Which Wide Angle EP?

[UTMonkey]

Hi All,

Ok, I am officially having some great fun with my scope with Hyperion Zoom but I think some of the targets I am looking at need lower magnification and wider field of view.

So, if if you had let's say £100 burning a hole in your pocket and a scope like mine which mag\make\angle would you go for?

I appreciate that some of the feedback may include trying stuff out from fellow astronomers but I am yet to go to any meets.

All the best.

Mark

p.s. second hand - no problem!

[callisto]

Budget wise, dont think you can go wrong with these

First Light Optics - Skywatcher PanaView 2" eyepieces

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

When going wide-angle, bear in mind the exit pupil. With an f/4.5 or f/5 scope 25 mm is about as long a focal length for the EP as you would want to go (30mm tops). In my f/6 scope a 40mm gives rather washed-out views, due to the bright background. This puts you in super-wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle territory. A hyperion 24 at 68 deg FOV, is a candidate, the 26 Nagler is excellent but expensive, as are Nirvana 28mm.

[yeti monster]

28mm UWA.... obviously not often found for 100 of your earth quidses, but you never know your luck.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

28mm UWA.... obviously not often found for 100 of your earth quidses, but you never know your luck.

Too true, I am afraid. I just want to warn against 40mm EPs for such a scope. It is better to save up for something good. Some people like the moonfish 30 mm, others say it is not good enough for fast scopes.

[yeti monster]

Sorry, that should have been "28mm UWAs, Mmmmm... obviously not found.. etc. etc."

[WayBig]

I havent tried most of these, but from reading many eyepiece threads on here, this is a summary or what seems to be generally held opinion, ( in my opinion )

Baader hyperions and panaviews seem popular on here and are good value

The next step up in quality, and price,would probably be a Meade 5000 SWA which works very well in a fast scope, or a skywatcher aero which may be getting over budget.

Up from these you have skywatcher nirvanas, William optic uwans (not swans in a fast scope), Meade 5000 uwa and second hand naglers

If the 100 can burn a bit longer, waiting for second hand ones to come up is usually a good idea.

I've obviously missed out loads of alternatives, but these ones are discussed regularly on here

[DOBBY]

skywatcher panaview 32mm gives great views in a 200mm F5 newt...& a 400mm F4.5 Dob

GSO / Revelation make a similar 32mm for less cash...but i've not tried it

[rwilkey]

Hi, the SW Panaview anytime, pin-sharp clarity as well, it is my most used eyepiece and I can't recommend it highly enough

[swamp thing]

Hi Mark

Depends how critical you are of the views you'll get.

Personally I would wait and save more money, but I am critical.

Regards Steve

[Telrad]

This is a good question Mark, just the sort of info I need to reseach my next acquisition too. Thanks for posting!

[russ]

Meade 5000 SWA is very good, better than the Hyperion. But no deals left now, so quite pricey. But within budget if one came up secondhand.

Hyperion is not bad at F5 and could be a good option.

[CGolder]

I had a chance to compare my hyperion to the 38mm panaview and i was impressed with the sheer size and build quality but visually the light throughput of the panaview was very dispointing compared with the Hyperion...

I mean yes the TV panoptics would be better but your talking 3 (2x used) times the price of the panaview or hyperion.. if you have the cash then the panoptic would be best at F5. but is it worth 3 times more... does it give 3 times the view.. maybe not.. if money wasnt an option the panoptic would win.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I had a chance to compare my hyperion to the 38mm panaview and i was impressed with the sheer size and build quality but visually the light throughput of the panaview was very dispointing compared with the Hyperion...

I mean yes the TV panoptics would be better but your talking 3 (2x used) times the price of the panaview or hyperion.. if you have the cash then the panoptic would be best at F5. but is it worth 3 times more... does it give 3 times the view.. maybe not.. if money wasnt an option the panoptic would win.

Which focal lengths did you compare? The loss of light you describe may well be due to an oversized exit pupil, not bad optics. If the exit pupil is 7mm, and your own pupil dilates to 5, you lose a factor of two in terms of light reaching the retina.

[CGolder]

was in a SCT and i am pretty young, so exit pupal is very manageable, was the 36mm compared to the 38mm.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

was in a SCT and i am pretty young, so exit pupal is very manageable, was the 36mm compared to the 38mm.

In an SCT there should be no problems. I use my TMB Paragon 40 mm in my C8 and have no problems.

[cs1cjc]

I would disagree with some of the advice given here.

I have found that the 38mm Adler Skarp (about £50) gives good wide views of about 2.5 degrees in a 200mm f4.5 Netwtonian even though it is far from perfect. The eyepiece itself has a strong field of curvature - so focus some way out from the centre. The edge is very aberrated but that seems to be at least partly coma, because a corrector reduces the effect considerably. The shadow caused by the secondary mirror (63mm in my 200mm) just about vanishes once my eye is fully adapted.

Brightness of the background sky at my location depends on whether there is any haze, which is sadly too frequent...