Your Favorite Eyepiece

[Preston Pendergraft]

In the spirit of the "Your Own Telescope" thread, I thought it might be fun to do a thread about eyepieces.

So what is your favorite eyepiece and why? For me my favorite eyepiece is the 22mm Panoptic by Televue. Using a 10in SCT at f/10 with a 2500mm focal length, the eyepiece gives me around 113X, and that combination of power and field view is perfect for many objects, especially galaxies.

I also have 14mm Meade UWA that is a close second place and also gets a lot of use, especially with globular star clusters.

[Clear Skies]

17mm Nagler T4, in combination with my 12" SCT, for 9 out of 10 objects. For open clusters sometimes the 22mm T4, depending on the cluster's size.

[Dragan]

Hi Preston,

In my 25" I'd have to say either my 8 or 10 Ethos. Its really tough to pick just one. They give me 394x & 315x with exit pupils of 1.6mm and 2.0mm respectively. They just work perfectly in my scope. Its hard to quantify really but everything about these combos are perfect for me. I know others on here know what I mean by that.

I don't own any Delos EP's as of yet but I have looked thru them in my scope. They perform as well if not a little better in some regards. I'd really need to do some serious side by side comparisons to want to switch.

Years ago if I was asked this question I would have undoubtedly said my old Type 2 9mm Nagler. What a sweet view that was!!

[Preston Pendergraft]

17mm Nagler T4, in combination with my 12" SCT, for 9 out of 10 objects. For open clusters sometimes the 22mm T4, depending on the cluster's size.

Victor,
I looked at upgrading my Panoptic to the T4 Nagler in 22mm focal length. I tried one out, but just can't justify it.

[Preston Pendergraft]

Hi Preston,

In my 25" I'd have to say either my 8 or 10 Ethos. Its really tough to pick just one. They give me 394x & 315x with exit pupils of 1.6mm and 2.0mm respectively. They just work perfectly in my scope. Its hard to quantify really but everything about these combos are perfect for me. I know others on here know what I mean by that.

I don't own any Delos EP's as of yet but I have looked thru them in my scope. They perform as well if not a little better in some regards. I'd really need to do some serious side by side comparisons to want to switch.

Years ago if I was asked this question I would have undoubtedly said my old Type 2 9mm Nagler. What a sweet view that was!!

The 9mm Type1/2 were some of the best eyepieces of their day. The only thing that might have edged them out was the 7mm Type 1. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have access to all the eyepiece models that Televue made from 1999-2001. Those were two I always went for. Another gem from yesterday is the 19mm Panoptic.

The Meade 4000 series UWA 8.8 was very close in performance to the 9mm Nagler as well. I would say those are two classic eyepieces worth searching out if someone is on a budget.

[RolandosCY]

It has to be the Televue Ethos 13mm. Although the 158x magnification with my 18" is rather low, I do find that it gives consistently the most pleasing views of my favorite deep sky objects - galaxiesn (and of course of most other deep sky objects). Quite often the target objects might appear small, but their view of floating amongst the so many faint stars that the Ethos can reveal are definite show-stoppers. And not only in the 18", but also in my 4 and 3 inch refractors. Bright images with superb brightness and contrast. If I was to be deserted on an isolated tiny island with any of my telescopes and only one eyepiece, the Ethos 13mm would be my choice...

[Clear Skies]

Victor,
I looked at upgrading my Panoptic to the T4 Nagler in 22mm focal length. I tried one out, but just can't justify it.

Had I already owned an eyepiece of comparable focal length and AFOV I would probably have done the same..!

