Tele Vue

Tele Vue Nagler 13mm Type 6

The workhorse Nagler: a full 82 degree field at medium power in a compact 1.25 inch body, the one eyepiece most deep-sky observers reach for first.

91/ 100

Polaris Score

Optical quality · Immersion · Comfort · Value

See the breakdown ↓

What it's for

Low power · wide fieldHigh power · narrow field

This is a medium-power, wide-field eyepiece, the workhorse magnification where most deep-sky objects look their best: globulars resolving into stars, galaxies showing shape, planetary nebulae holding a disc. It is not your finder eyepiece, and not your highest-power planetary glass, it is the one in between that you use most.

Apparent Field

82°

Barrel Size

1.25"

Eye Relief

12mm

Focal Length

13mm

From$381

Lowest in 90 days

Price tracked by PolarisObserved 44 timesTracking since Jul 2026

Try in simulator →

Where to buy

Agena AstroProductsPartnerBest price$381→Astronomics$381→Starizona$381→

Verified just now · prices tracked daily

The spacewalk

You don’t look at a field.
You look into the sky.

Every number on the spec sheet matters less than one feeling: how much sky wraps around your eye. Widen the apparent field and watch the black edge of the eyepiece slip away.

82° apparent field

At 82°, the edge slips into your peripheral vision — you stop looking at a field and start looking into the sky.

See this field in your own scope in the Simulator →

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

Best at

✓It is the magnification most deep-sky objects look best at, so it earns more eyepiece time than anything else in the case.

✓Stars stay pinpoint across the whole 82 degree field even at f/5, the hard engineering problem of a fast scope, quietly solved.

✓It carries the full Nagler experience in a small, light 1.25 inch body, no 2 inch focuser and no rebalancing required.

Trade-offs

!Eye relief is a modest 12mm, comfortable for most observers but tight if you must keep glasses on.

!At 82 degrees it is wide, but not the 100 degree wraparound of an Ethos, the edge is present if you look for it.

!It is medium power by design, neither your widest finder view nor your highest planetary magnification, you will still want eyepieces on either side of it.

02In your telescope

One eyepiece. A different job in every scope.

An eyepiece has no magnification of its own — the telescope decides. The same eyepiece becomes 37× and 2.2° of sky in a little refractor, or 156× and a tight frame in a long SCT. Here’s what it does across common scopes.

Small apo refractor

480 mm · f/5.5

Magnification

37×

True field

2.2°

Exit pupil

2.4 mm

In a short f/5.5 apo it runs about 37x across a 2.2 degree field, a wide, bright, medium-low view that frames large open clusters whole.

8-inch Dobsonian

1200 mm · f/6

Magnification

92×

True field

53′

Exit pupil

2.2 mm

In a 1200mm f/6 Dob it hits its stride near 92x, the deep-sky sweet spot where globulars resolve to stars and galaxies show real shape.

12-inch Dobsonian

1500 mm · f/5

Magnification

115×

True field

43′

Exit pupil

2.6 mm

In a 1500mm f/5 Dob it climbs to about 115x on a still-bright 2.6mm exit pupil, tightening onto smaller galaxies and planetary nebulae.

8-inch SCT

2032 mm · f/10

Magnification

156×

True field

32′

Exit pupil

1.3 mm

On a 2032mm f/10 SCT it reaches roughly 156x, real planetary and lunar power with 82 degrees of sky wrapped around the view.

Exit pupil is how wide the beam of light leaving the eyepiece is. Around 5–6 mm is bright and immersive under dark skies; push much past 6 mm and you waste light, and under light pollution a smaller exit pupil shows more contrast.

02In plain English

The numbers, in plain English.

82 degree apparent fieldThe Nagler signature

Immersive

As wide as apparent fields get before the rare, far pricier 100 degree class, the black edge sits well out in your peripheral vision.

13mm focal lengthMedium power

The workhorse

The magnification most deep-sky objects look their best at, the eyepiece that ends up living in your focuser.

12mm eye reliefWorkable, not relaxed

Adequate

Comfortable for observing bare-eyed, but tight if you need to keep glasses on for astigmatism.

1.25 inch barrelFits every scope

Universal fit

Drops into any focuser or diagonal, no 2 inch adapter and no rebalancing the scope.

360 g / compactTravel-friendly

Light

A fraction of the weight of a big 2 inch eyepiece, your focuser and your grab-bag both thank you.

03What comes alive

The targets this eyepiece was born for.

Comes alive

M13 Hercules Cluster

At medium power the outer stars resolve into a sparkling ball, framed in a wide dark field with room to spare.

Comes alive

Ring Nebula (M57)

The smoke ring holds a clean disc at this magnification, bright and obvious against a black 82 degree surround.

Excellent

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Both cores in one view, and on a dark night the bridge of light between them starts to show.

