138 replies to this topic

[mountain monk]

The undercut hysteria is reminding me of the tulip hysteria. Undercuts? Just be careful, no problem. And if you just can’t be careful, spend 10 bucks on some 3M tape and fill the cut. Presto! Problem solved. No need to mortgage your house for new barrels.
 

Dark, clear, calm skies.

 

Jack

[skyops]

*

 

I've complained about the undercuts for years, so mow I must buy another Pan 24?

 

Serves me right.

 

 

 

 

.

[scotsman328i]

 

I've complained about the undercuts for years, so mow I must buy another Pan 24?

 

Serves me right.

 

 

 

 

.

Oh you KNOW some will do it! Just look for the spike in 24Pans that will soon come to classifieds. 

[Rick-T137]

The undercut hysteria is reminding me of the tulip hysteria. Undercuts? Just be careful, no problem. And if you just can’t be careful, spend 10 bucks on some 3M tape and fill the cut. Presto! Problem solved. No need to mortgage your house for new barrels.
 

Dark, clear, calm skies.

 

Jack

Agreed! I have undercuts on my Tele Vue eyepieces and they have barely registered in my awareness that they are even there. Really not a problem in my book, But by the same token, I don't care if my eyepieces have straight barrels. Really not and issue either way for me.

 

Looking forward to those bargain basement prices on undercut Pans, though!

[Highburymark]

Agreed! I have undercuts on my Tele Vue eyepieces and they have barely registered in my awareness that they are even there. Really not a problem in my book, But by the same token, I don't care if my eyepieces have straight barrels. Really not and issue either way for me.

Looking forward to those bargain basement prices on undercut Pans, though!

Agree! Not one stuck eyepiece in 25 years of stargazing. Just thankful the undercuts have saved me on a couple of occasions.

[25585]

Wait for someone to post that the ‘new’ Panoptic is sharper…..

Long effective eye relief, like the UFF 24mm, would be nice.

[Dave Mitsky]

Very interesting.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=krD4hdGvGHM

[jrmacl]

The undercut hysteria is reminding me of the tulip hysteria. Undercuts? Just be careful, no problem. And if you just can’t be careful, spend 10 bucks on some 3M tape and fill the cut. Presto! Problem solved. No need to mortgage your house for new barrels.
 

Dark, clear, calm skies.

 

Jack

I only have the 8mm and 11mm TV Plossl and never really cared much about the undercut debate but just now thought can't you just replace the barrels with some cheap ep barrel? Tried the smooth barrel from a 6mm Parks Kellner on my 8mm TV Plossl and guess what, different threads! Why?! Why would they do that? Are there smooth barreled ep's with the same thread?

[Granite Glasser]

I'll just keep on using my "old school" TeleVue 24mm Panoptic with its undercut barrel, thank you!

It has never given me any issues and has always thrown up spectacular widefield views with my TeleVue Ranger (20x / 3.5mm exit pupil / 3.2 degree TFOV).  

The 24 Pan is my "finder" eyepiece as well as my RFT format configuration for leisurely sweeping Milky Way starfield views.  

And I very seriously doubt that the optics will have changed one little bit between my "classic" version and this new iteration.  

 

Still one completely satisfied customer of the TeleVue 24mm Panoptic! 

 

PEACE and Clear Skies! 

[25585]

The 24 Pan with no undercut is aimed at binoviewer/binocular users I imagine. 

[Pat Rochford]

I only have the 8mm and 11mm TV Plossl and never really cared much about the undercut debate but just now thought can't you just replace the barrels with some cheap ep barrel? Tried the smooth barrel from a 6mm Parks Kellner on my 8mm TV Plossl and guess what, different threads! Why?! Why would they do that? Are there smooth barreled ep's with the same thread?

Tried that just now.  Reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a cheap 20mm eyepiece from God knows where or when.  Unscrewed the barrel from it and my 8mm Tele Vue Plossl.  It did not match the threads of the 8mm.  Not even close.  Anyway, just one more data point ... could be others that might match. 

