Televue- over-rated??

[CGolder]

Hello Don,

i used to feel the same way, but now i have traded in my range for 2 eyepieces that are optically perfect in the 2 magnifications i use the most and i am very glad i have done it. the 41pan especially is a huge leap up even in a F10 on edge correction, at f10 most eyepeices still show some issues on the edges but the 41pan is wider and pinpoint all the way to the edges... now i use that focal length all the time, why not make the most of it

[andrew63]

A while back, the 'televue' plossl were made by Vixen - indeed a lot of the made in Japan lens in the 80's were. Some people think that the early TV plossl are a 'nicer' eyepiece - some of these could well be manufactured by vixen.

andrew

[DrNeb]

i can confirm that the 32 tele in my f5 dob was much sharper than my hyperion.

[Albireo380]

I suspect that it has all been said before, but ....

I have tried a Skywatcher plossl in an f4.5 Flextube GOTO, then a Nagler and then an Ethos. The plossl gave reasonable views, the Nagler was a BIG improvement (not only the FOV, but the contrast was better too), but the Ethos just blew me away. The FOV was bigger (but that wasn't what had me and others raving) but the contrast was just so much better - leading to much better observing.

No way will I get rid of my TV EPs - Naglers are very good and Ethos(es) are superb.

But if a Celestron plossl does it for you Don, then fine. Observing is a very personal thing.

Cheers

Tom

[Jarvo]

Televue - Overrated? Astronomical heresy Sir!!!

To be honest I've got an Ultra slow F15 Mak so could probably get away with an inferior Plossl for a lot less.

I like the look and feel of the TVs though plus I know the build quality is second to none so I guess it comes down to personal choice.

Now then....where's that wicker man....................

[johninderby]

A few points to consider:

1.) Do you suffer from any visual defects?

2) What telescope are you using?

3.) What are your local seeing conditions?

4.) How experienced an observer are you?

All of the above can make a tremendous difference as how well an eyepiece will perform, or appear to perform to you. Once you've actually tried many different eyepieces in all sorts of scopes and under different seeing conditions then you'll begin to appreciate the differences between cheaper and premium eyepieces. Like me many SGL members have several different scopes and I now insist on an eyepiece that will perform well in any of them.

Not everyone sees things the same way. What works for one might not work for another and vice versa. Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the learning experience. After all it's just a hobby and not a job.

John

[Donkeiller]

No your missing the point.

A Televue Plossl will work to a very good standard from F4 upwards, and that is why you pay a little more for them, this allows the eyepiece to be functional in many scopes from slow Luna and Planet targeted Mak, SCTs and refractors to wide field Newts and refractors.

Then when you want to kick up a gear and go for more then the Premium Eyepieces come to the field.

As many observers have multiple scopes it make sense to purchase eyepieces that will perform well in all scopes.

Are you now a well fed Troll?

Not yet, carry on feeding:D

[swamp thing]

Great wind up.

Maybe you should really go for it........"is using Televue cheating?":D

[great_bear]

The Plössl dates back to the 19th century, so it's not patented any more (if it ever was) - that's why the differences in a true Plössl are purely manufacture and materials, not design.

Plossl is the EP design so to buy another plossl you would gain nothing other than the coatings used by a different manufacturer.

Sorry guys - both these statements are wrong

The Tele Vue Plossl is a "standard" Plossl design, yet varies from it significantly enough to have been granted a patent of its own. No other company can legally copy the patented Tele Vue version of the Plossl optical design.

The difference is the curvature of the lenses. This changes the balance of compromises such that the Tele Vue Plossl works better in faster scopes than the traditional arrangement does.

You can read the Tele Vue Plossl patent here <click>

It's interesting to hear some people say that it's only in the more expensive designs you see a significant difference, since some US planetary enthusiasts (ones who are notably not limited in funds) claim that the Tele Vue Plossl is the best off-the-shelf planetary eyepiece available.

For myself, I find the eye-relief of the longer Tele Vue Plossls to be way too much, and the eye-relief of the shorter focal lengths to be much too little. The 8mm Tele Vue Plossl is borderline unusable to me - and I'm not even a spectacle wearer.

When I compared Tele Vue Plossls with Revelation (GSO) Plossls in a slow scope, there was no discernable difference optically, and those Revelation Eyepiece Kit Plossls were notably more comfortable to use.

I could afford to keep the Tele Vues - but chose not to.

[nicnac]

televues are tested to f4 and work a treat, if i had a telescope of 7.5 i would not have even looked at televues as i could not have justified the price.

however, i have an f5 so have looked into them

got to admit though, im very pleased with celestron X-Cel LX EPs, so much so that i think i will be getting the range and keeping to just one televue, the 32mm

[Nexus 6]

the latest Sky at Night magazine did a test on 25mm plossl's..the Televue was the group winner, I rate them highly although have not tried their plossl's

[Pingster]

Ideally you need a nagler or ethos to see what TV are about, amazing FOV. I posted in another tread, if you cant see it in your standard celestron plossl... Then it wont show up in a nagler or ethos either. If it does it will be so faint theres no point in looking at it.

I also found that my plossl has beter center sharpness than my TV.

But i do use my TV all the time as i just love and cant live with small FOV.

[Damo636]

I love a good wind up I'm off over to CloudyNights to slag off the Ethos

[todd8137]

Hi,I have a f5 300p reflector and could not agree more with you,my mate he said am bringing some mega eps to try in your scope the views will blow you away ,we traveled to the dark site set up checked the mirrors with the Cheshire and waited for it to get dark .

wow for the price and weight and size i was expecting to be blinded,with the views

well my 50 pound 32mm ep did the same it was the same view not a bit of difference i was gutted to say the least i am glad i spent what i did on my 32mm and not televue prices thats a crime they charge so much may be in a 16"and above they may work better but not with my 300p i await the grief i may get from this post but i was not impressed at all

[todd8137]

A few points to consider:

1.) Do you suffer from any visual defects?

