20mm Televue Plossl

[Alan White]

I have recently bought a 20mm Televue Plossl EP used and just used it for the first time looking at the moon in the blue sky.

What a pleasant surprise from my decent Meade 4000 Japan EP's the contrast and sharpness is a notable step up, very pleased.

The problem is I now have itchy fingers wanting more decent EP's!  

It's a slippery slope this hobby.

Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?
 I have a birthday coming up.

[Floater]

27 minutes ago, Alan White said:

It's a slippery slope this hobby.

Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?

Slippery slope, indeed. 

Be careful of the green-on-black magic. It can lead one into slipping a lot. ??

Yes, it is.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Floater

[Timebandit]

Hello Alan. The 32mm televue is a quality eyepieces. Very nice clean sharp views and nice eyerelief to go alone with the quality optics. I have the 32mm and can recommend it. I am that happy with the 32mm televue that I have just brought another one , to pair up for Binoviewers . A quality eyepiece you will not be disappointed 

You have got the black and green fever by the looks of things and this does mean your pockets are you going to take a bit of a battering I think. Welcome to the televue club.?

Edited September 7, 2016 by Timebandit

[Paul73]

It helps to look at Green & Black eyepieces as a savings plan.

I bought a mint second hand 21mm Ethos and sold it again for exactly what I paid 6 months later when I needed to finance an accidental scope purchase...

Go for it!

Paul

[Knighty2112]

Yeah, I'm buying a second hand 20mm Televue plossl too. And then just to propel myself even further down that long slippery slope I went and pushed the button on a new 14mm Baader Morpheus EP! Yikes! I need counselling! Hehe!  

[Floater]

53 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

... when I needed to finance an accidental scope purchase...

Love it! ?

[Alan White]

1 hour ago, Paul73 said:

It helps to look at Green & Black eyepieces as a savings plan.

I bought a mint second hand 21mm Ethos and sold it again for exactly what I paid 6 months later when I needed to finance an accidental scope purchase...

Go for it!

Paul

Now if only that sounded as good as it reads; I could convince my wife to invest in a logterm savings plan.

[Ben the Ignorant]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?

Why do you want to limit yourself to a 50° eyepiece when you could have an Explore 24mm/68° with splendid sharpness and more apparent field (same true field) for a little less money? My 24mm/68° Explore has so much more clarity and edge sharpness compared my Hyperion 24mm/68°, I gave the Hyperion to my brother who is only a casual observer.

[Floater]

Well, as the saying goes, Alan:

The best of luck with that, then.

[Floater]

And now Ben comes in with the voice of common sense and reason and spoils everything ... ??

[Alan White]

5 minutes ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

Why do you want to limit yourself to a 50° eyepiece when you could have an Explore 24mm/68° with splendid sharpness and more apparent field (same true field) for a little less money? My 24mm/68° Explore has so much more clarity and edge sharpness compared my Hyperion 24mm/68°, I gave the Hyperion to my brother who is only a casual observer.

Hi Ben

I like the 50 degree viewm mainly because I started with Kelners many years ago and the narrower FOV is 'normal' in my mind.
The sharpness in the Televue is right across the EP and I have a 750mm FL f5 Newtonian, which shows up EP performance good or bad.

My friend runs a Hyperion and that's a nice EP, is the ES 24mm really better?  Having not looked through one I do not know.

In the end what FOV we like and how we perceive an EP performing is a very individual thing, just like choice of clothes, car, phone etc. can be.

[Mak the Night]

1 hour ago, Knighty2112 said:

Yeah, I'm buying a second hand 20mm Televue plossl too. And then just to propel myself even further down that long slippery slope I went and pushed the button on a new 14mm Baader Morpheus EP! Yikes! I need counselling! Hehe!  

Two very nice choices of EP.

[Mak the Night]

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?
 

Yes.

[Ben the Ignorant]

14 minutes ago, Alan White said:

 I have a 750mm FL f5 Newtonian, which shows up EP performance good or bad.

My friend runs a Hyperion and that's a nice EP, is the ES 24mm really better?  Having not looked through one I do not know.

I have a 300 f/5 dob, and I dobsonized a 150 f/5 newtonian tube for my brother (that's why he got the eyepiece). I tried the Explore on both, coma and other edge distortions were negligible.

