TeleVue Delos 6mm

[Revs]

Having had a couple of nights out with the Delos I thought it was about time I shared my thoughts. The Delos doesn't disappoint

I was lucky enough to get first light with the Delos on the day it came, last Thursday. I got in at about 10:30 and was out with the Dob by 11. Patchy clouds with average seeing but really good visibility for urban skies and moments of good seeing. In this test I started with the 22T4, on to the 12T4 and then the Delos before finally doing a comparison with the Delos, barlowed 12T4 and barlowed 12.5 BGO on Jupiter.

Vega was straight up so M57 was the first stop. The 22 got me somewhere near, the 12 lined up nicely, sky looking pretty dark and M57 showing nicely. Then to the Delos, not really knowing what to expect. As I got myself lined up at the EP and brought the image in to focus, the first thing I noticed was the contrast, which was very good. As I fine tuned it became obvious that seeing was the limiting factor, but so far so good. On to the next target.

Not far away was one of my faves; the double cluster NGC 869 & NGC 884. This is an awesome target for the 12 & 22, though both show coma away from the centre of FOV as you would expect in an f4.8 without a corrector. A popped the Delos in an could see there were now enough stars in the FOV to start to really analyse the EP. Again the excellent contrast is the first thing that is evident and although limited by seeing, it was clear that the view was totally consistent from edge to edge. Equally sharp and no fringing at all. Also it became evident just how efficient the optics were as the stars were considerably brighter than I'd seen before at such magnification, but the 6 was I bit tight for such a wide target, so time to move on again.

By this time Jupiter was at a decent altitude so I panned across to him with high anticipation. Straight to the 12 and then to the Delos. Again, contrast was really impressive, followed by the thought; wow, that's really bright! I popped in the Baader Neo filter and tried again. A lot easier on the eye but still surprisingly bright. I then tried an ND96 in addition to the Neo, resulting in a good brightness, but ND is a cheap-o filter, so in the interests of testing I settled on just the Neo filter and dug out the Ultima and BGO12.5 to start some comparisons.

Delos vs 12T4 + Ultima (giving same mag): With the changeable seeing it was hard to come to a definite conclusion, but both showed nice detail with the GRS showing, some nice detail in the bands and other areas in fleeting moments of good seeing. Detail wise the Delos just had the edge, but in the brightness and contrast departments the Delos clearly better. Not leagues ahead but enough to easily choose a winner.

Delos vs BGO12.5 + Ultima (almost same mag): This was always going to be the real test. I love the BGO's for their ability to pick out all the detail that seeing allows and it barlows very well, but the Delos give it a run for it's money. It was almost impossible to pick between them, both showing huge detail in moments of good seeing. If I was to pick a winner I'd say the BGO just, and I mean just, had the edge. Contrast was comparable, which was a shock as BGO really do take some beating in this department, too. But due to the Delos' far wider FOV I could see four moons which nicely added to what was a very pleasurable view. Just before the clouds rolled in and while studying Ganymede, which was very clearly round and not just a star-like dot, I noticed another point of light which I could only see with averted vision. I found out after checking that this was Amalthea, which I'd never seen before. At not point during testing did I notice any colour fringing.

Comfort is what really won me over though. The Delos has great eye relief which is a must if you wear specs like me. Once I'd set the sliding part to the right spacing it was easy to keep my eye in the best position. Too far off to the side and some ghosting crept in but this was not a problem.

If I had to sum up the Delos in one sentence I'd describe it as a being like a 72* FOV BGO with huge eye relief. Everything you'd want from a short EP and at a reasonable price. I can't recommend it enough

[cgarry]

Excellent review. Out of interest, where did you buy your Delos from?

Cheers,

Chris

[Revs]

Cheers I get almost all my bits from Bern cos he's always look after me

[Revs]

BTW if anyone at PSP2011 wants to try it out it their own scope I'd be happy to oblige

[Damo636]

Excellent review Paul. It sounds like TV have created a real winner with the Delos.

[spaceboy]

BTW if anyone at PSP2011 wants to try it out it their own scope I'd be happy to oblige

YES PLEASE :D:D

This is the review I have been long awaiting. Great write up Revs and I look forward to seeing the Delos at PSP.

[John]

Excellent review and good to see the Delos up against some stiff competition - that really helps to illustrate what it can deliver. A 72 degree BGO with long eye relief sounds a fantastic combination. More money in the bank for the Nalger's I reckon

[Revs]

Cheers John. Before I received the EP I read a review of the Delos on the web. I can't remember who wrote it, but the author said there's something about the Delos which makes it particularly pleasurable to use, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. I've godda say I know what he means. There's not one particular thing that jumps out, but it's somehow just easy to get on with.

