Why So Many Ethos Eyepieces For Sale?

[pbyrne]

Hi all

Looking around the web at various second hand astro equipment sites I notice that a lot of Ethos eyepieces come up for sale and I was wondering why this was?

Anyone who has sold one, can you give your own reasons?

I'm just curious.

Paul

[GazOC]

Funny you should say that Paul, I was thinking exactly the same thing a couple of days ago.

[Macavity]

Heheh. As a personal, non-Ethos owing, perhaps an irrelevant, POV:

I think it reflects LITTLE on the stuff. Different worldview? Different

financial circumstances? Different strokes? Who can say (judge)?

[Takahashi]

Spooky... I was thinking exactly that last week. Considering they're so revered, it seems odd that so many people are offloading them! Maybe a few over-stretched bank balances, as a result of splurging half-a-grand on one EP?

[John]

Spooky... I was thinking exactly that last week. Considering they're so revered, it seems odd that so many people are offloading them! Maybe a few over-stretched bank balances, as a result of splurging half-a-grand on one EP?

Well, as the owner of an Ethos 13mm I can vouch for the performance - it's superb.

But it is a big financial investment as well so it's possible that folks have decided that the performance difference between the Ethos and, say a Nagler T6 13mm is not worth the £200 or so price difference, to them, so they have decided to sell.

John

[Takahashi]

Yep, I agree. To a relatively inexperienced observer like myself, the extra cost would only be justified if I could realistically tell the difference between those and cheaper alternatives, but without the relevant experience of having used both, it would probably be a waste. In the "Naglers, UWANs or Nirvanas..." thread for example, the qualities you mentioned about the more expensive EPs being more versatile throughout a greater range of scope f-ratios, was previsouly unknown to me.

[Mark at Beaufort]

It is always difficult to understand why anyone still interested in astronomy would want to sell an Ethos unless there are financial reasons for the individual. I bought my 13mm Ethos S/H from an experienced SGL member. I know exactly why he sold it, which would allow him to fund a different visual pathway, which I fully understood. I was so impressed with the quality of the 13mm that I bought the 8mm Ethos - but I waited until Telescope House had a 10% offer.

Would I buy another - doubtful. I have a 35mm Televue Panoptic which is brilliant so if I bought another EP it would either be another Panoptic or a Nagler.

Mark

[johninderby]

I think it has a lot to do with the resale value and the fact that they're so easy to sell. For some it's a convienient way to come up with some quick cash. If you bought an Ethos last year during one of Telescope House's 10% off sales you will probably be able to get back what you paid for it.

My favourite Ethos is my 6mm, great planetary eyepiece and also the smallest and lightest of the range

[Astro_Baby]

Probably cos they all want to get to own the Explore Scientific ES14000

[johninderby]

Probably cos they all want to get to own the Explore Scientific ES14000

Sorry, but don't need any more doorstops

John

[Yoddha]

One other point of view is that the Ethos are quite heavy and might rise a lot of unexpected discomfort related to balance?

If have small Naglers and/or Pans and I'm happy with them, and I have to re-balance every time I use these grenades it is possible to wish to get back to the old days

[John]

....One other point of view is that the Ethos are quite heavy and might rise a lot of unexpected discomfort related to balance? ....

Actually, for it's physical size, the Ethos 13mm does not weigh as much as you would think - the 31mm Nagler which is shorter but fatter weighs about 1lb more.

I've got a theory that the Ethos has a lens at each end but is otherwise empty apart from a small elf who projects lovely pictures of astro objects at the eye end when the lens caps are off (very Pratchett-esque). No wonder Al Nagler is keeping the internal design a secret

John

[johninderby]

The Ethos eyepieces do seem to have a lot of empty space inside, something to do with spacing out the lens elements I expect, so the weight is indeed less than you might expect. There aren't any diagrams of the Ethos eyepieces available, and I'm not going to be taking one apart anytime soon !!!

The closest diagram I can find is of the Explore Scientific eyepiece, which although a much heavier eyepiece probably has some similarities.

Just out of interest here's a diagram of the Koehler 120 degree eyepiece desinged at Zeiss back in the 1960s for use in military binoculars.

John

[Yoddha]

...Actually, for it's physical size, the Ethos 13mm does not weigh as much as you would think - the 31mm Nagler which is shorter but fatter weighs about 1lb more...

Definitely you are are right, but compared to 16T5 or 13T6, Ethos 13 is three times heavier

[Macavity]

Perhaps it's owners of MULTIPLE Ethoi realising there are some focal

lengths that they... "just never use"?

Churlish, I know, and one should consider content over style - But, as

I admire the Ethos siblings from afar, frankly I'd want a "DNA test"!

[John]

One thing that can get overlooked about the Ethos is that it can replace 2 eyepieces, eg: I used to have a 13mm Nagler and a 16mm Nagler but I figured that the 13mm Ethos would show me as much sky (and darker sky at that) as the 16mm could show so both the Naglers went. Likewise if I could run to an 6mm Ethos I could probably "loose" my 5 and 7mm Naglers.

The same argument can be used for the Nagler 3-6mm zoom - the initial purchase price is high but it can replace 3 high power eyepieces.

Funnily enough my wife can't see merits of the above logic as clearly as I seem to ....

John

[Wobbly Bob]

This topic reminds me of a certain expensive vacumn cleaner, if there so good, why do you see loads of them at car bot sales.

I have a feeling it may well be the mass of these ethos beastie's. When you consider up until a few years ago, most eyepieces were of 1 1/4" plossil size, the largest being at the 30 to 40mm end except TV's 31mm grenade. Most scopes and dobs could cope with these "standard size" eye pieces.

These days some of the new breed of EP's are simply HUMUNGUS and I would suspect many new owners do have balancing problems.

[Astro_Baby]

As regards a certain vacuum cleaner (way off topic I know) mine ended up at a car boot sale. I so wanted to buy from a British inventor but the sad truth is the product was useless.

I now hoover with a Hitachi which is nice because they used to be a competitor of mine and now I can say 'eat dirt Hitachi' and it does

[TheMightyKong]

The Ethos eyepieces do seem to have a lot of empty space inside, something to do with spacing out the lens elements I expect, so the weight is indeed less than you might expect. There aren't any diagrams of the Ethos eyepieces available, and I'm not going to be taking one apart anytime soon !!!

The closest diagram I can find is of the Explore Scientific eyepiece, which although a much heavier eyepiece probably has some similarities.

Just out of interest here's a diagram of the Koehler 120 degree eyepiece desinged at Zeiss back in the 1960s for use in military binoculars.

John

I do wonder how that Koehler would do with computer optimised design tweaks, modern glass types and coatings... for all we know the ethos design may even have been based on it

Back on topic, the most serious shortcoming of the ethos for me was it's eyerelief - have to take the glasses off for a proper spacewalk, then I find it prone to fogging. Can't wait for the Type II ethos...

[FLO]

Interesting to note how few 24mm Panoptics appear on the secondhand market. There is a lot to be said for an eyepiece that places the available light in the optimum FOV

lights the fuse then silently retreats.... !

[Rusty Strings]

I certainly won't be parting with mine any time soon

John