Finally on the TV firm

[Kef9]

Did you not fancy giving it few more nights first?

[spaceboy]

The 16 and 22 give a more noticeable difference in view so it just made sense to put the 20 up for sale. To be honest if it sells it sells the money would come in handy for Xmas but if it doesn't I won't be overly disappointed.

[Nexus 6]

Hi Spaceboy, enjoyed your review. I wish I had the funds to buy the 22 from you. How much were you asking?

Alan

[Kef9]

Hes selling the 20.

Good luck with the sale by the way.

[spaceboy]

Sorry for the confusion Nexus the post has been edited.

The 20mm Nagler is up for sale on UK astronomy only as there is a wider audience than on the forum. I've only had it a month or so and due to terrible weather hardly got to use it. As yet there has been no interest moonshane also found that the focal length of a 22mm hits the sweet spot in a EP collections so I'm not holding my breath.http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/115306-seconds-out-round-22-review-televue-22mm-panoptic-20mm-nagler-t5.html

[spaceboy]

Hi everyone

Well it looks like 2010 will see the end of my eye piece buying days as all funds have gone but thankfully Mrs Santa visited me on the 25th to finally complete my collection. In an ideal world I would have a full collection of Naglers but given the tight purse strings I'm glad with the out come. The biggest and most welcomed surprise was how good the TBM clones are. For £38 delivered they are my best buy and offer me excellent seeing at high powers through my 8" & GT mount. Due to also having a manual dobsonian the obvious choice to go with was either Naglers, Ethos, UWAN or Meade 5000's. As Al has been in the game of the Ultra wide FOV ep's from the start it seemed the obvious choice to go with Televue Naglers as the cost of Ethos are out of reach of most and Meade's alternative are so much larger eyepieces. Although a cost effective approach would have been William optics UWAN but I had not heard the best reviews about them. I would only assume this to be due to them being at the budget end of the WFOV EP's market and that in actual fact they are good for the money. This said I did not want to buy EP's with the intension of then having to replace them at a later date if they didn't quite cut the mustard. The search began for Naglers and I was lucky to pick up some practically new from the second hand market. For obvious reasons it comes to the point when you have no choice but to purchase new to fill those other gaps that due to there popularity with other astronomers these eye pieces never seem to turn up on the 2nd hand. ( that is until a week after you buy them new ) The naglers fill my medium to low power needs and offer me the best FOV to concentrate on observing and not nudging. During my search I came across a 6mm TV Radian that although doesn't offer me the same wide FOV as the Naglers dose offer excellent eye relief and this would cover when seeing permits my high power on the 10" F/4.8 Dob. I'm sure the TBM's would do the job nicely and the dob should easily manage these magnifications but to manually track at high magnification it would take some of the enjoyment out of the experience for me. The 6mm Radian at 200x seemed a great choice giving a wide enough FOV at a usable magnification given most seeing conditions. Finally it came to the choice for a low power EP that would be usable in the 10" and that would also see some use in the 8". As I have binoculars which I enjoy using I didn't want to break the bank getting a Nagler to fill this empty space in the EP case so I decided on the Baader Hyperion 31mm. This seemed the best option as although 2" there is also a 1.25" screw adapter which basically makes it in to a quick change between low power finder with out the hassle of having to chance 2" adapters every 5 minutes. If it came to a part of the sky that just demands a wide degree of seeing it is a simple change to the 2" skirt and away I go. Estimates suggest that the 72' AFOV should give me just over 2' of sky at 32.3x in the 8" that with my 15x70's & 20x60's should do more than nicely. The final last minute addition was a TV 2x Barlow just to open up the options a little when the need be felt plus it would come in handy for web cam imaging of the planets.

So here is my EP collection complete with 2" UHC, OIII, LPR and Variable polarizing filters.

4mm TBM Clone

5mm TBM Clone

6mm Televue Radian

9mm Televue Nagler

13mm Televue Nagler

16mm Televue Nagler

22mm Televue Nagler

31mmBaader Hyperion Aspheric

x2 Televue Barlow

I hope this thread has been found to be interesting and not been see as trumpet blowing. I enjoy astronomy and had a very tight budget so I hope it goes to show that it can be possible to get a reasonable good collection of eye pieces together with out loosing an arm or a leg. Granted I did have to give up other hobbies and sell quite a few things but if well looked after these EP's should give me a life time of pleasure no matter what telescope I own in the future.

A big thanks to everyones good comments and I wish you all a Very Happy New Year!!

SPACEBOY

[Kef9]

Well done spaceboy! An excellent collection

I hope these eyepieces bring you years of viewing pleasure!

