Which to choose?!?!?!?!?!?!

Ok everyone; I need your help choosing a wide field eyepiece. I have been looking for quite some time now but really can’t come up with a good decision. Hopefully you all can help…….

I own a 15” f/4.5 Obsession and would like to get the widest possible field and maximize the largest possible exit pupil. I won’t be using a Paracorr. Coma on the outer edges really doesn’t bother me as long as it’s not out of control. Here is what I came up with so far and would like your opinions.

26 Nagler:
So far this has been the best choice. In my scope it will yield a 5.8mm exit pupil and a true field of 1.24 degrees. I was able to use one of these eyepieces the other day and was astonished at the image brightness. Actually seeing two dust lanes in M31. The only drawback I see is price for one and heard it wasn’t a good eyepiece for scanning the sky (pincushion)

27 Panoptic:
Another good choice with a 6 mm exit pupil, but 1.07 degrees of true field. I have never tried this eyepiece. I for see the images being a little brighter than the 26 because of the exit pupil. Price is much better then the 26, but not as wide of a field. The other thing I dislike about the Pan is the pincushion. I have never experienced this and am only going off other reviews.

Pentax 30 XW:
Although I have never used one in my scope, I have heard nothing but great things about it. The only thing I am concerned with is the exit pupil. It’s a bit large at 6.6. The true field is very close to the 26 Nagler at 1.23 degrees.

Meade 5K UWA 30:
Again, large exit pupil (6.6mm). But a huge true field at 1.44. I haven’t read many reviews on this eyepiece which leaves me with skepticism. I did read that there was a lot of field curvature at fast focal ratios. Like I said earlier, a little coma won’t bother me…..a lot will.

Meade 5K SWA 28:
Exit pupil = 6.2 True field = 1.11 degrees The only reason I include this eyepiece is because unlike the 27 Pan it doesn’t display any pincushion, so I’ve heard. The price is much more attractive, but am concerned with its quality.

If you have any other suggestions it would be great.....

Have any of you ever gone to the eye doctor and asked them to measure the maximum dilation of your iris? I know its diameter decreases with age, but it would help in choosing an eyepiece. Maybe I’m being crazy. Thoughts....???

Thanks much in advance....

Jay Emirzian

Jay
I'd vote Nagler only because I use one and it is awsome in both my scopes.
Buck

Absolutely Roy.....I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else. Thanks for your input. I would still love to try out the UWA and SWA from Meade. There just haven't been to many reviews.

Although I would love to have an f/6 scope.....I'm already using a step to look at zenith with my 4.5. Now if I were just a bit taller.

Jay,
I owned the 26 Nag, twice in fact, you may......want to try the Siebert Optics 32mm Observatory class, very good edge, nice in my 16 f4.5 Nightsky. I'll not part with it, it will give a slightly larger field than the Nag, with a huge 7mm exit pupil. Light as well.
Mike

Hi Jay,
I used to have a 27 Pan, and it was superb in my f/10 SCT, but then I got a 20 Nagler, which had about the same FOV.
I'll have to cast my vote for the 26 Nagler, which I just love in my f/4.3 Starmaster.
Linton

Randy,

To add a twist to the subject, once I was looking at the Horse-Head through my 17.5" f/4.1 and we compared the 31T5, 30 Widescan Type-II and the 35 Pan. The best contrast was with the 35. I think it really depends on your sky. If you have noticeable amount of light pollution, the higher power will help, but if the sky is truely dark, the lower power might win as long as you don't get to huge exit pupils (maybe 10mm or more?). Jay, if you are concerned about contrast, compare a 26 Plossl to a 32 Plossl at a dark site, and you will get the idea. The only difference will be 52° vs. 82°.

oren.

Hi Randy,
I'll have to try my 26 on the Horsehead the next time I am able to see it. I have only had the pleasure once, and I was using my 20mm T5. It was a rather pleasing view, with an appropriate FOV, I thought.
I'm still using my 41 Pan, too. (Though I like the Veil better in the 26 T5 - tight FOV, but better detail.) It renders a huge exit pupil indeed, 9.5mm by my calculation! (Isn't your 16" SM a f/4.3?) But I bought it for my f/10 SCT, in my pre-Starmaster era. Eventually I'll swap it out for a 31 T5, but in the meantime the large FOV is quite useful for certain objects, like you said.
Linton

May have been the night or my scope, but last week I compared a 35mm Panoptic with a 26mm Nagler in my 12.5 Obsession and much prefered the Panoptic. There's some pin cushion and wasted photons, but the view in the Panoptic was wider, brighter, and sharper and even seemed to more contrast than the Nagler. It might have been fairer to compare the 27mm Panoptic with the 26mm Nagler.