7 replies to this topic

[Greg S]

Hey everyone,

I have been out with my new 9.25XLT the last few nights and find myself mostly hunting DSOs (By the time it's really dark at 11:00 p.m., Jupiter is probably over Japan; I'll just have to wait until next year for planets). I have found that I have been using my lowly GSO 42mm and my 2" 2x Powermate almost all the time. I've definitely got my $60 out of that eyepiece. This gives me 56x and 112x barlowed at 2350 focal length which has been working great. No vignetting and stars appear very sharp in the middle 2/3 to 3/4 of the viewing area. I really like how you can frame M22 and M13 at lower powers against the black background.

Since I love these lower powers, and want as much FOV as you can get out of an f10 SMT, I would like to move up the food chain to some premium wide FOV eyepieces. I would really like to get around 75x and 100x so that with the barlow I would get 150x and 200x which would be better for globs and planetary nebula.

What do you think of the 22mm TV Panoptic at 106x and the TV Nagler 31mm for 76x? I know it's a bundle for these eyepieces but I like the wide views. Since I have a 2x Powermate I believe they can both be barlowed as is.

For background info, I am using a 2" visual back with a Televue 2" Everbright Diagonal.

Any comments are welcome as well as directions to other manufacturers.

Thank you.

[jrcrilly]

Since I love these lower powers, and want as much FOV as you can get out of an f10 SMT, I would like to move up the food chain to some premium wide FOV eyepieces. I would really like to get around 75x and 100x so that with the barlow I would get 150x and 200x which would be better for globs and planetary nebula.

Right around 20mm is a sweet spot for those F/10 scopes, and it's a good place to start with premium eyepieces. As you've noticed, that one will get a great deal of use. 30mm is another good choice for widefield EP's since it'll be about the max the scope will do well.

The two you mention are both great performers, but with the 31mm you are paying a large price for its ability to perform well in fast scopes and may not need that. I kinda doubt the ability of the C9.25 to fully illuminate it anyway so you may not get full value from that EP. I dunno if I've ever posted anything on CN suggesting a move away from Naglers, but I'd suggest a slightly different approach.

I'd upgrade the 22mm Panoptic to a Nagler; either a 20mm Type 2 or a 22mm Type 4. That one will get most of the use and it's where I wouldn't scrimp. However, in SCT's I've used a 35mm Panoptic or even a $100 30mm 1RPD instead of the 31mm Nagler and have been quite pleased with those. I still have the 31mm T5 but use it only in the fast Newtonians, where its tolerance for fast optics is important.

[Dave Mitsky]

You should also consider the University Optics MK-25 and MK-70. Both will work well at f/10 and are considerably less expensive than the Panoptic and Nagler. The 40mm MK-70 will give you the maximum TFOV possible. It won't provide the magnification that you want but I think that the tradeoff is worth the price.

Dave Mitsky

[Starman1]

A 22mm Panoptic would be nice, or a 22mm Nagler 4 if you can afford it.
Both are "in the sweet spot" at f/10, and both are excellent.
For lower powers, a 35mm Panoptic, or a 31mm Nagler are wonderful.
The good news is that at f/10, most eyepieces will perform well, so a Konig-II or a Guan Sheng Optics (GSO) may work fine.
Don

[Jarad]

If you want to get the max TFOV, you should look at a 41 Pan or 40mm Pentax XW, or 40mm GSO or Burgess SWA (when they finally become available). At f10, the cheaper ones should perform pretty well, although the Pan's and Pentaces will still be very nice. For the max TFOV in a 1.25" diagonal, look at the 24 pan or a 24.5mm SWA.

Jarad

[Greg S]

Thanks for the input everyone. I went ahead and ordered the 30mm 1rpd, how can you resist an 80 degree FOV at $95.00, which should give my SCT over 1 degree of actual FOV. I really appreciate jrcrilly making the point that a lot of what you are paying for in Naglers are performance on short f ratios. Sometimes I think a lot of the hype on these top end eyepieces is that they were originally designed for use in short f ratio APOs where as they say, "if you have to ask, then you can't afford it".

I'm now torn on what to get for the "money" eyepiece in the 20 - 25 mm range which will probably be used the most often. If my longer f10 ratio will cause less expensive eyepieces to work just as well as Naglers then I'm all for it; I just want to make sure I get a nice quality eyepiece with as wide a field as possible. I can't stand that tunnel vision feeling.

I'm considering the UO MK-70, how would this compare against the Nagler 22 in an f10 scope?

Jarad, thanks for the response. I already have a GSO 42mm and I love it. It's probably the best bargain in astronomy equipment at $59.

Thanks.

[Rusty]

Greg, don't overlook the Panoptics - 19, 22, or 24 might ring your chimes.

[Dave Mitsky]

The eye relief of the 25mm MK-70 is a bit on the short side and I don't care much for the exterior filter thread ring. The Nagler has a 12 degree larger AFOV, of course, and will be more comfortable to use since it has a rubber eyecup. However, you may not like the sliding Inadjust eyeguard.

Dave Mitsky