Pentax vs Televue?

[starbuck]

I am currently deciding on which eyepieces to purchase. I hear good things about both companies but I am having a tough time deciding.

To those of you that have tried both what would you recommend and why? Pentax or Televue?


John

[pizwiz]

Hi John.
When you get into these types of eyepieces, the differences in performance are so subtle, that you are really talking about personal preferences even among different eyepieces in the same line. People will like a certain focal length Televue eyepiece but prefer a pentax or Zeiss eyepiece in a different focal length.
There are folks arguing about wether the Panoptics are better than the naglers etc. But these types of arguments usually end up with: "I don't care what anyone says, I prefer the 18mm Radian etc. etc."
The best advice I can give you in this regard is to take your scope to a Star Party and borrow a look through as many eyepieces as you can to see what you prefer.
The dealers for these eyepieces usually allow you to return them for any reason.
Since I do a lot of Planetary and variable star work, I have a set of Radians, because I find them the sharpest of all. But then, I am not particularly interested in super wide angle Views. But even having said that, I have a good number of other eyepieces for different purposes.
I am afraid that good hard advice is almost impossible to give in this case, except to say that you really cannot go wrong with any eyepieces in this class.

Adolph

[Frank Boyle]

The 2 brands you mention are both excellent products but I would give the nod towards Pentax.


Frank

[Spoonsize]

[quote=Frank Boyle;451]The 2 brands you mention are both excellent products but I would give the nod towards Pentax.
[quote]

Heh-Heh...easy for you to say, me? I'd have to recommend Tele Vue..... http://www.astroclassifieds.com/clas...wcat.php/cat/9

Steve

[pizwiz]

See What I mean ?????????

But there is one question I usually ask folks in this regard. ( Since I have no idea of your level of experience, equipment or expertise, I may state the obvious, so please forgive me If I am beating a dead Horse)
Will you really benefit from these expensive eyepieces ?
Don't forget, not so long ago the Ploessl was the glitz and glamour eyepiece and comparatively just as expensive as the current crop of super-duper oculars.
We used to hear of this mysterious eyepiece which was almost impossible to get because it was made in France and you could read about it in magazines.
Before that, the Erfle was the glamour queen.
Most folks starting out in this hobby would not be able to tell the difference between a good Ploesl and a Nagler unless you pointed it out to them.
I believe a good set of Ploessls is a great set to have for all but the most demanding occasions. Then, get a special eyepiece or two suited for the particular objects you are interested in.
Here is my own experience:
I do a lot of Planetary and variable star observing and wanted an eyepiece for use at high powers for those days when seeing was very good and the optics could be pushed to the limit. A common consensus in the reviews was that the Televue Radians were the sharpest of the lot. So I purchsed a 4mm Radian which would allow me to push my 120mm Refractor to it's limit.
A considerable outlay for my pocketbook!!
After I had used it a few times, I was so disappointed that I called Al Nagler everything short of a crook. These eyepieces were the biggest rip-off in my book, my old 10mm Ploessl with a barlow was just as good.
Then a Night with exceptional seeing came along and I decided to give this piece of junk another try before I chucked it.
IT BLEW MY SOCKS OFF !!!
Under exceptional seeing condition this eyepiece really came into it's own. (IF I hadn't been so busy cussing, I might have read that Mr. Nagler actually said that very thing in his brochure).
So I think of exceptional eyepieces as tools for exceptional conditions. Under most average conditions these eyepieces don't really give the extra benefit you are paying for.
Just something to keep in mind maybe.

Adolph

[Spoonsize]

Not to disagree with you entirely, however, with all aspects being equal, focal length, aperture, magnification, seeing etc, etc, the Tele Vue and similiar eyepices will outshine ANY of the less expensive models. The radians in particular will do it with much more eye-relief.
Steve
PS: I'm selling mine because I don't use them, not because I don't like them.

[BT Technologies]

Hello John.. Both companies that you mentioned produce probably some of the best quality eyepieces in existence. Some like the Televue Naglers over the Pentax as it gives them a slightly larger FOV. Some prefer the Pentax due to less curvature at the extreme edge of the field.

The bottom line is that whichever brand you chose to go with you really can not go wrong as both of them are very comparable IMO.

Originally Posted by starbuck

I am currently deciding on which eyepieces to purchase. I hear good things about both companies but I am having a tough time deciding.

To those of you that have tried both what would you recommend and why? Pentax or Televue?


John

[clydec]

Well, to be fair, comparing field curvature at the edge of an 82 degree eyepiece with a 70 or 65 degree eyepiece is not a level field. Compare the Nagler and Pentax at 70 degrees and see what happens. Compare them at 80.... wait, you can't! Having said that, the 14 Pentax XL I had showed considerably more field curvature in it's 65 degree FOV than did my 13 Nagler Type 6 across it's 82 degree FOV. From what I've read from experienced users, the 14 XL and XW exhibit the most field curvature of the entire lines. I will say that having tried almost all types of eyepieces at one time or another, Tele Vue and Pentax are the creme de la creme IMO. There are a couple of advantages in Tele Vue's favor for me however. Tele Vue will service any of their eyepieces, regardless of whether it's under warranty or not. If you buy a used 35 Pan, drop it on the ground and it develops a big rattle, you can send it in to Tele Vue and they'll fix it good as new. I have no idea if Pentax will service out of warranty eyepieces or not. Or if they'll service eyepiece lines that are out of production, like the XL series. Also, you can't call up Mr. Pentax. But you can call up and talk to Mr. Tele Vue, Al Nagler. You can tell him what scope or scopes you have, what f/ratio, what targets you prefer, what your normal sky conditions are like, etc. I've done it and countless others have as well. He'll give you his recommendations and he'll tell you exactly why. I think that's pretty neat.

Clyde

[starbuck]

Thanks guys for your replies. I have decided to go with several Naglers as well as the XW series Pentax Eyepieces and whichever ones I don;t like I will list them for sale here. This way I can check out the best of both worlds.

John

[sjs42]

I agree w/ pizwiz. I have the full line of Pentax XLs, many Naglers and Panoptics as well as many plossls including 10 TV plossls. The seeing here is no that great so my TV plossls get used the most. Then I have some favorites, and I seem to reach for my 11mm nagler and 19mm Panoptic a lot. I have scopes that range from 66mm f/6 and on up.