Help chosing 2 Hi Quality EPs for 10" Dob

[wizard007]

I recently purchased a Skyliner 10" dob thanks to all the help and advice I received from you guys on here.

My next dilemma now is I'm going to buy some good quality EPs.

I really only want to have 2 EPs in my collection (mainly due to price) initially and I'm going to get a Powermate 2.5X to double the possible magnifications.

On my shopping list of possibles are the following (prices are approx for new although I might get secondhand if I can find them):

68deg EPs

35mm Televue Panoptic 24mm eye releif= £295

24mm Televue Panoptic 15mm eye releif = £245

82deg EPs

13mm Televue Nagler 12mm eye releif = £245

22mm Televue Nagler 19mm eye releif = £340

26mm Televue Nagler 16mm eye releif = £460

16mm WO UWAN 12mm eye relief = £166

28mm WO UWAN 18mm eye relief = £295

I've read loads on them and most people seem to thinkg the WO UWANS are every bit as good as Naglers but cheaper so one of them would probably be on my list but which ones to get the best range of magnifications?!?!?!?

From this list which two would you guys recommend for both planetary and DSO observing bearing in mind I'll have a Powermate 2.5X Barlow for them?

***ALSO***

Just read the Skywatcher Nirvanas and the WO UWANS are the same EP just rebranded. The Nirvanas are about £50 cheaper so I guess the S/W version rather than the WO one?!?!?

[mdstuart]

If you are spending that sort of money is there any way you can get to try them out and then pick the one you like. A star party, a kind reseller etc...

I would also get a good Ortho say 18mm as a benchmark to try against these posh eyepieces. I love my Othos..

I hope you find something that works for you.

Regards

Mark

[PaulB]

I have a 24mm Panoptic, which I use all of the time. It's a good all round eyepiece which has a generous field of view with good eye relief.

I have the same problem as you have. I have just placed an order for an OD250S and I want another very good quality ep.

I am looking at

a 15mm Ultra Wide Angle Eyepiece (2 inch fitting) from Moonfish or more likely a Baader Hyperion 13mm 1.25-2" dual eyepiece fitting.

I'd like a Nagler but these are too expensive for my pocket.

The Hyperion range do have a good reputation with visual observers. Here is a link to a review.

Hyperion - English version

[Mr Spock]

The ideal combination, for me, would be 22mm and 13mm. With a x2.5 that would give x54 x92 x136 for DSOs and x231 for planets.

From your choices above you wouldn't go far wrong with the Naglers.

I would shop around for prices though. I can see the 22mm at £339 and the 13mm at £205 - quite a saving.

[argonaut]

I searched for quite some time for good wide-field eyepieces,in the end I settled for WO UWAN's. I tried Naglers and found that with me they suffered from a blackout problem. The UWAN's are excellent,I intend never to sell these.

I think the 'clones' of the UWAN's have a slightly different glass,but still are excellent eyepieces.They are made in the same factory in China. I can only assume that the specs are slighly different. I can't see you being disappointed with either of them.

Glen.

[John]

Thats a great list and so difficult to choose from !. With an undriven, alt-az scope like a dob my personal choice would be to go for the 82 (or more !) degree FoV eyepieces as I find they do make the buisness of keeping object in view at higher powers that bit easier.

I've owned a 16mm UWAN and tried a 28mm Nirvana for a while. They certainly did perform 95%+ as well as the equivilent Tele Vue products. I found this to my cost when I moved from the 16mm UWAN to a 16mm T5 Nagler which cost me more £'s than the peformance difference was worth

Bear in mind that the 22, 26 and 28mm eyepieces on your list are heavy and may well cause some balance issues with your scope that will need to be attended to. The views through all of them are worth the trouble though

I can't say I've noticed blackout problems with any of the Nagler's I've tried but that might be because I've got used to their "funny little ways" now !.

Of course you could always go for something like this

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/101077-televue-13mm-ethos.html

Best eyepiece I've ever used and good for so many uses

[arad85]

I'd second the 13mm Ethos! Don't forget the 2.5 powermate is a 1.25" fitting, so the larger eyepieces (20+mm Nagler, 28mm UWAN etc...) won't fit.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Wizard I have spent years getting the EPs that I wanted which I now use on my 10" Dob and 4" APO frac. The 35mm Panoptic is a joy to use with the best eye relief that I have experienced. However, it's very heavy and the exit pupil is large on my Dob - great in the refractor though! I have a 22mm Panoptic which is no longer manufactured but I would place your suggestion for the 24mm Panoptic very high on a wish list.

My other EPs are the 13mm Ethos (which is the best EP that I have ever used), 8mm Ethos and 5mm Nagler.

If I was only allowed two EPs from your list I would choose the 24mm Panoptic and the 13mm Nagler and with the 2.5x powermate you should be sorted for sometime. However, take Mark's advice and try and view through these EPs buying spending large amount of cash. If you are able to visit SGL5 you can sample my EPs with pleasure.

