31mm nagler + f4.9 dob=?

[jamieren]

I've got my sights set on one of these EPs in the future, but just read that they require lots of 'inward focus travel'. It would be a problem to say the least to drop $5-600.00 (used!!) on one and find out it won't come into focus on my scope! If that appears to be the outcome; what other high quality, wide angle EPs would be admissible keeping in mind reasonable exit pupil? Maybe the panoptic 35mm as a 2nd (and far more affordable) choice?

[Ben Ritchie]

I don't know about the focus travel, but I think the exit pupil on the 35mm Pan might be getting a bit large?

The William Optics 28mm UWAN or Meade 30mm UWA are alternatives to the Nagler, the UWAN is a nice eyepiece and pretty well corrected at f/5, not quite at Nagler levels but close. I haven't used the Meade ultrawide myself, but i've heard some pretty positive things about it. Or the 27mm Panoptic's good too.

A 'love it or hate it' suggestion from Cloudy Nights is often the 30mm GSO 'superview' - the edge performance apparently suffers at f/5 and faster, but i've seen a number of people who say they don't mind and the price is good. People have varying tolerances to that sort of thing, and if it doesn't bother you much then it's a way to save a whole lot of money.

[Andrew*]

I don't think you will have a problem with focus travel TBH. If you do though, and you buy new, your dealer should be happy to refund you. And if you buy second hand, you will get a quick sale at the same price you paid. Either way you can't lose out.

I got a look through one of these beauties at Kielder and the view was absolutely beautiful - you won't regret it.

However, as Ben says, you won't be disappointed by either the 28mm UWAN or 30mm Meade UWA - they are almost equally as well regarded as the Nagler and are significantly cheaper.

Andrew

[russ]

A 'love it or hate it' suggestion from Cloudy Nights is often the 30mm GSO 'superview' - the edge performance apparently suffers at f/5 and faster, but i've seen a number of people who say they don't mind and the price is good. People have varying tolerances to that sort of thing, and if it doesn't bother you much then it's a way to save a whole lot of money.

This is the route i took. My original plan was to buy the TMB Paragon 30mm or look for a secondhand Nagler 26mm T5 or perhaps the UWAN 28mm. But i bought the 16mm Nagler T5 and then found my budget eaten into by other things. So a good quality low power eyepiece was no longer on the cards. I read a few threads and as Ben says, a few people were recommending the GSO Superview or one of the Orion Q70 clones. I settled on a William Optics SWAN clone. It was cheap and the edge performance is not brilliant at f4.8. And i'm normally not very tolerent of these things. But stranglely i don't find it a problem at low power.

Jamie, as you live in Canada you qualify for the Burgess TMB Paragon deal. They are selling the 30mm off for $99......which is a steal and easily the best eyepiece you'll get for reasonable money. You need to contact Tammy at Burgess directly. Go to their website and find the contact email.

RegardsRuss

[John]

I have a Nagler T5 31mm which I use with my Skywatcher 8" F/5.9 dob and there are no inward focus issues - it's more or less parfocal with my 22mm T4 Nagler and not far off a 16mm T5 when you take into account the 1.25 adaptor that the latter eyepiece needs.

They are expensive but superb although from my experienece with a UWAN 16mm I would guess that the 28mm UWAN would not be far off

Eypieces like this are very heavy though (2.2 lbs for the N31mm :shock: ) so balance and focusser "drift" can be an issue.

John

[jamieren]

Jamie, as you live in Canada you qualify for the Burgess TMB Paragon deal. They are selling the 30mm off for $99......which is a steal and easily the best eyepiece you'll get for reasonable money. You need to contact Tammy at Burgess directly. Go to their website and find the contact email.

RegardsRuss

It seems I'm unable to email any of the listed addresses on their contact page. I get this message:

"Firefox doesn't know how to open this address because the protocol (mailto) isn't associated with any program."

I will try to phone them tomorrow, as the eyepiece lists for $249 according to their site(?)

Thanks again, Russ.

[russ]

Hi Jamie,

It's not open knowledge the $99 deal. You are supposed to be a member of the Burgess Yahoo Group. But it's well documented on Cloudynights. Get in there quick before they are gone.

This is the email address i used:

Order@BurgessOptical.com

I addressed it to Tammy and made sure they knew the Burgess Yahoo Group pointed me in their direction.

Regards

Russ

[jamieren]

You're a scholar and a gentleman, (no offense I hope ) Russ my friend. I called Tammy today and just sent payment minutes ago, so it's a done deal. Will be looking forward to finding out how they perform in our similar scopes!