One for the eyepiece junkies !!

[AndyH]

Not sure if this has been mentioned in previous posts but here goes anyway.

Whilst trawling the net for astro stuff, I happened on this,

Explore Scientific 14mm 100 Degree Eyepiece - 2" - OPT Telescopes

A new name(to me) in the 100 degree eyepiece field. Very good looking price, esp compared to the TV ethos range.

Company is Explore Scientific, site here,

http://explorescientific.com/

Their 82 degree line also caught my eye too. Kind of a cross 'tween the celestron axiom(?)/meade 5000 uwa range. Again good prices.

Anyone heard more info on them??

Cheers,

Andy.

[AndyH]

Good God.

Their 32mm 82 degree beast weighs in at 3.2 lbs. That's nearly 1.5 kgs!!! My U.O. 32mm MK80 Konig, which I thought was heavy, is a measily 0.5kg/1lb(ish).

Andy:eek:

[Doc]

Over on CN I've read some good reports about it. Not as good as an Ethos but pretty close.

And it's waterproof

[albedo0.39]

Oh no... more choice - just what I needed to help me decide

[A McEwan]

For me, I'd forego the waterproofing and excessive weight and go for the original - the Ethos. Those weights are just silly, in my opinion, especially if you were thinking of pairing it up to a lightweight telescope.

I'm sure they're good optically though.

[haitch]

Just what I need - I've been wanting to take up extreme underwater astronomy and was just waiting for the right EPs to come along.

Seriously though I have to say the ad's references to waterproofing and nitrogen fill do seem a little gimmicky. I'd rather hear about how flat a field it produces, how well it behaves in fast scopes and such like. For all I know it could be a great EP but the ad doesn't tell me that.

I notice it refers to all air surfacess being multicoated so does that mean nitrogen facing surfaces aren't?

I guess we need a review from an owner to guide us...go on Andy, you know you want to...

[PeterW]

Anyone know of a UK agent for Explore Scientific and has anyone reviewed the 82deg eyepieces.... potential Naglers at a fraction of the price, especially at the long focal length end. Now I see the 100degree 14mm has a 20mm sister.... wonder when Televue will respond? I have to say that 82degrees is nice, I am sure I would want 100degrees but as long as I do not get to look through one, I am not going to miss it!

Cheers

PEterW

[Astro_Baby]

Explore Scientific will shipe to the UK off their webstore - I am thinking of getting the 14mm as a birthday prezzie this year. Its currently only $399 which makes it cheaper than an Ethos - I'm currently evaluating whether to buy it or just wait and see what else comes along.

I'll have to find the purchase by unloading my 13mm Hyperion and a few other bits so if your looking for a 13mm Hyperion keep your eyes peeled as mine may be up for sale very soon if I decide to take a punt on trhe ES 14mm 100'

[Astro_Baby]

I did a bit of research - Explore Scientific will ship to the UK - you have to order via Amazon.com and the shipping charge is - £65 - thats a lot of shipping.

A few calls soon found some nice folk at Starizona.com - oddly enough called Steve - are all astro dealers called Steve I wonder ?

Anyway a quick chat with the friendly guy from Starizona elicited a shipping price of $40- which is about £25 - a lot cheaper than Amazon.

Anyway its my birthday coming up and I thought - can I afford an Ethos (errrr No !!) can I afford the Explore Scientifc ( errr No !!) but I decided to buy it anyway.

Assuming it arrives in time for Salisbury it will be with me then so if anyone fancies a look you can take a peek.

I'd also be interested in getting any Ethos owners to take a peek and maybe compare it so I can write a review based on perhaps.

a) Ethos owners take a look

Non-Ethos owners compare the two

c) Views from the generally uncommitted

What I have heard is that the ES eyepiece ISN'T an Ethos killer but its extremely close at about half the price and has a charm all of its own.

We shall see.........

It better be good cos I could have had a lot of shoes for the price of that - the guy at Starizona sounded so charming and I was so tired my naturual inhibitions were dulled and I found myself handing out my card details.

I'll be evaluating it against my trusty Hyperion 13mm which isn't exactly fair because the Hyperion is less than half the cost. But its a good baseline.

Anyway if anyone coming to Salisbury with an Ethos fancies taking a peek and comparing I'd be interested. I'm sure other people might like to get a view of how the ES 14mm compares as well.

Well thats my birthday money gone for another year

[AndyH]

Nice one astro-babe !!

You do realise we shall expect pics etc when it arrives ;-)

Cheers,

Andy.

[John]

As a 13mm Ethos owner (unable to be at Salisbury unfortunately) I'd be very interested in how this new ES 14mm compares to one. I notice it's a fair bit heavier than the Ethos 13mm both otherwise the specs are comparable.

John

[Ben Ritchie]

As a 13mm Ethos owner (unable to be at Salisbury unfortunately) I'd be very interested in how this new ES 14mm compares to one.

+1 - although I guess in my case i'm interested from the point of view of other focal lengths (have they talked about any?). The 13E is such a favourite in the Dob that I can't imagine getting rid of it - other than the temptation, soon quashed by the cost, of reshuffling to 10E + 17E! - but the price of admission for the Ethos series is pretty steep and having more than one makes for a rather expensive eyepiece collection. A cheaper alternative giving a UWAN-like 90% of the performance at 50% of the price would be nice...

[Astro_Baby]

Explore Scientific have announced a 20mm 100' version - its a bit heavier than the 14mm version which is already a beast.

I dont intend getting one anytime soon for sure.:)

[albedo0.39]

I'll have to find the purchase by unloading my 13mm Hyperion

Could I please be first in the Q ? I've got my deckchair and flask ready for a long wait ! Any, Looks like you made a cracking purchase and look forward to seeing it at Salisbury !

Can I please test it in my 16" Lightbridge ???

Steve

[Astro_Baby]

Of course you can give it a go in the Lighbridge but only so long as I can take a look through the lightbucket as well

[albedo0.39]

Eau Naturallement ! - I just HOPE the B weather gives us more than this weeks pile of....(expletive deleted)