Delite - new Televue 62 deg 7mm, 11mm, 18.2mm

[alan potts]

I like the "we takes pains over our designs", then someone simply copies them, well almost!.

Interestuing little clip.

Yong,

We know that many of the TV eyepieces have pincushion distortion but the only one that really got to me was the 26mm Nagler, I looked at the Moon with it and hated there after, rather stupid but there you have it. I am sure the 31mm is the same but dare not look at the moon.

Alan

[Moonshane]

I tend to prefer simpler eyepieces on the moon. This is one reason I have never sold my TV plossls.

[YKSE]

I'd think that TV plossls have quite strong pincushion too, that's what I can read from Televue's patent for plossl.

[alan potts]

Yong,,

I can't say I have really noticed on Plossl, I tend to use the two I have (11mm and 15mm) on planets only and then in the driven scopes. Naglers and Panotics have fairly noticeable P Cush,  Delos that I have seem fine as do the Ethos but I think the 17mm has a little. I think now having the Dob I will tend to look harder at this but then on most things I don't mind, it's just on the Moon that annoys me, still I guess the trade of is not sharp and that will never do.

Alan.

[YKSE]

Alan,

There's not much known straight lines in night sky and Moon, that's one of reason pincushion is considered as less bad distortion.

To find an eyepiece with pincushion or barrel distortion, point a scope to a tele post in day time reveals it instantly.

[Telescope40]

HHMM   As previously noted.   S/H  Green glass up for grabs in the future ???   Always fancied ONE  premium EP  at some point.   Watch this space, I hope.   

John

[alanjgreen]

telescope house has them advertised at £265 (same price range as Delos)

[alan potts]

That's rather expensive for a 62 degree especially with a strong pound, I was going to get one but not at that price, I would rather have the 17.3mm D and finish the set.

I also think the words Sold Out on all three means they haven't had any yet.

Alan

[John]

telescope house has them advertised at £265 (same price range as Delos)

As Alan says, thats too much. You can get the Delos for £256 from the Widescreen Centre. The Delites are $250 including shipping in the USA. There may be some tax to add to that though.

[Piero]

that's a lot of money... I thought they were sold for 230-240, not more.. 

[russ.will]

Mmm. Delos are showing as discounted from circa £290 at TH (now Bresser UK, so how long will TV last with them?) but the price differential does seem somewhat distorted compared to the slated release price in the US.

It could also be that the projected price in the UK includes the recent fluctuations in exchange rates, whereas the Delos stock may pre-date the strengthening of the Dollar. The next shipment of Delos may be more expensive too - remember, we can't actually buy a Delite yet - so we're not seeing the prices of concurrent shipments. It may be a case of waiting and seeing how it shakes out.

That said, I did predict £230-250 early in this thread, so I wasn't far out. Still, it should help the residuals of all those worried Radian owners.....

Russell

[alan potts]

Russell,

The pound is also significantly stronger than it was 4 months back, something you may not see living in the UK. I would have said without checking the Dollar and the Pounds have strengthened about the same amount. It is good for me changing pounds to Leva which is tied to the Euro. I moved a fair amount from the bank about 8 months back, held on to it for a good while and watched the rates and the difference I got when I changed it to Bulgarian was enough to buy a very decent scope, not that I need one, however if I had waited another 6 weeks I could have got a mount for it with the difference as well.

Alan

[jabeoo1]

telescope house has them advertised at £265 (same price range as Delos)

 The USA have them for 250USD so its cheaper to import them and take the duty on the chin ? !  

[gooseholla]

I wouldn't want to pay that kind of money!! Does anyone know why the UK gets ripped off in absolutely everything?

[alan potts]

John,

A very good question that I have never seen an answer to, it's not just astronomical gear either.

Alan

[Mr Spock]

TH have them at £259, or would if they weren't sold out. They need to knock £100 off before I get one

[ronin]

They are still just a 62 degree eyepiece so not really special or greatly different.

