Eyepiece Review: Televue Radian v Vixen NLV

[Mr Spock]

For several months now I've been able to evaluate side by side a 10mm Televue Radian and a 10mm Vixen NLV. Both have around 20mm eye relief, the Radian having a 60° field and the NLV 50°. The intention was to find a comfortable planetary eyepiece for my C9.25, with 10mm giving an ideal x235.

The Radian is no longer available new, but was around £190; the NLV is available for £115. The price difference can be accounted for by the difference in build quality. The Radian has a very solid feel full of quality. The twist up part is metal with a rubber eye cup - the rubber cup has split though; the NLV has a plastic twist up eye cup - I have an older 9mm which has worn and become loose - the rest of the eyepiece is fine build wise. The Radian also has an extra 10° field of view but this isn't really an issue for planetary work.

I'll relate observational notes from last night as they mirror all previous sessions.

The Moon: Both eyepieces presented a crisp, clear view with excellent contrast and sharpness. They has a similar level of lateral colour, rather more than a Vixen 8mm LVW I was also using. In direct comparison, the NLV had a slightly cleaner look to the image, but it is something I wouldn't have noticed had I not been swapping from one to the other. Fine detail was the same in both: looking at Francastorius the lateral rille was a clean white in both eyepieces; just below the bright white internal crater there is a 'flatter' looking crater which was easily revealed by both eyepieces. Moving up to Theophilus some fine crater wall shadows were presented as sharp and black equally by both eyepieces. Both were sharp to the edges, the Radian having a larger field of view of course.

Jupiter: GRS was a fine sight in both, with a good clean edge and glimpses of the slightly darker centre. Turbulence following the GRS was seen in detail by both eyepieces, as was a narrow brighter strip just below the NEB. Again in direct side by side comparison the NLV had a slightly cleaner look.

So, what's the verdict? Well, both eyepieces appear to have an identical performance with no favourite or winner. The Radian has a larger field of view and better build quality but is also a lot more expensive. The NLV has a slightly cleaner look to the image which to be fair is only noticeable in side by side comparisons. Take your pick really, either is an excellent planetary eyepiece.

What will I do? Well, I already have 12mm and 9mm NLVs, so I'll keep the NLV. But, I like the Radian too... darn!

All pictures below have the NLV on the left and Radian on the right.

[John]

Nice review Mr Spock

Sounds like it's a tough choice between these two in a driven scope, perhaps a nod in the favour of the wider field of view for an un-driven one ?

How do these compare with the Vixen LVW's do you think ?

[Mr Spock]

If I was a Dob user I'd probably prefer a Nagler to either of these two. I compared a 7mm Nagler to a 7mm Ortho a while back, and whilst it didn't have the contrast or sharpness of the Ortho, in a Dob that doesn't matter. With a driven scope you can let your eye relax to wait for those fleeting moments when the atmosphere settles, a Dob is never going to allow you to do that fully.

The LVW is a very comfortable eyepiece to use. It has less lateral colour than the other two, but has a fraction less contrast. Detail is very similar. If they did a 10mm LVW, there's no doubt I would choose that over the others - it just wins on ease of use.

[John]

Sometimes eye comfort is worth a small compromise in ultimate sharpness, I reckon

[Naemeth]

Thank you very much Michael .

I really appreciate this review given my previous topic here (which you of course contributed to).

I must admit, last time I was out I tried my LV again on Jupiter but the seeing just wasn't allowing 260x, I did however swing Jupiter to the far edge of the field, and there was no drop off at all (Jupiter wasn't sharp though even in the middle due to the conditions), other nights I've had only echo this. At F/5, that's very nice performance.

It's nice to know the NLV / LV is as good as the Radian at F/10.

[nightfisher]

sorry to bring up an old thread, i have won a Vixen 12mm NLV on ebay boxed for £45, hopefully i will like it

[Stu]

34 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

sorry to bring up an old thread, i have won a Vixen 12mm NLV on ebay boxed for £45, hopefully i will like it

Thought you were going to go for SLVs Jules?

[nightfisher]

spotted this on ebay and thought it worth a try

Stil not ruling out a couple of SLV`s but nothing set in stone yet

[John]

2 hours ago, nightfisher said:

sorry to bring up an old thread, i have won a Vixen 12mm NLV on ebay boxed for £45, hopefully i will like it

Thats a good deal Jules - NLV for a NLP price !

[nightfisher]

7 hours ago, John said:

Thats a good deal Jules - NLV for a NLP price !

cant say if its a keeper till i try it out, maybe i will be pleasantly impressed with it

[laudropb]

Very nice report. It certainly has given me food for thought.