Sat here knowing it will be cloudy again and pondering eyepieces......

[Moonshane]

Hi all

Like many of us in the UK I am sat here knowing that tonight will be cloudy again and this means I start messing about with kit or thinking about what I need to start saving for. Today it's the turn of eyepiece again.

I currently have the following:

TV Panoptic 35mm

TV Panoptic 24mm

TV Radian 18mm

TV Radian 14mm

TV Nagler 3-6mm zoom (not even received this yet!).

My plan was to sell my Powermate which I have done and buy some eyepieces to fill the gap left from when I used to Powermate my 24mm, 18mm and 14mm at the higher power range.

The 3-6mm zoom will do the high power and my thoughts were that a 7mm and a 9mm T6 Nagler would be the next buys to make for a perfect set-up.

Someone has been very kind indeed and loaned me a 7mm T6 Nagler and although I cannot use it yet (weather), me being the saddo that I am I sat at my PC and looked through the eyepiece at my screen to compare the view through my Radians in terms of comfort, eye relief and whether I could see the whole legendary 82 degree field easily.

What surprised me was that I really cannot see the whole field unless I tilt my head about and even then this creates blackouts. Much less easy to use and see the whole field than the Radians I have. This may well change of course when I use it on the scope but it got me to thinking that maybe I should look at my overall set-up and aspirations for future eyepieces.

I like the look of the T4 Naglers and am thinking about perhaps selling my 14mm Radian and 18mm Radian for a 12mm T4 and a 17mm T4; I don't think I need to change the 24mm Panoptic as I would not gain much with the 22mm T4 or even a 27mm Panoptic in terms of FOV. I think the above 'exchange' should cost perhaps £200 but would give me about 20% more field and a much more comfortable eyepiece than the 7mm Nagler.

That said, I'd then need to bridge the gap between the 3-6mm zoom and the 12mm Nagler so get maybe an 8mm Radian for this.

The whole exercise would therefore cost me about the same as the two T6 Naglers that I was considering but maybe give me a more balanced and comfortable set-up.

Does anyone have any comments on this or any advice on the usability of the T4s vs the Radians? Am I 'wasting' my money for not much gain?

I am using the two scopes below and am happy with the field of the Radians and prefer comfort of use to field of view as long as other factors, sharpness etc are the same. I don't wear spectacles to observe.

Before anyone says it, I know the zoom will have a narrow field and (even) tighter eye relief but for planets and doubles I don't see this as an issue and it's really a trial as it appears to offer the best of all worlds apart from these 'issues'.

Thanks for any comments

Shane

[davew]

Hi Shane,

That cloud is getting boring isn't it ?

Anyway. Looking at what you've got and what I've used amongst them I'll say....

The 35 Pan is something else. It brought a tear to the eye realising that one day I'm going to have to do it.

The 24 Pan was very nice. " VERY NICE " ! Yep, nice. I'll hold off buying one until I've tried a few others.

I loaned a 13mm Nagler. That has to be my next eyepiece purchase. It was that good.

I imagine the 7mm would be the same. You will soon know.

Do you feel you must fill in all the gaps ? 35 / 24 / 13 / 7 / 3-6 does cover quite a lot.

I've looked through two 13mm Ethos. Too wide for me to use it all and very expensive but others say they can see the field stop. I can't unless I stand on one leg and twist my neck out of joint.

These were with a 10" f4.8. and 12" f ?

Dave.

As has been said before by some one else. My advice is free and worth every penny.

[Moonshane]

cheers Dave

I'll see what the Nagler's like and go from there I reckon. I am sure it will be excellent.

I suppose you are right that I don't need to really fill in all the gaps but I am one of those people that really likes to have the options available and make the most of the the nights I get when the conditions are good.

instinctively I think the Ethos might be a bit too much for me too (and I want to avoid the cost - although if I sold some of my current units I'd have some money toward at least two!).

I do love the 35mm too - it's a spectacular eyepiece and one I'll never part with.

[davew]

You may well be right about the gaps. It's a case of each to their own.

One crazy eyepiece that has a few good reviews is the latest Leica zoom. I have an older one from a birder and it's very good. Not at the wide end though !

One eyepiece I forgot to mention is the 19 Pan. I've only used one through two SCTs but it was as clear as a bell and nice to view for an extended period ( Sat down ).

Good luck with the 7.

Dave.

[Moonshane]

cheers again Dave

had a look at the Leica zoom - looks great - although at nearly £600 new it should be! I'd sooner have four used Naglers or Radians! I'll report back when I have used the 7mm T6 - not tonight though - cloudy again.......

[John]

Personally, I'm a great fan of the Nagler T6's - I have the 3.5mm, 5mm, 7mm and 9mm and used to have the 13mm before I gave in and bought my Ethos 13mm.

I've tried them against some pretty stiff competition (including the Nagler 3-6 zoom) over the past 18 months or so and the only EP I've tried which may have been a slight (and I mean slight) edge was a Pentax XW 10mm that First Light Optics kindly lent me to try for a few weeks.

I find the 12mm of eye relief resonably comfortable and can see the whole field without too much problem despite the fairly stiff rubber eyecup the design uses.

I hope you get a chance to try the 7mm T6 soon.

[great_bear]

What surprised me was that I really cannot see the whole field unless I tilt my head about and even then this creates blackouts. Much less easy to use and see the whole field than the Radians I have. This may well change of course when I use it on the scope

It will almost certainly be different once on the scope.

I've noticed that some EPs are more "scope sensitive" than others. I have one Plossl that has a very out-of-focus field stop - but put it on a scope - any scope - and the field-stop is razor sharp.

As for blackouts, these will most certainly be different once on a scope.