Low-power, widefield eyepiece in 1.25"

[Franklin]

Looking to get an eyepiece for low-power widefield in the 1.25" format.

The Televue Panoptic 24mm 68deg seems to be the standout but a bit beyond my budget. Would I be right in thinking that the Explore Scientific 24mm 68deg is the poor mans version or are there other alternatives that I am unaware of?

[globular]

I'd add APM 24 UFF into the mix. It claims 65° but I've heard it measures more like 63°. (There are other brandings of EP this too.)
If you need long eye relief for glasses then this is the one I'd go for.  
If not it still might be  

Edited September 3, 2021 by globular

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

35 minutes ago, globular said:

I'd add APM 24 UFF into the mix. It claims 65° but I've heard it measures more like 63°. (There are other brandings of EP this too.)
If you need long eye relief for glasses then this is the one I'd go for.  
If not it still might be  

Or as I did go for the Altair UFF. A variant of the APM, snazzy metallic green and a bit cheaper. 👍 A good weapon too should you need to defend yourself against marauding badgers. 😬

[Don Pensack]

This eyepiece is excellent, and recommended.

It's available under the names APM Ultra Flat Field, Meade UHD, Celestron Ultima Edge, Altair Ultra Flat Field, Tecnosky Ultra Flat, and Orion (US) Ultra Flat.

Some differences:

APM--all aluminum, 1.25", smooth barrel, no undercuts

Meade--all aluminum, 1.25", undercut on barrel

Celestron--all aluminum, 1.25", undercut on barrel

Altair--Stainless steel bottom barrel, 1.25", safety "kerfs" on lower barrel (accts like a smooth barrel when inserting)

Tecnosky--all aluminum, 1.25", smooth barrel, no undercuts

Orion(US)--all aluminum, 1.25" with removable 2" skirt, undercuts on barrel.

[Franklin]

Is there much difference between the APM/Altair UFF 24mm 65deg and the ES 24mm 68deg ?

[Louis D]

2 hours ago, globular said:

I'd add APM 24 UFF into the mix. It claims 65° but I've heard it measures more like 63°. (There are other brandings of EP this too.)
If you need long eye relief for glasses then this is the one I'd go for.  
If not it still might be  

However, the APM 24mm UFF has at least as much true field as either the 24mm Panoptic or ES-68 due to much lower edge distortion.  I've measured the field stop at 27.5mm, though it tends to fade out a bit due to some vignetting.

4 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Is there much difference between the APM/Altair UFF 24mm 65deg and the ES 24mm 68deg ?

Eye relief.  You can see the entire field of the APM 24mm UFF while wearing eyeglasses.  You won't be able to do the same with the 24mm ES-68.  Correction wise, they're probably similar.

[Franklin]

3 minutes ago, Louis D said:

However, the APM 24mm UFF has at least as much true field as either the 24mm Panoptic or ES-68 due to much lower edge distortion.

I think that's going to seal the deal. To be used at f7.4 so low edge distotion sounds promising and no-undercuts. Thanks for all the advice. 

Will probably go for the Altair version.