Powermate Worth It?

From what I can tell, combining a 35mm Panoptic with a x4 Powermate, you can get great relief and a wider field of view than is often available from shorter focal length eyepieces. Adding a 17mm Nagler to the mix would seem to get me four premium eyepieces for the price of three.

Is the Powermate that good? Am I missing something?

Thanks for your input.

-David

Yes the eye relief stays good but I believe you pay the price with much added kidney beaning though.

I like my 4x PowerMate alot; very nice optically.
Not seeing much kidney bean effect. Downside is
that a 4x + 35Pan makes for a pretty hefty
9mm 67 degree eyepiece.

David,

I'm not too sure in the whole discussion about kidneybeaning and blackout that your question has been answered.

A powermate is a very good investment. Whether it is worth it to you depends on your eyesight, experience, and wallet.

I would stay away from adding a powermate or a Barlow to get you 4 or 5 times as much as the lens without it--I just don't see the need for a 5 power Powermate--but that may just be me. I haven't tried a five power Powermate, but my 2.5 works just great.

And yes, it is an effective way to double your eyepiece collection.

Alex