Are you sure its the end though LOL

[spaceboy]

I remember saying I'd finally finished my eye piece collection at the beginning of December and have since added 2 more EP's and a Barlow

There was one more eye piece I wanted to add but due to having to get another 8" OTA the money really has ran out and other than the wife and kids I don't have any thing else to sell

I think I have covered enough sky with the EP selection and fingers crossed the barlow will work out OK and open up more options. All choices were made considering both my telescopes and what I view in general.

[Nexus 6]

Hi spaceboy, looked at your collection. I think its all wrong, you should sell them all ,(to me), and start again:D

All the best for 2011, hope the skies are better than 2010!

Alan.

not been able to test the 13mm Nag and am waiting for the Axiom to arrive from FLO. Would have been nice to get the 31mm T5 Nagler but thought about the cost £450 or there abouts. Compared to the £270 for the Axiom. Am looking out for a second scope next year to see how all my ep's fair. Probably a small frac just can't decide which.

[spaceboy]

Hi spaceboy, looked at your collection. I think its all wrong, you should sell them all ,(to me), and start again:D .

Hi Alan

The day I get a tracking dob you could have my EP set as I would probably buy a set of TBM Clones.

You will not be disappointed with the 13mm Nag. Ok what I see will be different for you in the CPC 925 but I think you will be very impressed. Congratulations on the AXIOM.... I would have loved to have got one of these while they have such a good offer on but at 6.5mm Exit pupil I think the sky would be a wash what ever eye piece I got so in the interest of conserving funds the Baader seemed the better option. I imagine the AXIOM will work better with your F/10 and is worth the extra investment.

I think we could all do with a bit better weather. I cannot believe Jupiter is almost gone for another season. I have had probably 10 clear nights in 3 months and got to go out 6 times

All the best for 2011

SPACEBOY

[Nexus 6]

I cannot believe Jupiter is almost gone for another season

Ye I know what you mean:o At least we get Saturn back and the rings will be open:rolleyes:

Alan

[callisto]

And here's me thinking I was great getting a TV Plossl

[Kef9]

not been able to test the 13mm Nag and am waiting for the Axiom to arrive from FLO. Would have been nice to get the 31mm T5 Nagler but thought about the cost £450 or there abouts. Compared to the £270 for the Axiom. Am looking out for a second scope next year to see how all my ep's fair. Probably a small frac just can't decide which.

Well done. You will have to let us know how it performs because not alot is known about these eyepieces.

[dmahon]

Took a couple of months, plenty ££££'s and hours of sitting at a computer screen but my ep collection is finally complete. Just need the skies to get clear so I can actually get to use them

5mm TMB Clone

6mm Radian

9mm Nagler T6

13mm Nagler T6

16mm Nagler T5

20mm Nagler T5

22mm Nagler T4

Are you sure you don't need to sell the 5mm and 6mm to put towards a 3-6mm Nagler zoom? You could swap both the 20 and 22mm Naglers for a 21mm Ethos too.

EDIT: Ah, see you've changed things since you said your collection was complete - still think there is room for a 3-6 Nagler zoom in there instead of your 4/5/6 EPs, and then you'd have to replace the lone non Televue EP as well.

I'm happy with my small collection:

3-6mm Nagler zoom

9mm Nagler

22mm Nagler

I traded my 6/8 mm Radians and a 35mm Panoptic (nice, but not much different to the 22mm Nagler for me in my short 500mm focal length scope).

Anyway, I only bought the scope for photography rather than visual.

[spaceboy]

Are you sure you don't need to sell the 5mm and 6mm to put towards a 3-6mm Nagler zoom? You could swap both the 20 and 22mm Naglers for a 21mm Ethos too.

EDIT: Ah, see you've changed things since you said your collection was complete - still think there is room for a 3-6 Nagler zoom in there instead of your 4/5/6 EPs, and then you'd have to replace the lone non Televue EP as well.

I'm happy with my small collection:

3-6mm Nagler zoom

9mm Nagler

22mm Nagler

I traded my 6/8 mm Radians and a 35mm Panoptic (nice, but not much different to the 22mm Nagler for me in my short 500mm focal length scope).

Anyway, I only bought the scope for photography rather than visual.

I would love a 21mm Ethos but I hear they are very very rare on the 2nd hand market and to buy new was out of the question. The way I like looking at Naglers & Ethos are, if heaven forbid I was ever to drop an Ethos I would honestly have a heart attack. If I dropped a nagler I would throw a wobbler. You have to consider it would not only be around £700 your dropping but also in effect 2 EP's. I also find that Naglers at 82' can be uncomfortable to use over tighter FOV but they come in to there own in a manual dob. For the same reason a 100' for me would only mean less nudging and no real benefit to the view. No one can say they see the whole sharp as a tack FOV from a 100' EP as it just isn't possible with out moving your eye ball or head.

