Going wide

Howdy,
I have an Intes Micro 10 inch MAK at f10, so the focal length is right at 2540mm. Did have a similar length Meade 7 inch MAK.

OK, for a very wide field in the Meade, a focal reducer with a 27mm Panoptic works wonders.

However, the same set-up in the Intes Scope won't work. Not enough back focus. So I use a Meade 56mm Super Plossl (series 4000). It is a great EP, but has its limits. So does the scope. In it I'm just short of the the whole Pleiades and showing some vinnetting.

Does anyone have experience with a 41mm Panoptic in a scope like this? I'm bouncing off the theoretical limits with the 56mm now, but a slightly shorter EP with just enough back focus might work.

Thanks,
Steve
8)

Panoptics are great. I have one and it produces an impressive field with my 12" F12.5 Mak-Cass.

Rolando

The 31mm Nagler is another great choice. If you've got friends with these at your local club I'd recommend trying them out. All three of these eyepieces are winners.

And I second Tom Simmons recommendation on the Televue Dioptrx - I suffer from slight astigmatism (1.5 diopters). I [U]hate[/U] wearing glasses when I observe. The Dioptrx is simply a wonderful device. It makes my visual observation endeavors much more enjoyable!

I like the Pan 41 a good deal, but haven't really seen any advantage to it over the XW40.

The XW40 and the XW30 are the only two of the XW line to which you can attach a dioptrx.

Here's the way to put it on.

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=612

I was out using my FS128 last night with the XW40 + dioptrx and it was a refreshing. If I didn't share views so much I'd probably put one on my XW30 too.

regards
Greg N