TeleVue Ethos 4.7mm

[DRT]

Incoming!!!

I pulled the trigger on a new one from Telescope House earlier today and just had the despatch notice saying it will arrive on Monday. My recent purchase of a very nice 120ED from Stu persuaded me as I will have something to do it justice and usable magnification (191x) at home. I'll need a very dark sky to use the 382x it will give in my 16" Dob but hopefully I'll get some of that at SGL-XI.

If this proves to be usable I might be tempted to complete the set with the 3.7mm.

Un-boxing pictures will be provided next week

PS: If anyone is interested, TH told me today they have a used E4.7mm for sale

[John]

Excellent Derek

I've been thinking about the 4.7 and 3.7 Ethos SX for the past year or so but I've not pursuded myself yet. If I did not have the 5mm and 3.5mm Pentax XW's my sales pitch to myself might be easier

It should be a marvellous high power eyepiece in the ED120 and you might find some uses for it with the 16" dob - central stars of planetary nebula, Uranian and Neptunian moons to give a couple of examples.

[Ruud]

A great eyepiece. Congratulations!

[DRT]

If I did not have the 5mm and 3.5mm Pentax XW's my sales pitch to myself might be easier

There is an easy solution to that, John - stick the XW's on ABS UK and your sales pitch for the Ethi will become much easier

[John]

There is an easy solution to that, John - stick the XW's on ABS UK and your sales pitch for the Ethi will become much easier

My quandary is whether the Ethos 4.7 and 3.7 will be better. Having carefully compared the 5mm XW to my 6mm Ethos over the time that I've had them I remain unsure. While I do love hyper wide views I also love the way that the short focal length XW's do things. My other Ethos purchases bought a range of qualities as well as the 100 degree fields over the Naglers that they replaced. I'm not sure about paying a lot more just for the wider field of view

However, your reports on using the 4.7 ESX might just convince me

I'm sure looking forward to reading all about it !

[DRT]

A very sensible approach, John, and one that my Completest Obsession Disorder does not permit me to follow

I will certainly post my thoughts when I get the chance to point it at something bright and shiny, and you are very welcome to try it out at SGL-XI

[estwing]

powermating the 8 saves me getting any more..giving me 510x!!...congrats on the new ethos...they truly are superb!

[DRT]

I tried the Powermate route, Calvin, but decided I prefer having EPs at the focal length I want to use.

I know I am spoiling myself by collecting the full range of Ethos EPs but, as Cheryl says, it's "because I'm worth it"

[estwing]

nowt wrong with having all the range old boy!...the 6 has been on my mind a few times but at the moment I'm thinking how would I use the power in a bigger scope?...think i'll stick with the 8.

[DRT]

Your Dob has a focal length of around 1800mm? That's the same as on my Flextube 400P and I've used the 6mm in that to pick out the minor stars in the trapezium in M42 so I'm sure it would work in yours.

Go on, you know you want to

[estwing]

2041mm with paracorr...nope the next glass I buy wont be tele vue.....

[Floater]

Wow! It's lovely just to 'listen in' on you guys. Hope you don't mind.

[estwing]

give you a shout Gordon when the dob mob come up to Scotland..your more than welcome to have a bash with my scope.

[alan potts]

Congratulations Derek, I think the only other on site I know of with one is Joves down in Sydney, I looked long and hard many times, had PM chats with John about one, nearly sent the e-mail 3 times having typed it and then pulled up short.

I think if I didn't have the 4.5mm Delos I would have given in. I hope it has no free clouds with it, there have been enough in England of late, I do check on the weather sites.

[Stu]

I had a 3.7 for a while. Lovely, but I just didn't get on with it. To see the extra fov I found I had to jam my lovely long eyelashes ([emoji6]) into the eyepiece to closely and ended up looking at them rather than the target. The eye relief feels tighter that it should do because the exit lens is heavily curved inwards.

I find it annoying because 3.7mm is actually a perfect high power focal length for many fast apos so something like this in a Delos or Delite would be great

[Mark at Beaufort]

Well done Derek on pulling the trigger. I look forward to your review in due course plus seeing the EP in action at SGLX1.

I decided I wanted a wide field high mag EP and bought the Skywatcher 3.5mm Myraid 110 degree for use in my 4" APO which gives me 203x  and 0" 32' which is great on double stars. I have only used it a few times and it has proved useful especially using on a manual alt/az mount.

I am sure the quality of the Ethos will be a step up from my Myraid - and Derek I am sure you will want the 3.7mm in due course.

[rl]

I have the 4.7mm Ethos, and, with my 12" f/4 newt it makes the perfect planetry eyepiece, maybe even more so on the moon. The true field is small enough not to need the paracorr. To be honest it dosen't get used that often because the seeing in my location is often pretty poor (the 8mm Ethos is more useful) but when I can use it, it delivers in spades. I've never owned the 5mm XW so can't comment on the obvious comparison, but I've no regrets at the considerable investment. I had a 5mm ortho which gave the same amount of detail on axis but the eye relief was awful  and the off-axis performance not quite as good.

All the usual ethos virtues apply; perfect off-axis correction across the field, zilch CA and contrast virtually as good as a top-notch ortho or plossl. It's all been said many times before....Minimum glass aficionardos will never agree but, for me at least, all the extra glass gains you a lot more than what is lost in ultimate contrast. 

It was a tough call between the 6 and 4.7mm Ethoses whem I bought; I've since picked up a s/h Delos 6mm for a very reasonable price which gets both bases covered. They see about equal amounts of use. 

