Hi all
I have gone and done it. Looked through an Ethos and, well you get it. (Thanks a LOT Kef9 / Gaz )
I am considering my next eyepiece choices and here's my dilemma:

I am keeping my 3-6mm zoom and 24mm / 35mm Panoptic so it's the medium range I am thinking about.

I have a 14mm and a 18mm Radian in this category but was considering filling the gap between the zoom and the 14mm with a 7mm Nagler, an 8mm Radian and a 9mm Nagler (I think mags are best tighter packed at this end).

For the used cost of these three I could probably get a used Ethos 8mm.

For the medium magnification I was considering selling the Radians and buying T4 12mm and 17mm Nagler but again for the addition cost of maybe £150 above the Radians I might be able to find a used Ethos 13mm.

I may go for the 8mm first and see how I get on with it.

Can anyone with experience of the Ethos line recommend the best course please?

Cheers

This is why I daren't look through an ethos lol

You really want EPs a mm apart, 7, 8 and 9? I'm amazed. I'd be happy to let an 8 Ethos do all that.
I have only used borrowed Ethoses (Ethi?) but they are overwhelmingly better than anything else I have looked through including closely matched TVs from other parts of their range.
Olly

cheers guys.
I think you are right Olly - I am probably being 'collectively obsessive' re the shorter FLs and it's not needed. I am probably convinced. I'll see how I get on with just the 8mm TMB I have and if the mags work out OK for a while I'll take the plunge with the 8mm (if I can find a used one).

Shane,

I have the 17mm and 6mm Ethos EP's. In between I have a 12mm Nagler.
On reflection with the powermates I have, having a 12mm Nagler which can PM to 6mm or 3mm, as well as a 6mm Ethos and a 6mm-3mm Zoom is a fair amount of redundancy around the 6mm mark. An 8mm Ethos would probably make more sense, or maybe even a 10mm.

That said, Globular clusters through the 6mm are simply stunning!

Good luck with your choices.

Cheers
Stuart

The one of the great things about the Ethos is that if can replace a number of eyepieces as Olly says. I have the 13mm and that replaced 13mm and 16mm Naglers and frankly I'm not using my 20mm Nagler much as I tend to find myself skipping straight to my 31mm Nagler.

So while they are very expensive, the cost is offset a bit by the fact that you need less eyepieces - or so I tell my wife !.

If I go for another Ethos it would probably be the 6mm which would replace my 7mm and 9mm Naglers (and the 5mm Nagler would probably not get used much either).

Incidentally, the only eyepiece I've used that matched the Ethos in all but FoV was a Pentax XW10mm.

I am just getting into TV Plossl's, but would love to look through some high end TV eyepieces.

What would be next after the Plossl's, should I look at Radians or Panoptics next?

I'd buy the best you can afford with what you are willing to spend, otherwise you'll just end up buying twice (or thrice!).

I have a 41mm Panoptic and it is fabulous for low power, wide field.
I have never tried a Radian as i have Ethos or Naglers at the same kinds of focal length.

I would work down from Ethos, Nagler, Panoptic, Radian, Plossl getting the focal length you need in the best format you can.

If you can get to a club or a star party and try a few out first that would be even better, also keep an eye out for second hand ones. Televue are never really cheap, but you can save a few £££

Regards
Stuart

I think I shall be upgrading from a TV Barlow to a TV Powermate next. I do love the quality of the Televue products though.

I have now cleared out all my old eyepieces. Is it me or does everyone buy low end items when they start out?

I looked through a 13E at SSP and I found it was a bit awkward and my eyes couldn't encompass the while FOV.

I also tried a 30mm Pentax XW and I loved it staraight away, it was simply awesome.

But I have settled on Uwans and at 82° I think they are great.

I think most of us do that - when you are starting out you don't really know what you need or what your "tastes" are so it's probably best to be a bit cautious - "buy in haste, repent at leisure" as the saying goes

One thing that is important though I feel, with all the talk of premium equipment, is that we remember that you can have a lot of fun at astronomy without spending £'s. I enjoyed the hobby just as much when I had a motley collection of old kellners and plossls as I do now with a box of Al Naglers toys

I think the funniest thing is when you say to yourself:

"Right that's it I have everything I need, I am not going to buy anything else".

