Lou Good post. My limited experience coincides with what you said. The one thing that I have been told by some pretty respectful folks is that as a general rule the Nagles are better in the longer focal lengths (say 13mm and up), but eyepieces like Plossls, and University Optic Orthroscopics and otheres like them (2 to 3 pieces of glass) are better in the shorter focal lengths. We can try that theory out at the next workshop. Jim Griffin Louis A Civ OO-ALC/MAKGBA <Louis.Griffin@hill.af.mil> wrote: I'm sure more will chime in but FWIW my 2cents worth on Naglers, Panoptics, Powermates, - I don't think anyone's eyepiece collection would be complete without a few of Al's (Tele Vue) products. I don't think they should be considered "high end" as much as "expensive". There is a HUGE difference between a 80 degree field of view and a 45 deg. with the less expensive lines. It's not like comparing say, cars where 4 wheels get the job done if you're looking for transportation, there is a whole different experience with the wide fields. As far as being worth the money - for me a resounding YES! But that is true for the many various wide field eyepieces out there (Meade SWA's, Pentax XL's etc) I have seen it in print more than once " a telescope is only as good as your best eyepiece" and it's true when you think about the light path and anything you put in the way of the object to be viewed - having said that I very much enjoy and use my University Ortho's, especially great for planetary work but my widefeild's are used 90% of the time. University also has some nice 2" EP in the Konig line offering 60 deg. FOV and fewer lens elements than the TV's Meades, etc. and at a great price. Another great WF would be the BD 80deg 30mm for only $95 - great value!! I think for a newbie the field of view on the TV's, etc. allow for greater sucsess in star hopping and time spent observing before having to move the telscope to track the object also if you wear eyeglasses the TV Radian and Pentax line provides great eye relief. Get to a star party and check out some of the "high end" eyepieces - you will definatley want one or five....I can definatley see a difference between my Celestron 2x barlow and my 2.5x Powermate. The Powermate seems crisper, brighter and dosent affect color at all - check out the Astronomics website for some great info and comparisons on eyepiece selection, it has definitions and descriptions for all the terminology, and Televues site is great also though more Televue brand specific. As far as Filters go I have observed with some borrowed filters but I have yet to invest in them - Yet. Right now I think I need a few more eyepieces and a 2" Barlow before I plunk down $250 on two filters that I will use on a few objects. Zambuto has a great reputation and will probably hold it's value but you're going to pay dearly - If you are a newbie like me you probably would not be able to detect the nuances that make the difference between a great mirror from Nova or Intermountain or Swayze or Zambuto or........ but you would see a difference between a so so mirror from China and a great mirror from any of the above. I hope that makes sense... sorry 'bout the long wind -----Original Message----- From: uvaa-bounces+louis.griffin=hill.af.mil@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:uvaa-bounces+louis.griffin=hill.af.mil@mailman.xmission.com]On Behalf Of David Trevino Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 9:59 PM To: Utah Valley Astronomy Association Subject: [UVAA] A couple more questions I have some questions about some high end items. I doubt I would ever be able to afford them, but if someone has had the opportunity to use or even own some of these, I am interested on your comments (mainly if they are as good as I read they are, and if they are worth their weight in gold, reasonable [affordable] alternatives, etc.) - Nagler (or any Tele Vue) Eyepieces (and Powermate "amplifiers") - Narrowband filters such as the UltraBlock or Lumicon UHC - Zambuto mirrors Thanks __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25¢ http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash _______________________________________________ UVAA mailing list UVAA@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa _______________________________________________ UVAA mailing list UVAA@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25¢