Televue

[Hex]

I am very happy with my current EPs, they work very well well in scope. There was nothing wrong with my focuser either but I still up graded to a Moonlight, I like quality. So the question is... would I benefit from a move to TV? If so which type and fl? I use all my current EPs' at some stage but it has to be said I use my 25mm by far the most often, mostly for open clusters and the brighter Messier objects and 5mm and 7mm for planetary viewing. I so sometimes use the 12mm but find it leaves things a little on the dark side sometimes. Of all my EPs' I use the 9mm the least. I do gave quite a slow scope scope so perhaps this influences my go to eps'. I would very interested to know what others might prefer to use in as similar scope as the ED100

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Moonshane]

Given your comments I think you'd appreciate the subtle benefits of Televue. In a slow scope though they will be really quite slim benefits it has to be said. Are you coming along to the PSP2012? I think I saw you were? Might be worth trying to test out a 24mm Panoptic if someone has one. This in my opinion is one of the best ever 1.25" eyepieces.

My favourite is a 26mm Nagler.

Be wary though, Televue addiction can get expensive!

[Hex]

Yeah I'll be there, I had forgotten about the opportunity to try out other gear. I am very aware of the dangers embarking on the good ship TeleVue, a bit lie opening a tube of Pringles.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Moonshane]

ha ha great analogy. the difference being you hope to never hear a crunch when you start on Televue

see you next month then

[John]

I have a Vixen ED102 (F/6.5) and a Skywatcher ED120 and use a mixture of Tele Vue Naglers, Ethos and Pentax XW's. Expensive as Shane says but I've not regretted a penny I've spent on mine

It would be very sensible to try some though because the benefits in an F/9 scope can seem subtle and eyepieces are such a personal thing. There are other brands like ES that will run the Tele Vue equivalents pretty close in slower scopes so, ideally, you should try one or two of those as well.

Once you have a top class eyepiece set (of whatever branding) they can serve you for many years while scopes come and go.

[estwing]

there's a thread somewhere called the "slippery green slope" worth a read

[JamesF]

I like the idea of the 24mm Panoptic, but on the other hand there are the ES and Meade 5000 82 degree FOV eps that I also find quite tempting for not enormously different money...

James

[Moonshane]

what I did was buy TV for my main eyepieces and then 'fill in' for the others with cheaper options so maybe you could get a 24mm Panoptic plus a 6-3mm Nagler zoom and then retain a couple of your current EPs. see what you've started now..........we are spending all your hard earned already.

[Hex]

what I did was buy TV for my main eyepieces and then 'fill in' for the others with cheaper options so maybe you could get a 24mm Panoptic plus a 6-3mm Nagler zoom and then retain a couple of your current EPs. see what you've started now..........we are spending all your hard earned already.

That's kinda what I had in mind as it goes, any one tried the zoom?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[John]

I've owned the 3-6mm zoom twice now !

It's a great eyepiece and very versatile of course. I could not decide whether it fully matched the performance of a Baader Genuine Ortho but it must have been darn close !

With undriven alt-az mounts though I decided that I needed more FoV so let both mine go (same reason each time !).

They are excellent eyepieces though - I know Shane does manage fine with them with his dobs.

[alan potts]

I agree with a few of the posts so far the 24mm Panoptic is an excellent eyepieces, maybe the best ever at this F/L. The 26mm Nagler is also beyond questions as to is quality even though I don't have one. Without doubt the Panoptic is more affordable though.

Alan.

[estwing]

me want zoom,me want ZOOM..

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have got myself a large set of TVs (had two Radians as well before I started getting Pentaxes ), now augmented with Pentax XF and XW EPs. Even in my C8 at F/10, the views are better in the Naglers than they were in my (pretty decent) Japanese Plossls (made by Vixen). I only started down the slippery green slope after being happy with the Vixens for many many years.

[kirkster501]

I cannot speak highly enough of the Televues. All mine - a Radian, 2xNaglers and a Panoptic (and a Powermate 2x) are absolutely superb in both my scopes. An expensive investment, but one that'll last a lifetime. I bought all of these from people on this forum.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Glad you like the Radian

[Moonshane]

I have a 6-3mm nagler zoom and will have it with me at PSP. give me a shout then. it is my main double star eyepiece giving me up to 600x with my big dob. certainly helped recently when splitting Zeta Herculis with a definite clean split at 450x and above.

[Stardust]

Another vote for the 24 mm Panoptic and I've just bought 2 x 19mm pans from members for binoviewing, first light yesterday, very nice.

I still prefer Pentax for slightly more contrast especially the old 10.5mm XL. I've not felt the needs to change for naglers.

TV barlows and very good and a powermate even better.

[kirkster501]

Glad you like the Radian

Its a wonderful piece of kit - I used it endlessly for hours and hours on Mars not long after I got it from you Michael. It'll get another good run on Jupiter later this year too!

[Hex]

I have a 6-3mm nagler zoom and will have it with me at PSP. give me a shout then. it is my main double star eyepiece giving me up to 600x with my big dob. certainly helped recently when splitting Zeta Herculis with a definite clean split at 450x and above.

Fantastic. I'm from the area originally so I will stop over with friends or relatives and sneak off to real bed in the wee small hours. I doubt anyone else will have an ED100 with a Moonlight on a AZ4 with an extension pier so I should be easy enough to spot.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Stardust]

I have a 6-3mm nagler zoom and will have it with me at PSP. give me a shout then. it is my main double star eyepiece giving me up to 600x with my big dob. certainly helped recently when splitting Zeta Herculis with a definite clean split at 450x and above.

I've got the rarer 3-6mm zoom it's nice to be able to tweak out that last bit of mag but also pull back without changing ep.

[Andymarrison]

I've been teetering on the brink of Televue ownership for a few months too, and have also been wondering whether the extra performance is really worth the price tag, especially in a slow scope. I'll be at PSP as well, so I'd also be really grateful for a peek through the odd TV if anyone's offering! I've been thinking about a 17 mm of some sort (I think there's a Delos, Nagler and Ethos at this fl).

[Stu]

I'll be there, have got a 17t4 amongst others, you are welcome to have a peek :-)

Stu

[Andymarrison]

Cheers Stu! Looking forward to it!

[Mike73]

I've been teetering on the brink of Televue ownership for a few months too, and have also been wondering whether the extra performance is really worth the price tag, especially in a slow scope. I'll be at PSP as well, so I'd also be really grateful for a peek through the odd TV if anyone's offering! I've been thinking about a 17 mm of some sort (I think there's a Delos, Nagler and Ethos at this fl).

I think alot depends on just how much FoV you want Andy, like you say PSP will be the place to help you make your mind up.

BTW I have the 17.3 Delos and its rapidly becoming my favourite EP.

[hunterknox]

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest that if you're happy with your current eyepieces then stick with what you've got.

I've had a few Televue eyepieces (Plossls, Nagler, Ethos) and they've all been very good but not beyond criticism. I changed a 13mm Nagler for a 12mm Celestron Xcel LX and never looked back. The Nagler had a wider field of view and was incrementally better when the eye positioning was just right, but the Xcel is far more comfortable and less fussy to use.

Took me a while to find my perfect eyepiece set but now I've found it I'm not interested in the next new thing that comes out. If you've got the right eyepieces for yourself and your scope then why change?