TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm

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Brand and Model:TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
Price ($USD):$460.00
Type:Ultra Wide Angle
Focal Length:22 mm
Barrel Size:2 in
Apparent FOV:82.0 degrees
Field Stop Dia.:31.1 mm
Eye Relief:19 mm
Elements:6
Weight (lbs):1.5
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
I’ve owned this eyepiece for over 4 years now, and it is definitely my low power workhorse, and my absolute favorite eyepiece. Like all eyepieces, there are strengths & weaknesses, although in this case the strengths far outweigh the minor drawbacks. Using the 31.1mm field stop diameter for true field calculations, the 22 Nagler provides a 1* true field in my 14.5” f/4.3 Starmaster, and a 3* field in my 92mm f/6.6 AP Stowaway.

The construction of this eyepiece is what one would expect from TeleVue – built like a tank. At 1.2 lbs., it’s heavy in-hand and simply feels like quality. It has excellent machining, fully multi-coated optics, click-stop eye adjustment, rubber ring grip, rubber eyecup, recessed barrel, and end caps to protect the optics. I’ve used Type 4 Naglers since they became available, so I’m used to the click-stop feature, and I do like it somewhat, however many observers feel it to be the bane of the Type 4 line. I will admit after looking at the mechanism I think it could be better thought-out, and really needs to be re-designed. This is something each individual will have to decide for himself/herself. If I had to pick a design for eye-guard adjustment it would probably be more like the twisting eyecup on the Pentax XL line.

The eye-relief is around 17mm, and is more than adequate for anyone who wears glasses while observing. I do wear mine most of the time, and I have no trouble taking in the entire field. It’s a very comfortable eyepiece to use, and kidney-bean distortion is kept to a minimum. Again it is there, but has never presented a problem to me, although others have reported they have problems with it.

As mentioned above, the 82* apparent field gives that Al Nagler “space-walk” feeling, coupled with a well-corrected field all the way to the edge. Please keep in mind that the edge is not absolutely “perfect”, but to my eyes, all curvature & distortion is kept to a minimum. The stars at the very edge are just barely out of focus when on-axis stars are in focus. It takes less than a 1/10th turn of the fine focus adjustment to bring the edge to focus, so for those of you who are sticklers about field curvature, it IS there, but it’s negligible, and it’s very easy to find a “balance” point of focus which gives the feeling of pinpoint stars across the entire field. I notice no coma or astigmatism induced by this eyepiece in the f/6.6 Stowaway. There is slight coma (7-10% of field) when used in the f/4.3 Starmaster, but that's expected at this f/ratio. This disappears completely when employing a Paracorr on the Starmaster. Still no astigmatism in the SM. There is a minimum of lateral color, which reveals itself during the day as an ultra-thin indigo-colored ring around the inside of the field stop. At night I never notice it except when a bright object like the moon or Jupiter has floated half in & half out of the field. Star colors seem very true to life, and despite the number of elements present, the light throughput is outstanding – comparable to my 18mm UO Ortho. Contrast is excellent for a low power eyepiece. Even at only 27x in the Stowaway, M42 begins to show detail and fine structure. Resolution is very good, as the Trapezium is easily split into four components, all while framing the entire Sword section of Orion. It’s a wonderful view! In the Starmaster, M42 is better than a photograph! Great views of the Double Cluster as well in the Starmaster.

In summary: Overall I think this is an outstanding eyepiece. As no optical system is perfect, and 10’s are supposed to denote the perfect system, I’d really rate this eyepiece around a 9.3. Optically it is excellent, but it could have balance issues in some scopes, and the click-stop needs to be re-designed. It does have a bit of lateral color, a small amount of curvature, and does show a small amount of kidney-bean distortion, but these are kept to an absolute minimum, which is the goal of any wide-field eyepiece. It’s a real joy to use in any scope.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=281125

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
I am one happy camper! This eyepiece replaces both my 22mm Pan & 27mm Pan and does so flawlessly in my f/10 C11 SCT. No problems with blackouts once the adjustable eyecup is properly located, I can easily see the entire fov without trying to "look around the corner" as I had to with my 9mm Nagler T1. Sharp & contrasty, deep sky objects look great in this eyepiece. Only drawback? It's freaking expensive!!

But I love it...

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Value:8
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=253581

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
I got into astronomy 17 years ago and have tried many different types of eyepieces. My friend let me put his 22 nagler type 4 in my scope, well I did not want to give it back to him. This was after many years of me, like many novice astronomers, saying there is NO WAY I will pay that much money for a eyepiece. Now after buying my first nagler, I own a complete set of them and have NO PLANS of ever selling any of them! Once you buy your first one you will most likely want all of them.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=112011

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
LOVE THIS EYEPIECE! HUGE FOV! I HAVE PINPOINT STARS ACROSS THE ENTIRE FIELD IN A 8" F10 SCOPE. I ALSO AM A BIG FAN OF THE INSTAJUST EYEGUARD. GREAT LOOKING EYEPIECE! THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES OF ALL TIME! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU HAVE THE CASH, IT IS PRETTY EXPENSIVE.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=74294

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
Regarding the 22mm Nagler T4, this eyepiece is something of a disappointment, at least when used in my faster scopes. Having first purchased a 12mm T4, I expected the same qualities from this one. Instead, stars were quite comatic around the outer 1/3 of the FOV. Being quite expensive, I found this unacceptable for an eyepiece line claimed to be corrected down to f/4. This one is not.