Regards the 3-6 zoom I missed out on one last year and another hasn't come up since. TBH on reflection I was a little put of by the tight eye relief and 50' AFOV of the Nagler zooms. The TMB's offer me plenty of ER and a respectable 58' FOV. Granted on bright objects WFOV EP's can be notorious for ghosting, but a 2" variable polarizing filter in my 2"-1.25" adapter has sorted that.

I'm sure we would all like a matching EP collection but even TV EP's can have there short comings. I didn't want EP's that would cause me too much of a balancing or obstruction issue. A 31mm 82' Nagler although out of my price range anyway would have weighed in at 2.2 lbs and given the laws of gravity the length of the EP etc this could well increase strain on my focuser/OTA depending on the orientation of the tube. My Baader 31mm 72' weighs in at under 1 lb and is an exceptional EP for the money. The low power Baader ticks the boxes I ask of it just as the TMB's do on the high power and as it's all about what works best thats all I'm bothered about. Don't get me wrong I think my Naglers are superb and offer views that not many other EP's can but I only have the ones that work best for me ie: light & compact. Granted looking back I now wish I had held on to the 1.04 lb 20mm Nagler longer as I always had my doubts about the 1.6 lb weight of the 22mm T4. But at the time this was a compromises I was willing to make as the 22mm Nag covers the same FOV as a 22, 24 and 27mm Panoptic which was what I wanted from a medium to low EP.

You have your preferences of wanting a small collection, some may want matching sets and others choose based on budget. I think what ever a persons preference as long as the combination works best with the intended scope and offers the best possible views then that is what really matters. For me if I ever get a tracking Dob all the Nags will be up for sale and will be replaced by TMB's as for me these are an amazing eye piece for very little out lay and I would no longer need the requirement of a WFOV. Again it's all about preference and what works for me may not work for someone else. For example you have a great EP collection Dmahon and your interest is more imaging but I know you would be amazed at the difference adding a 13mm Nag would make. You already know how good the 9mm is but that little bit extra sky while still keeping a good magnification You may feel this is your ideal collection and no additions are required. Again I think you would be impressed if on a good nights seeing you looked through a 5 or 6mm TMB. You could easily sell the 3-6 zoom and get all three EP's of the 2nd hand market. (Although don't hold your breath on 2nd hand 13 nag.)

On another note: I value everyones comments as it is interesting to see how people value there eye piece collections, but I have noticed a trend towards it being more about they all match looks/brand wise rather then how they perform. Granted with so much cloud lately it is nice to have a change up on the gear front and that in it's self can be part of the hobby but I think it's important not to loose sight of why the changes are made. Am I the only one who thinks this way or am I just rambling on again ???

[Kef9]

On another note: I value everyones comments as it is interesting to see how people value there eye piece collections, but I have noticed a trend towards it being more about they all match looks/brand wise rather then how they perform. Granted with so much cloud lately it is nice to have a change up on the gear front and that in it's self can be part of the hobby but I think it's important not to loose sight of why the changes are made. Am I the only one who thinks this way or am I just rambling on again ???

I don't think your rambling and I'm a bit guilty of the above I'm afraid but now that my 8mm ethos has come through I think my collection could be complete. All thats left for me to do is powermate my 5mm XO on the moon and see what the results are like. If the results are good then I might plump for the 2.5mm version but even then I think I might just be being silly because I want the set. Really for me if I bought any other eyepieces I would just be wasting money. Completing the ethos set would be silly and the only way I would buy another is if they made a 5mm SX version which I dont think will happen. I've just bought the best and then I can now enjoy them for the rest of my life. I can't really see how things are going to get better now unless they make a 2mm-40mm ethos zoom the size of a pentax XO with 2 glass elements and 99.999% light transmission

Finally I would just like to add that the nag zoom and 21mm ethos are amazing eyepieces. Are they really worth it, I would say no. Did I just have to have them because I am a saddo - YES!

[spaceboy]

I can't really see how things are going to get better now unless they make a 2mm-40mm ethos zoom the size of a pentax XO with 2 glass elements and 99.999% light transmission

Finally I would just like to add that the nag zoom and 21mm ethos are amazing eyepieces. Are they really worth it, I would say no. Did I just have to have them because I am a saddo - YES!

