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Splashdown....new EP

Astro_Baby

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Well it arrived too late for Salisbury, customs stung me for import duty (was bound to get hit on that sooner or later) and the delivery company gave me a run around but a few days ago the new EP turned up.:)

Imported from the US as no UK dealers seemed to be signed up to sell these yet.

This is the hot new Explore Scientific 14mm 100' field of view monster. IS it an Ethos killer ? - I dont know cos the clouds got out the box and believe me thats a lot of clouds because its a VERY big box.

No idea what a Televue ships in - the box this thing comes in is MASSIVE - you could almost put a scope in it :grin:

The EP itself is also HUGE - see the pics below - and HEAVY at 2lb of weight its the heaviest EP I own - only the SW 38mm Panaview comes close at 1.5lb

I'll write up a review on it as soon as I get a chance to try it out. Firts impressions are its VERY well made. Super gloosy finish, even has its own serial number (mine is No 41). Optics look well coated, edge blackened etc.

The protective cap at the eye end has a monogrammed top which is very classy, the scope end is machined into a slight cone shape which works better than a cut out section as it doest foul the compression rings or lock screws.

Fit and finish look A1 and it looks like serious kit. What did it cost ? Well when all was said and done, shipping, import tax and duty etc it ended up costing £330 landed at my door. Yeah I know thats getting close to an Ethos but anyone who knows me knows I have to be different :)

Anyway heres the pics - sorry about the clouds :( if the size of the box is anything to go by the clouds will be until December at least.

Pics left to right......

Eyepiece lens - its dark in there.

In the hand - its heavy and very solid.

The ES next to a Celestron 25mm Plossl and a Hyperion 13mm showing its size. Note also the taper on focuser fitting towards the top.

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John

John

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That looks great AB :)

I'm looking forward to a 1st light report - the views I've read on it so far indicate that it's perhaps as close to an Ethos in performance as the UWAN 28mm is to a Nagler 31mm - in other words pretty close !.

I wonder how much glass is in there ? - it looks around the same size as the Ethos 13mm but the Ethos weighs only 1.3 lb.

John

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TakMan

TakMan

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Congratulations with the purchase!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the immersive 100° view - far better than looking 'down a straw'!

And also makes for far more comfortable viewing on undriven telescopes - my 'viewing mate' who's got 12" and 16' Meade Lightbidges certainly values the views through my Ethoi and 31mm Nagler (although he's a GP, his wife won't let him buy such expensive eyepieces!!!! so that's my job to supply.....)

How just for some clear nights over the Bank Holiday weekend for you to experience it - if only!!!!

Enjoy, and can't wait to here your first light thoughts....

Clear skies

Damian

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John

John

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I see that a review of the ES14 has now appeared on the Cloudynights site:

Explore Scientific 100 degree Series 14mm Nitrogen-purged Waterproof Eyepiece - CN Report

Thats a very "diplomatic" result - I wonder what would have been said if the ES14 had truly equalled or even exceeded the equivilent Ethos ?. Actually I expect it does in scopes with slightly longer focal ratios as i) the performance would probably be the same as the Ethos and ii) the ES14 costs less.

Have you had a chance to use yours yet AB ? - I'm wondering what your take on it is.

John

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johninderby

johninderby

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It looks like more of the UWAN compared to Nagler type of thing. Very close in performance, and in slower scopes nothing to choose between them. If onlly the ES14 wsn't so big and heavy as that could put someone off buyimg the ES14 and instead go for the E13.

John

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dark knight

dark knight

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AB keep us updated please as I'm sure there will be great interest in how you get along with it. I also notice the Hyperion in your photo, how do you rate these in a fast scope, I was thinking of getting one but was advised they were not suitable for fast F5 scopes...

carl

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Macavity

Macavity

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...they [Hyperions] were not suitable for fast F5 scopes...l
Sorry <interrupting> IMO, they perform "comensurate with price"? Though my ST102 F5 may not be the best test! An 8mm is "fine" but, from there on, they degrade monotonically toward the edge of field... But such is subjective and dependent on one's finances? :)

Aside: The "Aspherics" are more of a conundrum. Still not made my mind up! Could they really be not THAT much better than the Moon-Fishy thing? I do sense they get "worse"... then get "better" again as the field edge is approached. Or just my wishful thinking? :grin:

A comparison would indeed be nice.