However, all is well when used with a Paracorr which corrects the view to almost perfect. Also, the 22mm works well with the 4x Powermate. If you have a fast scope (not sure at what f/ratio the problems begin to arise) and want to use the 22mm T4, you need a coma corrector. At more than $730 for the 22mm and a Paracorr with the tuneable top, this is an expensive combination. Still, the views ARE excellent once you have what you need. The 17mm does not seem to have these problems to the same extent, but I use it with the Paracorr anyway, now that I have one.

Conclusions: Too expensive, not well-corrected at faster f/ratios, requires a Paracorr, Powermates well, stunning widefield views once everything is in place. I'd give it a "6" or "7" if it weren't for the final views attainable. A reluctant "8".

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43545

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
I love my 9mm and 16mm Nagler. I built a new scope and wished to get the field back I lost from the longer focal length from the larger dobs. I ordered the type 4 22mm Nagler. I felt as if I had been ripped off! The edge showed way to much coma, the lens was heavy (I knew when I ordered the thing), and the instajust sucked! It feels as if the thing is about to drop every time I picked it up. With the coma the views are not that great even in an f/5.

I phoned Televue and they suggest getting a Paracorr, what another $280 on something this expensive anyway. Now I here that I get to shell out $280 more, cut my truss polls, and rebalance my scope, just to get a $445 lens to be sharp at the edges! Wow!!! Televue need to heavily advertise this one!

I am doing all the above but I’ll loose some of the field in the extra 15% magnification! Blows the purpose of going to the wide field to start with. I’ll post the results when done. Don’t get this one unless you have a slower than f/5, a Paracorr, or the extra $280 to buy one!

Overall Rating: 3
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43544 

If you see coma, it's almost certainly down to the telescope. I'm not saying that you have a bad primaray, but the coma on an F/4 Newton is HUGE. No eyepiece will correct for that; they have not been designed to do that. A paracorr has.

Good luck,

Marc
TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
I love this eyepiece! Huge FOV! I have used it to pinpoint stars over the entire field with my 12" F10 SCT. Great eyepiece! This is one of my favorite eyepieces! I highly recommend this eyepiece if you have the cash for it, as it is quite expensive.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=195981

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
Tried my new 22mm Nagler last night and could certainly see why people have not be overly impressed. In my f4.5 10" Newt there was a significant amount of coma, even stars in the center of the field did not compress well.

Also had the 20mm Nagler T2 on hand and was anxious to cpmare them given remarks in some circles that the 20mm T2 was better (a classic in fact). In comparing the two eyepieces I did not see a significant improvement viewing through either. The 20mm T2 was sharper on axis, stars compressed better, but its off-axis performance was worse (apparently one of the much talked about trade-offs in eyepiece design). Contrast bewteen the two was very close with a slight edge for the 22mm T4. The object viewed was the Orion Nebula. I used it because it offered nebulosity and stars at the same time.

I agree with a previous review, asking someone to buy a paracorr for an eyepiece that is suppose be design to be sharp in fast scopes (and charging a hefty price for it) is not a real good endorsement of your own handy work.

I own many Televue eyepieces and love them, so this is not Televue bashing, but they really missed the mark with eyepiece. I will be keeping it until I can find another eyepiece in this focal length, with as wide a field.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:7 Value:5
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=55495

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
Awsome eyepiece. It provides jaw dropping views. It is the single most impressive eyepiece I have ever looked through. Even the older 20mm Nagler cannot compare. Excellent contrast, excellent eye relief, excellent edge correction; every thing is just EXCELLENT!

Want to see an awsome sight? Put your Ultrablock or O-III filter on this baby and look at the Orion Nebula. You are in for a treat. I have a 6" Maksutov, and even a C-11 (using an excellent Plossl) could not keep up. Whisps of nebulosity were everywhere. One viewing buddy (who vowed not to by the 22mm) just bought the eyepiece on this view alone.

Everything that you ever heard about the 20mm Nagler just got better. Not just a little bit better, but MUCH better. The new 22mm even weighs about a pound less than the 20mm.

If you can afford it, grab it!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43527

TeleVue Nagler Type 4 22mm
A definite contender for the best overall eyepiece to use with an 8 inch SCT. I love it.Sharp, contrasty, incredible wide views that get you really into the scene. I only marginally prefer the Meade 14mm UWA as absolute best.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=366348

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