If you were only alowed one eyepeice it would be a.........

[Earl]

Needs to be Scope friendly f15 today f4 tomorrow, who knows what after that.

[Moonshane]

26mm Nagler

[John]

13mm Ethos.

[RikM]

14mm Pentax XW

[Oblong]

I am rather attached to my 17mm Ethos - and not just because for some months it was the only bit of astro kit I owned (blame the Cox effect for the delay in receiving a scope). If we're going to f/15 territory, then I might take a 21mm instead.

[KevUU]

On the basis of stuff I have experience with, rather than expensive pipedreams, 12mm BST.

[JamesF]

Not sure what eyepiece it might be, but if I were only allowed one I'd have to have a huge number of telescopes

James

[Steep]

10mm Pentax XW

[russ.will]

I shall break with the shameless brand loyalty above, that fails to understand the deeper question.

A 14mm UWA would be pretty much the last EP you'd flog from your case if your world fell down around your ears. Assuming your scope was roughly 1200-1500mm FL. Assuming your world is DSO and you at least like other stuff too look planet shaped, etc.

Russell

[scarp15]

Easy, my 20mm T5 nagler.

[John]

I shall break with the shameless brand loyalty above, that fails to understand the deeper question.

For someone dense like me - what do you mean Russell ?

[russ.will]

The answers above have been mostly TV this, Pentax that, etc. That's irrelevant. The important bit of any of the statements above is the 10, 12, 14mm part, not who made it. The one eyepiece to rule them all, is about the objects you view, not the lettering on the EP.

If you find that a 14mm Nagthos XW is your most used EP, that FL would still be your most used EP if you lost your job and fiscal pressure made you flog your collection for cheaper alternatives. You'd flog your Nikon/Pentax/TV/ES and buy the best EP you were best able to afford of that focal length.

As far as dense goes - I'm willing to put money on the fact that I have a greater gravitational attraction than you do. If you disagree, then there only one way to sort that out - SUMO!!!!

Russell

[John]

I guess folks give the brand names they really like. Sorry if we have all missed the point !

[Damo636]

13mm Ethos

[Astro_Baby]

Tough call.....i would go with the Pentax 10mm XW and heres why.....

Its the darling of the XWs generally considered the best of the pack, possibly even the finest 10mm from anyone by reputation.

usable in the largest number lf scopes be they SCT, Newt or Frac.

Usable for the greatest number of targets, compact DSOs and Planets and Lunar.

If things were super bad dinancially though I would dump all the high end glass and retain three or four Circle T orthos....why ? Because their secondhand value is minimal but they offer the highest quality views on the cheapest budget.

[russ.will]

I guess folks give the brand names they really like. Sorry if we have all missed the point !

Not at all! I just read the question a different way. Mel seems to have read the question both ways, my initial viewpoint being broadly inline with the last paragraph of her answer.

Mind you, the question is still way open to individual interpretation. I particularly dislike my ES82 18mm for comfort reasons, whilst I've read more than a few posts from people that love it. They've probably got smaller noses and a less fat face than I, so I wouldn't disagree with them, even if I don't hold the same point of view. Perhaps clumsily, I was trying to indicate that it was not so much whether it was a Pentax XW, Nagler, etc that mattered, but that the prefered subject matter that had more of a bearing.

After all, having experienced the not so lofty heights of the ES82s, it wouldn't kill me to 'regress' to BST Explorers. It would kill me not to have the 15mm BST as my lone EP arsenal, by comparison.

Russell

Russell

[E621Keith]

The answers above have been mostly TV this, Pentax that, etc. That's irrelevant. The important bit of any of the statements above is the 10, 12, 14mm part, not who made it. The one eyepiece to rule them all, is about the objects you view, not the lettering on the EP.

If you find that a 14mm Nagthos XW is your most used EP, that FL would still be your most used EP if you lost your job and fiscal pressure made you flog your collection for cheaper alternatives. You'd flog your Nikon/Pentax/TV/ES and buy the best EP you were best able to afford of that focal length.

As far as dense goes - I'm willing to put money on the fact that I have a greater gravitational attraction than you do. If you disagree, then there only one way to sort that out - SUMO!!!!

Russell

The OP specified focal ratio not focal lengths, " f15 today f4 tomorrow".

Without knowing the scope's focal lengths, the manufacturer is more important because very few eyepiece remains sharp at F4.

The ideal eyepiece focal lengths depends on your scope. A 14mm may work well in a small apo, but try using that as your only eyepiece in a C14.

If I'm only allowed one eyepiece and no information about the scope, I'll pick a zoom, probably a Zeiss 6.7-25.1mm. It has reasonably high magnification at the short end, widest tFOV for zoom at the long end, so it's more likely to work with what ever scope you are given.

[alan potts]

Russell,

The question was an eyepiece that performed from F15-F4, that really only gives you a few choices, Televue and Pentax, I am not even sure Viven are good at F4. I know there is Nikon but these are very rare indeed and most people, me included have only seen a picture.

Keith puts it better, well done Keith, it is early.

I go for 20mm Nagler T5.

[Stargazer_00]

10mm unbranded super plossl. It performs the same in every scope

[nightfisher]

For me i think i would plump for the Pentax xl 8-24 zoom, this would cover most of my needs, and should allow me to use it for A-focal still

[ronin]

Over recent time I read read posts asking : If you could have only 3 eyepieces .... , then If you could only have 2 eyepieces ... , now we are down to If you could only have 1 eyepiece . Doesn't leave much for the next person. :grin:

Impossible question, one general eyepiece for my Mak would be useless on the f/6 80mm rereactor.

Comparing an Ortho to an ES 100 almost different instruments.

Simple solution is a TV zoom, get the best zoom you can, sort of cheating but it gets around the 1 eyepiece restriction.

[Stargazer_00]

If I could only have one eyepiece id take up birding with a spotting scope

[foundaplanet]

For me i think i would plump for the Pentax xl 8-24 zoom, this would cover most of my needs, and should allow me to use it for A-focal still

Same here it would have to be a zoom.

[RikM]

My answer was based on the eyepieces and telescopes that I have, or have owned/used. For me the 14mm XW is more than just focal length. I like the 70° apparent field of view, the contrast is superb, the 20mm eyerelief is necessary because I wear glasses, it is 1.25" barrel, so fits most focusers, the build quality will last a lifetime (I'm only allowed one right? )

It gives a well corrected 86x / 0.82° in my 10" f/4.7 Dob so great for faint DSO;

a nice bright 32x / 2.2° in my Pronto so great for richfield targets;

107x / 0.65° in my Son's Skymax 127 which is a nice balance for brighter DSO's and lunar/planetary views;

and high contrast ortho-like 193x in my mate's Skymax 180 Pro, perfect for planetary viewing in the UK.

[Earl]

Quiet an interesting set of reply's and very varied.

A long way from the question been answered I feel.