25mm antETHOSis (unboxing)

[Dunkster]

noun antETHOSis - contrast or opposition of extreme wide angle perfection

As I already have the Explore Scientific 82 degree 30mm, it's not like I even needed one of these as the FOV will only be fractionally larger in the 100 degree model. Yes, the spoilt existence I lead , I work hard for my money though! Anyhow, after getting all caught up in the 100 degree debating frenzy recently, an opportunity presented itself...and with a little encouragement, I took the bait. For a little under 400 of our British pounds shipped to me in the US, here it is..

This is only an unboxing though, who knows when I'll get first light with this beastie... I'm wracked with guilt about waving this near the 8SE (I need a new mount too ), so for now it'll be the reserve of the C11... dare I put it near my little 'frac? I'll happily admit my lack of experience at the EP, but I'm taking notes from you all and while sat at the scope. Whether or not it meets with Uncle Al's approval is not something I'll debate all that much, other than to say it's not an Ethos, and whatever compromises or alternative design parameters Explore Scientific had to employ to push the boat out this little bit further will be fine with me on condition that the view is pretty (C11 is f/10, f/7 with reducer) and doesn't make me nauseous

Anyhow, on to the pics

Big box... barely fit in my suitcase! Nice box art though, by Will Tirion, of the galactic centre region.

ES100 25 vs 12fl oz Pepsi can (eye port is recessed with green reflection to it)

In good company...

It's a little shorter and stouter than the 17mm Ethos.

A little heavier too!

The blue ring of ... hot stellar fire?

Sorry for the dubious quality of the pics, old iPhone in poor lighting

[John]

I'll be interested to see what you think of that one. Should be pretty good in the SCT I would think.

The "ring of fire" effect is seen in a number of the Nagler models but it seems less conspicuous in the ES 20 / 100 to me.

It's a pity that ES won't allow their stuff to be sold here by UK based dealers at reasonable prices and make us import the things ourselves though, isn't it ?

Look forward to 1st light reports though

[Stargazer_00]

Awesome Dunkster. Can't wait for the first light!

[andyman]

what a beast of a eyepiece am saving up

[Dunkster]

I absolutely agree John, they're only doing themselves the injustice if not getting the sales. Even ES.de's store isn't very competitive when it comes to the 100 degree range. IMO, it only serves to strengthen the case for Ethos in Europe. Business is business. I was jammy enough to wing myself a long enough trip to get one delivered from a reliable source

To say I'm keen for first light is an understatement, but I'm not holding my breath. Like I said, I'm going to have to do it "properly" with a good non-school night out with the white glittery dustbin I'm optimistic about it in the C11, the optics are well corrected in the Edge series, so it's probably not a tough test of EP optics. Slightly more magnification than my other "wides" (still less than 1 degree TFOV in this scope)

[Ohmless]

beautiful piece of kit. Pretty box too, not that it matters much. enjoy

[Damo636]

Wow, congrats mate, thats an impressive looking eyepiece! Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when you get it under the stars :-)

[Bart]

Mmm mmmm. Very nice. You'd nearly need a forklift for that EP case I imagine! You'd probably need to declare the contents from an insurance perspective. Tut tut, spending your kids inheritance.........

Enjoy it greatly,

Barry

[alan potts]

Dunk,

Very nice indeed, it's not as big as I thought it would be it is only seeing it against the 17mm E that I can get the size. Could the box be any larger, seems to be a Meade spin off they sold things in very big boxes.

Fingers crossed for good weather for you.

Alan.

[Stargazer_00]

How does that ring of fire effect the views at the eyepiece? I'll check all mine tonight.

[rwilkey]

Dunkster, great piece of kit, strategic choice of focal lengths, the sort I like.

[Dunkster]

Well, sorry chaps, looks like I've provoked the cloud deities

The box is a good size - must be the same size as the box the 30mm ES82 came in, but that was black, this has the nice print on the outside. There's plenty of padding for sure. The EP isn't as big as I expected to be fair, but it's not lacking in weight. If I knew how to work the (computerised) scales I'd try 'em on

This evening I've looked at the ring from the eye end under one of the bright lights in the kitchen, the picture was taken from the field stop end. It's quite a big eye port (?real name?), and as close as I can get I'm only seeing kitchen the whole way across. Maybe I need practice in 100 degree viewing? I've noticed with my Ethos that I can't see the field stop when using it, but that's actually one of the things I like about it

Definitely right, Robin... if this EP is any good, the 25 (112x) and the Ethos 17 (165x) should cover the sky fairly well in the C11 (2800mm FL) under most conditions