TeleVue Panoptic vs Baader Hyperion

[Neon]

Both have about the same FOV, but what advantages would a Panoptic have over a Hyperion of the same focal length?

I own a Hyperion and I'm very impressed with its performance, but am tempted by a 24mm Panoptic I've seen second hand. Is it worth upgrading, or will the performance hike be fairly slight?

Mark

[Andrew*]

The biggest advantage of the panoptic only reveals itself when used in scopes with a focal ratio of less than say f/6.

The Hyperion will start to go soft at the edges, whereas the Panoptic will probably be sharp down to f/4 scopes. Even with slower scopes, you may find the TeleVue better optically.

The Panoptic is also smaller and lighter.

It's big disadvantage is of course the cost, but it's worth considering that TeleVue eyepieces keep their Second-hand value very well so if you decide to sell the Panoptic later, you won't lose much, if any...

Andrew

[moocher]

I`ve just gone down this route ie 24mm Hyperion for the 24mm Panoptic. When i recieve it and tested it i`ll let you know.....

Alan:D

[John]

The biggest advantage of the panoptic only reveals itself when used in scopes with a focal ratio of less than say f/6.

The Hyperion will start to go soft at the edges, whereas the Panoptic will probably be sharp down to f/4 scopes. Even with slower scopes, you may find the TeleVue better optically.

The Panoptic is also smaller and lighter.

It's big disadvantage is of course the cost, but it's worth considering that TeleVue eyepieces keep their Second-hand value very well so if you decide to sell the Panoptic later, you won't lose much, if any...

Andrew

I've just been testing Hyperions and Vixen LVW's and I'd tend to agree with Andrew's assessment above with regard to the Hyperions. Hyperions are nice eyepieces mind you IMHO and the Panoptic will not "blow it away" or any similar rhetoric

[Neon]

Thanks for the responses chaps. I use my 24mm Hyperion a lot, but it tends to work mostly to help me find smaller targets or on DSO's.

So with regards to contrast and clarity there's not much to distinguish the two eyepieces appart, except for clarity at the edges? I shall have to have a good think about splashing the cash for the moment, or at least until I've read Moocher's review.

Thanks

Mark

[ollypenrice]

I find that I significntly prefer TeleVues. I can get spike free, pinpoint stars easily, with attractive colour and sharp to the edge. In all optical upgrades at this level you will pay a lot more for a small improvement. Alas a universal law in all things optical!

One way round that is to buy second hand, of course. I've just added another TV to the box that way.

Olly

[Mr Spock]

At low f ratios the TV and the LVW will be sharp with the Hyperion getting a bit fuzzy round the edges.

Here's a good review of wide field eyepieces http://www.vixenoptics.com/PDF/lvw_review.pdf

[Macavity]

I think it fair to say that neither the (longer) Hyperion 21mm nor the (simpler) 24mm completely emulated the LVW 22mm. But I will probably keep my Hype 24, since it is the lightest of it's ilk, and has all the customary THREAD features. For the terminally nerdy, with requisite Baader adapter, eyepiece projection with the Hype 24 yields almost the same image scale as the bare afocal method...

Still, I do want to TRY a Teleview (or two) before I shuffle off the mortal coil...

[John]

At low f ratios the TV and the LVW will be sharp with the Hyperion getting a bit fuzzy round the edges.

Here's a good review of wide field eyepieces http://www.vixenoptics.com/PDF/lvw_review.pdf

I can never quite figure out these group tests

They seem to give equal weight to objective factors such as eye relief and FoV as they do to more subjective ones such as optical performance and value for money. By adjusting the weighting a little almost any contender could become the "winner"