TeleView treat ....... ?!

[MahlerMoonMan]

Hi folks

I can't somehow help noticing that TV have brought a lot of prices down just recently .... I'm interested!!! As are many of us on here I expect .... Anyway. I do already own some quality glass, I must admit.

My scope is an ED80, and my EPs are:

Maxvision 24mm (68 degrees)

BST explorer 12mm

Pentax XW 10mm

BST 8mm

Orion planetary 6mm

Those are my premiums, I also have an Orion DeepView 35mm and an Orion shorty-plus 2x Barlow.

Bearing in mind the TV price reductions, what quality glass might I consider acquiring just now and that might compliment what I already own? I don't intend to replace anything but I would consider 'fine-tuning' my collection .... At the end of the day, I look through an ED80, and if I can improve what I'm looking at, at a 'bargain price' I'd consider purchasing .....

Any enthusiastic suggestions?!

Donaldo

[estwing]

would the 3-6 zoom be of any use?

[MahlerMoonMan]

Very possibly ... I am tempted Maybe I'm just a bit uncertain about zooms, but I've not read much that is bad about the TV 3-6 zoom ....

[John]

The 3-6 Nagler zoom is not like other zooms !

It's not like other Naglers either, having a 50 degree field of view through it's range but it's a viable alternative to having 3-4 top quality high power eyepieces and was designed with short focal length ED refractors (like yours !) in mind.

It's only downside comes if you wear glasses to observe because the eye relief is 10mm. Otherwise highly recommended

[estwing]

its fantastic...now go get one!...John's had two and would get another, that was all I needed to hear. I respect his point of view.

[estwing]

must type faster!...

[Naemeth]

TV Nagler 3-6mm Zoom . I've not had chance to use mine yet, but considering it's effectively 4 eyepieces it takes up very little space .

[John]

its fantastic...now go get one!...John's had two and would get another, that was all I needed to hear. I respect his point of view.

I have had two and I have considered getting a third but there was something about the previous two that did not quite suit me as I did not hang on to them for too long so I'm going to stick with my Radian ./ XW mix at those focal lengths.

I'm probably still a wider field junkie at heart

Shane is really taken with his though and thats worth being influenced by

[Andrew*]

I can confirm the 3-6mm zoom is a great match for your ED80 with the comfort caveats.

For a more comfortable high power experience, perhaps a 3.5mm Delos would make a better addition?

Also consider a 2.5x Powermate - they have also dropped in price to £150 from SCS - a great price that will make a 4mm Pentax XW out of that 10mm - brilliant!

[Stargazer_00]

I do hear the 3-6 zoom has tight eye relief so the 3.5mm Delos might prove to be better as it'd be more comfortable.

[jetstream]

I have a 6mm Delos and the Nagler 3-6 zoom and both are excellent,but different.That little zoom is in my scope a lot....great for planets,moon and is awesome for splitting stars.It also allows you to pick the optimum magnification quickly if you have other eyepieces in this range.Another thing I do is check my sky with it to see how much turbulence etc is up there.It is a great eyepiece,I split Pi Aquilae with it last night,which must be near the limit of my scope...

[alan potts]

Thrid time lucky John! Another vote for the zoom. The others that you you may consider is a 17.3 mm Delos or slightly cheaper 16mm Nagler for the hole in the range. The 16mm is so cheap now I am thinking of getting another just because I can't resist a bargin.

Alan.

[MahlerMoonMan]

Thanks guys ..... The zoom does interest me, certainly .... If I were ever to own just one TV I am tempted to choose it .... My only worry is pushing my ED80 f7.5 in terms of high mag .... I have been getting I feel some conflicting advice at times re how high can expect to go, sky quality permitting of course. Is there any point in me having an EP that can take me to x200 when I may never be able to use such a power ...?! Anyone out there actually look through an ED80 f7.5 at x200 and feel the scope is performing at that power?!

Thanks,

Donaldo

[Mr Spock]

I have an 80ED (Celestron). I'd say it isn't really useful for high powers. Where it's at its best is low power wide field. With my 22mm T4 Nagler (x27, 3°) star fields are most impressive; it can pick out star colours really well and is sharp over the whole field of view.

[Andrew*]

Thanks guys ..... The zoom does interest me, certainly .... If I were ever to own just one TV I am tempted to choose it .... My only worry is pushing my ED80 f7.5 in terms of high mag .... I have been getting I feel some conflicting advice at times re how high can expect to go, sky quality permitting of course. Is there any point in me having an EP that can take me to x200 when I may never be able to use such a power ...?! Anyone out there actually look through an ED80 f7.5 at x200 and feel the scope is performing at that power?!

In short, yes!

I had this combination and felt it was an ideal match for getting the max out of the scope. The ED80 is very capable. The view is quite dim at this power, so it only makes sense for bright doubles and planets

[andrew63]

I have an 80ED (Celestron). I'd say it isn't really useful for high powers. Where it's at its best is low power wide field. With my 22mm T4 Nagler (x27, 3°) star fields are most impressive; it can pick out star colours really well and is sharp over the whole field of view.

