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Eyepieces

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My Equiment

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Eyepieces

Many publications and experienced astronomers say that eyepieces are a question of taste.

They are right

For me the Pentax XL eyepieces represent the best choice.

Here is a summary on my "views" for most of the eyepieces I have used to date.

Brand & Type

Size, Focal length, Field of view

 Comments
TeleVue Panoptic2", 35 mm, 68° Very large and heavy eyepiece with an impressive wide field of view. I do use this eyepiece on all scopes and wouldn’t like to miss it. Despite (or because?) the complex optical design and the amount of glass involved, the Panoptic delivers excellent views.
Kokusai Kohki wide scan type II 2"30 mm As the name says: wide scan. A good eyepiece but it got outperformed by the Panoptic 35mm and I have sold it.
Pentax XL 1,25”28mm, 55° Even if it ‘gives’ away some filed of view (the other XL s have 65), I like this eyepiece a lot. The view is clear and transparent over the whole area
Vixen LV 1,25"25 mm, 50° Small but OK eyepiece. Sold by now
TeleVue Nagler Typ II 2" / 1,25", 82° Good but big eyepiece. Best performance at deep sky and therefore often used for this purpose
Orion KellnerWith double and illuminated hair cross 1,25"12,5 mm

Nice for adjusting reference stars
Vixen LV 1,25"10 mm

OK and reasonable quality. Sold by now.
TeleVue Nagler T61,25 »9 mm82°

New eyepiece replacing my 10mm Radian.Very compacts eyepiece with really good performance. Often used.
TeleVue Radian 1,25, 10 mm, 60°

Good eyepiece but didn’t show the contrast I was expecting. Sold.
Nikon 1,25"7 mm, 60°

Not really built for astronomical purposes but good quality for planetary views. This eyepiece provides also best views when used with my Coronado halpha filter.I had a Pentax XL 7mm but sold it because I preferred this Nikon.
Pentax XL 1,25"5,2 mm, 65°

Pretty big, but really good. This eyepiece, my 10” Dobson, a dark sky and M13 is like sitting in a spacecraft
Vixen LV 1,25"5 mm

I don’t like this eyepiece because of the very narrow field of view.
TeleVue Radian 1,25"3 mm, 60°

My just in case eyepiece. I use it most at Saturn (less at Jupiter). On Saturn it shoes great detail with my 4" APO as well as with the 10" Dobsonian. Contrast at Jupiter doesn't impres me - here I have caught consistently better views using the Pentax XL 5,2 mm with a 2 powered TeleVue Barlow.