Excellent

Jupiter

In a longer scope this reaches real planetary power, the belts and the dance of the moons sharp and steady.

Comes alive

Orion Nebula (M42)

The Trapezium sits crisp in the glowing wings, the whole core framed with the surrounding nebulosity around it.

Excellent

Double Cluster

Both clusters together at medium power, hundreds of stars scattered across a wide, richly framed field.

04Role in a collection

Where it sits in your eyepiece case.

A good eyepiece collection isn’t a pile of glass — it’s two or three focal lengths that hand off from wide to tight. This is the anchor at the bottom of the ladder: the one you find and frame with. You buy it once, and it stays your low-power eyepiece for life.

32 mm

Low power · wide field

Find, frame and sweep. Your widest true field and the lowest useful magnification — the eyepiece you reach for first.

Veil Nebula · Pleiades · Milky Way star clouds

13 mmThis one

Medium power · the workhorse

Where most deep-sky objects look their best — galaxies, globulars and planetary nebulae at a comfortable scale.

M13 · Ring Nebula · most galaxies

7 mm

High power · detail

Planets, the Moon at the terminator, tight double stars and the smallest planetary nebulae. Steady-air nights only.

Jupiter · Saturn · lunar craters

04Build around it

What it pairs with.

The telescope

What it goes into

Fast Dobsonian · f/4–f/6

Its natural home, medium power on deep-sky with pinpoint stars to the edge

Apo refractor · f/5–f/7

A wide, sharp medium-low view for framing large clusters and nebulae

8–11″ SCT

Turns the long focal length into genuine planetary and lunar magnification

Pair it

What extends its range

A low-power 2″ eyepiece

The wide finder view this medium-power glass is not meant to give

A short Nagler or Delos

The high-power planetary step above, parfocal and matched in feel

Tele Vue Paracorr Type-2

At f/5 and faster, keeps the fast-scope field sharp corner to corner

Filter it

What transforms the view

OIII filter

On the Ring and planetary nebulae, lifts the disc out of the background sky

UHC filter

Broad nebula boost for M42 and emission targets without killing the star field

Moon filter

Tames the glare when this eyepiece is running at lunar power in a longer scope

02The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

91/ 100

Tele Vue Nagler 13mm Type 6

Judged on what it was built to do, deliver the whole Nagler experience at a working magnification without the bulk of a 2 inch eyepiece, it lands almost perfectly. The optics are flawless to the edge even in a fast scope, and only the modest eye relief keeps it from a clean sweep.

Optical quality

Immersion

Comfort

Value

Polaris weighs how well the eyepiece does the job it was designed for — optics, immersion, comfort and value — never list price or brand.

03Who it's for

An honest fit check.

Buy it if you

✓You own a fast Newtonian, Dob, or refractor and want a medium-power eyepiece that stays razor sharp to the very edge.

✓You observe deep-sky objects and want the target framed in a wide, dark field rather than pinned in a narrow tunnel.

✓You want one do-everything eyepiece that handles galaxies, globulars, and bright planets from a single 1.25 inch barrel.

✓You value a compact, lightweight body that will not rebalance your scope or demand a 2 inch focuser.

Look elsewhere if you

!You wear glasses at the eyepiece and cannot observe without them, the 12mm eye relief is workable but not relaxed.

!You want the widest possible true field for sweeping the Milky Way, a low-power 2 inch eyepiece frames far more sky.

!You chase the last bit of planetary detail on steady nights, a dedicated short focal length delivers more magnification.

!You are on a tight budget, the optics are worth it but a good 68 degree eyepiece costs a fraction and still pleases.

05The numbers

Full specifications.

Optical

Focal Length13mm

Apparent Field82°

Comfort & handling

Eye Relief12mm

Fit & build

Barrel Size1.25"

Editor’s Take

This is the focal length that made the Type 6 line famous, wide enough to frame, sharp enough to study, light enough that your scope never notices it is there. For most observers it becomes the eyepiece that lives in the focuser.

— The Skynocular verdict

06Alternatives

For a different goal, start here.

More power

Tele Vue Nagler 9mm Type 6

The same 82 degree body a step up in magnification, for smaller galaxies, tight doubles, and more planetary detail.

More eye relief

Tele Vue Delos 12mm

A slightly narrower 72 degree field but a luxurious 20mm eye relief, the pick if you observe with glasses on.

More immersion

Tele Vue Ethos 13mm

The same focal length at 100 degrees, grander wraparound still, if you can carry and afford the extra glass.

→

Tele Vue Nagler 13mm Type 6

You don’t look at a field.You look into the sky.

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

One eyepiece. A different job in every scope.

The numbers, in plain English.

The targets this eyepiece was born for.

Where it sits in your eyepiece case.

What it pairs with.

How it scores, and why.

An honest fit check.

Full specifications.

For a different goal, start here.

You don’t look at a field.
You look into the sky.