Yes, the Explore is really better, at first sight. More definition across the whole field and less curvature (very little focus change from center to edge). Stars remain tight and round at the edge, whereas they become little seagulls in the Hyperion. The latter keeps lines straighter, which makes it good as a terrestrial eyepiece, and the Explore has the needed pincushion effect to keep stars tight. Unless you want your astro eyepiece to double duty as terrestrial, go for the Explore.

[Alan White]

Thanks Ben; more food for thought.

As Gordon (Floater) said, 

36 minutes ago, Floater said:

the voice of common sense and reason

Have to say the 20mm Televue is sharp to the edge and no noticeable coma.
The wider FOV might be good on my AZ4 mount as it is in effect being used as a Dosonian.

 

[Timebandit]

18 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Thanks Ben; more food for thought.

As Gordon (Floater) said, 

Have to say the 20mm Televue is sharp to the edge and no noticeable coma.
The wider FOV might be good on my AZ4 mount as it is in effect being used as a Dosonian.

 

 

Hello Alan . You have tried the televue and seen for yourself the quality and sharpness of this eyepiece, Don't forget these televue eyepieces are tested and design go for fast scopes down to f4, they need to be good for that . The ES eyepieces if a remember correctly are recommended for f5 plus scope by FLO. I think this tells you which eyepiece is going to work best in faster scopes. 

I have had numerous eyepieces and televue plossl are very very good I have to say if you are happy with the 20mm then you will be very happy with the 32mm. Get yourself a little collection of televue plossl and you will have some cracking quality eyepieces for your scope?

[Star Struck]

I am sure somebody will correct me, but a 24mm 68 degree eyepiece shows the same amount of sky as a 32mm 50 degree eyepiece

but with different magnifications. I have owned both the eyepieces mentioned, but I only kept the televue 

32mm plossl. It is excellent across all of my scopes.

 

[Ben the Ignorant]

2 minutes ago, Star Struck said:

I am sure somebody will correct me, but a 24mm 68 degree eyepiece shows the same amount of sky as a 32mm 50 degree eyepiece

but with different magnifications. I have owned both the eyepieces mentioned, but I only kept the televue 

32mm plossl. It is excellent across all of my scopes.

 

No one will correct you, you're right. As I said above, the Explore has a wider apparent field, but the same true field.

[Ben the Ignorant]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

I like the 50 degree viewm mainly because I started with Kelners many years ago and the narrower FOV is 'normal' in my mind.

The "normal" field of view is the one you have with both naked eyes, and it's about 180°. Better use as much of it as possible when you're at the eyepiece.

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, Star Struck said:

I am sure somebody will correct me, but a 24mm 68 degree eyepiece shows the same amount of sky as a 32mm 50 degree eyepiece

but with different magnifications. I have owned both the eyepieces mentioned, but I only kept the televue 

32mm plossl. It is excellent across all of my scopes.

 

A 24mm 68 degree does indeed show the same fov as a 32mm 50 degree. I have a 24mm Panoptic which is excellent, and I think I would favour it over a 32mm for normal observing due to its higher mag and darker sky background due to the smaller exit pupil.

The 32mm has plenty of uses; if you are looking to keep mag down or to hit a specific exit pupil, particularly with longer focal length Maks, then it marks a lot of sense. They are also excellent in Quark eyepieces due to the simple design and the focal length.

[Charic]

40 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

Get yourself a little collection of televue plossl and you will have some cracking quality eyepieces for your scope?

...this may be an issue for some folk?
For me its all or nothing! I have tried TeleVue Plossl EPs in 8mm and 11mm and found the 8mm almost unbearable to use due to the tightness of the eye-relief, so on that basis, could not go ahead and purchase the  "set/collection" due to the fact that I would have to omit the 8mm on personal grounds? Yet I find some (£23 retail) Plossl's ( not what I paid ) that feel more comfortable, sharper and brighter to my eyes,  and far  less eye-relief using the 6mm,  so why are they inferior on paper to a TV,  yet to my eyes,   view very well for my needs, on axis, visual use only.
I should really  be keeping my  TeleVue EP's on the basis that they are good, but good for what/who? My cheapo  Revelation Plossl set betters my Meade and TV Plossl and  My Delos  beats my Starguiders only on  field of view, yet the  image seems the same, to my  old eyes.....!!!!!
 