Yeah right, you always upgrade or something new comes out.

If you're going to be using this with your big dob, won't you want an MPCC too?

I have reduced my number of EPs to what I believe I will actually use. I certainly don't believe you need too many EPs. In fact my main used EPs are the 8mm and 13mm Ethos the latter being the best EP that I have ever experienced. I have a 26mm Nagler for wide field and although I have a 22mm Panoptics its not really being use. For my high magnification I have the 5mm Nagler.

Moonshane if you are keeping the Nagler 3-6 Zoom and the 24mm and 35mm Panoptic I would just buy the 13mm Ethos and sell you surplus to fund it. In the future you might also decide on the 8mm Ethos which I can confirm is brilliant in both my Dob and 4" APO frac.

Mark

cheers everyone - what a top class bunch.
Mark, as it happens I have taken your advice before you gave it! just by coincidence (or rather I started searching) I found a 13mm Ethos which is for sale just near me (about 10 miles away) and it still is. I dropped lucky as he is willing to take my two Radians in part exchange as he was going to buy something like them anyway and at the sort of price I was after - £100 each. Therefore I will shortly get a mint in the box 13mm Ethos for a further £150!
I reckon I'll still like the 8mm eventually but I have a TMB at that size to keep me going for now. I can always sell that in due course. I'll see how I get on with the 13mm first.
I should be able to get it from him mid August - cannot wait.
I see what Mick is saying about the field stop but for me if all you can see is stars then it's not bad.

At f5.3 I am hoping that I won't need a coma corrector but in truth I reckon that the coma might be out of view a lot of the time anyhow unless you look for it 'round the corner' of the eyepiece?? anyone agree with this?
thanks again everyone.

Congratulations on getting the 13mm Ethos

I've not found the need for a coma corrector in my f/4.6 dob as any coma is so minor it's not a problem and I can just ignore it.

John

Not managed to use my new 13mm Ethos as yet, I doubt even it can make the clouds look amazing!
Doc

Hi Dan
from the comments of various people I get the impression that the Ethi are a bit special but in general I have found that all TV eyepieces are equally superb, they just have different features. I genuinely love the Radians and they are extremely sharp eyepieces. I actually preferred them to the Naglers I tried recently as they are so comfortable - although the 20mm Nagler than Mike brought was also beautiful and very easy to use. I also really like the 68 degree field of the Panoptics as again they feel so comfortable. BUT when I looked through the Ethos, although I really only did for a few seconds (I tried to resist altogether but really felt I should look - a bit like when a dollybird's skirt flies up in the wind - you get what I mean) it was just awesome, really very surprisingly different to anything else I have ever tried. If you get a chance try it and you'll see what I mean. I am not sure they are five or six times better than a plossl but they are superb based on my very limited experience.
the best thing for me in buying used TV (or other great brands) is that if you don't get on with them for some reason, you can sell them again for not much less than you paid if you buy right and look after them.

cheers John - good news!
by the way, I see you can buy a 'skirt' for the dual barrel Ethi. does anyone know - is it worth getting and does it just screw into the end of the 2" bit?

After reading this I don't think I should look through one, otherwise I may end up buying a couple.

I wouldn't (oops - I did!).

The 2" extension barrel just screws onto the bottom of the 2" barrel on the Ethos eyepiece. You can also use a Baader Hyperion Tuning Ring which is a lot cheaper but works just as well. It's really only of use for using 2" filters on the eyepiece.

John

I looked into the TV barrel extension for my Ethos 13 but the Hyperion tuning ring approach works just as well and is a LOT less expensive

I use the 28mm, the 14mm being just a tiny bit too short.

I viewed a 17mm through an 11" SCT and I was impressed. I would dearly love to have a look through a large f/5 dob.

Saying all that I don't think I will be buying one any time soon.