Best Eyepieces For New Televue 85 User ?

I have no eyepieces for the new TV-85 except the one that comes with the purchase "package" - 1.25" 20mm Plossl eyepiece (30x).

Are there some classics or standards I should be starting out with ?I have read some stuff about the Televue 35mm Panoptic, etc...

Any help is appreciated. (man, these things ain't cheap)

Thanks.

First decide how much you have in your budget.
Then decide what powers are needed to view your favorite objects.
Then buy quality EPs, but not necessarily "High Dollar" EPs.
For your scope you could use good TV Plossls or UO Orthoscopics with good results.
If you could afford them, maybe the TV Nagler type-6 EPs would be a good soultion.
You can get by with about 3-4 good EPs if you choose wisely. Don't buy more power than the scope can use and don't get too little of power that you can't see anything.

Floyd

Me too!
Just received the 85 yesterday and ran all my eyepieces through it last night.
High power, I have the 3-6 Nagler click stop
Next is the Type 1 9mm Nagler
Then the Meade 14mm UWA
An old 20mm Nagler Type 2
The 50mm Plossl was a little much, I'm thinking the 35 Pan, or 31 Nagler would be perfect to round out a set that would fit in the soft case with the scope.

It's an awesome little scope!

Enjoy,
Steve

The TeleVue website has a good essay on how to choose eyepieces - enter the site, choose the "eyepieces" option, and you can find it there.

You can get by with 2 or 3 Plossls and a barlow or Powermate. Indeed, that could last forever, if you wanted. Since you're a newbie, you might want to go this route until you decide what observing you like the most and what powers you most want, then spend the big bucks. Good plossls or orthoscopics aren't "sexy", but they're hard to beat for image quality.

Knowing what I know now, if you wanted to spend the big bucks now, I'd go for the 24 Panoptic for low power (25x, 2.7 degree field of view), and the Nagler Type 6's for medium to high power - maybe the 9mm for medium power (67x) and the 5 mm (120x) for high power. The TV85 can go higher, but I think 120x would be more generally useful than a higher power.

Depending on your budget, I would suggest either the TeleVue 8-24 or Vixen LV Zoom eyepiece. My Vixen zoom excels in my TV85. Especially, from my suburban Los Angeles skies. I gotten crisp and sharp views of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. Don't get me wrong, there are better singular choices out there. I own a 35mm, 22mm, and 19mm Panoptics along with a 7mm Type 6 Nagler. But the Vixen gets the most nightly use for those casual 15-30 minute observing sessions. Good luck Dave! P.S. I would suggest you invest in the 2.5x Powermate if your budget allows.

For high power viewing on my Telepod mounted (unguided) TV85, I like the 5mm Nagler for its wide field that allows more time for viewing without having to nudge the scope as often.

I use a 7.4-22mm Leica Zoom for mid-power. A zoom in this range covers a lot of bases for observing. If you don't mind a little color at the edge, the Apogee Zoom performs nicely and doesn't cost much.

For low power, I like my 30mm Widescan II for its superior light throughput/contrast and wider-than-Nagler FOV and lighter-than-Nagler/Panoptic weight. It doesn