LOL can you imagine they ever made a 2-40 Ethos zoom they would have to put strobes on it so low flying planes don't crash in to it

I wouldn't consider you a saddo for getting what you want. As I always say... if it works for you then that great and you appreciate the view more, but if you feel you have too many EP's then you probably have and your money would be better put in the bank for a rainy day. For me I like the compactness of the T6 but given the choice I would have TMB clones. Now most people would consider that a saddo.

[Kef9]

Ha Ha

Well I've got what I wanted now pretty much. To be honest if the stars are not sharp all the way across the FoV it does annoy me. I'm also pretty much at the useable eyepiece limit and don't think that getting anymore is worth it save for what I said above.

Sounds like you need to buy the set of TMB's! I can understand why you like them because the performance/price ratio is stupidly high.

[Moonshane]

I agree with you Nick about collecting sets for the sake of it. I have a few EPs but they serve two scopes and they serve a purpose too. It's a happy coincidence for me that my Ortho of choice is black and green like my eyepiece of choice generally - I am definitely a saddo.

I have seen photos of peoples' EP cases on cloudy nights where they own what seems to be every single TV eyepiece ever issued! Now that's taking it a bit far for me. But it's them that own them not me so who am I to say

[spaceboy]

Sounds like you need to buy the set of TMB's! I can understand why you like them because the performance/price ratio is stupidly high.

Don't tempt me :D I am astonished at the TMB EP's that I have but I have read that the longer the FL the less the wow factor. I have considered just getting the set as a grab and go kind of setup for those nights when I can't be arst to have the kid gloves on. It's just thinking I would feel like I was falling in to the trap of collecting EP's as a hobby and not for the observing. As a young lad I collected key rings, but do you think I had one for my keys

I have seen photos of peoples' EP cases on cloudy nights where they own what seems to be every single TV eyepiece ever issued! Now that's taking it a bit far for me. But it's them that own them not me so who am I to say

Hi Shane

My point again about the pics. It's as if they have seen the sights done all the mods and upgrades and now collect eye pieces is the hobby. I suppose if you have more money than sense then hey why not ? but I doubt very much if they all get used enough to warrant what was paid out on them. I did half consider a 7mm Nag while T/house had 10% off but M42 sits perfectly in the 9mm and any more mag than this I see it as planets, globulars and tiny distant galaxies so the 6mm seems the next best choice. Some times you just have to stand back and think DO I really need this ??? is it going to get used and if so will it turn in to spoiled for choice and a night of switching between eye pieces ?? I can understand your dilemma Shane as you have two scopes with two different intended purposes so a good selection is almost a necessity but as far as I can see for some is not always the case.

[Kef9]

You know you want the set! Why deny yourself the opportunity. I think it's human nature though at the end of the day. Sell the radian and you could partially get there. You know you want to.

Those people on cloudy nights take things a bit too far for me. I dont know if its because they are mainly american on there but the place is bitch central.

I've got the eyepiece set first but now the scopes will see some mods like focussers etc because the R&P ones they come with are not the best TBH. I think my C100ED is now so knackered due to weight off glass thats been hanging off the back. I'm reluctant to buy another frac though because I'm on the waiting list for an astrophysics and although its 10 years away I am prepared to wait. I might get a big dob one day and Shanes might be a good bet if he is selling when he upgrades to his 18" monster LOL. Im pretty sure I would want an OO UK model though simply because of the metal base. The wooden bases dont give me the greatest of confidence in the longevity stakes.

[spaceboy]

I might get a big dob one day and Shanes might be a good bet if he is selling when he upgrades to his 18" monster LOL. Im pretty sure I would want an OO UK model though simply because of the metal base. The wooden bases dont give me the greatest of confidence in the longevity stakes.

You want to hope I haven't got the cash together when he dose decide to sell otherwise we could have a bidding war on our hands

Would love to have a best of British OO Dob.

[Kef9]

Fight Fight Fight!!!!

I've looked through Shanes dob and I don't think I would want much bigger really. He must be mad wanting to make an 18". I think you would need a stool to look at objects at the zenith LOL.

[spaceboy]

Your collection of Ethos and a 12" Hiluxed OO..... now that would make for some views. I would be happy just having views of anything at the moment. I went out the other night after Stargazing live and I couldn't even put the 9mm in the seeing was so bad. I thought the collimation was out at first as it's rare I can't use 111x magnification.

[Kef9]

Yep I know what you mean. There was a period of clear skies the other day (first for a long while). I wanted to get a view of uranus and Jupiter as they were so close together. Anyway I had one look and then immediately packed up. The seeing was just so bad it was unbelievable. In fact I haven't had good seeing for about a month now. I got into this hobby in April last year so this is my first winter observing. I just wonder if its normally this pants. The only highlight I have had recently is my first view of the orion nebula and very nice it was!