[Ivan Maly]

Pentax XL SMC 8-24 mm zoom. I'd say you really cannot beat the ability to change magnification seamlessly. Generally I am willing to sacrifice a lot of field for it, and thankfully in the case of the Pentax I don't have to sacrifice too much sharpness in a fast scope, or any light throughput. I did essentially all of Herschel 400 with this ocular alone, and have seen more detail in galaxies with it than with any other. Since the preference for a zoom may raise a few eyebrows, I'll add that I own, use, and like Ethoses, Zeiss orthoscopics, etc., and am not so enamored with the concept of the zoom as to like the 8-24 mm Televue, for example, despite its aberrations and low light throughput. Naturally I developed the attachment to the "large Pentax zoom" in the pre-Ethos era, and presently use Ethoses most of the time, but if forced to make a choice, I'd give up the Ethoses and keep the 8-24 mm Pentax.

[Don Pensack]

It has to be the Televue Ethos 13mm. Although the 158x magnification with my 18" is rather low, I do find that it gives consistently the most pleasing views of my favorite deep sky objects - galaxiesn (and of course of most other deep sky objects). Quite often the target objects might appear small, but their view of floating amongst the so many faint stars that the Ethos can reveal are definite show-stoppers. And not only in the 18", but also in my 4 and 3 inch refractors. Bright images with superb brightness and contrast. If I was to be deserted on an isolated tiny island with any of my telescopes and only one eyepiece, the Ethos 13mm would be my choice...
You took the words right out of my mouth. Close runner-up: 10mm Ethos. And, they're parfocal.

[nicoscy]

Love the Ethos 13mm, but lately I have found the Ethos 21mm to give über sweet views.

Uncle Al sure knows how to make nice (and über expensive) eyepieces. Totally worth it IMHO.

"Expansive views" is not just a 2 word marketing term. I can no longer do soda-straw views...

[Michael]

Favorite eyepiece? I don't know. Different telescopes mean also different favorite eyepieces. My whole Ethos collection is favorite. The only one I don't use so often is the 21 mm but still love it because I will never forget the image it has burned in my eyes in a 12" f-4 on La Palma.

[Darren Drake]

I think that for many of us the Ethos line is a default answer. I would say its a tie between my 8mm and 13mm Ethos. If we take those out of the equation then the Naglers or Delos lines are next. If we just take TV out of the equation altogether then it becomes a lot more interesting. I would say my current fav non TV ep is my 17mm Hyperion. It has great ER and a sharp field stop and is such a pleasure to look through and a great deal on the used market.

[FaithJ]

I really like my 22mm Panoptic, and it is hard to choose between that, my 12mm Type 4 and 9mm Naglers (the 12mm I bought s/h at TSP last year and Al Nagler himself looked though it! The 9mm, I bought s/h from Jimi), those are my three favourites. That said, the views of the Milky Way through my 35mm Panoptic are totally stunning...no, can't choose just one.

[Smith]

My favorite is Ethos 8. Not too powerfull with my Dobson, whatever the seeing conditions, not too heavy, great wide field, great overall performance.

[Ron Abbott]

My "go to" eyepiece is usually the trusty 20mm Nagler Type II. In my Celestron 11-inch SCT, it gives me a wide field,140X magnification, good contrast, and is sort of my favorite eyepiece for a "first look". When cruising the sky casually, I usually use either this one of the 41mm Panoptic, if I know I am going to be looking at large nebula, like the Lagoon or the Veil.

Stargazr
Land of Oz Observatory
http://www.astrolandofoz.com

[FaintFuzzies]

My favorite workhorse eyepiece in my 22" is the 6mm ZAO-II.

[shneor]

My favorite eyepiece is my 9mm ES 120°, with a true apparent field near 140°. At 250X in my 22" f/4, it's in my focuser more than all my other eyepieces together. Next is my 8mm Delos; hardly use my 13mm Ethos any more, but 3.7mm, 4.7mm and 6mm Ethoi get use when conditions warrant.

Clears,
Shneor

[Astrojensen]

After a most fantastic last night with my 12" Meade LB and 9mm ES100, that eyepiece is now my favorite. It just performed exceptionally well with the 12", especially on galaxies and small, bright targets. M13 was just stunning.


Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark