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Skywatcher ED80 & Nagler Zoom 3mm to 6mm or 2mm to 4mm

drummermandan02

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drummermandan02

drummermandan02

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Hi.

I have got myself an ED80 scope, and have been using the 28mm EP that came with it, but when trying to look at Saturn, it just looks like a bright dot. I would like to see it larger and in more clarity.

On doing some hunting around I have read that the Tele Vue Nagler Zoom EP's are regarded as a good quality EP that will last.

So the question is, will the 3-6mm EP or the 2-4mm nagler EP's be suitable for my ED80.

I got this scope mainly for AP, but I am intersted in visual work as well, so eventually I may get a scope that is a dedicated visual scope, and hopefully the Nagler EP would suit that scope as well.

Any advice would be great!

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DirkSteele

DirkSteele

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Speaking as a owner of the Televue Nagler Zoom 3-6mm, you will not be disappointed by the performance. We have tested it at my astronomy club against numerous fixed focal length EPs and it has been a match for virtually all of them. The only thing I would say against it, is the 50 degree apparent field can feel a little claustrophobic if you are use to the wider fields of 70 to 100 degree EPs.

As for the choice, the conventional wisdom suggests that a maximum useful magnification is 60x per inch / 2.5x per mm of aperture. For your scope, that would be 200x (and often the wonderful UK conditions will not allow magnification above this regardless of aperture. As such the 3-6mm which will produce magnifications of 100 to 200x in your scope (with true fields of 0.5 to 0.25 degrees) is probably the better bet. Especially if you think another more visual orientated scope is in your future which may well be larger and have a longer focal length which could limit the use of the 2-4mm. For example, in my 105mm Apo the 3-6mm produces 108x - 216x which is very useful, but in my 7" Apo this increases to 210x-420x which would be used far less often. The 2-4mm would be even more extreme.

Clear skies,

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John

John

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As Ed says above, the 3-6mm zoom is the one I'd go for with the ED80. The eyepiece will give you 100x - 200x which is a usable range with the ED80, the 160x plus side being used under excellent conditions. Much of the 2mm - 4mm zoom's range would be unused and it's unlikely to be as useful in future scopes.

They are 50 degrees FoV across the zoom range with an eye relief of 10mm. The eye lens can attract eyelash marks from time to time as it's set almost flush with the top of the eyepiece.

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John

John

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That's great. Thanks for the pointers guys :)

Now to keep my eyes peeled for one. Are there any other second hand sites that are worth a look at apart from Astro Buy & Sell?

There are our classifieds and e.bay I guess. I have to be honest though - I've only seen one 3-6mm zoom for sale in the past few months or so. Folks tend to hang on to them :smiley:

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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I can confirm that the 3-6mm Nagler zoom is a delicious match for the ED80. i had that combination myself and could use 3mm fairly regularly. ED80s are optically excellent and with only 80mm aperture are not very sensitive to poor seeing like larger apertures, so can handle 200x

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John

John

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How does the 3-6 zoom compare in optical quality to fixed focal length orthos?

It's certainly as good as the Circle-T "volcano top" orthos. Perhaps not quite as sharp and contrasty as a Baader GO but pretty darn close. Shane has both types (zoom and BGO's) in his eyepiece case so can perhaps be more definitive on this. I'm relying on memories I have of the couple of 3mm-6mm Nagler zooms I've owned in the past.

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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It's certainly as good as the Circle-T "volcano top" orthos. Perhaps not quite as sharp and contrasty as a Baader GO but pretty darn close. Shane has both types (zoom and BGO's) in his eyepiece case so can perhaps be more definitive on this. I'm relying on memories I have of the couple of 3mm-6mm Nagler zooms I've owned in the past.

I'd agree with that. Very close to ortho quality.

The best thing about them is you get four in one, and can tune the focal length to your liking without removing the eyepiece or refocusing.

Andrew

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John

John

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WHY did I sell mine?!?

I've bought an sold two of these !

I've never been able to pin down what it was but somehow I never really hit it off with the two I tried :undecided:

I tended to prefer the views through Nagler T6's and latterly Pentax XW's.

There is no doubt that they are really excellent eyepieces though.

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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I've bought an sold two of these !

I've never been able to pin down what it was but somehow I never really hit it off with the two I tried :undecided:

I tended to prefer the views through Nagler T6's and latterly Pentax XW's.

There is no doubt that they are really excellent eyepieces though.

I know what you mean, John. I think it's something to do with the ortho-like experience. Compared to the eyepieces you mention, field of view is narrow and eye relief is tight. In fact, I had the suspicion eye relief was actually a bit less than 10mm, and I always found mine fogged up very easily and attracted eyelash grease...

Still, I miss it...

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John

John

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I've seen fake binoculars (Zeiss) being sold but I've not heard of eyepieces. The TV Nagler zoom is a very distinctive design and unlike any other externally. I doubt it could be faked without actually making a duplicate which would probably cost as much as the genuine article !

It's slightly unusual that the seller is unwilling to post such a small item but I guess thats his / her choice.

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alan potts

alan potts

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I've bought an sold two of these !

I've never been able to pin down what it was but somehow I never really hit it off with the two I tried :undecided:

I tended to prefer the views through Nagler T6's and latterly Pentax XW's.

There is no doubt that they are really excellent eyepieces though.

John,

At least you gave it a second chance. It is largely on the back of your comments that I have never gone after one. I haven't seen one S/H for a while now.

Alan

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drummermandan02

drummermandan02

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Looking at the FLO website, they sell the Baader GO EP's are they better than the Hyperion EP's then? Also, if I was to consider the Baader GO EP's, then would the 5mm EP be a good choice to go for?

Drummermandan,

Another up and coming Buddy Rich?

Alan

If I had hands that moved like that I would be a happy man!

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