Which 2" wide field to use with my new xt12i?

Hello all,

I'm probably going to be purchasing a Intelliscope xt12 and will currently only have enough money for 1 wide-angle 2" eyepiece. I have only been using 1.25" eyepieces and have never bought or used a wide-angle eyepiece. I was wondering if anyone can suggest a great 2" wide-angle ep for a decent price? Any particular brand I should look for? Naglers sound nice but crazy expensive. Also since I can only afford 1 of these ep's what size should I get, somewhere around the 30mm range? Thanks for your time.

Casey Whalen said:

Hello all,

I'm probably going to be purchasing a Intelliscope xt12 and will currently only have enough money for 1 wide-angle 2" eyepiece. I have only been using 1.25" eyepieces and have never bought or used a wide-angle eyepiece. I was wondering if anyone can suggest a great 2" wide-angle ep for a decent price? I think the most i'd be willing to spend is around $200.

Orion Stratus (if they get any -- the presence of the 2" versions is on and of their web page) or Baader Scopos. They're not Naglers but they're quite good for the money (I prefer the 30mm to the 35mm).

If you have slightly more money and a patience, wait for the TMB Paragon 30mm (which was rumoured to be planned for the next few months); I think the Paragon 40mm is a bit of a stretch in an f/5 scope (with an exit pupil of 8mm, you'll see the shadow of the secondary fairly soon when defocusing), but it does give you *the* widest field of view you can get in a 2" eyepiece (with the caveat your scope might not be illuminating the outer portion that well).

I'm looking at getting the TeleVue 35mm Panoptic. If I can find one for around $300. This would be a good combo with my xt12i correct? No abjuration, crisp clean image?

Ok, so i've narrowed down my ep. Now I'm debating on either going the 35mm Tele Vue Panoptic route or a higher power 27mm Tele Vue Panoptic. After reading up on this in the Backyard Astronomers Guide he recommends the 27mm because it's more of a middle of the road ep. Anyone have any suggestions? Also I have bought a 1.25" ep celestron ep kit so I have ep ranging from 3mm or so to 32mm.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

According to Neil Young, you need to search for a "heart of gold" before you look for a 2" EP for a Dob. He says he's getting old, so I would say he's probably a grumpy old fart. Still, a lot better advice than you get from most astro geeks around here. You may still opt for the eyepiece anyway. If you buy a 34mm Siebert Observatory, you will have a lighter EP, no problems with blackouts or kidney beaning, a better EP than anybody else sells for the price, and you can get your money back if you don't like it.