20mm Televue Plossl

[Stu]

Gents, I think we are in danger of tying ourselves in knots through semantics here.

I believe Charic's point is that he would not collect the whole set of TV Plossls because he finds the eye relief too tight on the 8mm.

Time bandit, your definition of 'little collection' is anything from a 20mm plus 32mm onwards, so not necessarily the full set, which is equally valid.

Regardless, let's leave it there and not get too worked up about it.

Charic, I do think visual acuity plays a role in seeing the differences between these eyepieces. I can certainly see benefits to the Delos/Ethos range over Plossls outside of purely field of view increases. As you say, eyepieces (and eyesight) are very personal things/preferences so we all need to decide for ourselves ultimately, although opinions from others can help steer us in the right direction.

[Paul73]

Grrrr. Moderators moderating.......

That was heading for a really interesting difference of opinion / scrap. And, Stu has to step in and clear things up!

I have a "Little" collection for when I want crystal clear intimate proper "telescope feel" viewing. The narrow field helps me concentrate on the target. These include the diminutive BCOs and a TV 25mm Plossl: And. Yes. That does involve stabbing myself in the eye at high mags.

I also have a "Big" collection of for wider general viewing. This includes Delos(s) and the monster that is the ES 20mm 100°.

Which I use depends on my mood. Neither is better thanthe other.

And the exam question? Yes. Buy the 32mm and enjoy observing your way, using the best in class.

Paul

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by Paul73

[Stu]

13 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

Grrrr. Moderators moderating.......

That was heading for a really interesting difference of opinion / scrap. And, Stu has to step in and clear things up!

My apologies Paul

Due to my own personal austerity measures, I'm currently fairly limited in eyepieces. I do have a 'little collection' of BGOs, actually a full set which I don't mind using even down to the 5mm. I often end up barlowing the 12.5 or 9mm though to help with eye relief.

My widefield is a 24mm Panoptic, a lovely small Jewel which is excellent, and as we mentioned shows the same fov as the 32mm. Actually I tell a lie, I have a Burgess Optical 40mm 2" which has yet to see a proper session with me, perhaps tonight is the night.

Back to the 32mm TV Plossl......

[Charic]

Timebandit,  There never was any issue or  dislike to  your comment!
I jumped into the thread having seen the word "collection", and used that as a way of adding something to the thread, although reading back now, maybe slightly off-track to the OP's question, but my comments were not meant  to question or belittle your opinion?

Often, folk  ask "should I buy this or that set" and I used your "little collection"  text just  to highlight why I personally chose not to collect a certain set, based on the short eye-relief.
It was  really as simple as that.
Sorry  if you thought/felt otherwise.  There is no issue

[Charic]

Stu-

John ( and others ? ) have  also implied the same, take my time to eek out the benefits from my Delos, because they were made to be that way, superior?

However, regardless of the eyepiece I use in my collection, my eye tells a different story? I know the TVs are highly praised, and work wonders, but my local  viewing conditions and limited use  (  2016 weather ?  ) have curtailed any attempts to venture away to a  proper dark site, and give these eyepieces the workout they deserve, so far only the field of view is noticeable to my eyes. I do not have membership or  any known local astronomers, except Floater! Gordon. ( we'll meet one Day? ) so I decided the only way to test and confirm, is to buy the eyepieces I'm interested in and put them to test. I will sell on those not required?

 

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by Charic

[Stu]

33 minutes ago, Charic said:

Stu-

John ( and others ? ) have  also implied the same, take my time to eek out the benefits from my Delos, because they were made to be that way, superior?

However, regardless of the eyepiece I use in my collection, my eye tells a different story? I know the TVs are highly praised, and work wonders, but my local  viewing conditions and limited use  (  2016 weather ?  ) have curtailed any attempts to venture away to a  proper dark site, and give these eyepieces the workout they deserve, so far only the field of view is noticeable to my eyes. I do not have membership or  any known local astronomers, except Gordon! ( we'll meet one Day? ) so I decided the only way to test and confirm, is to buy the eyepieces I'm interested in and put them to test. I will sell on those not required?

 

 

Charic, I may be mistaken, but don't you live somewhere darker than most of us?

I genuinely don't think it is just a marketing exercise, Delos, Delites, Ethos all offer more than the plossls I feel.

Anyway, this thread is about the 32mm Plossl (I think!) which is still a fine eyepiece.

[Charic]

I do, but don't tell everyone, it's a secret! Yes many folk are amazed here on the good nights when Starlight from the Milkyway creates body shadows, only  a mile or so out of town, and a few  of the stopping places along the A9 between Perth and Aviemore remind me of Stellarium with Weather switched off ?

