Product Description
An excellent premium-quality medium power wide field eyepiece. The calculator below will let you see just how wide the field will be with your particular scope. For example, it will give you about a 1.13 degree field at 60x with a 10" f/4.5 Dobsonian. This will give you almost four and a half minutes with such a scope to observe an object as it drifts from one side of the eyepiece's flat field to the other. That's plenty of time for multiple observers to look at the object or for you to absorb as much detail as possible before having to reposition the scope. While it's particularly well-suited for use with Dobsonian scopes, it can provide "picture window onto space" images with any telescope type. It uses an ED glass element for high contrast, making it an excellent choice for resolving globular clusters, planetary nebulas, etc. The 19mm Panoptic would be a welcome addition to any serious deep space observer's eyepiece collection.
The 19mm Panoptic is a little short on eye relief at 10mm, so observers who must wear eyeglasses might want to consider the long 20mm eye relief of the 18mm TeleVue Radian instead. While the Radian has a narrower apparent field of view, its longer eye relief will not cut off the edges of the image for eyeglass wearers as the 19mm Panoptic will, giving you a wider usable actual field. If you don't wear glasses, the 19mm Panoptic will give you almost a third more observable sky area than the 18mm Radian with any telescope.
Tech Details
| Barrel Size | 1.25" |
|---|---|
| Eye Relief | 10mm |
| Field of view | 68 |
| Focal Length | 19mm |
| Number of optical elements | 6 |
| Weight | 7 oz |
| Warranty | Limited Lifetime |
Reviews
Review by: Steven
Perfect eyepiece for short focal length OTA. I use it in my vintage Comet Catcher and it is a great eyepiece for my Celestron C5! (Posted on 10/22/2019)
Review by: Robert
I have had this eyepiece for 20 years in my box!. It is sharp edge to edge with great field stop and wonderful contrast. I often pair it with a barlow on 8" SC for Planetary viewing at med power. The light weight nature of the eyepiece prevents balance issues or the dreaded (dob moved when I removed the eyepiece)... I have a 17mm OU Konig that I have compared it to thru the years but that eyepiece does not keep up on the F5 dob that I have (mostly in the outer edge) . 68 degrees is enough field of view to really feel you are looking out of a window in space....
(Posted on 1/7/2019)
(Posted on 1/7/2019)
Review by: Tom
I have used this EP for many years in my 10" dobsonian. It remains one of my favorite eyepieces to find DSOs and for viewing larger DSOs. Wide FOV that is crisp out to the edge of field. Highly recommended. (Posted on 12/26/2018)
Review by: DaveM
I've used a 19mm Tele Vue Panoptic in a variety of telescopes with excellent results for many years. This eyepiece delivers very sharp and well-corrected views and works well in a binoviewer. You just can't go wrong with the 19mm Panoptic. (Posted on 12/25/2018)
Review by: Mitch
This has been the eyepiece I have used most frequently with my Nexstar 8SE. It offers an excellent combination of eye relief and sharpness across a wide field. It also yields a darker background in my light polluted skies than my other eyepieces of similar focal length. It was nice to get confirmation of this opinion from the authors of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide in which they praise Panoptics in general and say that the 19mm yields a near optimal 2mm exit pupil with a C8 and was the eyepiece they used most frequently with theirs. (Posted on 12/2/2018)
Review by: David
I love my 19mm Panoptic. It's my best eyepiece, and the one I go to time and again. I have others I like, but the 19mm is the one I return to. Wonderful field of view, and oh so clear. (Posted on 11/25/2018)
Review by: Denis Williamson
I got a 19mm Panoptic about 2 years ago to replace a 20mm Plossl. The Panoptic's 68 deg. field is helpful not only for the larger field of view but because it makes it easier to locate an object which might be at the edge of the field. (Hey, even a go-to scope may not go exactly to the object.)
What I like: crisp & sharp image, wider field than a Plossl. It's also well made, has ribs that are easy to grip with gloves, and is reasonably priced.
What I don't like: Can't think of anything.
Summary: Excellent performance and usability for the price. Yes, an 80 or 110 degree field would be nice, but you can get a couple of quality eyepieces for what one of those would cost. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
What I like: crisp & sharp image, wider field than a Plossl. It's also well made, has ribs that are easy to grip with gloves, and is reasonably priced.
What I don't like: Can't think of anything.
Summary: Excellent performance and usability for the price. Yes, an 80 or 110 degree field would be nice, but you can get a couple of quality eyepieces for what one of those would cost. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by: Jay Piper
Moderate sized eyepiece with wide view that works well with all the scopes I use:
nice sharp edged scanner for small refractor to sweep milky way
nice low-mid power for larger DSO like double cluster or Orion's sword in 6-inch f/5 reflector or 4-inch f/10 refractor. Crescent moon views are also very nice with 1000mm focal length scope.
mid-power eyepiece for SCT; the 19 Pan exceeds a much-used older 20mm plossl with slightly more magnification and noticeably wider field, and views seem better overall.
Works well at f/5 and f/6; that's something not all the half-dozen "classic" and lower-cost 15-20mm eyepieces I tried out over the years could do. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
nice sharp edged scanner for small refractor to sweep milky way
nice low-mid power for larger DSO like double cluster or Orion's sword in 6-inch f/5 reflector or 4-inch f/10 refractor. Crescent moon views are also very nice with 1000mm focal length scope.
mid-power eyepiece for SCT; the 19 Pan exceeds a much-used older 20mm plossl with slightly more magnification and noticeably wider field, and views seem better overall.
Works well at f/5 and f/6; that's something not all the half-dozen "classic" and lower-cost 15-20mm eyepieces I tried out over the years could do. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by: Charles Engelsher
19mm Panoptic (purchased from Astronomics)
The primary "Low Power" EP on my 105mm f/7 triplet refractor. This yields a generous 1.76 degree FOV, and at 39X a decent sky-darkening effect so necessary at my suburban light-polluted site. The sharp edge to edge medium-wide field is great for views of extended objects, with the power sufficient to detect smaller fainter objects such as planetaries. The 1.25" lightweight barrel is convenient when switching out to higher powers. I've used many EP's in a variety of scopes over the years and highly recommend this as a fine "go-to" EP for anyone with a similar setup. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
The primary "Low Power" EP on my 105mm f/7 triplet refractor. This yields a generous 1.76 degree FOV, and at 39X a decent sky-darkening effect so necessary at my suburban light-polluted site. The sharp edge to edge medium-wide field is great for views of extended objects, with the power sufficient to detect smaller fainter objects such as planetaries. The 1.25" lightweight barrel is convenient when switching out to higher powers. I've used many EP's in a variety of scopes over the years and highly recommend this as a fine "go-to" EP for anyone with a similar setup. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
Review by: Tom Christensen
This is my favorite medium power eyepiece in my collection. Image is superb edge to edge. Some slight lateral color is noted on bright objects such as the moon, but still very good compared to other eyepieces in this range. Overall, highly recommend the 19mm panoptic to anyone looking in this category EP. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
