Pan optics are very good, but highly priced and bulky. Therefore not good for carrying around the hospital with you all the time.
Regular directs are fine if you know how to use them.
And I personally have a pocket scope, which often times get a bad name. However, I find it to be great right now because I can carry it in my coat at all times and not be too weighted down, and the newer models produce great light and have very good power on just 2 AA bateries. I think the older models of these were not as good. I got mine from Welch Allyn, and now I am very glad I did. About two months after buying it, I dropped it and it stopped functioning. I sent it in to Welch Allyn and they sent me a brand new scope back within~10 days free of charge. GREAT customer service.
It really depends why you are buying the scope. If you are going into neurology and will only use it on patients in clinic, and will not have to see to many hospital patients therefore don't mind carrying it around go for the panoptic. If you are going into internal medicine, I would recommend learning how to use a regular direct and buying either a pocket scope or normal direct so you can have it with you at all times.
Finally, if you are going into ophtho, buy them all and get good with them all 😉 so you know how to use them, however after day 1 of residency you probably won't use it very much as you will be doing SLE/Indirect exams.
Good luck.
