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16" F 4.3 Dob eyepieces


Singlin

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Not sure about the SW F4 coma corrector. No doubt the Paracor is better, but whether or not the SW works well enough is something you should simply test. Regarding EPs: what budget do you have in mind? In an F 4.3 scope you might not want to go far beyond 25mm focal length (although my Nagler 31T5 worked very nicely in Olly's F/4.1 Dob from his very dark site). The Naglers 26T5 and 22T4 are great wide-field EPs for such a scope, but they are not cheap. I do not know whether the MaxVision 24mm 82 deg is still available, but that should certainly be a cheaper option worth considering.

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The obvious answer is Ethos or ES 100° all the way........... Traditionally, Naglers rule the roost, but to my eye, the newer TV / ES models have them pipped in terms of image feel. That said, "Image feel" is a personal thing, so they might be worth a try.

Bigger/faster Dobs have a distressingly small FOV and eat less than premium eyepieces for breakfast. Howeve, some exert nudges (assuming non GoTo) are heading for the narrower fields for all but the lowest mags. 

And, a coma corrector is probably going to be needed. But, again, try without first.

NB. I don't own a big Dob but have observed through an array of eyepieces at star parties.

Paul

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I have a 20" F3.5 Dobsonian with a type1 Paracorr, the longest useable eyepiece for a suitable exit pupil is around 19mm. A 19mm Celestron Luminos works well for wide field and TV Plossls are excellent for planetary observation, all reasonable prices.

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Congrats on the scope!

With my 15" f/4.5 (similar focal length), Dave Kriege included a letter suggesting that the best 3 EP collection would be the Nagler 26T5, 13E and 6E. The 21E was also recommended.

Yeah, I've none of them... :)

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11 minutes ago, niallk said:

Congrats on the scope!

With my 15" f/4.5 (similar focal length), Dave Kriege included a letter suggesting that the best 3 EP collection would be the Nagler 26T5, 13E and 6E. The 21E was also recommended.

Yeah, I've none of them... :)

I've got the eyepieces, just not the 15" Obsession :rolleyes2:

The eyepieces you do have are hardly shabby though :icon_biggrin:

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12 hours ago, Paul73 said:

The obvious answer is Ethos or ES 100° all the way........... Traditionally, Naglers rule the roost, but to my eye, the newer TV / ES models have them pipped in terms of image feel. That said, "Image feel" is a personal thing, so they might be worth a try.

Bigger/faster Dobs have a distressingly small FOV and eat less than premium eyepieces for breakfast. Howeve, some exert nudges (assuming non GoTo) are heading for the narrower fields for all but the lowest mags. 

And, a coma corrector is probably going to be needed. But, again, try without first.

NB. I don't own a big Dob but have observed through an array of eyepieces at star parties.

Paul

One thong holds me back from turning to the Ethos /ES 100 deg line: eye relief. The rated 15mm is just too tight for me with my glasses. Superb EPs in all other ways (where I have to extrapolate from the 13mm Ethos I looked through).

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Agreed. You do have to stick your head in an Ethos to get the full effect. The Nagler eye relief varies from the tight 10mm to a generous 21mm. Whereas the Delite (still can't stand the name) and the Delos have a very accommodating 20mm. And, they have probably the best adjustable eyecups on the market.

Paul

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5 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

Agreed. You do have to stick your head in an Ethos to get the full effect. The Nagler eye relief varies from the tight 10mm to a generous 21mm. Whereas the Delite (still can't stand the name) and the Delos have a very accommodating 20mm. And, they have probably the best adjustable eyecups on the market.

Paul

I have the Ethos in 21, 13, 8, 6 and 4.7 focal lengths. The eye relief is 15mm for all of them which is more than many of the Naglers and other 82 degree alternatives.

While 15mm is not enough for many of those who wear glasses when observing, I find it pretty comfy as a non-glasses wearer, even allowing for the dished eye lens that these eyepieces have.

I found the Myriad eyepieces, for example, somewhat tighter on eye relief than the Ethos and found that I needed to roll the rubber eye cup down to see the full FoV with the 20mm ES 100 eyepiece. This is not required with the 21mm Ethos.

