Which Ethos?

[Kef9]

Ok I posted something similar to this a while ago but now its make your mind up time. I'm looking to complete my eyepiece collection with 1 last ethos and take advantage of the TH 10% sale and beat the VAT rise.

Im looking for a nice big eye lens for planetary for those times when all my small plenary eyepiece lenses fog up.

The options are;

1. Be versitile and get the 8mm and have the powermate option to take it down to 4mm when required. Also this is £30 cheaper.

2. Get the 3.7 SX and enjoy the extra 10 degree FoV, throw the powermate out of the equation for the most part and continue to use the 8mm plossl for that particular focal length which I really like?

I also will probably get the 2.5mm XO and the 3.7 ethos would sit nicely between 2 XO's. I read the Johninderby review of the 3.7 which has swayed me slightly. My heart says SX but my head says 8mm - What should I do? HELP

[John]

I've got the 13mm, 8mm and 6mm and all are fantastic eyepieces so I don;t see any reason why the 3.7mm SW should be anything but that as well.

I use an Antares 1.6x 2" barlow for 5mm and 3.75mm but I guess I'd buy the 3.7mm SX if I could justify the outlay. With the seeing conditions over the last month though I don't find I'm using the barlowed 6mm much, to be honest, which has rather put me off investing £400+ in one when the £30 barlow delivers 90% or so of the performance.

So, like you, my heart would say 3.7mm SX but my head would say 8mm. Does not help much I know - sorry about that

[Moonshane]

Hi mate

If it was me and with your existing collection and scopes I'd do the following:

1) Buy the 8mm Ethos. This is quite light and small and would work well with the 2x PM I think.

2) Sell the Speers zoom. I suspect this is superfluous now?

With this and the £30 saved on the Ethos you are part way to the 2.5mm XO (but do you really need that with the Nagler 2-4??).

Cheers and I am sure you'll make the right decision for you!

[pvaz]

Though one.

Having the powermate, the 8mm seam the next logical step. That way you get 8 and 4mm and the 8mm will see more use due to seeing conditions.

[Kef9]

Gosh you guys are up late! Okay I will tell you guys exactly whats going through my head.

Looks like the 8mm is winning this battle so far. I'm having a really hard time making my mind up. I have the 13mm and this powermates well to 6.5mm. With the 8mm ethos and a powermate I would have a nice range of powers available 21mm, 13mm, 10.5mm (never used but available), 8mm, 6.5mm and 4mm.

The thing thats nagging me is that the SX is rather special and I would love to try the 110 degree FoV. Also my 8mm plossl which I love would be surplus if I got the 8mm ethos.

Regarding selling the speers. I dont know if I could do that because it has a special place in my heart being the first ever eyepiece I bought. I know what you mean though about it being a bit surplus to requirements. My first view of saturn through the eyepiece was magic.

In response to Shanes query about the the XO and the nag zooms, I've found that its useful to have both because its not hard for the eyelenses to fog up so the backup is useful. The XO is good to pull out for when you want the best view possible but it doesn't last. The nag zooms last longer but they too will fog up after a bit of use (maybe you have had this too?). This is why I'm thinking of this desicion because of the big eye lens which is less prone to fogging. I love the 5mm XO so far but not really had the chance to fully test it yet with good seeing. Happy to know I can handle the 3mm eye relief. I also love the nag zooms because you can just dial into the seeing. I feel the XO's and nag zooms compliment each other before the dreaded happens.

P.S. Ive just had a thought that if I got a 4x powermate with the 8mm then you could add 5.25mm, 3.25mm and 2mm to the equation ( I would be more happy using this with the 21mm ethos because the 4x powermate has a safety undercut and the 2x doesnt?)

[glowjet]

Think of how many times you are going to be able to use the 3.7 SX with the seeing in this country, your next logical step is to buy the 4x powermate ( they are a very nice piece of kit by the way ) and your 8 mm Ethos and as you have pointed out you can work back from there,

[Moonshane]

ha ha - we are astronomers after all!

I don't think the 8mm would be redundant. I have the 12.5mm BGO and the 13mm Ethos and use them both equally but for different targets. 12.5mm is my most used EP on Jupiter and medium sized open clusters like M35, 37 etc really come alive in the Ethos.

good point about the speers it does give a good wide field too.

I am making some dew heaters to warm EPs to prevent this problem but yes, it's a right pain so I agree - options are good.

I am not sure the benefits of an extra 10 degrees outweigh an 8mm and 4mm Ethos? Not for me anyway.

[John]

This is a bit un-charitable towards TV but I have this sneaky theory that they made the 3.7mm 110 degrees and gave it the "SX" label because they feared that a "normal" Ethos 3.7 would not prove too attractive given the effectiveness of barlows / powermates with the other Ethe.

Just my suspicious mind I expect

[pvaz]

This is a bit un-charitable towards TV but I have this sneaky theory that they made the 3.7mm 110 degrees and gave it the "SX" label because they feared that a "normal" Ethos 3.7 would not prove too attractive given the effectiveness of barlows / powermates with the other Ethe.

Just my suspicious mind I expect

That's likely. Even for an honest company like TV with a good costumer support, in the end of the day they are a commercial enterprise and need to make their product attractive using market strategies.

The 3.7mm most be excellent for lunar observation and if lunar was my main interest I would seriously consider it. For more general purposes the 8mm with 100º FoV seams more then enough. At least I find it hard to take the whole 100º FoV as it is.

[Kef9]

I'm most probably looking at an 8mm ethos now. My head is winning!

I suspect you guys are right about the extra 10 degrees. I've actually thought that myself. If they made a 5mm with 110 degrees that would be perfect for me and it would fit in with the 1.6x multiplier from the 21mm, 13mm, 8mm set.

When you actually read some of televues literature they actually recommend that you don’t buy them all but buy either the 21mm, 13mm and 8mm or the 17mm, 10mm and 6mm which I found interesting.

[Kef9]

So, like you, my heart would say 3.7mm SX but my head would say 8mm. Does not help much I know - sorry about that

Well the time has nearly come to hit the button. The 8mm is definitely in the driving seat at the moment.

I would just like to ask you John following your comment above that if someone came up to you and offered you a straight swap giving you the 3.7mm for your 8mm what would you do?

[John]

I would just like to ask you John following your comment above that if someone came up to you and offered you a straight swap giving you the 3.7mm for your 8mm what would you do?

I'd keep the 8mm. With 2 of my scopes having a focal length of 1200mm and given my usual viewing conditions, I don't think I'd use the 329x that the Ethos 3.7mm delivers enough to justify the investment in that "slot" in my eyepiece case. Also the 8mm makes a nice step between the 13mm and 6mm Ethe at that focal length.

[Kef9]

Yep

Thats what I thought. I think the 8mm ethos is the more sensible choice for sure.

Cheers

[Kef9]

Well my head won in the end. 8mm ethos on its way!