Damo636
sage
Reged: 08/16/11
Loc: Ireland
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If You Had A Choice....
#5566964 - 12/12/12 04:18 AM
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Between owning an 8mm Ethos or both 10 & 7mm XWs, which would you choose and why?
My scope is a 1500mm fl undriven dob and I have these three eps in my posession (now for the 2nd time) at the moment and love them all! I cannot find fault with any but at the same time I cannot make up my mind which to keep. Keeping all three is not an option. Which would you keep & why 
Cheers
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BillP
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/06
Loc: Vienna, VA
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Damo636]
#5567190 - 12/12/12 09:13 AM
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Looking over your sig line, if it were me then I would keep the 8E as it provides a consistent look and feel with your longer FL EPs, then get a custom 2.2x 2" Barlow (from Siebert probably - or an extention for the TV Big Barlow to get to 2.2x) and then use that with the 13mm and 8mm Ethos to get to 5.9mm and 3.6mm focal lengths.
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Bob Griffiths
Getting Grouchy
Reged: 10/10/05
Loc: Frederick Maryland
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: BillP]
#5567248 - 12/12/12 09:55 AM
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I'd personally keep the 2 XW's...
BECAUSE I just do not need OR want an ultra wide FOV when viewing at 187x sure as the devil do not want an ultra wide FOV at 214x with the 7 ... The 10 at 150x I "think" I'd still use a narrower FOV eyepiece....
For under 100x This old boy appreciates ultra wide FOV's...
Bob G.
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stratocaster
sage
Reged: 10/27/11
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Bob Griffiths]
#5567278 - 12/12/12 10:23 AM
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If you have all three eyepieces in your possession, there is no one better qualified to determine which to keep than yourself. Just compare the various views and characteristics, e.g. weight, color, correction, etc. relative to your personal viewing habits/preferences, eye physiology, equipment, etc. They're all great eyepieces, so it's a good problem to have.
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coutleef
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/21/08
Loc: Saint-Donat, Québec, Canada
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Bob Griffiths]
#5567282 - 12/12/12 10:24 AM
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i used an ethos EP extensively and After a year lost the thrill of using 100 degrees EP. 70 degrees is what i like the most.
if i had a 8 ethos i would sell it for the two pentax EPs and would not miss at all the ethos (this is my experience).
other CNers would do exactly the opposite.
keep them and use them until you find a reason to let one or two go.
that is what i did with my T6 and T5 and took my time to take a decision. i just wanted to avoid the unpleeasant surprise that i had made rhe wrong choice.
there is no best choice here. one will be better for you and only you can find that.
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kkokkolis
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/23/09
Loc: Piraeus, Greece
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Bob Griffiths]
#5567288 - 12/12/12 10:27 AM
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Difficult situation. I like miniseries (teams of 2 to 4 similars) of eyepieces. You have to decide to break the troika of death or give away two of the best high magnification eyepieces that exist. Either is a pain. You might relieve the pain if you sell the Ethos and buy with the money a Pentax XW 5mm (now that's another hot trio). You'll need nothing more for your 12" f/5 (I suspect).
The low mag trio will offer expanded views of the sky. The high mag trio will have excellent transmission and long term comfort. You'll approximate your max entrance pupil with the 3mm and the telescope's max practical power with the 5mm. You'll have both Ethos and Pentax options at and around 2mm exit pupil for general deep sky work. You'll avoid barlows. Your collection will expand 6x without them. And everything remains premium.
EDIT: I missed that you had already a Nagler 31. All that you miss is a Pentax 5mm and you'll have spare money for another astrogoodie.
Edited by kkokkolis (12/12/12 10:40 AM)
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tomcody
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/06/08
Loc: Titusville, Florida
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: BillP]
#5567307 - 12/12/12 10:41 AM
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Looking over your sig line, if it were me then I would keep the 8E as it provides a consistent look and feel with your longer FL EPs, then get a custom 2.2x 2" Barlow (from Siebert probably - or an extention for the TV Big Barlow to get to 2.2x) and then use that with the 13mm and 8mm Ethos to get to 5.9mm and 3.6mm focal lengths.
+1
I use an Astro Physics Barcon with my ethos eyepieces and think that the combination is magical!
Rex
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Damo636
sage
Reged: 08/16/11
Loc: Ireland
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: tomcody]
#5567430 - 12/12/12 12:01 PM
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Thanks for the great response guys! The original plan was to have the 10, 7, 5mm XWs for mid-high powers, but before I pulled the trigger on the 5, I couldn't resist another stab at the 8 Ethos! The first time I owned it, I sold it having convinced myself the eye relief felt tighter than the longer focal lengths. I still believe it feels tighter than the others but not near as bad as I remember it at first time of asking? I would say the XW is definitely the comfier eyepiece for extended use, but the Ethos is also a pretty special ep! Decisions, decisions 
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jmskuban
member
Reged: 06/14/09
Loc: Illinois
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: tomcody]
#5567439 - 12/12/12 12:05 PM
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undriven dob caught my eye on this, I'd keep the 8mm, with consideration to letting the object drift through the FOV at high power.