2) What telescope are you using?

3.) What are your local seeing conditions?

4.) How experienced an observer are you?

hahaah thats the best answer on the televues ive heard a monkey could see the difference:)

[John]

Hi,I have a f5 300p reflector and could not agree more with you,my mate he said am bringing some mega eps to try in your scope the views will blow you away ,we traveled to the dark site set up checked the mirrors with the Cheshire and waited for it to get dark .

wow for the price and weight and size i was expecting to be blinded,with the views

well my 50 pound 32mm ep did the same it was the same view not a bit of difference i was gutted to say the least i am glad i spent what i did on my 32mm and not televue prices thats a crime they charge so much may be in a 16"and above they may work better but not with my 300p i await the grief i may get from this post but i was not impressed at all

I don't think anyone will argue or give you grief for not being impressed by a Tele Vue eyepiece (you don't say which one ?). That's how you found it so presumably you will move on to another brand.

I don't think Tele Vue (or Pentax, Zeiss or Nikon who also market expensive eyepieces) are committing any "crime" by charging what they do - consumers will decide whether they are prepared to pay the price or, as you have done, not.

No problem - there is plenty of choice out there

Obviously many folks find that they do like the performance and are prepared to pay the price for it so thats OK too

[Merlin66]

I'm surprised by your remark, Todd.

Obviously your expectations weren't met....but I'd be very surprised if a similar plossl eyepiece under the same conditions could significantly out perform a TV.

Based on over thirty years experience ( see message #23 above) the TV's have never let me down.

[andrew63]

As has been said so many times - seeing conditions will play a much greater role than the lens when observing!

andrew

[Macavity]

I sometimes think Teleview are victims of their own fans? There is some slight nonsense, denigration of other brands, even a bizarre faux-patriotism (elsewhere!) associated with the brand. Once a suggestion that other folks should... "Stop moaning [about the price] and learn how to prioritize their [household?] budget" (sic!). Uhm, right...

I still aspire to a (modest) "Pan 35"... An Ethos 17mm, if I were REALLY rich! LOL. But I have also read the technical articles. Teleview optimise for specific things? (Tack) "Sharp to the edge" might mean pincushion / barrel distortion - Not perhaps ideal for "star-sweeping" or those prone to sea-sickness? An eyepiece dedicated to astronomical (rather than daylight) use too? I still aspire tho'...

[CanesVenatici]

There is some slight nonsense, denigration of other brands, even a bizarre faux-patriotism (elsewhere!) associated with the brand.

Looking on some American forums, I think that the 'patriotism' is very real over there. I think that many American astronomers still regard brands like Celestron as still being 'all American', despite being made in China.

Televue is no exception. I have two Televue eyepieces. A 13 MM Nagler which is admittedly excellent and was made in Japan, and a 19mm Panoptic which is only a little better than the £40 eyepiece that I was using, and has Taiwan ROC stamped on it.

I have feeling that it might be true that the real 'Wow' factor with Televue eyepieces is to be found with the Nagler and above models.

[John]

....Televue is no exception. I have two Televue eyepieces. A 13 MM Nagler which is admittedly excellent and was made in Japan, and a 19mm Panoptic which is only a little better than the £40 eyepiece that I was using, and has Taiwan ROC stamped on it.

The Ethos and Delos range are also manufactured in Taiwan.

[CanesVenatici]

The Ethos and Delos range are also manufactured in Taiwan.

I have no problem with stuff being made in Taiwan, it was more an illustration of the fact that even Televue have stuff made in places normally associated with more budget eyepieces.

That said, according the the IMF the per capita income for Taiwan is now higher than for the UK at $35,604 per year as compared to $35,059 for Britain. The way things are going it might not be long before people like Televue start getting stuff manufacured in the UK in order to take advantage of Britain's low wages, long working hours, low levels of unionisation and so forth.

[Nexus 6]

Ironically my first scope was a Celestron 6se, back then before I used this forum or any other, I decided to check the net to see what I could use to improve the link in the chain between my eye's and the scope...the eyepiece, Televue cropped up again and again so I bought a few...result was patiently obvious to me when compared to the 32mm plossl I had at the time as well as the 25mm Celestron that came with the scope.

Perhaps I was trying to convince myself the price outlay was justified, its easy to confirm things when your the only one to evaluate such things in the middle of the night

now I do believe they are serious performers and are worth the outlay and, as has been mentioned already, they are something that can be used on a variety of scopes so mine aren't going anywhere unless I upgrade them, something I have recently done with a 18mm Radian and 13mm Nagler. The buyer of them was extremely happy with them in comparison to his Bst's on his SW 12 " dob

[Damo636]

I sometimes think Teleview are victims of their own fans? There is some slight nonsense, denigration of other brands, even a bizarre faux-patriotism (elsewhere!) associated with the brand. Once a suggestion that other folks should... "Stop moaning [about the price] and learn how to prioritize their [household?] budget" (sic!). Uhm, right...

I still aspire to a (modest) "Pan 35"... An Ethos 17mm, if I were REALLY rich! LOL. But I have also read the technical articles. Teleview optimise for specific things? (Tack) "Sharp to the edge" might mean pincushion / barrel distortion - Not perhaps ideal for "star-sweeping" or those prone to sea-sickness? An eyepiece dedicated to astronomical (rather than daylight) use too? I still aspire tho'...

I also aspired to the (modest) 35 Panoptic and recently got my hands on one. Now, i have the worst sea legs imaginable but have never hurled at the eyepiece yet

[Space Beagle]

I will never ever never ever sell my precious, sorry my ethos, he he!

Doc