Seth Less expensive eyepieces like the ones recommended by Kim work fine and in some cases better than Naglers for long focal length telescopes (over F/8). For planetary performance the fewer the optical elements the better provided the eyepiece is well made such as higher end plossls. The Nagler excels for fast (f/5 or less) scopes but is often inferior for planetary performance sometimes introducing false color on bright objects such as I have observed with 16 mm Naglers. Any eyepiece with a 65 degree or more field will work well for a space walk view on long focal length telescopes. In my opinion if your scope is f/8 or more you are wasting money on Naglers and will get less light throughput and false color on bright objects. But for fast scopes the Naglers are great. I own five Naglers as well as several plossls, Pentax, Panoptics and Meade Ultra wides. My favorite eyepiece is still the old 14 mm Meade Ultra Wide for fast scopes. Clear Skies Don Colton -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 3:57 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Eyepiece recommendations? Michael & Kim, Thanks for taking the time to respond. I understand about exit pupils and the math behind focal lengths and such, but what I don't understand are the relative advantages of the various eyepiece designs on the market. Nagler vs. Plossl, that sort of thing. I agree that only a few eyepieces are needed. I've done more star parties than I can count with just one 17 mm Plossl and one 40 mm Plossl. Adding the 30 mm Ultrascopic was (pardon the pun) a real eye-opener. Naglers are impressively wide-angle, pricey, and heavy. Is there anything else that performs almost as well but doesn't cost a fortune? If not, then I just want to know that. Plossls are light, small, and cheap. What's intermediate between these and a high-end Nagler or Radian? Is there such a critter? Is an Orion Lanthanum an acceptable substitute for a Nagler, or will nothing less than the real McCoy suffice? I appreciate your opinions & recommendations. Seth _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com