My feeling to - you could spend all night getting lost... Nager 26 Pan 27 - PAN 35 with 4 deg binocular type views...

andrew

[Stu]

I have a Stellarvue ED80 and generally find that x160 is that max I use it to for planets, although you could go higher on doubles.

After an amount of experimentation, I've found that, for me, a 3.5mm ep makes a very good near max mag ep which is regularly useful. I found this largely through using the 3 to 6 zoom and more often than not I ended up around this setting. I now have 3.5mm type 6 mag and also 3.7mm Ethos SX which is proving very useful! You do need to be aware of how bad your floaters are at these small exit pupils though. Mine are noticeable but manageable.

Ultimately it depends what you are interested in. I would agree with either a 3-6 zoom or 3.5 Delos, or even 4.5 Delos as a higher power, but equally a lovely Widefield ep would be very nice. I have a 31 type 5 Nagler which gives my widest views and is great, although perhaps a bit of a beast in an 80ED! The 22 and 26 nags are great choices too.

Stu

[Mark at Beaufort]

Donaldo you don't mention your main observing interest. If you want to view double stars then certainly buy a more powerful eyepiece. The Nagler zoom is a very good EP, but its eye relief is 10mm so if you wear glasses to observe you may want to think twice buying this EP. If you want a quality EP for a higher mag then I would say look at the 3.5 or 4.5 Delos or possibly a Televue barlow

If you generally view brighter DSOs as your main interest then I would recommend something between your 24mm and 12mm. Because the 16mm Nagler is such a fantastic price I would go with that.

[swamp thing]

Looking at your eyepieces I would also go with 16mm or 17mm Naglers, depending on what amount of eye relief you'd like.

[RT65CB-SWL]

MultiQuote: "Thanks guys ..... The zoom does interest me, certainly .... If I were ever to own just one TV I am tempted to choose it .... My only worry is pushing my ED80 f7.5 in terms of high mag .... I have been getting I feel some conflicting advice at times re how high can expect to go, sky quality permitting of course. Is there any point in me having an EP that can take me to x200 when I may never be able to use such a power ...?! Anyone out there actually look through an ED80 f7.5 at x200 and feel the scope is performing at that power?!"

"In short, yes!I had this combination and felt it was an ideal match for getting the max out of the scope. The ED80 is very capable. The view is quite dim at this power, so it only makes sense for bright doubles and planets"

I too say, "Yes!" and add another plus vote for this marvel of glassware.

I use the 3-6mm zoom with a TeleVue Ranger (70mm obj f/l 480mm @f6.8) as I visually observe the Moon and planets with it.

A member of the local society uses the 2-4mm zoom with the TeleVue TV-60 (60mm obj, f/l 360mm @ f6.0)

[Naemeth]

Thanks guys ..... The zoom does interest me, certainly .... If I were ever to own just one TV I am tempted to choose it .... My only worry is pushing my ED80 f7.5 in terms of high mag .... I have been getting I feel some conflicting advice at times re how high can expect to go, sky quality permitting of course. Is there any point in me having an EP that can take me to x200 when I may never be able to use such a power ...?! Anyone out there actually look through an ED80 f7.5 at x200 and feel the scope is performing at that power?!

Thanks,

Donaldo

Tried the Nagler 3-6mm Zoom last night using the ED80 on the Moon. It was great fun, going all the way from 6mm (100x) to 3mm (200x). If anything, I felt I could have a bit more magnification there, at times the seeing was good enough. Although, the image does dim a bit when you get to 3mm - but given how bright the Moon was, I was glad it did.

[Moonshane]

it's a superb eyepiece the 6-3mm zoom. the eye relief feels more generous to me than 10mm and it's not only four eyepieces but an 'infinite' number inbetween too as you can park it where you like per the seeing. having 200x when you can use it is better than not having it when you need it.

[Naemeth]

it's a superb eyepiece the 6-3mm zoom. the eye relief feels more generous to me than 10mm and it's not only four eyepieces but an 'infinite' number inbetween too as you can park it where you like per the seeing. having 200x when you can use it is better than not having it when you need it.

I agree, and the ability to sit at any magnification I wanted was really useful. I never felt I needed to look at what magnification I was on, I was spending too much time at the eyepiece for that .

[MahlerMoonMan]

What about a TV plossl? They sound interesting too .... Would the 15mm be a worthwhile acquisition?

[Moonshane]

other than field of view and with some versions/comparisons eye relief, TV plossls are in my opinion just as good as anything else in the TV line up. the field of view at 50 degrees is actually not too bad and I find I much prefer my plossls (I have 11, 15, 20, 25 and 32mm TV Plossls) than my ethos and naglers on the moon and planets. the 15mm is a really nice eyepiece. if you are happy to wait and buy used then a 14mm Radian would also be a good option at this sort of focal length, it has a 60 degree field (looks a lot wider than 10 degree difference), 20mm eye relief and really nice flat sharpness. you'd get one for maybe £100.

my travel kit for my 12" f4 dob (with paracorr) is 16mm type 2 Nagler (83x), 10mm Radian (130x) and 8mm (166x) Radian