Meade or TeleVue

[Nojus]

Hi,I'm looking for experts advice about eyepieces.

For constellations and general obseration looking for 40mm eyepiece ,just not decided which one is better for 250mm Newton and 180mm Cassegrain.

Have aimed on Meade 40mm SW and TeleVue Panoptic 41mm.

Finally or at the beginning must ask for advice if those 40-41mm 68 ° eyepieces gives more wide view than 30mm ES 82°?

Appreciate experts advice.

[Alan White]

You will get such a mixed opinion.
Perhaps expand what you want it for, what your sky is like etc.

 

[Timebandit]

 

Hi . Factors such as the focal ratio of your scope can play an important role of the eyepiece choice. If it's a fast scope, say around f/4 then eyepiece choice is far more important as it is more testing on the eyepiece. A slower scope of say around f/7 or more is less demanding on the eyepiece. Televue is more expensive usually, but it is my understanding that they are test to f/4 level and so perform very well in most scope. Personally I would opt for the Televue panoptic between the two

A 41mm  68d eyepiece will give a lower magnification than the 30mm , and therefore you will get a smaller image of your target in the 68 d. The 30mm will give a larger image of your target in the eyepiece but with a 82d field of view. 

[John]

I would not use a 40/41mm eyepiece in an F/4.7 scope like the Skywatcher dobsonian other than for occasional fun. The exit pupil generated (8.5mm) is just too large to be accommodated by the average pupil so you are not benefitting from the full aperture of the scope.

The 30mm 82 eyepieces are a much better bet in such a scope in my experience. They show just a little less of a true field than a 40/41mm 68 but the background sky should be darker and much more of the light will be making it into the back of your eye.

In the 180 mak-cassegrain though, the 40/41mm eyepieces should be good although you might not benefit from the full field due to the size of the internal baffle of the scope ?

Meade v's Tele Vue - my pick is Tele Vue but you do pay a hefty premium. Explore Scientific have eyepieces which are very close to Tele Vue in performance and those would be my choice if I had to forego my Tele Vues.

You have very different scopes in terms of specs so different guidelines on what works in terms of focal length, field of view etc apply. The 30mm 82 should do fine in both scopes though so thats where I'd go if I were you.

 

[Nojus]

50 minutes ago, John said:

The 30mm 82 should do fine in both scopes though so thats where I'd go if I were you.

 

That's the answer I would like to see ,thank you very much ,because my ES 30mm 2" 82° is just perfect ,only I wanted to fit more sky into my FOV,this why asked for advise for wider eyepiece .. Is there any eyepiece showing wider than ES 30mm 2" 82°? I'm not talking about ES 100° or 120° .thanks guys

[John]

The 31mm Nagler 82 ? - but it's only a tiny bit more sky for a lot more cost !

The 40/41mm 68/70 degree eyepieces do show a little more sky but at the disadvantages in your F/4.7 dob that I outlined earlier.

The limiting factor for the size of the apparent field of view is always the size of the eyepiece barrel. So the ES 30mm / 100 degree eyepiece, which has a 3 inch barrel, will show more sky than a 30mm in the 2" fitting can but the eyepiece weighs a whole lot, costs a lot and requires a 3" focuser / diagonal.

The other way to get a wider field is to get a scope with a shorter focal length of course

 

[Nojus]

13 minutes ago, John said:

 

The other way to get a wider field is to get a scope with a shorter focal length of course

 

yes,that's right,but I'm very happy with my 250mm Newton/ Dob,so the conclusion for me will be a good pair of binoculars here I guess..

[Chris]

Save a ton of money and buy this:

https://www.bresser.de/en/Sale/Display-Items/Explore-Scientific-Maxvision-68-Okular-40mm.html

It's the same as a the Meade but branded ES Maxvision.

Be warned though, I've owned this particular eyepiece and it's rather on the large size:

 

[Timebandit]

24 minutes ago, Nojus said:

yes,that's right,but I'm very happy with my 250mm Newton/ Dob,so the conclusion for me will be a good pair of binoculars here I guess..

 

Or go to a truly dark site and use Mark One eyeballs. Limited magnification, but a truly wide FOV. Enjoy?

[Nojus]

appreciated your help guys ,good to have support from you...

[John]

3 hours ago, Nojus said:

yes,that's right,but I'm very happy with my 250mm Newton/ Dob,so the conclusion for me will be a good pair of binoculars here I guess..

I use a 4" ED doublet F/6.5 refractor for really wide telescopic views - I get 3.8 degrees of sky with my 31mm Nagler eyepiece which is enough to fit the whole of the Veil Nebula into the field of view and lots of M31

Have some 11x70 binoculars as well which are fun for "hit and run" type sessions.

I appreciate that running out and buying another scope is not a practical proposition too often though !

[Louis D]

I have the 40mm Meade 5000 SWA which is the same as the 40mm Maxvision.  It is sharp across the entire field (71 degrees AFOV measured), much more so than my 30mm ES-82 which isn't really all that sharp anywhere, especially in the last 10% of the field, mostly due to astigmatism and chromatic aberration.  The Meade also has a sharp field stop whereas the 41mm Panoptic reportedly has a fuzzy field stop.  I also find it easy to use with eyeglasses because of its 29mm of usable eye relief once the eyecup has been removed thanks to its 39mm eye lens.  Yes, the sky background is darker in the ES-82, but if you're looking at star fields, that's not such a big benefit as when looking for extended objects.  It all depends on what you're looking at.  I swap between the two, but other than the 82 (84 degrees measured) AFOV, I prefer the Meade for sweeping star fields.