Marketing or not, TeleVue  have built upon their reputation, and  the Ethos is/was the blueprint for the Delos, so they should be good, but it has been said before, a £300+ EP  over one of my  £49 eyepieces does not automatically make it six times better, infact some of the changes are so slight, it could be the reason that I don't see those differences, except the obvious, wider field and cost, but more likely than not, its my eyes that are at fault!
The Delos 8mm aside the Starguider, Its the Starguider for me at present in-fact (no offence) you could buy 6 Starguiders for the price of a New Delos? and the Starguiders are very good on an f/6. Maybe the Delos will be better for me on a faster scope,  better edge of field correction or if I incorporate the their Dioptrx system. more clarity overall, I have prescriptions but don't use at the telescope. Winter not too far away with darker/longer nights to go out and test, weather permitting ?
The TV Plössl's are good, even had a patent that  made improvements over other Plössl's, so I see no reason why the 32mm  would be any worse than a Delos in my case. Find what suits and enjoy.

[Timebandit]

 

Hello. I have just poked my head round the corner to see if it  Is it safe for me to come out of my bunker now and give an opinion?. 

I think the televue 32mm is a cracking eyepiece and this is the advice I will give and stick to. Not because it is a televue and the marketing, but because it has proved it's worth in my frac and dob, but yes it does have the green and black televue on it. I have also just had it in the Binoviewers in the daylight. And my opinion of this 32mm I am afraid to say has just got more impressive, It is just as smooth as butter to use and images are so crisp and sharp. A lovely eyepiece    .

I am not looking for another bust up with Charie?. But I get the feeling you are disappoint with the televue delos you own, in comparison with other cheaper alternatives. I would be very interested in the 6mm and 8mm, as these I feel would work very well in my fast dobby.  

If the delos are in  excellent condition and you want to let them go then please give me a pm to see if we can sort something out. Thanks☺

 

[Mak the Night]

1 hour ago, Timebandit said:

 

 

I think the televue 32mm is a cracking eyepiece and this is the advice I will give and stick to.

+1

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Charic said:

I do, but don't tell everyone, it's a secret! Yes many folk are amazed here on the good nights when Starlight from the Milkyway creates body shadows, only  a mile or so out of town, and a few  of the stopping places along the A9 between Perth and Aviemore remind me of Stellarium with Weather switched off ?

Marketing or not, TeleVue  have built upon their reputation, and  the Ethos is/was the blueprint for the Delos, so they should be good, but it has been said before, a £300+ EP  over one of my  £49 eyepieces does not automatically make it six times better, infact some of the changes are so slight, it could be the reason that I don't see those differences, except the obvious, wider field and cost, but more likely than not, its my eyes that are at fault!
The Delos 8mm aside the Starguider, Its the Starguider for me at present in-fact (no offence) you could buy 6 Starguiders for the price of a New Delos? and the Starguiders are very good on an f/6. Maybe the Delos will be better for me on a faster scope,  better edge of field correction or if I incorporate the their Dioptrx system. more clarity overall, I have prescriptions but don't use at the telescope. Winter not too far away with darker/longer nights to go out and test, weather permitting ?
The TV Plössl's are good, even had a patent that  made improvements over other Plössl's, so I see no reason why the 32mm  would be any worse than a Delos in my case. Find what suits and enjoy.

Thanks Charic. Could you do me a favour? I live about 5 miles from Heathrow airport. Could you stop talking about 'when you are able to get to some dark skies'?  

From here, there is a constant pattern of vapour trails overhead, and to the east (ish), there are always at least three bright stars which seem to be permanently fixed in the same place, but which are actually aircraft on final approach.

Regardless, the 32m TV Plossl is an excellent eyepiece, and that is what I should be talking about  

[Charic]

4 hours ago, Timebandit said:

you want to let them go then please give me a pm to see if we can sort something out. Thanks☺

If they  move on, you will be the first to know. If they prove their worth I will hold my hands up and keep them.

[Charic]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

 I live about 5 miles from Heathrow airport.

Now that hurts? That has been my lifelong dream  to live near and work at Heathrow Airport. An ATC controller was my desire, but educationally my scores were pants, so no chance in that career ? An apprenticeship at Hawker Siddley, Kingston was   also on the cards,  but again education would not  let me in ? but all was not lost,  since  those early days, have had the opportunity to have  controlled real  Aircraft, in the skies  from the visual tower, and as a Radar controller, but not  from the Heathrow tower? 

I would happily swap my skies for your location for different reasons?

Edited September 8, 2016 by Charic
Grammar

[Floater]

Stu, I feel your pain from here.

(Sorry this goes off-topic, again, but I moan and groan about my skies when yours are certainly worse as far as LP goes. Like I say, I feel for you.)

Now as I recall, this thread kicked off - sorry, started - with this question: Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?

I refer you to my original response, yes it is.

I'm off.  ??

[Alan White]

Just checked back in and it got interesting while I was gone!

Thank you all for you varied input and opinions, thats what a forum is for is it not.

 

I have to say at present have all plossl all Meade but two are Japanese build and shine.

9. 5 mm series 3000 is a peach and offers views of a quality of the 20mm TV.

15 mm series 4000 is fine but is not as immersive as the 9mm or 20mm.

25mm series 4000 is good but you don't feel like you have fallen into the view.

 

Any little collection will be a slowly bought mixed bag as money allows as I have a daughter at uni and the bank of mum and dad is being worked hard!

