" version

Dont get me wrong, eyeplacement was only a five minute prob, and I shouldn't really call it a fault, as I quickly got used to it. With the 3.5 you have to use the 20mm eyerelief any closer and it will black out. Still spectacular in reasonable to good conditions. It did surprise me how usable that power has been in condition I would of thought it would breakdown. However at that power it is effected by sky glow and zodiacal light. But then every ep at that focal length would breakdown. I've had the best views of Mars _period_ with that ep

regards

Here's a post from another forum by a new Nagler owner

13/11/2005
Ok, Im new.....I bought a TV-85 a nagler 22, 12, 7 and 3.5 along with a
2.5 powermate. Now, I go to look at the moon....I start out with the
nagler 12 and find that when the moon is to the near edge of the
eyepiece field , the edges of the moon start getting a greenish yellow
layer on them! It happens the most with the nagler 12 but I can still
see some with the 22 as well. It seems that the 7 and the 3.5 have way
less , if any. The reason I bought the 22 and 12 was to get a full 82
degree wide field of view right?? Is this due to the eyepieces (12
mostly and then the 22) or is it the scope? Im really upset that a
350.00 (12) eyepiece looks so bad at the edges.....
Thanks so much!!
-Dave

regards,CS

[iceman (Mike)]

He's describing CA (chromatic abberation). I found that all of the 14mm widefield eyepieces I tested (including the 13mm nagler t6) on Venus had CA when placed near the edge.

I guess they're not really designed to be planetary eyepieces and don't work particularly well on very bright objects.

[bytor666]

Nobody has mentioned the meade 14mm UWA series 4000
This is one that I myself own and it is a KILLER eyepiece!!!!...super, ultra-flat view from edge to edge in my 12"F/5 GSO telescope!!!, Blows the 12mm Nagler Type 4 away on sharpness too !!!

I would have to disagree that the Naglers are "better" then the Pentaxes. I love the naglers, don't get me wrong, they have a nice 82 degree FOV, but the Pentax XW's from 10mm up are super-sharp and the edge performance on these babies are far superior to the Naglers!!!

I just got my 10mm Pentax XW in the mail yesterday and alreay had it trained on Venus this week for a quick view!!!
I also think that the 9mm nagler Type 1 has better eye relief then the newer 9mm Nag type 6.
All in all, the naglers are great workhorse eyepieces, but there are also others to pick from besides just them.
I would LOVE to have a look through that 31mm nagler, I'll tell you that for sure!!!!
-----------------------
Mark
12" F/5 GSO Telescope
30mm 1rpd (coming soon)
14mm meade series 4000 UWA
10mm Pentax XW
2" GSO Barlow

[iceman (Mike)]

I would LOVE to have a look through that 31mm nagler, I'll tell you that for sure!!!!

I had my first look through a 31mm Nagler in a 10" GSO dob (same as mine, using Dave47Tuc's and Starklers nagler + scopes) at the recent Snake Valley star camp a few weeks ago.

They are a beautiful eyepiece.. Magnificent wide FOV and very very sharp. It only took me a second to work out the best place for my eye, and after that there was no problem with kidney beaning or blackouts.

The view of Andromeda (also my first view!) was stunning, even so low on the horizon. It's a beautiful eyepiece, that's for sure. But it's also $1000

[rochler]

amateur astronomer, then you must pluck out your eyelashes so as not to have them interfere with your eyepieces. This will avoid all those nasty oily smears on your $400+ eyepieces. Eyelashes don't seem to support any useful function anyhow...

I don't recommend that you use scissors unless you have very steady hands - you could jab them in your eye unintentionally. The use of hair removal cream is also not advisable, since they are caustic. If you mainly use eyepieces with small exit pupils you may get away with just removing the lashes in the centre portion of your eye(s) - dunno what style you would call this, but it's like the opposite of a 'Brazilian'.

Unless you are really making a statement, you might wish to apply this treatment to both eyes equally, since otherwise you may scare small children or less enlightened astronomers. You will still look weird, but it's a small price to pay for the warm glow you will get for taking this hobby seriously....

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

I have become a Nagler owner since this thread started...

The 13mm is not a bad little EP but there is plenty of things I can pick on (and no, lack of eye relief is not one of them; but I'm a picky ******* maybe my title should say that...)

Ok I'm gonna stir the pot again in XW's favour

edit: If Nagler are meant to be sooooo good!!!

How come I see more Naglers being resold than XW's I understand
there are allot of Nagler owners out there compared to possibly XW owners.

Still you very rarely see XW's being offered, interesting...


regards,CS

[bytor666]

Hi, I just came in from a small stint out in my yard. I was testing out my new Pentax 10mm XW. I know exactly why you don't see these being sold as much as the Naglers: They are far better in my opinion!!!
Tack-Sharp views in my 12" F/5 Telescope, without any warping or coma on the extreme edge of the fieldstop!!!

It's quite cold out here , but I am enjoying it nevertheless!!!!!...Pentax eyepieces are the Best !!!!...The 10mm XW won't be leaving my possession any time soon !!!!!
----------------------------
Mark
12" F/5 reflector
30mm 1 rpd (finder EP)
21mm TeleVue plossl(on the way)
14mm Meade series 4000 UWA
10mm Pentax XW
2" GSO Barlow

Originally Posted by janoskiss

I have become a Nagler owner since this thread started...

The 13mm is not a bad little EP but there is plenty of things I can pick on (and no, lack of eye relief is not one of them; but I'm a picky ******* maybe my title should say that...)

And by the look of it, possibly a dis-owner before it ends

regards,CS

Hey Mark,

Originally Posted by bytor666

It's quite cold out here , but I am enjoying it nevertheless!!!!!...Pentax eyepieces are the Best !!!!...The 10mm XW won't be leaving my possession any time soon !!!!!
----------------------------
Mark

Yeah the 10mm is definitely a customer

regards,CS