Edited by Pat Rochford, 12 March 2025 - 04:07 PM.

[Pat Rochford]

Wait for someone to post that the ‘new’ Panoptic is sharper…..

An opportunity to determine how much, if any better, Japanese optics are than Taiwanese - when comparing two eyepieces with identical design, focal length and price. 

[f18dad]

While switching to a new manufacturer and removing the undercuts I am surprised they didn’t take the opportunity to tweak the ER to better compete with the much cheaper 24mm UFF. 

Edited by f18dad, 12 March 2025 - 05:56 PM.

[Highburymark]

Long effective eye relief, like the UFF 24mm, would be nice.

Accept that for some observers like you Richard, but one of the reasons the Panoptic 24s work so well in a binoviewer for me is the closer eye relief. It’s a perfect compromise between accessing the full field and shielding out light. For this reason they work beautifully as widefield solar Ha and daytime spotting eyepieces.

[CrazyPanda]

While switching to a new manufacturer and removing the undercuts I am surprised they didn’t take the opportunity to tweak the ER to better compete with the much cheaper 24mm UFF.

The eye relief is a part of the optical prescription. They would need to basically come up with a new design. That’s a lot more involved than just switching manufacturers and a barrel change.

[Lagrange]

Long effective eye relief, like the UFF 24mm, would be nice.

That would require a complete redesign that would result in an eyepiece that was a similar size to the 24mm UFF.

 

One of the nice things about the 24mm Pan is how compact it is. I've got a 24mm UFF and I sometimes wish it was closer to the Pan in size.

Edited by Lagrange, 12 March 2025 - 09:59 PM.

[Kefka1138]

While I love my 24 Pan (and my 19), a part of me will wonder about the new variant. However, if the market collapses, I'd happily snap up a 2nd OG for binoviewing at the dip. Doubt values will drop that much, unless the Radian effect kicks in.

Edited by Kefka1138, 13 March 2025 - 10:26 AM.

[Skyscratcher88]

I just received a brand new Panoptic 27mm I bought in a moment of weakness. I am on a business trip and can’t wait to get home and look at the green letter jewel. I am curious if the new 27mm’s did away with the Undercuts?

[Skyscratcher88]

I just received a brand new Panoptic 27mm I bought in a moment of weakness. I am on a business trip and can’t wait to get home and look at the green letter jewel. I am curious if the new 27mm’s did away with the Undercuts?

[Lagrange]

I just received a brand new Panoptic 27mm I bought in a moment of weakness. I am on a business trip and can’t wait to get home and look at the green letter jewel. I am curious if the new 27mm’s did away with the Undercuts?

If the images on the TeleVue website are accurate representations of current production then your 27mm will still have an undercut.

[csrlice12]

Could a new TeleVue binoviewer be in the works?????

[25585]

The 24mm TV Wide Field has just enough eye relief for me wearing glasses, in its smoothie version (that has no undercut). Ditto the smoothie Meade 24mm SWA 4000.

[Starman1]

Could a new TeleVue binoviewer be in the works?????

Look for a used one. They made one for years.
Finding someone willing to part with one will be the challenge. Expect to pay $1000 for a used one.

[Starman1]

I only have the 8mm and 11mm TV Plossl and never really cared much about the undercut debate but just now thought can't you just replace the barrels with some cheap ep barrel? Tried the smooth barrel from a 6mm Parks Kellner on my 8mm TV Plossl and guess what, different threads! Why?! Why would they do that? Are there smooth barreled ep's with the same thread?

There is no standardization of threads in the astronomy market If you tried 50 different eyepieces, you'd be lucky to find two that matched.

[Jon Isaacs]

There is no standardization of threads in the astronomy market If you tried 50 different eyepieces, you'd be lucky to find two that matched.

 

There are some that do fit but it's far from the norm. The TMB Planetary's and what we used to call the Synta Wide Fields but now are commonly known as the Redlines and Gold Lines, many of them had/have interchangeable barrels and bodies as well as the various other parts.

 

Jon