Ultra-Wide Eyepiece

[PreludeToADream]

I'm looking at getting an Ultra-Wide eyepiece for my new telescope - a 10" Skywatcher Dobsonian. I don't really want to spend more than £100 on it. Long eye-relief and size aren't really an issue, but of course I'd like a wide FOV. I want something around the 20mm - 25mm size and it doesn't matter whether it's 1.25" or 2". I'd like something with a FOV of at least 70 degrees (preferably nearer 80).

I've had a look myself and have of course come across Televues but they're out of my price range to be honest, even second hand. I'd like to know what lower cost Ultra-Wide eyepieces are good.

Thanks

[nightfisher]

google moonfish eyepiece, i think they are only available in 2", i have a generic version in 15mm and its pretty good

[Chris H]

Not sure the Moonfish is good at f4.7

[Damo636]

The Skywatcher Panaview 26mm 70 degree fov might do the job for you. Not sure how well it will perform at f4.7 but it comes in under budget. The Hyperion 21 or 24mm although only 68 degree fov would be another option, again slightly under your budget.

[Bart]

investigate importing an Explore Scientific 82 degree from america. With VAT payable and the coversion rate, I'd say you'd be ok on price. They are very good EPs. I have the 11mm and 14mm in a F5 DOB. And no, I dont work for them.

I have used Hands On Optics and Scope City, both good to deal with. Got a great deal from HOO recently, they have a deal on at the moment 11% off (they are 11 years in business)

Bart

[swamp thing]

Not sure the Moonfish is good at f4.7

That is the problem with faster scopes.

TBH this is an area where personal taste is important as what some people can live with others find very off putting.

The trouble is the eyepieces that are really sharp right accross are pretty expensive.

The Baader Hyperions work well down to about f/5 but their AFOV is only 68 degrees.

Regards Steve

[PreludeToADream]

The Explore Scientific eyepieces sound like an option. I've also seen the SWAN William Optics eyepieces - are they good and suitable for my scope or not?

[E621Keith]

Ultrawide eyepiece (>80deg) over 20mm don't come cheap and ones that perform well in very fast scope are even more expensive. I think you will need a budget over £150 to get a used WO UWAN, Meade 5000 UWA or Celestron Axiom, or ES 82 deg larger than 20mm.

For a budget of £100, I think you will be better off getting a used superwide (~ 70 deg).

If you buy an eyepiece from America, you will need to add custom duty and VAT on top of that price, so a $200 USD 24mm Explore scientific 82deg becomes $250 or about £160.

[PreludeToADream]

Thanks Keith. Yes I think I may need to spend a bit more than I was planning then. I presume a Televue Nagler would suit my 'scope (if I can find the money)? Is that likely to give me the best views?

[Chris H]

A 20mm Nagler Type 6 or a 22 Type 4 would be excellent. All Televue ep's are tested down to f4. If you could live with a 68 degree field of view the 19mm and 24mm Panoptic's are also excellent. The best views would probably be with a 21mm Ethos but they are £675.

[PreludeToADream]

A 20mm Nagler Type 6 or a 22 Type 4 would be excellent. All Televue ep's are tested down to f4. If you could live with a 68 degree field of view the 19mm and 24mm Panoptic's are also excellent. The best views would probably be with a 21mm Ethos but theare £675.

Yes I'd love an Ethos but unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range! Sounds like I'll be saving for a 20mm Nagler then. Might see if I can pick one up second hand though I know they are snatched up pretty quickl y. Thanks for all the replies.

[Damo636]

There is a used as new 27mm Panoptic on ABS at the minute for £200. I haven't used the 27mm but have used the 24 and 19mm and they are lovely ep's. It's twice your original budget but a quality piece of glass.

[PreludeToADream]

As a cheaper alternative are these eyepieces any good? Explore Scientific 20mm 70° eyepiece

[Bart]

As a cheaper alternative are these eyepieces any good? Explore Scientific 20mm 70° eyepiece

I believe they're not great, but I've never used one.

Bart

[cs1cjc]

It is is a bit expensive to import a single eyepiece from the US, but they are so cheap that it is easy to buy 2 or 3 for only a little more! I have yet to seriously use my 4.7mm, 8.7mm and 14mm 82 degree Explore Scientific eyepieces, but they look good on test and cost about on average £105 each after p&p, duties and charges.

