TeleVue 27mm Pan OR 30mm Skywatcher Aero ED SWA

[Frankenstein]

I have a 10" Skywatcher Dob, f4.8, auto.

I realise that there's not a definitive answer with regards to whether one eyepiece is better than another - but I would appreciate some experienced opinions please:

Will the Telvue 27mm Panoptic really give me over £100 better viewing than the Skywatcher 30mm Aero ED?

Both of these eyepieces have the same 68 deg FOV.

The adverts say that the Telvue image can be improved with the addition (and for more expense - £295) of a Paracorr coma corrector. So the Panoptic its not perfect - at least not in a fast scope.

The Skywatcher will give me (I think) a little bit more sky because of its slightly lower mag (40x vs 44x). And it should be a tad brighter.

Although I accept that the Telvue will be better, it's just a question of how much better. I don't want to fall into the 'emperor's new clothes' trap - which I have done with hifi on more than one occasion. A lot of people seem to condemn the eyepieces which usually come with a new scope, but I found that the Skywatcher 25mm was actually quite good, so the Aero should be more than acceptable.

My kids love just exploring the sky with no particular target in mind - my son is hooked on tracking DSOs. I want to give them the best experience in astronomy while they're keen. The seeing conditions where I live are not great (Marchwood, near Southampton) but I have reasonably close access to dark skies in the New Forest.

I'm leaning toward the Skywatcher Aero.

[johninderby]

You would need a Paracorr for any wider field and lower power eyepiece in your dob and the Aero would need it's help more than the Panoptic. The Paracorr is to correct for the coma that is the fault of your scope, not the eyepiece. Coma is more evident with wider FOV eyepieces.

John

[Chris H]

All I can add to that is that Televue test their ep's down to F4.0 so the Panoptic will be a bit sharper. But at low power the Skywatcher should perform well enough and if your going to let your kids near it (you don't state their age) can you trust them with the Panoptic?

[ollypenrice]

TeleVue, yes! I love their EPs and second what John says. We have a fast (f4.1) twenty incher with a mirror which is not at all bad but is not premium either. The TeleVues we use in it (10 Radian, 19 and 35 Panoptic) really clean up the edge of the field to an incredible degree. I don't use a coma corrector because it seems to me that the TVs do the job for free. (Or for the extra hundred quid...) Experienced folks using the scope have been astonished to discover that there was no coma corrector in place.

My four TV eyepieces are lifetime acquisitions.

Olly

[MartinB]

I can confirm the views through Olly's dob! I suspect that his mirror is better than he gives it credit for.

I have a 12" skyliner dob and a 27mm panoptic. The panoptic with this set up does benefit from a coma corrector but I use a Baader multipurpose coma corrector which works exceptionally well. I also have a 30mm UWA Moonfish which gives 82 deg apparent view, this isn't supposed to perform well with fast scopes but does a reasaonable job especially with the coma corrector. You can certainly tell a difference between the 2 EPs so I doubt it would be a case of Emperor's new clothes but there is a hard decision to be made because I reckon the Skywather would still give you darned good service.

[pvaz]

I have no experience with the Panoptics, but I recently bought a Nagler. It was much more expensive then my previous wide field EP, about 6x more expensive. The view didn't improve 6x times, but it's clearly better. That said I could well live with my previous EP but the Nagler gives me a more satisfying view.

Whether the price difference is worth it or not, I think that's a personal opinion. I think the question you must ask yourself is "Do I want the best view money can buy or can I be satisfied with a bit less quality?"

[John]

..... I think the question you must ask yourself is "Do I want the best view money can buy or can I be satisfied with a bit less quality?"

I think that sums the decision up nicely. Nobody can really answer that one but yourself

[Moonshane]

I am not sure whether anyone has mentioned weight but with a dob, this can be an important consideration regarding balance.

The Aero will be a lot lighter than the Panoptic I'd have thought.

I have stuck with the 24mm Panoptic for this reason and have a 33mm WO SWAN but will probably get the 35mm Aero eventually.

[Frankenstein]

Well, lots to think about. If I buy the Skywatcher then I know that I'll always be wondering whether the Telvue would have been a better choice. So I'm going to go for the panoptic. If I'm unhappy with the pan then it will hold its value better, and be easier to sell - much the same rule for any quality item. I suspect that the pan will be a keeper though.

Thanks for all the advice.

[Moonshane]

I must admit that I tend to share your views and this is exactly why I went for TV lenses myself.

[ollypenrice]

Unhappy with a Panoptic? Impossible!

Have fun,

Olly