Review of Televue 13mm Ethos Eyepiece

[Moonshane]

I finally managed to get my hands on my dream eyepiece, the 13mm Ethos. I had been determined not to look through one as I knew I'd be hooked. A few weeks ago, a fellow SGL member came round to my house to try my eyepieces and dob and one look for only a few seconds at the Double Cluster in Perseus and I was indeed hooked - the next day I decided to sell my Radians (14mm and 18mm) and start the hunt for a used 13mm Ethos which covers the field of view range of those two eyepieces nicely. As luck would have it there was one for sale about 10 miles from where I live, in mint condition and boxed and even better he took my Radians as a partial trade and for the money I would have sold them for - result!

I collected it yesterday and amazingly the skies were clear for much of last night although as the night went on the clouds started mocking me as usual, rolling into each target I mentally selected as I turned the scope to the appropriate constellation.

However, I did manage a mini Messier marathon and saw a total of 12 Messiers including four new ones, as well as a host of other targets including Jupiter and Uranus. I will do a separate report on the session under the appropriate forum.

Build Quality

As expected (and demanded at the price), from the box to the coatings to the overall feel, this is a quality eyepiece.

The box is large and contains a bespoke expanded but quite rigid foam insert sliced down the centre; this eyepiece will not move in transit. As usual I took out a section of the pick and pluck foam from my Maplins case and inserted the expanded foam into the case so it offers maximum protection.

The whole eyepiece oozes quality, the eyecup is soft and flexibe; easily folded down. The coatings are lush and green. The body has the usual rubber grip to assist with damp conditions etc and the dual barrel nosepiece (this eyepiece can be used in 1.25" and 2" focusers) are all very well constructed. I think I might buy one of the 'skirts' (or a Hyperion tuning ring) to make this 2" only as I feel this will protect the lens at the end of the barrel but it's not really necessary. There is nothing I can fault in terms of the build.

In Use Comments

This eyepiece is everything the hype says it is. Fair enough, the price is high but effectively this eyepiece covers the field of view of several other eyepieces and therefore if you buy quality eyepieces, you need less of them so in effect the cost is immaterial. By way of example, if you have say 12, 14 and 18mm Radians or a 13mm and a 17mm Nagler, the cost of the Ethos (which pretty much covers the ranges of these eyepieces) is about the same.

Another reason for switching (apart from the quality) was that I was conscious about constantly swapping eyepieces as 1) (although I am always VERY careful) Each time I do, I risk dropping and damaging one and 2) I spend less time observing and 'constantly' chasing the right magnification.

This latter point was really brought home to me last night. For the objects viewed (mainly galaxies, globular clusters and open clusters) I found that I could really use just two eyepieces, the 13mm Ethos and the 35mm Panoptic. In fact as I have a Telrad and an optical finder I often used the Ethos as a finder and then stuck with it.

The field of view with this eyepiece as expected is truly astonishing. It really gives excellent perspective and context to the objects observed. Using the eyecup folded down you could almost take in the whole field and it is a joy to use with or without spectacles with good eye relief stated at 15mm which seemed accurate to me. There was very little kidney beaning at all and only when you were well off axis and 'looking round the corner' so this did not impact on the view at all. It's a plug and play eyepiece.

I have to say that the sharpness and clarity of the Ethos was 'only' about the same as the Radians I sold in my view, which in a way is to be expected as they are quite superb eyepieces themselves. It's the additional and sharp field that you are paying for with these wide field eyepieces. I should point out that I am observing from a quite poor site for light pollution (10 miles from Manchester and close to Stockport) and the seeing was really quite bad on the night. I suspect that these eyepieces and my scope for that matter, will come into their own at a dark(er) site. I suspect the contrast will be slightly better in the Ethos. BUT if you are looking for a massive improvement in sharpness and clarity from other TV eyepieces (or similar quality) and not the wider field of view, it may not be the right eyepiece for you.

The eyepiece is reasonably light for its size (it's large - see http://stargazerslounge.com/members-equipment-gallery/110934-guess-one-ill-upgrading-next.html) and certainly a lot lighter than the 35mm Panoptic.

Comparing the view through the 13mm Ethos and the 35mm Panoptic confirmed one of the advantages of a shorter focal length and a wider field cf. the other way round. The sky was much brighter with the Panoptic and the contrast much enhanced (as expected of course) in the Ethos. Everything really sparkled with the Ethos and I cannot wait for better conditions to try it again. As much as I love the 35mm (and the 24mm) Panoptics, I really suspect that at my usual observing site, I may be better going for something with a little more contrast and sell the Panoptics. I'll reserve judgment though until I can get to a darker site and see a winter through with them, when the skies will of course be darker anyway.

