I'm a relative newbie, having been in this hobby for just over a year. Up until three days ago, I had never looked through a premium eyepiece. I had been using Plossls almost exclusively, as well as the Astrobuffet/BW-Optik 1rpd EP (borderline acceptable in my 8" f/6 dob).
Three days ago, I received what could reasonably be considered a premium eyepiece, a 10mm Speers-Waler WA (82 degree). Lemme tell you, the wide field of view is glorious. The night I got my eyepiece, I went out to use it (miraculously, the skies were clear) and was very pleasantly surprised by how much difference that extra field makes. The 10mm SWA is a little bit picky when it comes to eye placement, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.
But my real epiphany occured two nights ago when I spent an evening observing with a fellow member of the local astronomy club (RASC Toronto Centre). He let me use some of his Radians, and I was floored by how easy they were to look through. The sliding eyecup really makes it incredibly easy to find the right eye placement. I'm a bit of a stickler for ease of use (being able to go right up to the eyepiece and look without trying to fight blackouts or kidney beans is a big priority for me), and for me the Radians I used that night were pretty much perfect. I'm willing to bet that I'd have a similar experience with the Nagler Type 4s and the Pentax XL and XW series, all of which have a similar adjustable eyecup feature.
So now I know why people blow hundreds on a single eyepiece. Having those sharp-to-the-edge views really makes observing that much more fun. Now that I'm thoroughly hooked, I have a feeling my credit card is going to take a beating!
Chris
Three days ago, I received what could reasonably be considered a premium eyepiece, a 10mm Speers-Waler WA (82 degree). Lemme tell you, the wide field of view is glorious. The night I got my eyepiece, I went out to use it (miraculously, the skies were clear) and was very pleasantly surprised by how much difference that extra field makes. The 10mm SWA is a little bit picky when it comes to eye placement, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.
But my real epiphany occured two nights ago when I spent an evening observing with a fellow member of the local astronomy club (RASC Toronto Centre). He let me use some of his Radians, and I was floored by how easy they were to look through. The sliding eyecup really makes it incredibly easy to find the right eye placement. I'm a bit of a stickler for ease of use (being able to go right up to the eyepiece and look without trying to fight blackouts or kidney beans is a big priority for me), and for me the Radians I used that night were pretty much perfect. I'm willing to bet that I'd have a similar experience with the Nagler Type 4s and the Pentax XL and XW series, all of which have a similar adjustable eyecup feature.
So now I know why people blow hundreds on a single eyepiece. Having those sharp-to-the-edge views really makes observing that much more fun. Now that I'm thoroughly hooked, I have a feeling my credit card is going to take a beating!
Chris
I just bought the Nagler 26mm Type 5 for my 15" f/5 and 8" f/6 dobs. I spent two successive nights with it on the two scopes. It was worth it. The eye relief is rather short but hey, you won't get any blackouts. 
