TV Radians...or equivalent

A while back, I sold a Televue 32mm Plossl, which I regretted selling and now have replaced (or soon to be replaced anyway).

It was always my favorite EP. All other Plossl's I've tried, I never cared much for. Everytime I've tried to go up in magnification, I've never liked the view as much and end up going back to the 32mm. Despite not having much in the way of power (on my ETX 105), the view through the 32mm TV Plossl is so exceptional that is my preferred EP. My ETX 105 is just about as perfect optically as an ETX Mak is going to get and I'd like to find the right EP's to go up in magnification and still get that perfect Tele-view.

I've tried Orion Expanse EP's but the 9mm was horrible and the 15mm was alright...nothing to brag about, but pretty nice. The TV 32mm Plossl is just so much sharper (and obviously a wider FOV). I've tried a Meade 14mm Wide Angle too...just not very sharp, clean views as compared to the TV Plossl.

It's been recommended to me to get 12mm and 8mm Radians to complete my EP collection for my ETX 105, but funds are not available for Radians (even used) right now.

Does anyone have any suggestions for higher power EP's (12mm and 8mm, or thereabouts) that still have the eye relief of the TV 32mm Plossl as well as a similar FOV, without the price of the Radians?

Ideally I'd like to just save up for the Radians and be done with it...however, I'd like to have something decent I can sell later after I have enough for the Radians.

I've been checking reviews and searches, but nothing comes up that strikes me as a decent Radians replacement (not that there may even be one).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I've tried Orion Expanse EP's but the 9mm was horrible and the 15mm was alright...nothing to brag about, but pretty nice. The TV 32mm Plossl is just so much sharper (and obviously a wider FOV). I've tried a Meade 14mm Wide Angle too...just not very sharp, clean views as compared to the TV Plossl.
======

Sharpness is a function of magnification, I believe it is inversely proportional so one cannot compare directly a 9mm eyepiece at 163X to a 32mm eyepiece at 45X.

There are lots of reasons why a 9mm eyepiece may not give sharp views at 160X in a 105mm scope. The scope may not have had time to sufficiently cool, the seeing (atmospheric turbulance) may not be adequate or the scope may be in need of collimation. MAK's even smaller ones do take some time for the optics to cooldown and provide the best views.


160X is approaching the limit for a 105mm scope so things have to be right on the get good sharp views. I have had a 9mm Expanse clone for about 2 years and used it in a variety of scopes and I find it gives some very sharp views.

Finding a replacement for the Radian will be hard, the main advantages are slightly larger fields of view than a Plossl and signficantly more eye relief.

But if you are OK with a lesser FOV and don't wear glasses then a good plossl will most likely work well for you. In general center sharpness of almost all eyepieces is very good. Problems arise with fast scopes and widefields of view, but with your MAK a decent plossl should work nicely and be sharp to the edge.

Something in the 17mm range would give you around 85X which could be doubled with a barlow while keeping the good eyerelief to something around 170X.

Jon

Mark,

Buy the Radians. . . Come over to the dark side. . . You know you want them . . . You deserve them.

I have the 14, 10, 8 and 6 Radians. . .I didn't need them. . . I wanted them . . . I deserved them. . .

My wife wanted me to spend the money on surgery to stop my snoring. Instead, I bought a case of Breathe-Right Strips. . . and the Radians, though I still snore.

Randy . . .

I like my Orion/Vixen Lanthanum SuperWide 17mm and 8mm eyepieces. 65 AFOV and 20mm eye relief. Very sharp and nicely built in Japan. The 8mm may be a bit big compared to a Radian equivalent. I may be in the minority amongst all you Televue lovers though...

Mark Mittlesteadt said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for higher power EP's (12mm and 8mm, or thereabouts) that still have the eye relief of the TV 32mm Plossl as well as a similar FOV, without the price of the Radians?

Mark,

You mentioned a 12mm focal length eyepiece. For this focal length to have the same true field of view as a 32mm Ploessl it would have to have an apparent field of view of 32/12 x 50 degrees or 133 degrees.

As has already been mentioned, sharpness varies inversely with magnification.

Dave Mitsky