[PreludeToADream]

What about the William Optics SWANs? First Light Optics - William Optics SWAN eyepiece

Or even the UWANs First Light Optics - William Optics UWAN eyepiece

The price for the 20mm SWAN is £59 which seems very reasonable, but I wonder what the quality on such an eyepiece is like, and if it'd work particularly well with an f/4.7 'scope.

Another one I've found is the Meade Ultra Wide 5000 series: http://green-witch.com/acatalog/Ultra_Wide_Angle.html The 18mm retails at £150 which isn't too much over my budget. Is this eyepiece reasonable?

[Space Beagle]

Similar to the WO UWAN are the SkyWatcher Nirvanas, I used to have the 4, 7 & 16mm ones and only let them go 'cos the lure of Green & Black (Televue) became too much for me to resist!!

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Nirvana UWA 82-degree FOV

Doc

[John]

The SWAN's don't work too well below F/6-ish.

The UWAN's however, and their clones the Skywatcher Nirvana's, deliver very close to Nagler performance for a substantially lower cost.

If you want good ultra-wide performance in a fast scope and don't want to shell out for a Nagler I'd definitely recommend a UWAN / Nirvana.

[PreludeToADream]

Similar to the WO UWAN are the SkyWatcher Nirvanas, I used to have the 4, 7 & 16mm ones and only let them go 'cos the lure of Green & Black (Televue) became too much for me to resist!!

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Nirvana UWA 82-degree FOV

Doc

How did you find the Nirvanas compared to the Televues?

[PreludeToADream]

The SWAN's don't work too well below F/6-ish.

The UWAN's however, and their clones the Skywatcher Nirvana's, deliver very close to Nagler performance for a substantially lower cost.

If you want good ultra-wide performance in a fast scope and don't want to shell out for a Nagler I'd definitely recommend a UWAN / Nirvana.

The Naglers are extremely tempting, but I'm not sure I've got the budget for one. I might opt for the Nirvana as it seems to be a little cheaper on FLO. I presume the performance differences between the Nirvanas and the UWANs isn't significant?

Another set of eyepieces I've found: http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/2%20inch%20telescope%20eyepieces.html Does anyone have any experience with the 80 degrees Ultra-Wide eyepieces from there?

[andrew63]

Good luck with your choice - any of the more expensive one's you mention will do a fine job.

andrew

[John]

Another set of eyepieces I've found: 2" Eyepieces Does anyone have any experience with the 80 degrees Ultra-Wide eyepieces from there?

See above comments on the Moonfish - they are pretty much the same. There is a saying:

wide field / low cost / sharp across the field in fast scopes: pick any two.

On the Nagler / Nirvana's, here is a review I did a while ago on the 30mm niche:

3bigeps.pdf

[PreludeToADream]

On the Nagler / Nirvana's, here is a review I did a while ago on the 30mm niche:

Thanks for that - very useful review. I'm looking at the 16mm Skywatcher rather than the 28mm version. Is this eyepiece likely to be as good as the 28mm?

[John]

I owned a 16mm UWAN for a while before being tempted to part with some more cash to get a 16mm Nagler. The Nagler had slightly better edge correction than the UWAN in the F/5 that I owned at the time but otherwise the performance was very similar. On balance it was not a good use of £80 to achieve the upgrade to be honest. I would expect the Skywatcher Nirvana to perform the same as it's UWAN counterpart. I have a 4mm Nirvana at the moment and that is a very impressive performer too - an excellent high power eyepiece despite it's multiple lens elements. You should be able to get a used 16mm UWAN or Nirvana for around £100, maybe a bit less even.

[PreludeToADream]

I owned a 16mm UWAN for a while before being tempted to part with some more cash to get a 16mm Nagler. The Nagler had slightly better edge correction than the UWAN in the F/5 that I owned at the time but otherwise the performance was very similar. On balance it was not a good use of £80 to achieve the upgrade to be honest. I would expect the Skywatcher Nirvana to perform the same as it's UWAN counterpart. I have a 4mm Nirvana at the moment and that is a very impressive performer too - an excellent high power eyepiece despite it's multiple lens elements. You should be able to get a used 16mm UWAN or Nirvana for around £100, maybe a bit less even.

I presume when you're saying 'UWAN' you're referring to the William Optics eyepiece? I'll look out for a second hand Nirvana / UWAN on ABS but if one doesn't come up I could probably stretch my budget to £150 for a new one.

Thanks for all the replies and advice. It's definitely cleared a lot up and I feel much more informed.