I keep finding myself popping the cap off to look at the eye-lens It's so lovely, big and shiny!

[Coco]

Cheers John. Before I received the EP I read a review of the Delos on the web. I can't remember who wrote it, but the author said there's something about the Delos which makes it particularly pleasurable to use, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. I've godda say I know what he means. There's not one particular thing that jumps out, but it's somehow just easy to get on with.

I keep finding myself popping the cap off to look at the eye-lens It's so lovely, big and shiny!

Its probably an overall feeling of wealth and prosperity in these glum times, collect anymore and you could open a bowling ally

Lovely write up BTW

[swamp thing]

I keep finding myself popping the cap off to look at the eye-lens It's so lovely, big and shiny!

So would I Mmmmmeye lens

Lovely biscuits.

Regards Steve

[Moonshane]

great report. apart from all the good things about it, I suspect that the feelgood factor is related to the fact that you can (presumably) easily see the field stop compared with say an Ethos or Nagler (though not a T4).

I have found that I much prefer to see the field stop when observing and feel slightly frustrated when I cannot.

[Revs]

Interesting point bud. Yes the field stop is nice and wide but very much visible and if you get too close (greedy ) it starts to black out, but that was expected with 20mm eye relief. But honestly, it is very good.

I think something worth conceding is that I'm not overly experienced, in that I've only been scoping for just over a year now. In that time I've bought and sold a few EP's of various types and in that time I haven't used a short EP that has this combination of contrast and FOV.

Yes, the BGO has the detail and contrast, but not the FOV or ER. Others (Hyperion's, Meade's, etc) that I've used had the FOV, ER and decent detail, but nothing like the contrast, which in turn brings out more detail.

As always, if you can, try first. As I said the offer is open at PSP. I just had bit saved and took a confident gamble, which I think paid off

As for value.. Bern told me early on that once you get past £150 you get a lot less gain for a lot more money, which is true. So once you start getting in to the £200+ range, value is a matter of opinion. I was looking for a 'keeper' and luckily I found it.

[Moonshane]

hi Paul

totally agree with all you say. look forward to meeting at PSP!. get some Delos use in now if you can as I suspect you'll not have it much at PSP.

I'll stick with my 6-3mm Nagler zoom

[Revs]

I was just thinking about that actually

I look forward to a side-by-side with a Nagler 5 or 7mm if I get the chance. Or something similar.

[Moonshane]

my mate has a 6mm Ethos if he comes along.

[Revs]

That would be great

[stev74]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

If I had to sum up the Delos in one sentence I'd describe it as a being like a 72* FOV BGO with huge eye relief.

Food for thought, I love my 6mm BGO but the Delos ticks even more boxes...... must..... resist!!

[John]

I look forward to a side-by-side with a Nagler 5 or 7mm if I get the chance. Or something similar.

A Pentax XW 7mm would make an interesting comparison. The XW 10mm was, to me, very Ethos-like but with less FoV and more eyerelief. The XW's also have those lovely large eye lenses

Given the price point that the Delos is pitched at the XW's seem the most obvious competition to me.

[4lefts]

thanks for this review - i've been thinking about a "premium" ep around this focal length for a while. this one is going on the shortlist for when i find a couple of hundred quid down the back of the sofa.

[Damo636]

I just sold my 6mm BGO (and will probably regret doing so) as i was getting increasingly frustrated with the eye relief and the narrow fov. In saying that though it was the sharpest ep i have ever looked through bar none. I have replaced it with a used 6mm Radian as a bit of a trial to see how i get on with it (it seems to get mixed reviews) I'm glad i hadn't seen this thread beforehand though, the 72* fov BGO with huge eye relief comment would probably have enticed the old mastercard back out of the wallet

[MatthewC]

Great review Paul. I almost bought the 10mm about a month ago but went with a Nagler when i was informed the Delos was out of stock. I would def consider the 6mm now after reading this.

[Revs]

Given the price point that the Delos is pitched at the XW's seem the most obvious competition to me.

Agreed, that would be another good test

Thanks again guys for your comments

One thing I forgot to mention is that I looked for internal and external reflections and even with Jupiter being so bright I couldn't see any. The anti-reflection coatings seem very good, although I've godda admit I still think Baader's Phantom coatings are my fave. Of course, lens design has a big part to play here, too.