My First Televue Eyepiece

[Littleguy80]

51 minutes ago, AlexB67 said:

The problem is once you know about them and see them, they'll they never go away ? thanks to my friendly F4.7 ratio. Years ago I dabbled with the idea of coma corrector, I never did, Edge to edge my Delos 14mm is still very decent in that telescope. Once you look through an eyepiece where astigmatism is pretty much eliminated and the remainder is coma, it is not at all bad IMO, I can live with it. I did stay away from the extra wide angle eyepieces. The Delos 72 degree is the max FOV eyepiece I have.  I stopped collecting for many years now, but now on the lookout for a 5mm to replace my dead 5mm BGO, but that's for another thread,  

Neil, congrats on your plossl, I looked through a 25mm TV in Ireland last year  under cracking dark skies, very nice. I never owned one.

Thanks Alex  I’ve spent quite a bit of time toying with the idea of a Coma Corrector since getting widefield eyepieces. I’ve pretty much nae my piece with not getting one. I’m normally observing Nebula in them so coma doesn’t really factor into that.

I’m really looking forward to some clear skies to give it a try!

The BGOs are great. I’d like to try a Pentax XW in 5 or 7mm at some point. The Vixen SLVs have a great reputation. 

[Littleguy80]

Just in from giving the new EP it’s first run out. Targets observed were M45, M42, Kemble’s Cascade, NGC1502, Double Cluster, M51, NGC1893, NGC1514, Eskimo Nebula, M1, Leo Triplet and M3. In most cases, I compared views against my APM HDC 20mm. 

I’m impressed. More than I thought I would be. To my eye the TV is both sharper and has better contrast than the APM albeit with half the AFOV. On NGC1502, the Double Cluster and M3, I paired it with the Baader VIP Barlow to great effect. The red giants in the double cluster showed their colours well and M3 resolved really nicely. 

It was the galaxies that impressed me the most. NGC3628 was a comfortable observation and clearer than in the APM. The triplet fit inside the FOV and was probably the highlight of the session. The view of M51 with the TV was also better than the APM. 

The APM, being a 100 degree AFOV, is a much more complex eyepiece and the differing focal length between it and the TV doesn’t make this a good comparison. Even so, I was surprised by the TV Plossl’s dominance. Very good performance and value for money. It performed well with the UHC filter too. I don’t think I’ll get a shot at the Horsehead with it until next Autumn/Winter now but I have a lot of confidence that this eyepiece will deliver when the time comes. 

[mikeDnight]

On 07/03/2019 at 20:26, Littleguy80 said:

Since starting this hobby with the arrival of my first telescope on Christmas 2016, I’ve tried quite a few different eyepiece ranges. Starting with the SkyWatcher stock eyepieces, moving onto BST Starguiders, BGOs, ES68, Celestron Plossl, APM HDC, Lunt XWA, Meade RG Ortho, Circle T Ortho and ES82. However, I never went down the Televue route. The price has always put me off. My research always led me to conclude that I could get very close to Televue performance for significantly less cost. I have looked through Panoptics and Naglers in other people’s scopes and thought the views were good. 

Today my first Televue eyepiece arrived in the form a 25mm Plossl. The primary goal of this eyepiece is to give me better views of the Horsehead. I’ve seen it in my ES82 30mm but it’s hard to get Alnitak out of the FOV and it’s low magnification. The 25mm Televue Plossl was recommended by @jetstream and others as the eyepiece of choice for this purpose. I have a few other targets in mind to test it with. It will give a nice big exit pupil for using with filters. I have no grumbles on the cost with it coming in at £54 with postage secondhand.

I’m looking forward to giving it a try. I don’t think this will be my last Televue eyepiece either. I quite fancy trying Nagler 3-6mm zoom at some point. I’ll post some first impressions when it gets first light. 