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mdstuart

mdstuart

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Astro B

I hope your lens is everything you hope for. It was good of you to try my Wollensak in your scope at Salisbury.

The Wollensak is lovely but it does have some ghosting on Jupiter even in my scope..I wonder if I put some black tape up inside it might help?

I hope yours is fine to the edge of the filed but I suspect its a big ask with 100 deg FOV!

Clear spells at night are possible any night over the next week (in between the showers) but you will def get a chance when the Indian Summer hits 9/10 Sept..

Mark

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Phew - ok I'll try to answer all the questions - the big one is NO - I havent been able to test it yet.

How do I rate the Hyperions - well I have a 13mm and a 5mm - The 13mm is very fine on most targets. A small amount of coma at the edge in my F5 scope but nothing you would really get upset with from a mid price EP. The view is quite crisp under good conditions. I find the 13mm has good contrast on DSOs - the 5mm less so on planets.

Hyperions dont like Barlows but my 13mm will perform ok(ish) in a 2" ED Barlow.

A few people who peers down my 13mm Hyp at Salisbury liked the view of the Dumbell for sure and usually it turns in a good performance and overall I have been hapy with it - happy enough that I will keep it even with the new ES14.

How heavy is the ES14 - its hits the scales at 2 pounds of weight - the scope would require rebelancing when its in place.

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Albireo380

Albireo380

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That is a serious piece of kit Astro_Baby. I look forward to reading your review of how it performs at "first light". I guess I had better blame you that we have had some of the wettest few weeks of any Summer on record up here in Glasgow - or am I being unfair, the Rain Gods were busy deluging you?

I hope you get some clear weather and get out observing.

Tom

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philj

philj

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Now thats a nice EP.

I shall look forward to reading your review AB. I am looking for a 2" wide field to complement my 30mm Vixen Lanthanum and 50mm Meade 5000 this may just complete the trio thanks for posting

philj

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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HI Mark,

I thought your Wollensak was rather good myself - especially on Jupiter where it seemd to get better definition than the Hyperions. It wasnt that bad on DSOs either - and especially at the price you paid I;d have said it was a bargain myself.

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Well between the weather and my kids I havent had much chance to use my ES14 - I am hoping I will get a chance to test it out this coming Thursday if the weather gods be kind.

Its going to be tough to compare it as I dont have an Ethos - I was hoping the E14 would arrive before Salisbury so that it could be tested by different people an I could have run a 'double blind' test to see if people could see a difference.

As it is all I can run it up against is the Hyperion and a memory of what the vciew was like with a 13mm Ethos on my scope. Of course if anyone wants to donate an Ethos for the purposes of testing I'll be happy to take it off your hands :) Seriously if anyone is around in the West Sussex area on Thirsday night with an Ethos and we get clear skies and they'd like to have a look through both EPs let me know and I'll see what I can do.

In the interim - the eyepiece looks fabulous, quality out of the box seems incredibly good, no finger marks, the finish is as perfect as you could hope for. Coatings look good - at least on par with an up market Nikon lens. The feel of the piece is good - its solid.

No rattles or shakes, no apparent flaws in either its fit, finish or optics. It has a very distinctive quality feel to it thats hard to explain - its a very simple looking eyepiece with no frills.

All my 2" filters wind onto it with no problems, macining on the barrel seems very fine and well executed with its distinctive tapered shape.

Lettering seems very hard wearing and the whole assembly feels as if you could club people with it and use it to hammer in nails and it wouldnt be impaired.

It might well tax some focusers through as it truly is a beast of an EP. My Moonlite handles it comfortably but standard focusers might need to be tweaked to turn up the tension.

Heres a pic of it connected to the scope - its the best I can do to appease your interest until I can actually get a view through it.

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