This is the best eyepiece I have owned and I will not be selling it! I do not regret selling the Radians for a minute and will almost certainly be getting the 8mm Ethos when funds allow. If you have never looked through one and get the chance, it's recommended but be warned, if you like the wider field then you may be in for some soul searching if you do . Currently (albeit based on one night's observing in less than ideal conditions) in my opinion, you will not improve markedly on the image quality of the other TV eyepieces (based on the ones I have tried) but you will certainly have a much enhanced view of what you see and more of the context of the bit of sky it sits in. If you can afford one then I'd strongly recommend you get one; you will not regret it.

I'll report back again with updates when I manage a night with better conditions.

Cheers

Shane

[Nick P]

Nice review Shane, and you raise a very important point - replacement of existing lenses with fewer but higher quality EP's - the 13mm and a 6mm Ethoi could replace 6 plossls 32, 26, 15, 10, 8, and 6 mm and pretty much maintain the same FOV for the range and get a gain in magnification across the Fields of view.

Admittedly the 6 plossls would probably only pay for one Ethos, but the advantages of only having two top quality EP's, less changing of optics and associated risks of damage, and better views, makes this option quite attractive and cost effective.

Best

Nick

[Moonshane]

Indeed Nick

what I have done myself in the past and currently is buy eg a £36 TMB 8mm to cover this magnification while I save for the 8mm Ethos. This way I prove to myself over time I will use an 8mm eyepiece and can cover this magnification when required in the meantime. Eventually I'll sell the TMB for maybe £25 and this raises a little toward the Ethos 8mm too.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Shane

A nice report and I am glad that the 13mm Ethos comes up to your expectation - it really is a wonderful EP.

I would agree with your comment that you require less EPs and I now have only 5 main EPs for use with my Dob and frac which I have detailed in my signature. The Baader Zoom is used in my PST and WO SD66 for white light solar.

When I go DSO hunting I start with the 26mm Nagler switch to the 13mm Ethos and have a closer inspection with the 8mm Ethos - again a fantastic EP.

Shane I hope you get some good clear nights to really sample the delights of the Ethos.

Mark

[Moonshane]

cheers Mark (congrats on the completion of the Messiers BTW).

Been thinking about the 26mm Nagler myself. BUT I cannot really see any major advantages of this over the 24mm and 35mm Panoptic combo I have.

I'll reserve judgment for a bit longer I think and struggle along with them for now.

Really looking forward to using the Ethos under dark skies.

[Mark at Beaufort]

I changed my 35mm Panoptic for the 26mm Nagler mainly because the exit pupil was too great for my f4.7 Dob although great in the 4" frac. If I had a 24mm Panoptic I would not have changed to the Nagler.

I have a 22mm Panoptic which is very good but now gets little use. If I was in your position I would stay as you are and keep the 2 Panoptics which are great EPs.

Mark

[Rossco72]

Hope it brings you lots of joy Shane.

I really enjoy the 68 degree field of my panoptic and find it very comfortable. They are great eyepieces.

The Ethos I have are great too but sometimes the 100 degrees can just be a little too much for comfort. I just need a 26mm Nagler to complete my EP collection again after selling on my 28mm UWAN.

Clear Skies

Stuart

[John]

Excellent report Shane. I was very nervous about investing in an Ethos but I don't regret doing it now either - in fact I've recently managed to pick up an Ethos 8mm to go with the 13mm.

Your comments about using less eyepieces and the wider FoV showing the same amount of sky at higher magnification and therefore with a darker background sky are important factors I believe and worth making.

I also recently managed to pick up an Antares 1.6x 2" barlow lens - this works extremely well with the Ethoi I've found so worth looking out for.

[Beulah]

Great review, Shane! I'm on the first rung of the ladder with TV plossls, but will upgrade when I get a hankering for a wider FOV.

[Moonshane]

cheers Stuart and John for your comments. I'll never look back I reckon. an 8E is definitely on the cards in due course although with the 6" dob I think I might see what the 8 is like but may actually eventually also get an 8mm Radian given the weight issues.

Sam, you know you'll never resist! I bet the image quality of the Ethos is not massively better than the TV plossls but the field is something else!