Splashdown....new EP

[Astro_Baby]

Well I was clear tonite but unfortunately the clouds got out the box. Sad to say its a lot of cloud - but then its a VERY big box that the EP came in.

Heres the box with a Hyperion box to the right.

YOu can guess how many clouds were in that

[dark knight]

:):D

[dobserver]

Hope the stars look as sexy as the eyepiece.....

[dark knight]

AB - I now open boxes with the hoover hose switched on right next to them,,that way only the odd one escapes....Mind you one odd one escaping out of that box would block the sky for ages....

[Macavity]

Sounds like a case for...

Just keep adding them... Ignore that creaking sound!

But I think, simple star sweeping, could be FUN with this eyepiece.

<Imagining> "35x100" with an almost Three degree field...

[albedo0.39]

Carcking decision AB and a stonking lump of glass methinks... Look forward to the A/B comparison vs the Hyperion. At the SSP Doc and I spent a couple or more hours with one of Owens' Ethos (13mm)and had some stunning views. No coma at all on my F4.5 so I expect you'll be safe with your F5.

Just don't drop it on your foot.

[Astro_Baby]

Well I finally got round to (a) testing the wretched the ES1400 and ( actually writing up the report. THese things are real brainache to get round to. Glad I dont have to turn this stuff out as a regular contributor to a magazine or anything - they'd still be waiting on a review for Galileos first telescope )

People might not like my conclusion about this beastie so if your touchy about your own ES 100' FOV or even your Ethos best not to read this Bear in mind I shelled out my own cash for this and didnt get a freebie or anything.

By the way - this thing arrived around 27th August, 2009 !!!!! And its only been in the past few months I got round to using it and writing about it so you couldnt call this a stop press article or written in the first flush of consumerist joy

Oh the link - its here Explore Scientific ES1400 Review complete with piccies.

[Ags]

It's massive - and I'm intimidated by the size of my Hyperion... What's that marketing slogan... "The EP is half the scope." AB, you've taken that literally! ;-)

I'm glad the EP performed given the cost - I find the 68 degrees of the Hyperion is already making my eye twitch around to take it all in. In comparison to the 60 degrees of my planetary EPs, which is restful like looking into a pool of stars. I think I won't lust after 80 or 100 degree eyepieces. Thanks for the review.

[John]

Well the review was well worth waiting for AB - an excellent, honest and balanced piece of work.

These things are very expensive and it's important that there is unbiased information out there for prospective owners - I think your report provides just that.

Thanks for taking the trouble to write it up

[A McEwan]

Verry interestink. Thanks, AB, for an honest appraisal not only of the eyepiece but of the concept of 100' fov eyepieces. I've never looked through one yet but would like to one night. When I do I'll keep your comments in my mind.

Ant

[AWR]

That's a thought provoking review, AB.

If 100 degrees is too much, and although I've not looked through an Ethos or similar, I hate sitting at the front of the cinema; what does that leave for us mortals to lust after? What should be at the top of our lottery win list? What are the best 70 degree-ish EPs?

If god is dead how shall we comfort ourselves?

Andrew

[johninderby]

A nice unbiased review, well done. I agree that the ES is a very good eyepiece, but at the prices they're asking in the UK for the ES eyepieces I can't see them threatening Ethos sales very much. And also they're so big and heavy.

Having owned or used most of the Ethos eyepieces I find it's the sharpness and contrast that makes them great eyepieces. The biggest mistake that many people who havent actually used them make is to assume that it's all about FOV, it isn't, it's about optical quality. In a dob or undriven mount however the FOV is nice to have as you're able to just move your eyeball to keep your target in view so you don't have to nudge/move your scope as often.

John

[marcdearn]

What a great revue....largely academic to someone like me who would be lynched for even thinking of spending that much on a eyepiece...but good to read nevertheless

Thanks astrobaby

[JamesM]

Many thanks for a great review. The cheapest I've seen the 14mm ES is £378 and the cheapest 13mm TV is £440 so a 14% saving of £62 which isn't bad. However, if you are going to the trouble of forking out for the Ethos, then I would want a better discount to sway my purchase, especially if you ever wanted to resale it, in which case I would guess that the ethos would hold better value.

Again thanks Mel for this in depth review.

James

[vlebo]

I've heard it before with 100 degree eyepieces that you have to move your eye around the field of view and this can become annoying after a while. Therefore AB , would you say that Pentax XW eyepieces are a better choice with a 70 degree field of view and 20 mm eye relief ? These are the only eyepieces I have ever really tried and have always wondered how they compare to wider field of view EP.

Vlebo

[russ]

Really enjoyable read and incredibly well presented. Many thanks Mel for posting.

[Macavity]

Thanks, Mel. You could have saved me money. LOL. But I imagine the idea that one can "stand back" for a conventional (70 deg) view or "sit closer", for the full monty, is still the virtue of 100 deg eyepieces. But then I shelled out on a PST...

[John]

I've heard it before with 100 degree eyepieces that you have to move your eye around the field of view and this can become annoying after a while. Therefore AB , would you say that Pentax XW eyepieces are a better choice with a 70 degree field of view and 20 mm eye relief ? These are the only eyepieces I have ever really tried and have always wondered how they compare to wider field of view EP.

Vlebo

I've compared Pentax XW's (the 10mm and the 30mm) to their Nagler counterparts and the difference in the FoV is not that apparent in actual use - I think that is because the XW's generally have larger eye lenses than Naglers and longer eye relief. The XW's are just as sharp as the Naglers across the full FoV.

There is a more noticable FoV difference with the Ethoi though (the difference is noticable even over the Naglers) but I strongly agree with what John (johninderby) says here - Ethoi are not just about a very wide FoV, they are superbly sharp, high transmission, well baffled eyepieces. But they are also very expensive.....

I've been a user of Naglers and now Ethoi for a number of years and I don't find that I need to move my head around to see the whole FoV but I think this is something that varies person to person. I can appreciate that some will prefer something around 70 degrees FoV - and the Pentax XW's (also not exactly cheap of course !) are possibly the best of that breed that I've used

[Space Beagle]

Another cracking review Mel! Really good reading!

I love my Ethos 13mm, but do have to move my head and eye around to appreciate the 100 degrees, on some targets you just don't bother 'cos what you're looking at is in the middle of the view!

Mind you, it is wonderful just panning around the night sky with it!!

I really can't see getting another one just because of the FoV, but I won't be getting rid of this one either!!

Can't wait for the 'Galileo Scope Scoop!!'

Doc

[Astro_Baby]

Macavity - no unfortunately you cant stand back with the EP and get the long view as such because the eye relief limits you. Perhaps it would be worth saying that the views with the ES1400 (if you disregard the 100FOV) are amazingly sharp and VERY bright which makes it a good (superb even) eyepiece in its own right - for instance its brighter, sharper better defined than a Hyperion but then at 4x the price it should be

For me I prefer a longer focal length and less FOV - it is horses for courses of course and initially I thought when I looked down the ES1400 WOW !! But its quite a shortlived thing and then you start to wonder (as in fact I did) whether for most of us a £300 wunderkind is really worth it when you could have a set of (for instance) Nirvanas second hand for the same money and many of us would be just as happy with the views.

THanks to for everyones supportive comments.