televue 31 nagler.

What do you guys think of this eyepiece. Ive used a 40mm pentax, and a 35mm panoptic. Compare it to either of those if you would. Thanks,
Tony.

I have the Leitz 30mm 88 degree $1200 + eyepiece
The 31 Nagler is as good at 82 degrees IMHO

Herb

I did a side-by-side comparison of these two in daylight at the Meischner store in Boston, before it closed.

Both produce a huge optical bang in a TV-102, terrific sense of wide-field wow with either EP.

A few differences: the Nagler 31, in daylight, has a LOT of color at the field stop. So much that the entire field is suffused with a warm color as a result. This is absent in the Panoptic, and my guess is that it would not affect night viewing with the Nagler at all, except perhaps to color stars at the edge of the field.

Another issue to pay attention to is eye relief. With the Nagler it is a touch shorter than with the Panoptic, which may be an advantage. If the eye relief on the Panoptic creates a problem, it is a problem with being too long. This is something you should probably try to experience before deciding.

My recollection is that the Panoptic showed somewhat more pincushion distortion than the Nagler, but this was evident in both EPs. For me, neither EP would be a first choice for terrestrial viewing as a result.

I bought the Panoptic, and I have been delighted with it. In my TV-102 it gives me 2.5 degrees of Milky Way in a 25x field. The views are staggering.

Steve

Tony,

I have the 31 Nagler and my friend Rod Mollise has the 35 Panoptic. Both produce outstanding views, in my opinion, but eye placement in the 31 is less critical than with the 35. I presume this is primarily due to the longer eye relief of the Panoptic (24mm) vs. the Nagler (19mm).

I chose the 31 Nagler over the 35 Panoptic for two reasons. (1) I use it mostly with my 24" Dob which is un-driven, so the 82 degree apparent field allows more time to view before having to nudge the scope and (2) at F/4 (F/4.6 with the Paracorr) the 35 Panoptic would produce a larger exit pupil than I care for.

Rod on the other hand has a Nexstar 11 which is driven, so the 68 degree apparent field of the Panoptic is less of an issue. And at F/10 exit pupil is certainly not an issue either.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that one might be a little more favorable to you than the other, depending on what kind of scope you have.

Pat

If money isn't an issue, then I say buy them all. However, I have owned both the 31mm and the 35mm(twice) and the 31mm is a serious waste of cash in relate to views that each produce. The 35mm wins hands down. With a focal lenght of 2666 you're are much better off sticking with the 40mm Pentax.

Gerald

To add to the selection, the Nagler 26 is more on par with the Panoptic as far as actual FOV, while providing a much more contrasty, cleaner view where the objects were 30%+ larger or so. ( about a dozen folk, including pro astronomers, came to this opinion when comparing the two on an RC, SCT, refractor and dob, on multiple occasions on different nights at different sites ). The Nagler 26 has replaced the Pan 35 in several collections I know of.

The Nagler 31 was slightly larger actual FOV, providing a wonderful view...but the Nagler 26 seemed to be reached for more often due to it's ample FOV an higher power.. that often seemed to be *just* right for 8-12in SCTs. And was a wee bit cheaper and much lighter.

On the other hand, the Nagler 20 seemed to be preferred more on the slower Dobs with less FL.

Wishing you Great Skies

Karl