I was looking through some old sketches when I came across this observation of M42, and remembered your thread about the TV 25mm Plossl.  The sketch was made in January 2018 using my 100mm refractor and a 25mm Televue Plossl. What caught my eye as I flicked through this sketch book was the number of foreground stars visible using this eyepiece.   Usually an observers attention may well be on the nebula itself, but on this occasion the stars must have really caught my attention, which is a good indicator of the clarity and sharpness of the 25mm.  The attached images were taken under artificial light so there's some unevenness to the lighting.

 

[John]

One thing that Tele Vue plossl eyepieces have is very high levels of light throughput. I've seen measurements of a whole load of eyepieces and the TV plossls do extremely well - right at the top of the league for this.

 

[Littleguy80]

31 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I was looking through some old sketches when I came across this observation of M42, and remembered your thread about the TV 25mm Plossl.  The sketch was made in January 2018 using my 100mm refractor and a 25mm Televue Plossl. What caught my eye as I flicked through this sketch book was the number of foreground stars visible using this eyepiece.   Usually an observers attention may well be on the nebula itself, but on this occasion the stars must have really caught my attention, which is a good indicator of the clarity and sharpness of the 25mm.  The attached images were taken under artificial light so there's some unevenness to the lighting.

 

Fab sketch, Mike. I’ve been very impressed with the TV Plossl so far. It definitely outperforms my widefield EPs but over half the FOV. I’ll have to try and get it onto M42 before it leaves on it’s summer holidays. I bet the it’ll work great with the Equinox 80 too  

[Littleguy80]

10 minutes ago, John said:

One thing that Tele Vue plossl eyepieces have is very high levels of light throughput. I've seen measurements of a whole load of eyepieces and the TV plossls do extremely well - right at the top of the league for this.

 

I can well believe that, John. It seemed to give the sort of contrast and sharpness that I see with my orthos. No doubt that it’s that high light throughput that makes it work well with narrowband filters. I’m gonna try it with an OIII on the Crescent nebula when Cygnus is comes around. 

[DavidJM]

This thread is making me itch for a televue plossl, 32mm, 25mm or 15mm, what do you think? And then how to get one second hand☺

[Littleguy80]

8 hours ago, DavidJM said:

This thread is making me itch for a televue plossl, 32mm, 25mm or 15mm, what do you think? And then how to get one second hand☺

Depends on what scope you want to use it with? The 32mm has quite long eye relief which not everyone gets on with. I had a 32mm Celestron Plossl which didn’t see a lot of use for this reason. I got my 25mm through a post in the wanted section. I was lucky enough to get a response quite quickly  

[DavidJM]

24 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Depends on what scope you want to use it with? The 32mm has quite long eye relief which not everyone gets on with. I had a 32mm Celestron Plossl which didn’t see a lot of use for this reason. I got my 25mm through a post in the wanted section. I was lucky enough to get a response quite quickly  

Was thinking a 32mm for the Mak but a 25mm would probably get more use, know I have a 25mm eyepiece but keen to see the difference through a TV

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, DavidJM said:

Was thinking a 32mm for the Mak but a 25mm would probably get more use, know I have a 25mm eyepiece but keen to see the difference through a TV

My 25mm was under £55 including postage so it’s not a huge investment. You’ll most likely get your money back if you decide to sell it on for any reason. 

[Paul73]

8 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

My 25mm was under £55 including postage so it’s not a huge investment. You’ll most likely get your money back if you decide to sell it on for any reason. 

All very logical. Once you’re hooked ........ The only consolation is that the therapy to beat the Green & Black cravings is cheaper than the habit itself! 

Enjoy the view....

Paul

PS. Want to buy another one?

[DavidJM]

22 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

All very logical. Once you’re hooked ........ The only consolation is that the therapy to beat the Green & Black cravings is cheaper than the habit itself! 

Enjoy the view....

Paul

PS. Want to buy another one?

Hi Paul

I'm looking for a 25mm or 32mm TV plossl if you've got one for sale

[John]

8 minutes ago, DavidJM said:

Hi Paul

I'm looking for a 25mm or 32mm TV plossl if you've got one for sale

Please folks - no buying and selling outside of the classifieds section. Thanks

[Paul73]

12 minutes ago, John said:

Please folks - no buying and selling outside of the classifieds section. Thanks

Sorry John. Neil had my 25mm so I’m feeling a bit responsible for setting him on the road to TV ruin.

