High Power Eyepiece Recommendation

For high power viewing with my TV102 I have a 7.5mm Sirius Plossl and a 6.4 Meade Plossl. I was thinking of getting an Abbe Orthoscopic in the 4mm range, but I have been finding that it is uncomfortable looking through such a small aperture eyepiece. Therefore I am saving my money for a “premium” 4mm or 5mm eyepiece. Considering the price of a Nagler as being the most I can afford, what other brands would you recommend?

David Colton said:

For high power viewing with my TV102 I have a 7.5mm Sirius Plossl and a 6.4 Meade Plossl. I was thinking of getting an Abbe Orthoscopic in the 4mm range, but I have been finding that it is uncomfortable looking through such a small aperture eyepiece. Therefore I am saving my money for a “premium” 4mm or 5mm eyepiece. Considering the price of a Nagler as being the most I can afford, what other brands would you recommend?

Hello there Fella TV-102 David,

In addition to the excellent 5mm NT6, I would also highly recommend 5mm and 4mm Radian for your TV-102. When Mars gets bigger later this year and if you get excellent seeing from time to time, you may wish to consider the 3mm Radian as well. The TV-102 at 293x on Mars in very good seeing is a wonderous sight. BTW, I've compared my 5mm NT6 and 5mm Radian and other than the obvious eyerelief, AFOV and lateral color difference, I couldn't find anything I could see in one that I couldn't see in the other, nor contrast, nor brightness differences.

Alternatively, you may want to consider the 3-6mm Nagler zoom. Although the eye relief of 10mm is a little uncomfortable to me (which is still far better than the 4mm ortho), I can pull back a little bit for a comfortable view (sacrificing only a bit of the AFOV).

Best wishes to your quest.

Ron the 4-inch Tall Evangelist B[ee]

Hi David,
I've had good luck using a 5mm TAK LE with my TV102. Sharp, reasonable field of view and very good eye relief. Not too expensive, either, when compared to some others.

If you can find one, a 5.2mm Pentax XL would probably be excellent. I don't have one (yet) but the 7mm and 10mm XLs I do have are my favorites. Have not tried the Pentax XWs yet but they're supposed to be even better than the XLs...they should be, they cost alot more.

I have virtually no experience with Naglers or Radians; but am familiar with the short f.l. Sirius Plossls and U.O. Orthos. The Tak LE is a big improvement over both; comfortable while still very sharp.
FWIW
Bob

You could get a barlow and use that 7.5mm EP at 3.75mm with nice eye relief.

Ed

Has anyone tried the Tele Vue High Magnification Zooms? I have the 2-4mm zoom on a Tele Vue 60 and it works quite well. Although expensive, the zoom feature precludes having to get 2 or 3 other fixed magnification eyepieces to cover that range?

Rey Cordero
Berkeley, CA