TeleVue Radian 12mm

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Brand and Model:TeleVue Radian 12mm
Price ($USD):$240.00
Type:Misc Wide Angle
Focal Length:12 mm
Barrel Size:1.25 in
Apparent FOV:60.0 degrees
Field Stop Dia.:12.6 mm
Eye Relief:20 mm
Elements:6
Weight (lbs):0.6
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
TeleVue Radian 12mm
I puchased this EP for double duty in a 15" f/4.5 Dob for medium to high mag applications and as a medium to wide field piece in a 7.1" f/6.2 Mak-Newt. It does not disappoint in either use. Globular clusters and planetary nebulae are a stunning sight in the Dob. In the Mak-Newt, it's the type of EP you can leave in all night. I have/had the 3mm,5mm,8mm, and the 12mm. The Radian line surprises me with it's light transmission. Considering the number of elements, performance is hardly affected. I like to stay away from barlows, but the recent acquisition of a CCD required one to broaden it's capabilities. This also allowed me to trim down my EP collection. The 12mm Radian behind a 2.5x Powermate is now one of my planetary and lunar EP's. I'm finding it difficult to review this piece, it's just a pleasure to use. Of all the EP's I've owned, I've had more in this f/l than any other. The University Optics Ortho, Celestron Ultima, Vizen Lanthanum, and Intes-Micro WA(in that order) are all good, but there is no close second. The Radian costs twice as much as most of the others. This is one of those cases where it's definitely worth it. The Radian gives you a feeling of "connection" that you don't get from the UO(an excellent performer!) When money is an issue, get the UO, a TV Plossl, or Ultima, depending on your budget. When your wallet allows, get the Radian!

Clear skies,
Mark Rieck
Chino Valley,AZ

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 16 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43986

TeleVue Radian 12mm
Optics: Crisp image with no color or distortion across just over 1 radian of FOV. Light weight. Comfortable eye relief. Coatings are very dark with no reflections, even on bright objects. The field lens (bottom of eyepiece) is so well coated that I had to look twice to discern whether there was a lens at all... No kidney-beaning if you use the eyeshield to position your eye.

All Radians have a flange on the side that lifts the lens in the focuser so that all eyepieces are parfocal--they come to focus at the same focusser position. Wouldn't it be nice if this were standard across all lenses from all manufacturers?

The "gimmicky" thing about these lenses is the adjustable eye shield with an insert to center the pupil. At first, I thought that it was unnecessary, but now I think that it is a pretty good idea. The 7-position eye shield allows you to consistently position your eye at the perfect distance from the eye lens to maximize FOV and sharpness. The insert is a plastic ring with a hole in the middle that is 1/3 the diameter of the whole eye cup. It is meant to help inexperienced observers find the exit pupil, but (as a moderately experienced observer) I find that it is very helpful for finding a very small exit pupil in a very large eye lens. A big bonus is that the eye ring makes it really hard for someone to put a thumbprint on the lense--you would have to reach waaay inside the eye shield to touch the lens.

I guess that the best thing about these lenses is the way that they combine comfort with sharpness. All of the high power lenses that I have tried have had a tiny eye lens and short eye relief (I have not tried a Vixen lanthanum). The eye lens for the Radian is large (14mm?) and the top of the eyepiece is identical across the entire range of focal lengths (only the length of the lens changes). The eye relief is a very generous 20mm.

Construction: Like all Televue products, the eyepiece is so well constructed that you just want to hold it.

Drawbacks: I wish that the eyeshield action was a little bit firmer.

Value: Would be a 10, but these eyepieces are very expensive ($180 on astromart, $240 from dealers).

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:9
Weight: 12 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=135118

TeleVue Radian 12mm
Good contrast, great eye relief, really nice FoV.
It is a little over priced but still a really nice eyepiece.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:8 Value:6
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=135665

TeleVue Radian 12mm
About as good as a 12mm wide filed eyepiece can get. Excellent sharpness and contrast across a 60* field. Some yellow color at the extreme edge of the field as in every other Radian I have observed with but since I always observe in the center of the field, this is not an issue. The Radians have some of the best "eyegonomics" of any eyepiece available and are extremely user-friendly. That's why I find myself using my Radians more often than any other eyepieces in my "arsenal".

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43984

TeleVue Radian 12mm
excellent eyepiece with great contrast and sharpness. Relatively narrow FOV is not a problem when coming to this lens from longer focal length Panoptics and Naglers because of the sense you have of focusing in, on going to higher magnification eyepieces. In fact, you should almost expect a narrowing FOV.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43985

TeleVue Radian 12mm
I've had both Meade and Televue SP's over my 3 years of observing, and was always quite satisfied with their performance. Until now. The 12mm Televue Radian has raised the bar. This eyepiece is incredibly sharp across the field and has excellent eye relief. The adjustable eye cup makes eye location quick and accurate. The field of view is noticeably wider that my 15MM Meade SP, even though it provides more magnification for my 10" Dob (127x vs 101x). I am very, very pleased.
Rick Miller
sirius606@aol.com

P.S. Hoping Santa brings me a 4 or 5mm Radian for Christmas. Listening Santa?

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43983

TeleVue Radian 12mm
Fantastic eye piece!! Sharp to the edge and with the adjustable shield, you can easily adjust for people with glasses or without. Also there is an eye centering ring that you can use. I use it for public star parties as it protects the eye piece from fingerprints and other thing kids can do.
Wish they would make some above 18 mm as I would definetly buy them!! Also with the Radian line higher mag eye pieces, I have no need for my 2X barlow as the views are so much better.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43982

TeleVue Radian 12mm
Extremely high quality views in my C11 SCT (gives 233x). In 17 years, after 4 scopes and some 21 eyepieces, I have never seen a result as good as this. Perfect focus is very easy to achieve. Detail and contrast are very high. No artifacts or ghosting were noted, even on bright objects. The view is completely sharp to the edge, and the field of view is comfortably wide. This is the first eyepiece I have EVER used that I was able to enjoy an exquisite view with or without my eyeglasses, and I have a bad case of astigmatism! My best medium-power eyepiece purchase, ever.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43981

TeleVue Radian 12mm
Yep, it's a keeper alright. I just purchased this eyepiece and was impressed by what I saw. Perfect planetary eyepiece for my Tak FS102. Great eye relief, good field of view and light in weight. Excellent all-around eyepiece.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=107824

TeleVue Radian 12mm
What can one say after they look through this eyepiece? I know! All my other eyepieces will be slowly changed to Radians!!!!!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43987

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