la200o
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/09/08
Loc: SE Michigan, USA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Doug D.]
#5271150 - 06/14/12 12:08 PM
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I'm working on a full set of Ethoi so I can get rid of just about everything else.
Bill
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Ed Holland
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/16/10
Loc: San Jose, CA and Oxford, UK
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Doug D.]
#5271151 - 06/14/12 12:09 PM
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I've done a little of both, but am not really concerned about following any particular line, just enjoy what works.
I have a 4 piece set of Parks Gold Series, since I was impressed with them after buying the 35mm, and at a later date there was a sale....
I started with Parks Silver Series, 3 pieces, which now provide a good second set for public star parties.
A 3 Piece set of Surplus Shed Kellners
But then there are some odds and sods that have been acquired on a whim or arrived with other purchases e.g. the budget priced 28mm RKE.
They are just tools in a tool-box really. Perhaps one day I'll have an extensive widefield lineup, but for the moment, I like being married 
Ed
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saemark30
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/21/12
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Doug D.]
#5271183 - 06/14/12 12:31 PM
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Not necessarily one line but I do try to buy them Brand by Brand.
So far Televues and RKE but no Meade or ES for instance but I may pick out the best from a line.
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Carl Kolchak
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/02/06
Loc: Northeast, Florida
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: saemark30]
#5271602 - 06/14/12 04:52 PM
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MikeBOKC asked:
Quote:
Which are you and why?
Hyperions 24, 17. 13, 10, 8, 5
TMB Planetary: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3.2. 2.3
Why? They work for me and my scopes.
peace & clear skies,
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johnnyha
Postmaster
Reged: 11/12/06
Loc: Sherman Oaks, CA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Carl Kolchak]
#5271619 - 06/14/12 05:06 PM
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I use a mix of Brandons (24mm and 12mm) and ZAO-IIs (16mm and 10mm) for both binoviewing and lunar/planetary along with a 2x barlow. Then I have a 31T5 Nagler, 13mm and 10mm Ethos, and 10,7,5 Pentax XW.
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saemark30
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/21/12
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: johnnyha]
#5271623 - 06/14/12 05:08 PM
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Aren't the 10E and 10 XW redundant?
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johnnyha
Postmaster
Reged: 11/12/06
Loc: Sherman Oaks, CA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: saemark30]
#5271630 - 06/14/12 05:12 PM
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Quote:
Aren't the 10E and 10 XW redundant?
Yes and if I were to choose one it would be the 10 Ethos. The XW hangs around because I dropped it four feet onto concrete and put a dent in the barrel where the filter threads are - of course it's otherwise undamaged and works perfectly. It's my "star party" eyepiece.  I decided to try the 10 Ethos this year and I love it. I was gonna sell the 10 XW but it's just one of those eyepieces you hang onto. Plus the 10-7-5 makes a nice little mini-set.
I'm looking for a nice 21 Ethos now to complete my Ethos mini-set.
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GeneT
Ely Kid
Reged: 11/07/08
Loc: South Texas
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5271735 - 06/14/12 06:35 PM
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Nothing wrong with 'mix and match.' I bought my first Nagler, liked it, and bought some more. I bought a Radian, liked it, and bought several more. I bought a Delos, liked it, and as new ones come out, will sell my Radians, and replace them with the Delos. Once I get used to the characteristics of a participial eyepiece set, I do stick with them because I like the similar feel and consistency of views they provide.
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Scanning4Comets
Markus
Reged: 12/26/04
Loc: Deep Space!
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: GeneT]
#5271863 - 06/14/12 08:11 PM
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Quote:
Nothing wrong with 'mix and match.' I bought my first Nagler, liked it, and bought some more. I bought a Radian, liked it, and bought several more. I bought a Delos, liked it, and as new ones come out, will sell my Radians, and replace them with the Delos. Once I get used to the characteristics of a participial eyepiece set, I do stick with them because I like the similar feel and consistency of views they provide.
These are not "mix n match", they are all TeleVue....I'm pretty sure the OP means different brands.
Cheers,
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Lew Zealand
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/28/04
Loc: Pasadena, CA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Scanning4Comets]
#5272156 - 06/15/12 12:06 AM
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If I find a line of EPs with the features I'm looking for, I stick with it over the focal length ranges I need those features for. I wear glasses to view thanks to astigmatism, so exit pupils more than about 1.5mm demand ~18mm ER.
Therefore:
60-68° ranges (family, outreach, small scopes):
20 thru 40mm Meade 5k SWA
8, 13, 17mm Baader Hyperion
2.5, 3.2, 6mm BO/TMB Planetary (I'll keep specs on for these)
82° ranges (big [OK, biggish] scopes):
31mm Celestron Axiom
12, 17, 22mm Nagler T4
5mm Nagler T6
9.4mm Speers WALER II
4, 7mm WO UWAN
I stil have the Meade 4k Plossl set (bought with the SCT), which will go to Little Z one day with the Starblast 6.
I used to have a more varied set, at one point having about a dozen from different manufacturers but those were purchased before realizing that it is more efficient to do what I said in my first sentence above: identify the problem and then the best solution.
On the other hand, I have a little f/5.8 Meade DS ota in a bag in the car at all times with a Baader Hyperion Zoom. Coupled with the camera tripod which is also always there, I'll never be far from a scope when I might want to look at something. This EP is a whole line by itself.
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spaceoddity
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/28/09
Loc: Cloudsylvania
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Lew Zealand]
#5272229 - 06/15/12 02:16 AM
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Mix and match for me. I have 4 meade series 5K UWA's which is the closest thing I have to a set. I have 2 ES82 N2's, 2 meade 5K SWA's, a celestron axiom, many plossl's and a couple orthos of different brands. Now if the ES82 N2's had come out a few months earlier at their sale prices, I might have a set of them instead of the meade UWA's.