There is a bit of a learning curve getting used to it; I find the trick with the 4.7mm eyepiece is not to concentrate on seeing the whole field at one; you just end up straining your eyes rolling them round the fish bowl trying to take it all in.. You expect to be looking at the whole 110 degrees all of the time but most targets (moon excepted) you'll be using this for are small and settling for 80 degrees by pulling you head back is more relaxing in the long term even though the full field is really, really impressive. You could argue the short Naglers will do the same job but the other Ethos advantages can be factored in as well. Personally I really love seeing planets "in context" against a big starry backdrop but I appreciate others think differently on this one. 

It's also absolutely brilliant on my Pentax SDHF 75mm (*106) provided you can rebalance the scope. Small refractors make the most of the excellent contrast provided by the ethos. 

It's a keeper. 

RL

[DRT]

Congratulations Derek, I think the only other on site I know of with one is Joves down in Sydney, I looked long and hard many times, had PM chats with John about one, nearly sent the e-mail 3 times having typed it and then pulled up short.

I think if I didn't have the 4.5mm Delos I would have given in. I hope it has no free clouds with it, there have been enough in England of late, I do check on the weather sites.

Thanks, Alan. I did consider the Delos as I could have had both the 3.5mm and 4.5mm for around the same price as the E4.7mm but I knew I would end up going for the Ethos at some point and would have lost money in the process. I can only apologies to everyone within a 300 mile radius of Chesterfield for the continued bad weather

my lovely long eyelashes

I suffer from exactly the same affliction, Stu - Hopefully the 4.7mm isn't as tight as you experienced with the 3.7mm. To be honest, I have my doubts that the 3.7mm would ever be of any use to me given the quality of the skies around here but let's see what happens. If I find the 4.7mm in any way tight on eye relief the Delos 3.5mm might be an option.

Well done Derek on pulling the trigger. I look forward to your review in due course plus seeing the EP in action at SGLX1.

Thanks, Mark - you will certainly be welcome to take a peek through it if there is anything to look at

I have the 4.7mm Ethos, and, with my 12" f/4 newt it makes the perfect planetry eyepiece, maybe even more so on the moon. The true field is small enough not to need the paracorr.

...

All the usual ethos virtues apply; perfect off-axis correction across the field, zilch CA and contrast virtually as good as a top-notch ortho or plossl. It's all been said many times before....Minimum glass aficionardos will never agree but, for me at least, all the extra glass gains you a lot more than what is lost in ultimate contrast. 

...

There is a bit of a learning curve getting used to it; I find the trick with the 4.7mm eyepiece is not to concentrate on seeing the whole field at one; you just end up straining your eyes rolling them round the fish bowl trying to take it all in.. You expect to be looking at the whole 110 degrees all of the time but most targets (moon excepted) you'll be using this for are small and settling for 80 degrees by pulling you head back is more relaxing in the long term even though the full field is really, really impressive. You could argue the short Naglers will do the same job but the other Ethos advantages can be factored in as well. Personally I really love seeing planets "in context" against a big starry backdrop but I appreciate others think differently on this one.

Thanks for the info and advice, RL, which is all very encouraging. I know there are those who think big Dobs and the Solar System don't go together but I take the opposite view and love the views I have been able to get of the Moon and Jupiter through my 16" Flextube. I'm hoping the 4.7mm will take that to another level of detail

[alan potts]

Congratulations Derek, I think the only other on site I know of with one is Joves down in Sydney,

Sorry RL just goes to show how much I know, two people on site (at least) with them, I can see a trend starting here.

Alan

[DRT]

Sorry RL just goes to show how much I know, two people on site (at least) with them, I can see a trend starting here.

Alan

I didn't realise these were so rare, but it explains why my three attempts at wanted ads over the past few months here and on ABS UK went unanswered.

What did amaze me though is that on the very day I decided to pull the trigger on a new one two used examples turned up! It's a bit like waiting on a bus I suppose 

[Mark at Beaufort]

To be honest, I have my doubts that the 3.7mm would ever be of any use to me given the quality of the skies around here but let's see what happens. If I find the 4.7mm in any way tight on eye relief the Delos 3.5mm might be an option.

Derek  you are welcome to try my Myraid 3.5mm at SGLX1 to see if the size meets your needs. The star party is only a few months away so if you want to wait before committing yourself to buying the Ethos 3.7mm you are welcome to try it then. As I stated I have used it a few times (to view Uranus mainly) and I have had no problems in using it.

John did a review of these EPs last February and they came out quite well. As I said the Ethos will be a step up so trying mine will give you a better idea whether you want to commit yourself.

[DRT]

Thanks, Mark, it would be great to have the chance to compare them.

The only thing that might go wrong with that plan is if my employer pays out the year end bonus next month, at which point all of my willpower will melt in a few micro-seconds and I'll be straight onto the Telescope House website

[DRT]

The Eagle has landed!!!

Here it is in its new nest...

I have used it a couple of times this weekend but have not had good enough seeing to give it a fair chance of performing well so will reserve comment until I have had a better chance to use it properly. Suffice to say that from the view of the Moon that I had through it in the 120ED in daylight yesterday I have decided to add the 3.7mm to the collection

The thing that surprised me most when it arrived was how much bigger than the 6mm and 8mm it is. The body is about the same diameter as the 10mm and the same height as the 13mm, so is quite a big lump of eyepiece!. Without the 2" barrel attachment it looks very much like a Delos and I must say the 2" barrel is a beautifully constructed piece of kit. It uses the filter thread in the 1.25" barrel to attach itself to the eyepiece and is extremely easy to fit and remove. I can't help thinking that these would be very useful options to have for the Delos range for those who have a combination of 1.25" and 2" eypeices.

Overall I am delighted with this new addition and look forward to finding a nice dark night to do it justice!