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howard929
Member
Reged: 01/02/11
Loc: Low End of High Ground
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Damo636]
#5567457 - 12/12/12 12:15 PM
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In your shoes, I'd scrap the expensive glass for ES 82's and/or 100's, and buy a paracoor to smooth out the edges. Because: I'm a cheap guy.
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SteveG
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/27/06
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: howard929]
#5567885 - 12/12/12 04:06 PM
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I'd keep the XW's. Just my 2 cents...
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slack
sage
Reged: 05/02/12
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: SteveG]
#5567907 - 12/12/12 04:24 PM
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I'd keep the XW's. Just my 2 cents...
Me too.
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iceblaze
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/15/11
Loc: 33.9° N, 118.4° W Lawndale, CA
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: slack]
#5567939 - 12/12/12 04:51 PM
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Hello Damo,
I assume you're using an un-driven dob, so my suggestion mirrors Bill P's in that you should keep your Ethos EP's, and perhaps get yourself another barlow at 2.2x. Hopefully someone like Don Pensack will chime in here and share his wisdom as to why he usually only tools around a few Ethoi over a legion of glass for his 12.5" dob
-James
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Scanning4Comets
Markus
Reged: 12/26/04
Loc: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: iceblaze]
#5568022 - 12/12/12 05:56 PM
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I went through the same dilemma last night! I didn't know whether to keep my 10mm XW or 13mm Vixen LXW, so I did a shoot out last night!
I ended up liking them both because I can get 200x with the 13mm Vixen LVW and barlow and 240x with the 10mm XW and barlow.....so both serve a purpose in the end.
If I had to move one of them, it would be the 13mm LVW.
Cheers,
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ausastronomer
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/30/03
Loc: Kiama NSW (Australia)
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: jmskuban]
#5568042 - 12/12/12 06:13 PM
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undriven dob caught my eye on this, I'd keep the 8mm, with consideration to letting the object drift through the FOV at high power.
Why would "undriven dob" catch your eye. Without a paracorr the view isn't even close to diffraction limited at and near the edges of the FOV of a 100 degree AFOV eyepiece. Consequently observing targets near the EOF of a 100 degree high power eyepiece isnt an option for mine.
When using my 10" dob which is the only undriven scope I own, I always and I mean always, center the target and hand track to keep the target centred in the FOV, irrespective of the AFOV eyepiece I am using.
Here is a link to a graph of spot sizes with and without a paracorr from the Televue Website
From the graph on the right you can see the spot size grows rapidly as you go off axis.
As a couple of others have said an immersive 70 deg AFOV suits them perfectly. I am the same. I much prefer a comfortable 70 deg view. I have a 13mm ETHOS that hasn't come out of the closet in over 2 years. I prefer the 14mm Pentax XW with paracorr to the the 13mm ETHOS.
I certainly wouldn't by getting rid of the 10mm and 7mm Pentax XW's. In my 10" and 14" scopes they are my two most used eyepieces.
Cheers
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johnnyha
Postmaster
Reged: 11/12/06
Loc: Sherman Oaks, CA
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: ausastronomer]
#5568052 - 12/12/12 06:22 PM
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In your shoes I would go 13E-10XW-7XW-5XW. I have found the 13E barlows quite well to 8mm with the Antares 1.6X barlow, how do you find that compared to your 8E?
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Damo636
sage
Reged: 08/16/11
Loc: Ireland
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: johnnyha]
#5568658 - 12/13/12 04:13 AM
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The 13E does barlow very well indeed with the Antares 1.6x Johnny. The barlowed 13E is actually more comfortable as the eye relief is extended slightly. Optically there's not a lot in it, with the stand alone 8mm maybe having a slight edge in control of scatter. That said, I still would prefer a stand alone ep at this fl. I bought the Antares along with the first 8E I owned to give me a virtual 5mm . Like the 13E, it worked well but didn't see that much use if I'm honest (300x. Even though I said in the original post that one had to go, I think I'm to going to hold on to all three for the time being and not rush into a decision. I realise it comes down to personal taste at the end of the day, but its interesting to hear everyones differing opinions on these eps.
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Starman81
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/06/08
Loc: Metro Detroit, MI, USA
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Damo636]
#5568779 - 12/13/12 07:56 AM
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A little late to the party, but anyways... I would keep the XW 10 & 7 and I say that not only because I have those, but you already have a couple amazing Ethoi and can get your fill of the 100* AFOV with those focal lengths (21 & 13) and then like you said you could barlow the 13 for lower power. The XW 10 & 7 should be your 'sit back and relax and take in the view' crew. All Ethos all the time sounds great but changing gears to XW's allows you relax a bit more when you feel like it.
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t.r.
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/14/08
Loc: Upstate NY
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: Starman81]
#5568870 - 12/13/12 09:27 AM
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keep them and use them until you find a reason to let one or two go.
Ditto.
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Darren Drake
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/09/02
Loc: Chicagoland
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Re: If You Had A Choice....
[Re: t.r.]
#5568906 - 12/13/12 10:02 AM
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I sold by my 7XW and 10XW to get an 8E. It was a tough sacrifice but I never looked back although I eventually did get a 10 Delos.
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