alan potts

I always thought the XW was a better eyepiece than the Nagler though for me they are not really the same and I like to try to compare apples with apples, the Delos range and XW's are pretty much the same FOV. Like you John I too only have the 31mm Nagler. I kept almost all my Ethos'sss purely for the 18 inch Dob, which for me is where they shine but you need a paracorr at F4.3 with that range, I off loaded the 3.7mm but have the rest. It is much the same with the 41mm which only ever got light in the LX 200, which has not been used now for 2 years. A lot of it came down to my prostate problem when I was strongly advised not to go out in the cold, as a result I stopped using the scopes across the period Nov 2018 until I was operated on in late Oct last year. Even though I am now fine in most departments I have not pushed myself to get the scopes out, maybe Jupiter will be calling me. Weather has been most un-Bulgarian too. Alan

Indeed, being a TeleVue snob I kept the Delos or whatever it was against but on the 5mm and 3.5mm the XW just edged it but it really was so so close. I tried to be honest. I really must try and push myself away from the Cameras and towards the eyepieces, I have a massive amount of money tied up in the scopes and the eyepieces. The trouble is out here there is not a massive market or many people to buy high end gear, yes the eyepieces I could easily off load to the UK before the end of the year, but 5 scopes not being used is another question and not really shipable items. Alan

Very nice shot, saw it the other night for the first time, evenings have been clouding up around 8pm many times this month. Sadly can't get my scope on it for the obsey roof. Alan

A stunning shot, then when you consider it is taken with just over a meter and this isn't exactly M31 size, even better than stunning. Great capture. Alan

Beautiful capture and as you say rarely done, I've never seen it before. Must find out where it is. Alan

Lovely capture and info Gav, always top draw from you!! Alan

Lovely, better than my last effort with a Zwo 071 and decent scope, though I did only do a fraction of you capture. The colours have come out very well, if I ever get another clear sky ( been rotten this summer) I will have to add to my data. Alan

Nice images and nice report, I am sure some will find it very useful, do like Trevor and his backyard, I have learnt a lot from him. Alan

It is fairly horrible for me here in Bulgaria, last year at this time I was on Clear day 17 for June, this June I have had 1, and I didn't know of the comet back on the 3rd. Alan

I really don't know about that, I have never had my hands on one, though I have seen people on site talk highly of them. Alan

Mine was the 20mm, another fine chunk of glass. I had the 14mm XW a long time ago but actually preferred the Meade 14mm Mk 1 UWA, just to put the cat among the pigeons. I have never tried the 30mm and 40mm XW but for me they really shone at 10mm and below, possible the best 70 degree eyepiece ever to hit the market. And you an I have said many a time, what could Pentax have done if they set out to design an astronomical eyepiece. Alan

We have rather gone away from the point of the thread, which was insulting me I think, but while we are at it I've had all the T4 range and I feel the 22mm is best, I was disappointed with the 12mm, I'm a little surprised they have not dropped the range by now. To touch on Michael's point on the 14mm Delos I think if I recall the 8mm was similar with focus, I had the full range once Doc bought most of them from me after I spent months trying to see differences between the Delos and the Ethos range, stuck with the latter. Alan

It's a fine eyepiece but being a TeleVue snob, I have the Delos, not seen light for a long time as AP seems to take up most of my time, when I have a clear sky, been awful of late, better now. Hope you can understand my reply as I clearly can't write, punctuate or spell. Alan

I am touched that you consider me worthy, I bashed out quite a lot of reviews a few years back when I had contact with the Dealer in Sofia and often borrowed eyepieces, even though I had about 35 at peak and often wrote stuff when I was changing to Televue and still had Meade and other makes. And for the other person, I am most certainly not changing anything, many have complemented me on my style and humour in writing and whilst I am not gifted as a writer it reads fine to me and I put a lot of effort into all of these though accept they are not perfect. Alan

The amount of rain we have had the last few weeks I dare say my CEM 60 is going rusty, Alan

A lovely image as I have come to expect from you, 7 hours on a globular is living up to your name, I do 90mins and think I gave done well, maybe why your images make mine look very second rate. Alan

I had both the Mk 1 and 2 for a while when the Mk2 came out, I only noticed a little difference when using Ethos eyepieces which I imagine were a pipe-dream when the Mk 1 was launched, I do feel the Mk 2 improves stability all round though and is generally the better paracorr but at near on 500 quid, it should be. Alan

I feel it will just be a case of getting use to it seems a huge outlay to buy another dome, they don't exactly come free with Cornflakes. I would try and live with it Darryl. Alan

Great image, well done. Alan

I think it came out very nice, it would be nice to have a clear sky, 6 weeks, terrible here. Alan

A very nice image, 42mins, a mere flash in the plan for you. Wish I could do something, weather is terrible out here, over 5 weeks now without a decent sky. Alan

Very nice shots of all there Martin, considering the quality of the M13 I am a little surprised the propeller did not come out more obvious. Alan

That always was a favourite of yours now even with the more exotic glass added to your collection it's nice to know it still gets out. Getting out in any shape would be nice for me at the moment, weather has been awful for 5 weeks, and more to come. Antares is a tricky one, condition are paramount, I have split it with my M/N 190mm but not smaller, the 18 inch handles it most times at about x120 or so. Alan

That very nice indeed Robin, my half baked effort with nowhere near as much data at the right angle looked like a snail. Alan

Lots on good things one can say about it though nice detail coming through, I am sure someone will help with the other issues, I have had more than my fair share. Alan