A Tele Vue 2.5mm Nagler Type 6 in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian gives 480x, a 0.17 degree true field and a 0.4 mm exit pupil. The worked calculation and whether it sits in the useful range.

Updated 05 September 2026.

Eyepiece and telescope pairing

Tele Vue 2.5mm Nagler Type 6 in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian: magnification and field

What the Tele Vue 2.5mm Nagler Type 6 does in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian, worked from the published focal lengths and apparent field.

Field of view

ring = 0.17 degrees true
dot = 0.4 mm exit pupil

Computed optics

Magnification
480x1200 mm / 2.5 mm
True field
0.17 degrees82 deg / 480x
Exit pupil
0.4 mm203 mm / 480x
Max useful mag
about 406x2x aperture
Barrel match
1.25 in eyepiece in a 2 in focuser
No fit

Over-powered. At 480x this pair exceeds the highest useful magnification of about 406x for the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian, so the image dims and softens without showing more real detail. Use a longer eyepiece.


Magnification is the telescope focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length: 1200 mm divided by 2.5 mm is 480x. The true field of view is the eyepiece's 82 degree apparent field divided by that magnification, 0.17 degrees.

The exit pupil, the width of the light beam leaving the eyepiece, is the aperture divided by the magnification, 203 mm over 480x, which is 0.4 mm. That makes this a high-power lunar, planetary and double-star setting.

Questions and answers

Tele Vue 2.5mm Nagler Type 6 in the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian: magnification and field?

Over-powered. At 480x this pair exceeds the highest useful magnification of about 406x for the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian, so the image dims and softens without showing more real detail. Use a longer eyepiece.