Mark

[wizard007]

I'd second the 13mm Ethos! Don't forget the 2.5 powermate is a 1.25" fitting, so the larger eyepieces (20+mm Nagler, 28mm UWAN etc...) won't fit.

Thanks for all the advice. I thought that although the 2.5X Powermate is a 1.25 fitting I can just put a 2" to 1.25" adaptor on my EP and slot it in the Powermate.

Is this not the case?

[John]

Thanks for all the advice. I thought that although the 2.5X Powermate is a 1.25 fitting I can just put a 2" to 1.25" adaptor on my EP and slot it in the Powermate.

Is this not the case?

I'm not sure that would work - the distance between the top lens element of the Powermate and the field lens of the eyepiece is quite important I think.

Also you would have a heavy eyepiece hanging off an adaptor and off a 1.25" optical componant (the 2.5x Powermate) - accident waiting to happen ???

Edit: also I think the adaptor would vignette the FoV of the 2" eyepiece.

[wizard007]

So it's not possible to barlow the 2" EPs then? That throws a bit of a spanner in the works as I wanted to use the Powermate to effectively double my EP count. :-(

I think in that case then the 24mm Panoptic with either the 13mm Nagler or Ethos depending on price is the way forward initially.

I can then barlow both and get a bigger nagler later if I want or think I need one.

[John]

The 2" eyepieces can certainly be barlowed but you really need a 2" barlow to do it. I'd highly recommend the same with the Ethos 13mm as well - it will fit into a 1.25" Powermate 2.5x but it's not, IMHO, a great route to take.

Antares do a 1.6x 2" barlow lens which is popular for use with the Ethos range and would work well with other 2" eyepieces I would have thought.

If it's any consolation the 2.5x Powermate works superbly with the Nagler Type 6's. I gained no benefit, other than a slight hassle saving, when I moved from a Nagler T6 9mm + 2.5x Powermate combination to a 3.5mm T6 Nagler on it's own.

[Helen]

You can get 2inch fitting powermates TeleVue Powermates

With one of those you could do as you say and just put in a 2 to 1.25 adapter in to allow you to use 1.25 eyepieces. They are rather more expensive though!

Helen

[wizard007]

OK I just found a 13mm Ethos on Ebay for £300 and have snapped that up.

Now for my low powered EP to compliment it.........

Still stuck between the following:

28mm UWAN or Nirvana

24mm Panoptic

22mm Nagler

Help me buy one of these please or I'll go mad for the next week!

[wizard007]

My new Ethos 13mm arrived yesterday and thankfully last night was very clear so got my first change to use it.

It really is a cut above anything else I've ever used and takes the whole experience of Astronomy to a new level. I saw Saturn in a new light last night and even with my cheap £30 barlow attached to the Ethos the quality of the image and eye relief were fantastic.

If anyone is in two minds whether to get an Ethos just jump in. It's worth every penny and more. I didn't get any other EP out last night as I don't think I could step back to a narrow FOV now.

I'm off to get a teleview powermate now and some more Ethos EPs or at least Naglers as nothing less than 82deg FOV will satisfy me now!........when the bank balance tops up a little that is!

[Chris H]

Adding a 2.5 Powermate to the Ethos 13 will give you x230, you might find thats quite a jump up from x92. You should check out the 8mm Ethos x150, to fill the gap, in the 10" dob it delivers amazing views of, well, pretty much everything.

For low power I can certainly recommend the 28mm Skywatcher Nirvana in the 10" you'll get a great 2 degree TFOV and the price is right, only thing is is does not have green writing on the side. If you like Televue see if you can get a used 31T5.

[arad85]

It really is a cut above anything else I've ever used and takes the whole experience of Astronomy to a new level. I saw Saturn in a new light last night and even with my cheap £30 barlow attached to the Ethos the quality of the image and eye relief were fantastic.

If anyone is in two minds whether to get an Ethos just jump in. It's worth every penny and more. I didn't get any other EP out last night as I don't think I could step back to a narrow FOV now.

Haha. Told you so!

I'm off to get a teleview powermate now and some more Ethos EPs or at least Naglers as nothing less than 82deg FOV will satisfy me now!........when the bank balance tops up a little that is!

I'd second a second hand 31T5 Nagler. Oh.. look... I have the 13mm Ethos and 31T5

To be honest, I don't feel the need for a ~20mm eyepiece. The 13mm has the same FoV of a ~17mm Nagler, with the mag of a 13mm. The thing I am missing is a decent high quality high power wide angle. I currently use the 2x barlow on the 13mm to get ~7mm EP (the field stop of the ethos is below the collar which makes barlows slightly less powerful when attached to the Ethos) which is pretty much the same view I get with the 6mm planetary HR, but with 80% more field of view...

The other eyepieces I have are used exclusively for lining up the SCT on the EQ6.