Jump to content

TeleVue Nagler 3-6 zoom

Joves

By Joves
in Discussions - Eyepieces

Recommended Posts

Joves

Joves

Posted
Posted

Just added me of these to the 21mm, 13mm and 10mm Ethos lineup... Oh, and a TV-76 to use them on. Haven't tried any yet, as the skies here have been crud, but am sure the 4.38 degree FOV is going to be amazing. Now all I need to decide is whether I bother with the 31mm Nagler to crank it up to a whopping 5.3 degrees... Ahhhh, decisions decisions...

Anyone have any experience with the Nagler zoom's?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 52
  • Created
  • Last Reply
John

John

Posted
Posted

I've owned a couple of the 3-6 Nagler zooms. Great quality eyepieces and very flexible but I just didn't "warm" to them for some reason. I probably prefer ultra wide views to be honest. They are a good alternative to owning a number of short focal length eyepieces and are ideally suited to the the short focal length TV refractors.

They have some very firm fans on here so my feelings about them are probably the exception rather than the norm !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

the Nagler zoom is as far as I am concerned one of three eyepieces I'd never sell. although it has stated eye relief of 10mm and a field of 50 degrees across the range, it's an easy eyepiece to use if you don't wear glasses/spectacles.

in my scopes (focal lengths of 1200 and 1600x2 (plus 15% for the paracorr in the latter two) the zoom is mainly a double star/lunar/mars eyepiece. in a shorter scope it would be great for more general observing. it's basically a plossl on steroids. the zoom is parfocal across the range, tiny and robust. for a smaller scope (shorter focal length scope) it's the perfect travel eyepiece too. it is sharp across the field as you'd expect and provides bright images with a lot of contrast and as far as I can see no scatter.

oh, in case you had not guess I'd recommend it highly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joves

Joves

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks fellas.

John, I absolutely hear you... I was going to get either a 3.7mm or 4.7mm Ethos (and possibly a Big Barlow x2), but with the focal length of the TV-76, image scale was still going to be a problem with the massive 110 degree APOV. Went with the 50 degree zoom instead, so hopefully it compliments the Ethos' as I'm supposing it to!

Moonshane, that's sounds great. I've always been a believer, based on SGL reviews rather than any experience (I have very little of that), that zoom lenses are the ones you should walk straight past. Your endorsement of the Nagler 3-6mm has me cursing these darn clouds!! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

I agree with your generally but the TV zooms (although not the 8-24mm one) are completely different as I believe are some of the more expensive ones like the Leica offerings. that said, if you only have a cheap zoom it will still show you lots of things at the eyepiece end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

Thanks fellas.

John, I absolutely hear you... I was going to get either a 3.7mm or 4.7mm Ethos (and possibly a Big Barlow x2), but with the focal length of the TV-76, image scale was still going to be a problem with the massive 110 degree APOV. Went with the 50 degree zoom instead, so hopefully it compliments the Ethos' as I'm supposing it to!

Moonshane, that's sounds great. I've always been a believer, based on SGL reviews rather than any experience (I have very little of that), that zoom lenses are the ones you should walk straight past. Your endorsement of the Nagler 3-6mm has me cursing these darn clouds!! :)

My "high power" eyepieces have ended up as 6mm Ethos, 5mm Pentax XW, 4mm Radian, 3.5mm XW and 3mm Radian and I keep a 6mm Baader Genuine Ortho for critical viewing of objects such as Sirius B where minimal light scatter is required. The total cost is a lot more than the 3-6mm Nagler zoom of course but I did try one of those for a while a couple of times so at least it's had a chance !

The zoom is a very good eyepiece though, no doubt about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

In some ways I wish I had taken to the 3-6mm Nagler zoom - I'd have saved needing two eyepiece cases for a start !

I'm sure you will love it though Joves - it's a superb little eyepiece and beautifully engineered  :smiley:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

Lovely eps as everyone says. I use mainly for travel with my TV76, it's a great little package. I don't often use at the 3mm setting but somewhere around 3.5 and 3.7 is often optimal in both the 76 and 106mm fracs I've got. So much so that I do have a 3.7mm Ethos as well just to get maximum out of the scopes.

Sure you won't be disappointed :-)

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joves

Joves

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks again guys.

Stu, I'd be really keen the hear how you find the 3.7mm Ethos in the TV-76. At the moment, it's the only scope I can possibly use it in and the image scale vs. mag seem to limit what I would use it for. Aside from the moon, which I imagine would be AWESOME with this scope/ep combination, do you find that you use it for many other objects?

(As I write this, I'm imagining some planetary nebula would also be brilliant with this combo...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

Actually I've yet to put the two together, the weather has been that bad! It gives x130 in the 76 and x186 in my 106 which ideal for Jupiter. Not bothered about the extra fov but equally if the magnification is there, I'll just ignore the rest! Will still be lovely for widefield high mag views of things like M42 I guess with around 0.85 degrees fov.

Will update on this more when I try it properly. I did notice some field curvature with the 21e the other night, stars in focus in the centre but out of focus towards the edge. Not possible to get both simultaneously which is frustrating. Don't notice this with the 106mm.

The Nag zoom has click stops at 3, 4, 5 and 6mm but is variable to any setting in between these too, so you can fine tune the magnification to the seeing, very handy.

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NGC 1502

NGC 1502

Posted
Posted

Also, what incremental range does the 3-6mm zoom actually have? I assumed it was a basic 3-4-5-6, but your post suggests its a lot broader?!

I have the 3-6 zoom, bought second hand at Kelling star party (north norfolk UK).

There are click stops at 3, 4, 5, 6 mm, but you can fine tune between the click stops if you want.  I don't do that, if the view is not good, I just click down to the next click stop setting.

This EP is great, and compared with my old short focal length orthos, the eye relief is excellent.  I am however a fan of much longer eye relief, and find the 3-6 much more prone to dewing up in damp & cold conditions than my Radians with their 20mm ER.   A quick blast with my 12v dew gun sorts it however, so not really a problem.

Agreed though that a wider apparent field would be nice, but everythings a trade off, and each person will have different preferences.

Regards, Ed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

Good choice, the Nagler 3-6mm Zoom is a great EP. I use it with my travel set-up as it is a lot more convenient to take one eyepiece instead of the 4+ it replaces (3,4,5 and 6mm and everything in between). It's comfortable enough to use with the eye relief, and a zoom eyepiece is a lot of fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joves

Joves

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Cheers boys, this info is good.

Stu, I'm looking forward t trying out the 21mm in the TV-76... Will be a bit disappointed if it shows field curvature, as you say. The scope suggests a max FOV of 5.5 degrees and the combination with the 21mm should give approx. only 4.3 degrees (only... Haha). Will be a bit put-off if these two don't match perfectly? It's a $1000 EP, for goodness sake!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

Cheers boys, this info is good.

Stu, I'm looking forward t trying out the 21mm in the TV-76... Will be a bit disappointed if it shows field curvature, as you say. The scope suggests a max FOV of 5.5 degrees and the combination with the 21mm should give approx. only 4.3 degrees (only... Haha). Will be a bit put-off if these two don't match perfectly? It's a $1000 EP, for goodness sake!!

If it does show field curvature, I believe you may be able to get a field flattener for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joves

Joves

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Great.. "more cash needed to be spent".. Haha, oh maaaaan, does this "hobby/obsession ever cease?! I'll buy a field flattened and then need a "field rotator" to even it out, not doubt...

Cheers Jonathon. And Stu, will let you know how I get on. I don't think the optics have changed between yours and my scope, so doubt I'll be immune to any issues you've faced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.