3-6mm zoom...is it just Nagler?

[Woking]

hi

as per thread title, is it just Nagler that produce high mag zoom EPs?

have had a good search on the web and it appears to be only the mid range (7/8-21/24mm) zooms that offer choice on manufacturers and price.

Accept that the Nagler quality must be exceptional but £300 does seem top end price.

[Andrew*]

There's also the Antares Speers Waler 5-8mm zoom. Very nice optically, with a constant FOV of over 80°.

The 3-6mm zoom is unique as far as I know, and a truly excellent eyepiece. Very highly recommended.

Andrew

[Moonshane]

agree with Andrew. the 6-3mm Nagler zoom is superb, tiny and cracking build quality. I love it and will never sell mine but in my view it's not quite as good as a set of orthos (partic the BGOs). I have the zoom as this covers the rare occasions when I can use such power on my scopes. my usual max for most obs is the 7mm Baader GO I have and this is definitely sharper and brighter than the zoom.

the speers waler zoom is also very good but huge (albeit light).

I was using my Nagler zoom tonight on the moon at 267x and above and it was stunning. even at the 3mm end (so 533x) it was usable on the moon intermittently - seriously.

my pros and cons of the zoom would be :

Pros

Conveniently covers 6-3mm in universal scale

No changes eyepieces

Small/compact

Excellent build and optical quality

Eye relief very good at this range

Field good for planetary and lunar/doubles.

Cons

Expensive (albeit about the same cost as 4 good quality orthos)

Not quite as bright and sharp as (at least my) Baader GOs although I should point out that a 7mm BGO gives 229x and the 6mm end of the zoom is 267x so maybe it's magnification that creates this difference?.

Field (50 degrees) and eye relief may be unsuitable for some users.

If you can afford the £300 then it's definitely worth it. a tracking mount would be useful but not essential.

[John]

Tele Vue do a 2mm - 4mm as well, in case the 3-6 is not enough !.

They are really excllent eyepieces as has been said but don't expect the 82 degree field of view - the Nagler zooms offer 50 degrees across the range, but are very sharp across all of it.

The Speers-Waler is the only ultra-wide zoom that I know of.

[Woking]

many thanks for the info, and confirms what I suspected that the higher mag zooms were top end prices for a top quality product.

I already have a 5.5mm Meade 5000 for the SW 100ED and was toying with the idea of a flexible spread in the high mag range suiting the conditions (just ordered the Baader 8-24mm zoom) and selling on the 5.5.

If there is'nt a cheaper zoom option I might as well just get a standard 4mm for those rare occassions when conditions allow me to push up the mag from the 5.5.

thanks again

[Andrew*]

Not quite as bright and sharp as (at least my) Baader GOs although I should point out that a 7mm BGO gives 229x and the 6mm end of the zoom is 267x so maybe it's magnification that creates this difference?.

I think so, to be honest. At higher magnifications it will be dimmer, and won't be as sharp. Comparisons should be made at as equal magnifications as possible.

I will have to get myself one of these again - love 'em.

Andrew

[spaceboy]

The 3-6 zoom was touch and go with me for a while. The 50' FOV was an off putting idea to use in my manual Dob but I would be able to use it with scopes on my EQ mount. After reading this review http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/tmb2.pdf I was sold on the idea and snapped one up in the 20% off sale. Makes life so much easier to have the zoom at these high magnifications (in my case 166-333x). This is definitely one EP I plan on keeping for a long time.