I agree with Michael £100 less and maybe if they received good (outstanding) reports.

Even then 3x the cost of a BST would make me think a lot before I possibly went for one.

There seems little advantage in purchasing one at present, other then to have one first.

[gooseholla]

John,

A very good question that I have never seen an answer to, it's not just astronomical gear either.

Alan

Yes, it is as if no one bothers to work out equivalent prices or go by the exchange rate anymore. More and more products are just becoming knock the $ sign off and insert £ in its place!!!

John

[jkwhinfrey]

It could also be that the projected price in the UK includes the recent fluctuations in exchange rates, whereas the Delos stock may pre-date the strengthening of the Dollar. The next shipment of Delos may be more expensive too - remember, we can't actually buy a Delite yet - so we're not seeing the prices of concurrent shipments. It may be a case of waiting and seeing how it shakes out.

Russell

It's a very good point, based on the ratio of the prices at Agena Astro ($340 Delos and $250 Delite) could the Delos be heading up to ~£360? And the Ethos :-0

Unless the Delos price rises it's hard to see a big enough market to make these eyepieces worth the effort for Televue. But perhaps the domestic market's enough.

Whether exchange rate explains it all, I'm not completely convinced, but I've noticed some premium Japanese products looking much cheaper compared to their US rivals recently.

James

[russ.will]

Russell,

The pound is also significantly stronger than it was 4 months back, something you may not see living in the UK. 

I do see it and saw it very recently when I went skiing. 1.31 Euro to the GBP compared to 1.01 when holidaying in Spain six years ago. However, the Dollar has stayed slightly ahead of the GBP curve over the last couple of years and TV do re-export everything from the US (post QC) regardless of where it is made.

Whilst I have noted over the last few years that ES EPs were once more favourably priced in the US, this shifted in favour of buying from the EU as the Euro fell rapidly. However, recent batches of ES in the EU have started increasing in price relative to the US, because of that Euro weakening against the Yuan. The situation in the US is the reverse. thus, buy ES cheap from Europe whilst old stocks last.

ES EPs ship direct to each importer. TV all goes through the US, which allows TV to 'manage' their world wide pricing as for them, everything is relative to the Dollar only. I'd also add that advertised prices in the US do not typically include local sales tax. It can add 10% to the price, but it can also only 1% - It's more complex that the EU. But we do have to remember that we buy TV from the US and that onward shipping cost has a price implication in cost, not to mention import tax and VAT. We CANNOT buy TV at US prices, ever.

As a result; If the Dollar strength is allowing TV to buy their EPs cheaper, we'll never feel the benefit of it, nor achieve a saving via international shopping because TV control the worldwide pricing. Bad for canny shoppers, but good for existing owners residuals. You view that quid pro quo depending on which side of that fence you are sitting on...

I based my £250 prediction on the last UK RRP of Radians. A few years down the line, the Delites were never going to be cheaper. It wouldn't make sense, but there IS a disparity compared to the current US pricing which is simplified as all TV effectively come from the US. We will need to wait and see what the projected price looks like, relative to Delos, when we can actually buy them. Currently, no one can.

Russell

[alan potts]

Nice piece of writing Russel, you clearly keep an eye on such things, I do tend to focus on the pound euro rate the most. As you say we will have to wait until the dust settles.

Alan.

[Luke]

For me it doesn't make a lot of sense if the DeLite is similar price to the Delos, it needs to be a bit cheaper. Perhaps it will be when the dust settles. I think I'd rather buy a second hand Radian otherwise, that meets my needs of a decent, more compact eyepiece.

[estwing]

A lot of this doesn't make sense to me where's my 21-8mm zoom ethos (I have copyright on this idea swampthing !)...

[russ.will]

Now that idea would have a price tag that would make a Leica Asph owner blush and a weight that would be a balancing challenge!

[astronymonkey]

Hmmm I cant see where these fit into the tv lineup at that price point. The delos is a cracking eyepiece so pitching a narrower field for the same money seems odd.

Cheers