There will never be a satisfactory conclusion to the eyepiece debate, its a matter of finding what you feel works best for your needs, and stick with it. 

[Timebandit]

2 minutes ago, Charic said:

...this may be an issue for some folk?
For me its all or nothing! I have tried TeleVue Plossl EPs in 8mm and 11mm and found the 8mm almost unbearable to use due to the tightness of the eye-relief, so on that basis, could not go ahead and purchase the  "set/collection" due to the fact that I would have to omit the 8mm on personal grounds? Yet I find some (£23 retail) Plossl's ( not what I paid ) that feel more comfortable, sharper and brighter to my eyes,  and far  less eye-relief using the 6mm,  so why are they inferior on paper to a TV,  yet to my eyes,   view very well for my needs, on axis, visual use only.
I should really  be keeping my  TeleVue EP's on the basis that they are good, but good for what/who? My cheapo  Revelation Plossl set betters my Meade and TV Plossl and  My Delos  beats my Starguiders only on  field of view, yet the  image seems the same, to my  old eyes.....!!!!!
 

There will never be a satisfactory conclusion to the eyepiece debate, its a matter of finding what you feel works best for your needs, and stick with it. 

 

Hello. I think the op has the 20mm already and is very happy with it compared to his meade. The question he raised was about a 32mm televue to which IMO is a great eyepiece and therefore recommend this to him and still recommend this to him. As for the 8mm televue the op did not raise a question on this and therefore I did not give an opinion on this.

Therefore in regards to 32mm plossl to which the question by the op was raised then IMO this is a very very good eyepiece. Others may disagree , but I stick to my opinion. Thanks☺

[Charic]

I agree, Alan does like his 20mm in favour of his Meade 4000  ( I own a couple ! )
My point  and generalization was  directed to your "little collection" statement ( whatever the brand)  and my reason for my not taking that route, if there was any confusion?

Edited September 7, 2016 by Charic

[Rick Towns]

I have the 8, 11, 15 and 20mm TV Plössls's - I love them all. They are absolutely a cut above my other Plössls (Meade, Orion, etc). I too prefer a narrower field of view. The human eye only has acute focus over about 2 degrees - so whether you have 50, 68, 82, 100 or 120 degrees of total view is pretty much irrelevant to me. I have a RA motor on my scope - I could see wanting a wider FOV if I was using an undriven scope. I have used wide angle eyepieces and I do not prefer them. The narrower FOV of a Plössl, Kellner or Ortho helps me concentrate on what I'm viewing. That's what I find anyway. After 30+ years of observing, I'm not likely to change. Mind you... I did move up from the Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces of my childhood... so maybe there's hope for me yet! LOL!

[Timebandit]

7 hours ago, Charic said:

I agree, Alan does like his 20mm in favour of his Meade 4000  ( I own a couple ! )
My point  and generalization was  directed to your "little collection" statement ( whatever the brand)  and my reason for my not taking that route, if there was any confusion?

 

 

 

9 hours ago, Timebandit said:

 

Hello Alan . You have tried the televue and seen for yourself the quality and sharpness of this eyepiece, Don't forget these televue eyepieces are tested and design go for fast scopes down to f4, they need to be good for that . The ES eyepieces if a remember correctly are recommended for f5 plus scope by FLO. I think this tells you which eyepiece is going to work best in faster scopes. 

I have had numerous eyepieces and televue plossl are very very good I have to say if you are happy with the 20mm then you will be very happy with the 32mm. Get yourself a little collection of televue plossl and you will have some cracking quality eyepieces for your scope?

 

 

Hi . I am still confused at your seemingly dislike at my "little collection" statement. If Alan already has a tv 20mm which he likes . And I have recommended a 32mm the televue, to which I still stand by this as this was the question posted by the op. Then this would be a little collection? If Alan decided to buy. My advice is based on me using the televue 32mm in an 120 Ed apo and a OOuk 14" 1/10 , just to clarify which scope my opinion is based on, so maybe the eyepiece come into its own in these quality scopes, and allows the televue to stretch its legs in these scopes and reach its full optical potential. 

As the scope set up  is only as good as the weakest link in the optical chain

I hope this clarifies my advice and opinion

Thanks☺