You do pay a lot more for the Ethos pieces though, no doubts about that :icon_biggrin:

 

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Interesting about the ES 100° 20mm. I've never tried one so plumped for the Ethos 21mm as a known quantity. Somehow the Ethos range seem a couple of mm more forgiving than the quoted 15mm would suggest. I find the 15mm very workable but have struggled with 16mm ER models from other manufacturers. As you say, glasses wearers would struggle.

Paul

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38 minutes ago, John said:

I have the Ethos in 21, 13, 8, 6 and 4.7 focal lengths. The eye relief is 15mm for all of them which is more than many of the Naglers and other 82 degree alternatives.

While 15mm is not enough for many of those who wear glasses when observing, I find it pretty comfy as a non-glasses wearer, even allowing for the dished eye lens that these eyepieces have.

I found the Myriad eyepieces, for example, somewhat tighter on eye relief than the Ethos and found that I needed to roll the rubber eye cup down to see the full FoV with the 20mm ES 100 eyepiece. This is not required with the 21mm Ethos.

You do pay a lot more for the Ethos pieces though, no doubts about that :icon_biggrin:

 

Concerning eye relief, how have you found the 4.7mm works in this regard John? I have recently acquired a 6mm ethos and equally use 21,13 and 8. With the 6mm I notice my eyelashes a little which I did not encounter with my former 6mm Delos. Eye placement however as you describe is comfortable and it is not really an issue, fantastic eyepiece.

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11 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Concerning eye relief, how have you found the 4.7mm works in this regard John? I have recently acquired a 6mm ethos and equally use 21,13 and 8. With the 6mm I notice my eyelashes a little which I did not encounter with my former 6mm Delos. Eye placement however as you describe is comfortable and it is not really an issue, fantastic eyepiece.

It's darn good Iain. The AFoV is 110 degrees so harder to see the edges but I don't find field stops too interesting anyway !

I've been comparing it with my Pentax XW 5mm each opportunity I get and, so far, it's neck and neck in terms of the quality of the views and I don't notice the eye relief of the Ethos SX a chore.

I find I occasionally see my eyelashes with all my shorter focal length eyepieces.

 

 

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I probably shouldn't admit this publicly, but before I bought a scope I was searching around, coming across SGL for the first time and reading through threads with interest. Anyway, one thread on eyepieces had someone commenting about trimming their eyelashes - taken aback at that thought, I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with this murky underworld of astronomy. A little while later, I realised it was in jest :D

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I have an16inch f4.5 and had a similar issue with deciding what eyepieces to get and being a glasses wearer the eye relief was important too. Initially I used plossl eyepieces and although the 32mm isnt too abd the higher powers mean glasses are difficult to wear whilst observing. Another limitation was the narrow fov so without a driven system the objects zip across the field very quickly.

In the end I went for wider field and decent eye relief with a william optics uwan 28mm for wide field and seems to work well and is great a finder choice. For mid range I opted for nagler t4 eyepieces which have great eyerelief and come in 22mm 17mm and 12mm and work really well. For high power I use delos 8mm and 6mm which are fabulous eyepieces with wonderful eye relief and manage the fast mirror very well. To be honest the delos ar3 a fabulous compromise and  are very comfortable to use, although id be interested in trying a delite at these powers too. Ethos would be lovely if the eye relief suits and would probably cover the range provided by 2 of my eyepieces so this offsets the cost a little but when I tried a 21e icould only manage to see 80% of the fov so opted for the naglers. Cheers

 

 

 

 

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19 hours ago, swamp thing said:

Not seen a better eyepiece in a 16" Dob than a 17mm Ethos TBH.

The mag is perfect for this size scope. This would be my starting point upon which to build my eyepiece collection. 

 

+1

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19 hours ago, swamp thing said:

Not seen a better eyepiece in a 16" Dob than a 17mm Ethos TBH.

The mag is perfect for this size scope. This would be my starting point upon which to build my eyepiece collection. 

 

Same fov as a Pan24 but with 40% more mag - yep that sure would be nice :thumbsup:  With a 10E you could have a lot of enjoyment with a minimalist 2 EP set for DSOs

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11 minutes ago, niallk said:

Same fov as a Pan24 but with 40% more mag - yep that sure would be nice :thumbsup:  With a 10E you could have a lot of enjoyment with a minimalist 2 EP set for DSOs

Or powermate the 17mm to a handy 8.5mm ;) for an even cheaper solution.

 

 

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