Any opinions? I'm sure.I'm looking for the ultimate high power EP (Maybe 8mm or so)with "some" eye relief and a fair field of view.Orthos just don't do it for me with the squinting to look through the little peephole.Are good Plossls still the best answer?Are the Radians good on Planets or does the field expansion soften the image?Thanks, Don
Best Eyepiece for Viewing Planets.
Started by don raciborski, 02/27/2003 01:48AM
Posted 02/27/2003 01:48AM
Opening Post
Posted 02/27/2003 02:04AM
#1
Well, I guess it might be the Zeiss Abbe ortho because at $750 used on Astromart, it better B[ee] ;-).
I love my Radians on planets and DSOs and one reviewer akins them to closest thing "wide field orthosopic" ;-). Why not try one on for size? Here are some reviews from the experts.
http://www.weatherman.com/radiantg.htm
http://voltaire.csun.edu/tmb/tmb3.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/Radian12.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces2/3comparo.htm
http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orr8radian.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/radian8.htm
You may wish to look into the Nagler zoom and Takahashi LE eyepieces as well.
http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orrtv3_6zoom.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/tvzoom2.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/nagler%20zoom.htm
Ron B[ee]
I love my Radians on planets and DSOs and one reviewer akins them to closest thing "wide field orthosopic" ;-). Why not try one on for size? Here are some reviews from the experts.
http://www.weatherman.com/radiantg.htm
http://voltaire.csun.edu/tmb/tmb3.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/Radian12.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces2/3comparo.htm
http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orr8radian.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/radian8.htm
You may wish to look into the Nagler zoom and Takahashi LE eyepieces as well.
http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orrtv3_6zoom.html
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/tvzoom2.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/eyepieces/nagler%20zoom.htm
Ron B[ee]
Posted 02/27/2003 06:15PM
#2
Don, I asked a similar quesiton in the eyepiece group not to long ago. I received a number of votes for the Tak LE line and the Nagler 3-6 zoom. A cheaper option if you already have a good 16mm-ish eyepiece (Ortho, Ultima) is a high quality 2x barlow which is what I decided I would try before sinking more $$$ into more expensive eyepieces.
Celestron Ultima=Orion Shorty Plus are reputed to be excellent barlows for about $70. Antares 2x is said to be the same barlow less the grip ring for about $55 (I'm still trying to figure out why used Antares show up here for more than the new price). Televue 2x can be had used in the same price range.
Celestron Ultima=Orion Shorty Plus are reputed to be excellent barlows for about $70. Antares 2x is said to be the same barlow less the grip ring for about $55 (I'm still trying to figure out why used Antares show up here for more than the new price). Televue 2x can be had used in the same price range.
Posted 02/27/2003 07:13PM
#3
You have a scope which gives you something over 175x with an 8mm EP? If so, the 8mm Radian, which I do not own because it gives too little magnification in my TV-102, gets some of the best reviews in the Radian line. I do own several shorter Radians, and they have all been terrific on Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon.
However, you might also consider trying the 7mm Nagler T6. In my scope this EP is simply fantastic. Extremely sharp and wonderful contrast. Immediately after I got this EP I started to notice that there were times when it would show me some planetary details that I hadn't noticed in my higher-power EPs. It also works the other way, of course, higher power being what it is, but it startled me to see a lower-power EP at 125x outperforming another very good EP operating at 175x or 240x, even some of the time.
Steve
However, you might also consider trying the 7mm Nagler T6. In my scope this EP is simply fantastic. Extremely sharp and wonderful contrast. Immediately after I got this EP I started to notice that there were times when it would show me some planetary details that I hadn't noticed in my higher-power EPs. It also works the other way, of course, higher power being what it is, but it startled me to see a lower-power EP at 125x outperforming another very good EP operating at 175x or 240x, even some of the time.
Steve
Posted 02/28/2003 04:42PM
#4
Nobody has mentioned the 7mm and 5.2mm Pentax XL's so I guess I may as well. I like Radians also but IMO the Pentax XL's are significantly more comfortable and deliver about the same image quality (of course we can argue forever about this over a lot of eyepieces) except less lateral color, with a somewhat larger FOV for about the same price.
One time I counted 13 craterlets in Plato with a 7mm Pentax XL. I had a lot of other eyepieces on hand that nite but none could match the 7mm Pentax XL. I have a full set of Pentax XL's and I like every one of them including the much maligned 28mm; the 7mm is the best of the set optically IMO. How Pentax does it with all those lenses I will never know. I also have about 75 other eyepieces but I am almost growing weary of testing them and the image quality is so good and consistent (and parfocal) thru the Pentax's that these days I frequently just bring out the Pentax's.
I am not saying that the Radians are not reasonably comfortable, but the Pentax XL's are the ultimate in comfort....loads of eye relief, great eyecup design, no blackout, easy for anybody including first time users to look thru. Twenty-five years ago I was not that interested in eyepiece comfort. The Pentax XL's have taught me that the longer you can actually look at an object the more you are going to see. The Pentax XL's are unequaled in that respect IMO. I don't think you can count 13 craterlets looking thru a scope for 5 or 10 minutes.
I may as well mentioned that I have taken a few peeks thru a 13mm Nagler Type 6. It appears to be an outstanding eyepiece. The whole line of Type 6's may also prove to be excellent planetary eyepieces despite their wide field design. They are comfortable too, but not like the XL's. Clear skies!
Ralph
One time I counted 13 craterlets in Plato with a 7mm Pentax XL. I had a lot of other eyepieces on hand that nite but none could match the 7mm Pentax XL. I have a full set of Pentax XL's and I like every one of them including the much maligned 28mm; the 7mm is the best of the set optically IMO. How Pentax does it with all those lenses I will never know. I also have about 75 other eyepieces but I am almost growing weary of testing them and the image quality is so good and consistent (and parfocal) thru the Pentax's that these days I frequently just bring out the Pentax's.
I am not saying that the Radians are not reasonably comfortable, but the Pentax XL's are the ultimate in comfort....loads of eye relief, great eyecup design, no blackout, easy for anybody including first time users to look thru. Twenty-five years ago I was not that interested in eyepiece comfort. The Pentax XL's have taught me that the longer you can actually look at an object the more you are going to see. The Pentax XL's are unequaled in that respect IMO. I don't think you can count 13 craterlets looking thru a scope for 5 or 10 minutes.
I may as well mentioned that I have taken a few peeks thru a 13mm Nagler Type 6. It appears to be an outstanding eyepiece. The whole line of Type 6's may also prove to be excellent planetary eyepieces despite their wide field design. They are comfortable too, but not like the XL's. Clear skies!
Ralph
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