20mm eyepiece

[Pete D]

I am looking to add to my lower power eyepiece collection. I have a TV 15mm plossl, the standard 25mm that came with the scope and a 32mm panaview and was thinking of getting a 20mm eyepiece. But I was woundering do i really need one with the above mentioned eyepieces.

[John]

I think it might be worth replacing the standard 25mm if you can as it seems to me the weakest in your current line up. A wide field 20mm eyepiece could do that, depending on your budget.

[Saleratus]

Why don't you look into getting a 24 Panoptic. This is a serious workhorse; some people feel it's the best all-round EP ever made--and I tend to agree. Regardless of what other Eps I may have, I'm sure I will always have a 24 Pan.

[scarp15]

Yep, agree with the above comments, ditch the stock 25mm and invest in a wide field 2" either 20mm or 24mm eyepiece.

[alan potts]

I find my 24mm Meade SWA is a very very good EP, I don't know if they are still available but if so will cost less than the panoptic. I agree it will not be as good but not far off.

Alan.

[Ohmless]

The sterling plossl 20 and 25mm eyepieces are favorites of the americans for image quality but they have a 55* field. Very modestly priced also, but what are you looking for in an eyepiece and what is your budget? If money was no object and you desire a wider field of view, I would get a 20mm Nagler. I am attracted to the 20mm 68* Explore Scientific eyepiece. It might be available in the UK from Meade Europe as they are associated.

[Pete D]

I am looking around the £70 mark and would like a wide field of view. I have seen the GSO 1.25" SuperView Eyepiece - 20mm but can only find them on US sites.

[alan potts]

Ohmless,

They may be available in America but I bet it will be next year before we see it here from Meade Europe. The UK seem to get things before us. The 5.5mm Meade Series 5000 UWA I ordered this Christmas and it is still not available in Bulgaria. I bought one in England in May and cancelled the order. I believe you had this eyepiece last year. The other thing is they almost charge twice the price here too. I am sure you know thw Ultra wedge. it is almost 900 pounds here, I guess that is about 1450 USD. I think the company is run by [removed word] Terpin!

Alan.

[username]

Hi pete

I have a 20mm super view and for the price I'm happy with it but my scope is an f13 mak which is very forgiving of the erfle design.

When reading about them though it seems that if your scope is faster than f8 their performance is quite bad at the edge of view so might not be worth the money in an f6 or 5

[Pete D]

Thanks, I have just read that somewhere too. I seem to be going backwards in my decision on what to buy.

[Moonshane]

at f6 you might be ok with a http://www.firstligh...n-eyepiece.html 20mm (1.25") within budget or 25mm (2") at just over your budget. I used one in a f8 scope and it was superbly flat across the whole field but at f5 went a bit mushy in the outer third.

that said, given what you currently have, I'd make do and save for either a 19mm or a 24mm Panoptic. if you went for the 24mm Pan then I suspect you might never use the 25mm and the Panaview again and could sell those to fund some of the cost eventually.

[alan potts]

I find one of the problems is you have your eyepiece collection. My first set were Meade 5000 Plossl, I thought the were wonderful. Enter the Tele-Vue 16mm Nagler. Just an minute there's something wrong with this one. That is what I have found .Once you have a TV you want all of your Ep's to be as good, sadly that aint gonna happen.

Alan

[crazyjedi]

I have to comply with the first two replies - you'd most likely be better off replacing the 25mm EP. The above mentioned Meade SWA 24mm is a very well thought of EP - A second hand bargain may be a good option. At around £70 the Meade 5000 range might be worth a punt as they're good quality EP's with 60 degree FOV. You won't find a TV Nagler for £70 but perhaps a second hand TV Plossl although the FOV is 50 degrees.

[alan potts]

What did you buy in the end?

Alan.