8 replies to this topic

[SpongeBob]

Hi all. I am down to 3 ep's and am only wanting one more to complete my collection. I've narrowed it down to 3 so I need your advice/opinions and hopefully a why.
My scope is an 8" f/6 Discovery dob w/ 1.25" focuser. I am using a 24mm Pan as my Finder/low power ep. 7mm and 5mm T6 Nags for my high(174x) and higher(243x) power eps.
I am leaning toward a 10mm Radian for a medium power ep (122x) that would be nice for globs, planetary nebs, and lunar and galaxies (in that order) or go for the gusto and get an 11mm T6 Nagler for about 110x. My 3rd choice would be a 12mm Radian for about 102x. This might be a little low for globs and possibly galaxies too as my skies are only around 4.5 mag. Ant thoughts?
Thanks,
Jason

[matt]

How'bout an 11mm Radian?
Obviously you would love any of the three. But you will have a hole between 12mm and 24... How about a 10mm Radian and a 15mm Panoptic? Or 12 and 19?

[SpongeBob]

If only they made an 11mm Radian. Actually that is not much of a hole for me. My 24mm at 50x is great for open clusters and large/bright objects. Planets are my main objects followed closely by globs so I don't have much use between say 50x and 120x.
Jason

[IDONTSEEIT]

I have an 11mm T-6, and if the 10mm Radian is the same size/weight as a 4mm Radian I have, it is alot heavier than the T-6. So the T-6 may be a better choice if you plan to use it on/in your starblast....just a thought.

Regards,

[Jarad]

I wouldn't recommend the 10mm radian - it won't have much more TFOV than the 7mm nagler (0.5 degree for the 10 radian, 0.48 for the nagler, not worth another eyepiece).

I would get another nagler, between 11 and 13. My set goes from the 24 pan to the 13 nagler, then the 9 and 7. I have a 2.5x powermate to fill in the higher powers in short FL scopes. I find that to be good spacing. Honestly, if you find that the 5mm isn't used very often, I would sell it and get both 9 and 13. If you really use the 5 a lot, either still get the 9 and 13, or just the 11.

Jarad

[jmoore]

Hmmm....

I think your hole between 50x and 174x really needs two EPs....something around 75x and 120x would be great. In my experience so far, a lot of DSOs look best around 75x in a 8" scope...particularly the smaller open clusters. I also think 75x gives a well framed view of entire moon.

Then, up to 120x for the best view of many globulars, galaxies, etc. 120x is also about as small as I like to go for looking at planets (when conditions won't permit higher mags).

If you really only want ONE more piece, then I'd either just get the 120x (ditching the 75x view of open clusters altogether), or else compromise with something around 100x, which is an excellent mag for most DSOs with an 8" scope (in my opinion), but suboptimal for planets or a lot of open clusters.

Curious...why so stuck on Radians? I mean yes, they're awesome, but if you don't need the eye relief, I'd personally lean toward something wider in the 75x-120x range (like Naglers, Pentax, etc).

My 2 cents.
jeff

[Barry Fernelius]

I'd go for either an 11mm or 13mm Type 6 Nagler.

[SpongeBob]

Curious...why so stuck on Radians? I mean yes, they're awesome, but if you don't need the eye relief, I'd personally lean toward something wider in the 75x-120x range (like Naglers, Pentax, etc).

Not really stuck on them, actually never used one at night. These are just the powers I'm looking for. Sounds like the 11mm Nag is probably moving up the wish list for now.
Jason

[matt]

Sure. If you don't need eye relief and can afford the Naglers, the Radians are a downgrade.

As for the weight of the 10mm Radian, it is lighter than the 4mm by about one third. The heaviest are the 6 and 5, then the 4.