Are Naglers old hat now?

[GimmeAMoonlite]

I have an 8 inch F6 dob and a 80ED refractor. I have a set of Maxvisions 16-28 as my main eyepieces.

I am thinking of going up market but should I choose Naglers (there is a nice used 26mm for sale at the moment) or should I go for Delos/Delite. Ethos are out of the question due to price and I am not sure I will get on with a 100 degree eyepiece.

So are Naglers out of date and past their prime?  Should I go for Delos/Delite which are newer and appear to have better contrast etc  etc

Any takers?

 

 

[John]

Thats an interesting question and not one with a straightforward answer I suspect.

I don't think any 80-something degree eyepieces have surpassed the Nagler as yet but I felt there were slight improvements in performance when I moved from Naglers to Ethos and I think Delos, Delites and the Pentax XW's achieve something similar.

If you are flexible over the FoV then Delos / XW's might be a great call.

As well as the exotics mentioned above I do also have a Maxvision 24 / 68 and it's pretty good. Don't expect a quantum leap in performance terms - just the subtleties that we go on about !

[Piero]

I agree with what posted above.

In terms of weight and size a Nagler T6 beats a Delos and all the other giant eps, so T6 are more "grab and go" I would say.

I think Naglers are good eyepieces but I would only buy them in the second market. Whereas getting a second hand delos / pentax might be quite tricky, Naglers come out quite often. They can be a good initial investment for understanding what you need / like. After this you could re-sell them without loosing much money and invest in a newer optical design. Investing directly in something like an ethos / pentax / delos might (maybe not if you are lucky and quick) require a purchase in a shop and therefore an economical loss if you decide to resell it later. 

I would not call Naglers as outdated. Coming from 50 deg eps, the first time I observed through an 82 I was literally shocked.   It's just that the new trios (D,E,P) rose the line. Optically? yes, although these differences are not obvious. Ergonomically? D and P are user friendly if you wear spectacles. 

In my specific case, the main reason why I moved from Naglers to Delos was eye relief. I love observing with large lenses and I feel more comfortable with a ~70 deg afov. Of course these are twice the weight, which means that barlowing them requires some care.

[rl]

I'm still using an 11mm MK1 Nagler...A good eyepiece is a joy forever. It's undeniably true that more modern designs are incrementally better is several respects but unless you're obsessed with having the latest and greatest old Naglers will do just fine. 

Eye placement can take some getting used to on some focal lengths....but that's true of some modern eyepieces as well. 

RL

[scarp15]

I think that the S/H 26mm Nagler, if still available, for low power wide field, would be excellent for both your 8" F6 dob and 80mm Frac. I have previously owned one of these for use with my dobsonians, 8", F6 will provide 46X, 4.3mm exit pupil, 1.78 degree field. The Nagler is tack sharp with superb contrast, balance should be fine.

I have used some T6's and T5's and was particularly fond of the 16mm and 20mm T5. Delos however I have found to be simply very comfortable eyepieces to use, I like the neutral colour and strong contrast. I currently use a mix of ultra wide, wide field and plossl's, a favourite in the bunch is the 10mm Delos. 

 

[Mak the Night]

I have a 16mm T5 Nagler it’s the best 82° eyepiece I’ve used, in many ways superior to the Celestron Luminos. Its relatively small eye lens and 10mm eye relief can be tiring after prolonged sessions though. Either way, I wouldn’t part with mine yet. I did consider a 9mm Nagler, but may plump for the 9mm DeLite instead. I still consider my T5 as one of my main EP’s.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The 26T5 is a really nice EP. I looked through Olly's and it is a superb performer in the 20" F/4.1 Dob he has. The 31T5, 22T4, and 17T4 I have aren't going anywhere in a hurry, although the 12T4 might be replaced by a Delos 12.

So, no, I don't think the Naglers are old hat.

[Louis D]

Certainly the 31mm T5 is still a prominent player in today's market.  Nothing is better across the field at that focal length, and 100 degrees is not possible unless you move up to the 3 inch ES offering.

The 26mm T5 is reportedly better across its narrower field than the 25mm ES-100.

The 20mm T5 has been discontinued, but was reportedly one of the sharpest Naglers ever produced, along with the 16mm T5.

The 12mm and 17mm T4s may be getting up-ended by the new ES-92 series if they are as good as the initial reports seem to indicate.  The 22mm T4 appears to be safe for the moment.

The older T1s and T2s suffer from poorer coatings than today's modern Naglers.  The 20mm T2 still has a loyal following, though.  Not so much the 12mm and 16mm T2s.

The shorter T1s are popular for planetary use.

[alan potts]

I have owned the 31mm, 26mm, 20mm 16mm 13mm 12mm 11mm 9mm 7mm and 5mm Naglers and I have not seen anything to beat them, I only have 2 now though. The T6 range are wonderfully light and small to the hand and whilst may not be quite as good as some of the other TeleVue ranges now, still have advantages and still command good S/H prices.

I consider them class leaders that the rest try to copy, you be careful the Spanish Inquisition don't come knocking at your door.

Alan 

[bomberbaz]

I recently purchased a 26nagler as my largest ep and i cant see any reason why i would ever let it go. It does all i ask of it and provides a clean, crisp image nearly full fov. (Dob is f4.7) 

On another note, you could argue the radians are now defunct as the delites are in the same market as them, small & lightwieght with medium fov. However I now own 4 radians and the cost was 1.5 delos or 2 delites with probably 95% or more of the performance, I feel very at ease buying when i throw that equation into my rationale ?

[Paul73]

Nagler would be great for the longer mm's. The Delos is slightly better than the Nagler IMHO and doesn't loose much in the way of FoV. The Delos stops at 17.3mm. So, I would definitely go for the 26mm Nagler.

Paul

 

[GimmeAMoonlite]

I bought the 26mm Nagler and it is an absolute beauty.

I will probably look at Delos/Delite for the shorter focal lengths.

[ollypenrice]

On 28/3/2016 at 22:56, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

The 26T5 is a really nice EP. I looked through Olly's and it is a superb performer in the 20" F/4.1 Dob he has. The 31T5, 22T4, and 17T4 I have aren't going anywhere in a hurry, although the 12T4 might be replaced by a Delos 12.

So, no, I don't think the Naglers are old hat.

Agreed. I find the 26 Nagler to be sensational not only in the Dob but in anything else in which we put it. Old hat? Anyone thinking this about their Naglers might care to avail themselves of my free collection and recycling service...

Ever the optimist!

Olly