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Messyone
super member
Reged: 05/02/12
Loc: Down Under
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Doug Culbertson]
#5272248 - 06/15/12 02:48 AM
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Doug if I had a bunch of XW's  I wouldn't want to many other eyepieces either.
Matt
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Darenwh
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/11/06
Loc: Covington, GA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Messyone]
#5272481 - 06/15/12 09:24 AM
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Mix in match is the way to go for me also. I would get all one brand if the whole line was great but nearly every line has a dog in the bunch. Research each eyepiece prior to purchase and you likely will end up with one primary line with just a few eyepieces from other lines to make up for a dog in the prefered line. For instance, if you were getting every ES82 you may choose to skip the ES82 14mm and throw the extra money needed to get a Nagler 13mm T6 due to the ES82 14mm's field curvature problem.
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FirstSight
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/05
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Darenwh]
#5272637 - 06/15/12 10:57 AM
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Quote:
I would get all one brand if the whole line was great but nearly every line has a dog in the bunch.
The Ethos line of EPs is one of the most remarkably uniform lines of eyepieces in existence across all focal-lengths offered, whether in terms of optical performance or in terms of user ergonomics; there isn't even remotely a focal-length in the group that's a "dog" relative to the others or to any other line of eyepieces. That's not to say the price or the characteristics of the line are suited to everyone's tastes, but rather that if you're familiar with e.g. a 13mm Ethos, you already have an excellently accurate idea about what your experience with any of the other focal-lengths in the Ethos lineup will be like. Your decisions about acquiring or keeping any of the other focal-lengths are strongly likely to be determined by whether the usefulness of a given focal-length Ethos is worthwhile in your situation to be worth the investment, or whether for your particular tastes and needs, it's the right tool, or perhaps whether for your financial tastes, the less expensive ES line of 100 deg AFOV EPs seems good enough to you. But it won't be because there are any significant unexpected surprises about any particular member of the Ethos line, other than your general reaction yea or nay to the entire line.
About the only quirk I've experienced is particular to my 12" reflector, in that there's not quite enough out-focus for the 6E or 8E to come to focus in 2" mode (I have 2" adapters on all my dual-focus Ethos), but that's easily solved by always securing them with the compression ring a little-finger width up the neck in the focuser rather than seated all the way in.
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la200o
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/09/08
Loc: SE Michigan, USA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: FirstSight]
#5272677 - 06/15/12 11:19 AM
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Yeah, no dogs in the Ethos line.
Bill
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Darenwh
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/11/06
Loc: Covington, GA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: FirstSight]
#5272682 - 06/15/12 11:22 AM
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True, perhaps the Ethos and so far the Delos lines are suitable to keep every focal length. And, to be honest, if the price were right I would jump on one or both of them, but unless you are buying those two lines it really pays to check user reviews of any line of eyepieces. Those two, and the ES100's (IMHO) are the only ones that are consistent in their performance across the line. Unfortunately the ES100's don't have enough variety of focal lengths for most people's needs but if the consistency of these stay where they are now as ES fills in the line then they will be another line that a person can depend on to be very consistent. Either way, I still believe that a purchaser should check reviews of any eyepiece they are considering and try to check a sample of that eyepiece in their scope prior to committing money to the eyepiece. This is much easier said than done though as it is hard to find a specific eyepiece in use at most star parties as this is such a small hobby.
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Greg77
member
Reged: 05/02/09
Loc: Slovenia (EU)
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Darenwh]
#5272686 - 06/15/12 11:28 AM
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I just stick with one line...I mean company...Pentax. They make some very nice glass.
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Darenwh
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/11/06
Loc: Covington, GA
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Greg77]
#5272725 - 06/15/12 11:53 AM
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I agree Pentax eyepieces are excellent but some focal lengths do display some field curvature as well. Depending on a persons sensitivity to field curvature they may or may not like a few of the Pentax eyepieces. 20mm and 14mm XW's have some field curvature.
Be aware this depends on the individuals sensitivity to this aberation and the scope they are using them in. Most people would likely not even notice the curvature in these two eyepieces.
Edited by Darenwh (06/15/12 12:08 PM)
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saemark30
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/21/12
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: Darenwh]
#5273179 - 06/15/12 04:19 PM
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In practice mix and match is the less costly approach as eyepieces are usually not scaled so some focal lengths in a lineup may have serious aberrations.
If I could start over I can see a lineup of recent Naglers or Ethos working for me.
The Pentax lineup were always a bit more expensive for a Televue equivalent.
If for planetary use I would choose the Zeiss ZAO mostly.
Then again most people only use 2 eyepieces in a series so that is a waste of dollars and sense.
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drollere
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/02/10
Loc: sebastopol, california
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Re: Do you stick with one line or mix and match?
[Re: saemark30]
#5273285 - 06/15/12 05:24 PM
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i think this depends on how you approach the problem of buying eyepieces.
in my case, if i hear enough good brand reports, i will buy three from the line at low, medium and high power. if i like, i buy out the line. if i don't, i'm only in for three. i also like having eyepieces at similar magnifications across different brands; it allows me to make useful comparisons in aberrations, contrast, ghosting, etc. i have learned much that way.
i think others hear that the # mm XYZ eyepiece is really terrific, so they go out and buy that specific eyepiece. they are more likely to end up with a mix & match collection.
i'd guess the mix and match approach is more common among folks who enjoy super wide field eyepieces and in particular folks who own dobsonians ... because the scope focal ratio produces more field curvature and the large exit pupil makes long focal length eyepieces less attractive. that aside, most super wide field eyepieces made today are optically different at each focal length, so the quality across the entire line is uneven.
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