Televue 31mm Eyepiece Good choice or expensive mistake????

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

43 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I have the 22mmT4 and 17mmT4 Naglers. They are as good as people say I've never been tempted by the 31mm as I have a 42mm LVW.

I also have the LVW 42mm, but the 31T5 is almost always first in the diagonal. The LVW only comes out of the case fairly rarely, for those cases where I need the maximum FOV, and larger exit pupil. The Horse-head Nebula showed up a touch better in the LVW42 than the 31T5, and I can fit a bit more of Markarian's chain into the FOV with the LVW, but otherwise the 31T5 is really better.

[Special K]

Totally in love with my Nag31 and such a treat to handle and use!  I was lucky to get a good specimen second hand but it still ain't cheap!

Heavy EP, that makes you much more aware of balancing. What I appreciate the most is pinsharp stars across the FOV.  

[DRT]

13 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I've never been tempted by the 31mm

Only one of us can call upon the benefits of Kolinahr

[timwetherell]

To me the 31 is the best EP for a 2" diagonal because it takes full advantage of the field stop - in other words, it's a wide as you can get with 2" accessories. Sure, you can get 40, 50 even 55mm EPs but the apparent field of view diminishes so you don't see any more actual sky than with the 31 and because the 31 offers higher magnification, it tends to reduce the effects of light pollution a bit too. The 31 Nagler is a cracker of an eyepiece! The downside is price. It is expensive. I also had a Chinese  30mm 80° EP that only cost about fifty quid in British money. It's not half bad but the edge is not as crisp as the nagler. Then again if you're using a newtonian with less than perfect coma correction, the edges won't be perfect anyway and the difference between cheap cheerful China and the Nagler may well not be worth the factor of ten price difference!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Actually, the LVW 42mm has an even wider field stop.: 47mm vs 42 for the Nagler 31T5. This is why I still have the LVW42, for those rare instances when the 31T5 is too narrow.

[John]

4 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

....... when the 31T5 is too narrow.

Not a phrase you see too often on astro forums !

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Not a phrase you see too often on astro forums !

 

Yes indeed!

On Markarian's Chain I got best results with the LVW 42mm, because it shows more of the chain. It also worked better on the Horsey, but that may have had more to do with exit pupil