Is Televue really better???

[PlanetMan]

At the risk of starting arguments I would be very grateful for some advice as to whether Televue eyepieces are genuinely better.

I raise this question as the Televue eyepiece sale has just begun and I am really tempted to spend. The problem is the spending is always so large with Televue especially when Explore Scientific is now on the scene.

I am very tempted to buy a Televue 26mm Nagler but even with the sale price it is still more than double the price of the Explore Scientific 24mm 82' including shipping from the USA to my front door.

So - the bottom line question is were I to spend all the extra cash for the Televue will I genuinely see major differences/superiority in the Televue???

Putting aside the 2mm difference in the eyepieces would most people spot the differences in the dark when you can't see which eyepiece is in the focuser? Many of the ES eyepiece such as the 24mm 82 attract great praise.

[glend (Glen)]

My personal experience with Televue Naglers and Explore Scientific says to me the price difference is not justified, however, put the Televue name on anything and people will buy it at a premium. Equipment snobs, perhaps, but everyone should probably have one Televue EP so they are in a position to comment on comparisons. Personally the lowly GSO Superwide EPs are my favorite, extremely sharp, wide field of view, and they get used more than the more expensive peers. I recently sold off many of my expensive EPs but i have kept the GSO Superviews, and my 11mm Nagler. If you want to impress people at star parties buy a bunch of Televues, they won't disappoint visually, unless you look at your credit card statement.

[casstony]

Depends on the scope and how picky you are as an observer.
I directly compared Pan 41/ES 40mm and Nagler 31/ES 30mm in a C11 and the ES is good enough for me. The eyepieces were identical on axis and the Pan 41 was just a little better off axis than the ES40.

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Depends on your eyes. The only person to answer your question is you. Quite simply, if you can't see the difference, then they aren't worth the money...

I have observed with folk who can't see coma or barrel distortion in a cheap eyepiece. So would I recommend high end gear to them? No. To others, only the best will do. But we are all different. Try before you buy is my best advice!

[Allan]

The best place to be this coming weekend is the SPSP. There will probably be over 1000 eyepieces there for you to try and see for yourself if there is a difference. Bintel are always there with their star party discount as well.

The 25" dob at the star party usually has the 26 Nagler in the focuser and it provides outstanding views.

What telescope will you be using them in? Generally the ES eyepieces offer great performance and value, and are worth the "investment". I will say though, fast scopes like the current crop of big, fast dobs do benefit greatly from using Ethos, Delos and XW type eyepieces that offer a highly corrected image across the field of view.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Good Question.
In an attempt to get the best view I could, I have at one time owned Full Sets of
Vixen LVW
Baader Hyperion
And Televue.

Over several observing sessions, from various dark sites, I did blind comparisons at various magnifications.

As was said earlier, the only judge is you, but in the end I finished up selling all of the Vixen and Baader and from my signature, you may see that I favoured the Televue in all cases.

This is just my experience, and I am sure it varies for different people and different scopes.
Edit
Don't get me wrong, the Vixen LVW and Baader are fantastic eyepieces, and there is little between them and the TV.
Bring COST into it and they would probably be a logical choice.
But as I had all three at the time, cost was not an issue at that time, if you know what I mean.
But I could not justify keeping all three sets.

Best advice is to go to an observing session and borrow beg or whatever, to see how they perform for you in your scope.
Good luck with your choices.

Edit
I see you are in Sydney.
Come up to Mangrove Mountain Pony Club next Saturday and you can borrow any of mine.
See Star Parties Forum - Central Coast observing HERE
Unlike SPSP, Pony Club is FREE, and Informal.
Regards

[PlanetMan]

To answer a few questions

I have a very nice 80mm APO refractor and a 10' F5 Dob. Both scopes can take 2' eyepieces but I do the bulk of my observing in the back-yard of light polluted Sydney.

I like the 26 Nagler due to exit pupil it provides but the Explore Scientific 24 82 seems to get a lot of praise and from what I gather from some of the o'seas forum the only reason we are having this wonderful sale in the first place is because Explore Scientific are really making huge in-roads into Televue's market share with supposedly equally good quality.

I understand the laws of diminishing returns and so because the Televue is double the price I don't expect it to be doubly better than the ES - but for the huge leap in price I think it reasonable to expect an immediately discernible difference - it doesn't have to be gigantic - just clearly noticeable

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I think you have to know yourself to answer this question.

The cost of quality "near" perfection is generally more expensive and may approach for you the law of diminishing returns. If you will always wonder in the back of your mind if you are missing something and it will detract from your enjoyment buy the TV (and or other high end) gear. If not don't

One thing about the TV stuff is that it will likely hold it's resale value more than the ES...also remember that if well cared for, the eyepiece will functionally last your lifetime. If you observe a lot the cost difference over time approaches zero.

For me (and only me) I have never second guessed a well considered quality purchase. In the beginning my scopes were modest and in some cases my eyepieces cost more than the scopes...as my scopes have improved in quality I have been able to retain and still enjoy my eyepieces. YMMV

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by wavelandscott

I think you have to know yourself to answer this question.

The cost of quality "near" perfection is generally more expensive and may approach for you the law of diminishing returns. If you will always wonder in the back of your mind if you are missing something and it will detract from your enjoyment buy the TV (and or other high end) gear. If not don't

One thing about the TV stuff is that it will likely hold it's resale value more than the ES...also remember that if well cared for, the eyepiece will functionally last your lifetime.

Unfortunately for most people their vision deteriorates with age, which why i have had to 'focus' on imaging. "Lasting a lifetime" is something few will enjoy. But i agree TV are easier to sell at the present time, in ten years don't expect to get your money back on them, everything depreciates.

[MortonH]

Don Pensack has said a few times that the ES eyepieces are not corrected for astigmatism, or at least are not as well corrected as Tele Vue eyepieces. How much that matters depends on your scope and what you're looking at.

In your 10" Dob you're most likely to be looking at deep sky stuff. With a galaxy or globular cluster in the centre of the FOV you're unlikely to notice some imperfection at the edges. If you look for it you'll find it, bearing in mind that the scope will have coma as well.

In your 80mm scope you might be more likely to look at wide star fields and here you tend to look all the way to the edge. Since a small scope also has a lot of field curvature the edges might not be perfect with either eyepiece.

While I haven't used the ES82 24mm I've used all the 1.25" ones and didn't find the edge performance to be objectionable. If money was no problem I'd go for the Tele Vue but you're not missing a huge amount by going ES.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

I pretty much exclusively us TV these days, but I have had the experience of lending my eyepieces at camps and star parties to others who have used other brands and the comment generally favour the TV ones.
Of course this is not a substitute for a direct comparison sisde by side in a variety of scopes, but I know I am happy with my Ethoi and it would be a long time before I decide to try anything else.

Malcolm

[LewisM]

I am no EP guru - far from it - but I own 2 EP's - a TV 20mm plossl and a Vixen 8-24 Zoom. All I need.

Is the TV good? I don't think they are Rolls Royce of EP's, nor are they Orion cheapo "passable". I feel Pentax superior to TV, and I also feel Tak's line of LE's better too (and still cheaper). I personally REALLY like a good Plossl, so any 5kg EP to me is just a paperweight

I must look for another Tak LE24 again... really good matches for Tak scopes (as are the Vixen LV's in all honesty).