 

Again thank you for such enthusiastic input guys, appreciated.

 

[Charic]

........would not be a great forum if there was no discussion, all part of the service, and here's another ramble during my lunch.

No one goes out to build a bad eyepiece, but some folk build them better, its just a matter of locating what we feel is right and what suits the occasion for our situation.

I have too many EP's  ( some may suggest ) as some folk could  work with  just  the recommended three:  High, Medium and Low powered, but this amount of eyepieces gives me  a far greater choice to better frame the target/subject, and as long as it fills whatever percentage of the field of view I desire and is in focus, then it must be the right eyepiece at that time. Every eyepiece out there will be the most suitable for a certain target under the right conditions in the right telescope!

 I'd always imagined  in the beginning I would own a Plössl set and one other? Meade were to be the EPs of choice, but the Japan's  were not available at that time ( the 4000's)  and oh so many folk suggesting the BSTs, so after purchasing the  8mm I had to build my first set/collection, their just great EP's for my needs,  f/6 telescope, but   so many folk Talked about the TeleVue range, and how great they were? I was tempted to buy the whole set from the first day, there was enough money, but I decided to resist the temptation, and see how well I could do on less expensive EP's, proof, BST Starguider. Like cars they do the same job, Bentley Continental or Fiat 500?I know what I would like,but the  Bentley gets me there just as quick! So when I first tried a TV Plössl, maybe it was the wrong one for me, as I was  not blown away with the 8mm, solely due to the comfort aspect, not the eyepiece quality, infact If I had bought the  32mm TeleVue Plössl, I may have not purchased my Panaview,  but considering the Plössl only has  50° afov, the Panaview offers  more at 70°

If I  could only take a handful of EP's on a trip now, it would be my 6,8 12 & 32mm, so that's an SPL, two BSTs and a Panaview? Surely the  6,8 & 12mm Delos  and possibly the Panaview would be the better option, for many folk?
I have found that the minimum amount of eyepieces I could do with is one that matches the telescopes  focal ratio and  the next eyepiece twice the focal length of the first eyepiece, so a 6mm and a 12mm for the likes of an f/6 Dobsonian. with decent eye relief and 60° afov, why cant the manufacturers comply?

I wonder if someone here has both the TeleVue Plössl and Panaview 32mm, what's their verdict?

 I will probably just notice the difference in the field of view, rather than any great improvement over the image itself? Sure, the TV 32  may be better corrected at the edge of the field of view, but that's not been  an issue for my self to-date, I  just follow  the target on axis,, I don't go for a full drift across the field of view.

As for my Delos, I bought then for the following reasons ~ Was hoping to have a larger apertured telescope, their personally checked/corrected for faster focal ratios, I got them at a reasonable price, and recently  have investigated their

 Dioptrx  system  which may better my vision through them, possibly seeing far more than I see now?

Alan,  I`m sure you`ll like the 32mm until someone else lends you a wider 32mm, if ever that is a requirement. For example, my Panaview is my M31 EP and its still not wide enough?

Edited September 9, 2016 by Charic

[Pig]

Televue make the best eyepieces that I have looked through but this doesn't mean any of the other brands are not any good. As for plossls I have tried Celestron, Meade, Baader & Televue but they simply do not compare with the other eyepiece designs for me. As Stu said it is about personal preferences.

[Moonshane]

TV plossls are really superb and the 20 is no exception.  Whilst the 32mm and the 25mm are also great, for roughly the same sort of price or a little bit more than those two you can get a 24mm panoptic so I sold them and did just that.

[Mak the Night]

You can't beat a good Plossl IMO.

[Floater]

And those are good plossls.

[ghostdance]

On 10/09/2016 at 16:06, Mak the Night said:

You can't beat a good Plossl IMO.

Hey......how'd you get em out of my ep case and I didn't even notice?!

 

[Stu]

On 8 September 2016 at 19:38, Floater said:

Stu, I feel your pain from here.

(Sorry this goes off-topic, again, but I moan and groan about my skies when yours are certainly worse as far as LP goes. Like I say, I feel for you.)

Now as I recall, this thread kicked off - sorry, started - with this question: Is the 32mm Telvue Plossl as good as they say?

I refer you to my original response, yes it is.

I'm off.  ??

I must say it does hurt a little when chaps and chappesses complain about LP and actually what they mean is the little ornate village lamp about 200 yards down the road  

[Knighty2112]

23 minutes ago, Stu said:

I must say it does hurt a little when chaps and chappesses complain about LP and actually what they mean is the little ornate village lamp about 200 yards down the road  

Wish that was the only thing that created my LP!  

[Mak the Night]

4 hours ago, ghostdance said:

Hey......how'd you get em out of my ep case and I didn't even notice?!

 

Ninja training.

[topacid]

As the others said, it s a wonderful eyepiece, and although i have my collection of widefields and complicated eyepieces i also own an almost complete Televue plossl collection. 

Enjoy!

Vlad

[Alan White]

On 07/09/2016 at 20:00, Alan White said:

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.

Well after more than 3 years later.........
Little did I know how slippery that slope might be!