Phil Agins Reviews

I bought this unit to test how good the new T6s really are compared to the all the past Nagler designs. Clearly, Uncle Al has made the move to replace the focal lengths of his classic T1s with an all out assault on eyepiece technology. I had wanted to replace a vintage 9mm T1 so I figured if the 11mm T6 didnt work, no harm no foul. Well, this unit is shockingly good. I use it as a mainstay for medium power in f/5 and f/6 Dobsonians. It misses a 10 due to some mild field curvature out at the very edge next to the field stop and some color on brighter stars, planets and Luna on about 10% of the outer edge. Other than these minor flaws from perfection this unit truly replaces the classic T1s in these shorter focal lengths with better on axis sharpness, contrast and throughput all in a unit about the size and weight of a 30 plossl! In fact, on-axis performance matches my plossls and orthos. Here you have a widefield that gives stunning deep sky views and still can hold its own against the more standard planetary / lunar units. Bravo Uncle Al!

I have owned or used all the Panoptics over the years. These are great units for those of us that cant quite afford the cost or weight of the T4 and T5 Naglers. The 27mm is right along type with good eye relief, flat field (yes, there is pin cushion but it is only noticable when you slew the scope fast across a thick starfield) and only any normal coma present due to fast optics. On axis is very sharp with good contrast and throughput but this is really not a unit designed for planets and lunar. There is no astigmatism, blackouts or kidneybeaning. Eye placement is easy and comfortable. This focal length is actually perfect for f4.5 to f5 scopes as the 22 / 24 units give a little too small a field for true big gulp views and the 35 gives too large an exit pupil. The 27 Pan is a really fine alternative to the 26 Nagler if you cant deal with the size, weight and almost double the cost of the T5 unit!