Paul

[DavidJM]

14 minutes ago, John said:

Please folks - no buying and selling outside of the classifieds section. Thanks

Whoops sorry, thanks for pointing out John?

[Silent Running]

Congratulations on the purchase. I have a 32mm TV Plossl also second hand at great price and am hoping to find a 25mm.... Actually I think you made a big mistake, are you sure you really want yours?  I could offer a good home

Clear skies!

[bingevader]

Apparently, I was lucky with my Meade plossls, as I see very little difference in sharpness compared to the TV plossls.

There is a difference in the contrast which is great where needed.

The other advantage compared to the wider FOV EPs, as you've pointed out, is in cutting out surrounding stars.

However, for me, in some circumstances, I find the contrast too much, like pushing it too much on a monitor or television screen, you get white and black, but little in between and lose some of the subtlety.

As, I said, that's great where the contrast is needed, but then doesn't make them my go to plossls.

As an added tool in the case, they certainly have their place.

Fortunately, all but the plossls are out of my price range, so there's no chance of a G&B addiction!

I'm sure I have the 32mm too, but it seems to be missing off my sig!

[DavidJM]

As you can see from my signature I have plunged into the Televue world ? got a great deal on three plossls second hand

[Littleguy80]

59 minutes ago, DavidJM said:

As you can see from my signature I have plunged into the Televue world ? got a great deal on three plossls second hand

Congratulations on the new eyepieces. Looking forward to hearing how you find them  

[DavidJM]

On 03/04/2019 at 09:33, Littleguy80 said:

Congratulations on the new eyepieces. Looking forward to hearing how you find them  

Just need clear skies now☺

[Littleguy80]

56 minutes ago, DavidJM said:

Just need clear skies now☺

With the three new eyepieces to try you’ll be waiting a while for those clouds to clear ?

[Highburymark]

I've got all the TV plossls except the 8mm and 25mm, and use the 20mm, 15mm and 11mms for binoviewing. They are indistinguishable from Fujiyama orthoscopics on the Moon and planets to my eyes, and marginally better for solar - I've never found anything that beats them for solar ha. But even though they're corrected for faster scopes, aberrations quickly become a problem below F/4 in my experience (at least with night vision). Fabulous eyepieces though - bright, sharp, good contrast - and they regularly come up secondhand in the classifieds. If you're not too bothered with wide fovs (and wildly varying eye relief), a set of TV plossls may be all you need.

[John]

My first "proper" 1.25 inch eyepieces were Tele Vue Plossls bought new back in the late 1980's. They were the earlier "smooth side" design in focal lengths of 7.4mm, 13mm and 21mm. I think they cost me £50 each in a special promotion by Sherwoods who had a central Birmingahm shop back then.

I've owned a couple of sets of the newer design ones since. None in my collection just now though.

 

[DavidJM]

1 hour ago, John said:

My first "proper" 1.25 inch eyepieces were Tele Vue Plossls bought new back in the late 1980's. They were the earlier "smooth side" design in focal lengths of 7.4mm, 13mm and 21mm. I think they cost me £50 each in a special promotion by Sherwoods who had a central Birmingahm shop back then.

I've owned a couple of sets of the newer design ones since. None in my collection just now though.

 

You might spot a sneeky 32mm c/w extender in the picture?

[Floater]

Went for broke (pun intended) with Naglers early in my journey and now possess 3-6 zoom, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 16mm.

Plossls - and, in particular, TV plossls - were recommended for my binoviewer so have pairs of 15 and 25 to complement the supplied WO 20s (plus a pair of shockingly cheap and surprisingly good 30mm unbranded plossls). Added to the TV line-up are a 32 plossl, 24 Panoptic, 8-24 zoom and 2.5 Powermate.

So I guess I’m firmly in the green and black brigade ... and I have no complaints. ?