There's no either-or here, go ahead and get both and compare them for yourself.

[ollypenrice]

TeleVue invent and the others copy. Reward them if you can afford to do so.

Olly

[Paul73]

I've used the ES 30mm 82° in a 250mm f4.7. The pairing work nicely. I found the exit pupil to be on the limit for me.

For the wider views. I bought a used 80mm ED refractor for the price of a single premium eyepiece! The view is dimmer than the 10", but it is really really wide?. 

Paul

[John]

6 hours ago, Louis D said:

I have the 40mm Meade 5000 SWA which is the same as the 40mm Maxvision.  It is sharp across the entire field (71 degrees AFOV measured), much more so than my 30mm ES-82 which isn't really all that sharp anywhere, especially in the last 10% of the field, mostly due to astigmatism and chromatic aberration.  The Meade also has a sharp field stop whereas the 41mm Panoptic reportedly has a fuzzy field stop.  I also find it easy to use with eyeglasses because of its 29mm of usable eye relief once the eyecup has been removed thanks to its 39mm eye lens.  Yes, the sky background is darker in the ES-82, but if you're looking at star fields, that's not such a big benefit as when looking for extended objects.  It all depends on what you're looking at.  I swap between the two, but other than the 82 (84 degrees measured) AFOV, I prefer the Meade for sweeping star fields.

There's no either-or here, go ahead and get both and compare them for yourself.

I'm very surprised to read your mediocre experiences with the ES 30 / 82 Louis. It's one of those eyepieces that seems to get overwhelmingly positive reports wherever you read about it 

I wonder if your example is a little "off song" ?

[25585]

Which ES eyepieces are closest to TV for quality generally? 

As buying blind is a gamble to some degree, better to pay less if a must-have for the specs. (no puns intended in this sentence!)

I never experienced kidney beaning in an expensive eye piece before buying Tele Vue. 

[alan potts]

I have had both and I am a TeleVueaholic, but I always wish I had kept the 40mm, it does not vignette on my SC 12 inch where as the 41mm Panoptic does. The Pan is a tad sharper but if I were you with what you are using it on I would go for the Meade.

[25585]

What is the eye relief on the Meade/ES 40mm Maxvision?

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

What is the eye relief on the Meade/ES 40mm Maxvision?

As I mentioned above, I measure 29mm of usable eye relief after decloaking it.  With the eyecup still on there, I would think you'd lose about 3mm to 4mm thanks to the thick rubber cup design.  It rotates upward, so you can reduce eye relief even further if you don't wear eyeglasses at the eyepiece.

[John]

2 hours ago, 25585 said:

Which ES eyepieces are closest to TV for quality generally? 

 

I thought that the ES 20mm / 100 degree was very close to the Ethos 21mm in performance when I upgraded to the latter a while back. They don't have long enough eye relief for the glasses wearer though.

The ES 17mm and 12mm 92 degree eyepieces seem to be very highly regarded by those that own them.

 

[Louis D]

2 hours ago, 25585 said:

Which ES eyepieces are closest to TV for quality generally? 

As buying blind is a gamble to some degree, better to pay less if a must-have for the specs. (no puns intended in this sentence!)

The 17mm ES-92 views exactly like my 10mm Delos, only much wider.  I can't see any aberrations of any sort anywhere in the field just like the Delos.  Defocused stars are circular bullseyes right to the edge.

5 hours ago, John said:

I'm very surprised to read your mediocre experiences with the ES 30 / 82 Louis. It's one of those eyepieces that seems to get overwhelmingly positive reports wherever you read about it 

I wonder if your example is a little "off song" ?

All I can say is stars are a bit bloated near center at best focus and become elongated as they approach the edge.  In the last 10%, they have all sorts of chromatism.  Next time I'm out with it, I'll look extra close and try to categorize what's going on by defocusing stars on either side of best focus.  I'll compare its performance to the Nagler T4 17mm and 12mm, the closest I have to it FOV-wise.

It's never been dropped and was bought new, so if it has issues, it came from the factory that way.  It could be I am just very picky.  I expect ES-92/Delos levels of perfection from all of my eyepieces.  Anything short of pinpoint stars to the edge without refocusing is going to annoy me.  If the eyepiece is under $100 and small and light, I'll forgive the transgressions as a liveable compromise.  However, that 30mm ES-82 is huge and heavy even after deloaking it, so I don't cut it much slack.

[John]

I think quite a few of us on this forum are picky when it comes to optics

 

 

[25585]

49 minutes ago, John said:

I think quite a few of us on this forum are picky when it comes to optics

 

 

As important to astronomers as lenses are to photographers and spectacle lenses to wearers. 

I always go for my camera-maker brand lenses (Fujinon) or a known quality name like Zeiss.

Experience with spectacles is the same. Certain budget stores optical quality is unsatisfactory. Once you've used the best...