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Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/20/08
Posts: 1558
Loc: Manila, Philippines 121*E 14*N
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Quote:
the TMBs look identical to the Zhumells. Are they truly identical optics or is there a quality difference
Interested also for the answer; if it carries the TMB name, then it should act like one, optics quality wise, or it might disappoint.
Best,
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Hernando
Nexstar 8/CG-5 ASGT; WO Megrez 102ED SV; Antares 6" 1529; WO ZS66SD; Orion ST80
TV Naglers 5T6, 9T1, 12T2; Panoptic27; Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom,21mm; WO 7.5-22.5mm
BO/TMB 2.5/3.2/4/6mm;UO HD 5;BGO 6;Meade-RGO 7;UO-V 9/12.5;Brandon 16mm;Ultima18
TV 2x,3x barlow&8/11/15/20/32plossl; Aspheric31;Siebert36-OB;Paragon40;Meade56Smoothie
C-f/6.3FR;OIII,UHC,SkyGlow,U-block,8"S-flter;GLP/Telrad/MRF/9x50RACI; NexImge;Canon RebelXS
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Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.
Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 3075
Loc: Right Here
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As with most look alike products in this hobby, there will be little or no difference. I would assume since TMB is bringing them out at the same time as the Zhumell and the BigC, if they are different I would be a little shocked.
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Michael Bieler
Father and Husband
Owner
www.astronomics.com
www.astronomytechnologies.com
www.cloudynights.com
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Astronomics
Vendor if you must, AKA The Mighty Kong.
Reged: 06/07/04
Posts: 3075
Loc: Right Here
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I don't know about the different focal length sizes. It will be up to the optical house.
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Michael Bieler
Father and Husband
Owner
www.astronomics.com
www.astronomytechnologies.com
www.cloudynights.com
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gaz-in
sage
Reged: 12/17/07
Posts: 443
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As near as I can tell they to look identical to the Zhumell's sitting in front of me...sadly it is still cloudy and rainey out side!
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Newfie Ninja
member
Reged: 06/27/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Hi Gaz-in, Any update on these ep's? Have you had a chance for first light yet?
Cheers
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CPC 11 Starbright XLT
WO FLT 98 Aluminum Tube
Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Synscan
WO EZ Touch Mount
Ethoi,Uwans,Swans,a Nagler, & a 2x Powermate
A couple of cases of other stuff
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gaz-in
sage
Reged: 12/17/07
Posts: 443
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I have and they are nice eyepieces. Not great but nice. I tried them in a Discovery 8 inch F6. Eyeguards seemed a little long for the eyerelief. I found myself removing them and/or rolling them back. In my opinion, they are not Nagler quality (never looked thru an Ethos so can't comment on that)... however nice....the view reminded me of my Orion Stratus/Hyperions with a bigger FOV...
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gaz-in
sage
Reged: 12/17/07
Posts: 443
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Had these out again last night. It was interesting. I put them in the focuser first and was quite happy with thier performance. Never having used a 100 degree eyepiece I am having fun with these. However, once I swap to a nagler, nikon, or pentax XW and go back to the Zhumell Z100, I notice some things. The focus is softer than the Nagler, Nikon, or Pentax (which just seem to snap into focus). With the Z100, I seem to have to fool with the Focus more than the others. While a nice view, I am unable to obtain the level of tack sharp views the Nagler, nikon or pentax give. One nice thing is they are not too heavy and weigh about the same so swapping them in and out is not a problem with balance. Also not quite the contrast as the others. Again contrast is pretty good...just not up to the level of a super premium eyepiece.
Not yet sure if they find a permanent place in my eyepiece case...but they have possibilities....
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Fireball
sage
Reged: 03/24/06
Posts: 347
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Gaz-in tried them in his f/6, which is not that critical as f/5 or f/4.5. The latter may give this EP some hard times. For all others with high f it might be a cheaper alternative ...
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20x90 Bino
12" Lightbridge
Meade UWAs, TV Ethoi, Pentax XW, Hyperion, AT Titan.
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Mike Hosea
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/24/03
Posts: 3956
Loc: "Metrowest" Boston
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I can understand the interest in 100 degree eyepieces that the Ethos eyepieces have generated, but I think it wouldn't have been possible if the Ethos eyepieces hadn't also come with extraordinary levels of optical correction and overall performance. By all accounts the ES100 14mm comes close enough to be a worthy lower-cost competitor, but it is necessary to say "lower" and not "low", since the ES100's are expensive eyepieces, too. The question is how much compromise in performance in exchange for a lower price makes sense, or put differently, just how important is 100 degrees of AFoV, really? If money is your limiting factor, how much performance will you sacrifice to get that one feature? In the ~$300 category near the 9mm focal length is, for example, the 10XW. I have a 13E and love it, but I can tell you right now that I wouldn't even consider a ~$300 9-10mm 100 degree eyepiece over the 10XW unless the former was getting excellent reviews in almost every respect. It doesn't have to beat the XW in a head-to-head competition. That's not the point. The point is that at this price point I don't want to be nagged by obvious performance deficiencies. Let me know when they start selling them for $150.
In terms of what is available in the ~$300 price range, the situation is a little different at the ~16mm focal length, but unfortunately the BigC 16mm is getting the lesser marks so far, possibly because these eyepieces aren't much different except for the power of their Smyth/Barlow lenses. In a situation like that, the shorter focal lengths tend to be better-corrected because the rest of the eyepiece gets to operate on a slower light cone.
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Mike
Stuff that I use:
- 7" f/6.7 home-built Newt and equatorial platform
- 6 eyepieces and a Barlow
- 120mm f/8.3 home-built grab-n-go Newt
- Canon 15x50 IS and Eagle Optics 12x50 Ranger binoculars
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Johndob
super member
Reged: 12/22/08
Posts: 146
Loc: Newport Beach,Ca
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Maybe they need more testing, i wonder how they handle f/5? I would think as well as my Hyperion 17 does to have a 16/100 may be a good lower cost Dob EP.
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Zhumell 10" Dob (Mods)
ETX-125PE UHTC
ETX-90AT
6"f/5 Newtonian
Classic 60x910
Ortho 6-7mm UO or.4mm
Meade 3000 5mm
Zhumell 2" ED Barlow
Zhumell 2" 32mm
UO. 2" 30mm 
GSO 2" 26mm
GSO 40mm CPL
Hyperion 8,13,17,21&FTR
Zhumell 8-24 Zoom
ED 3.8mm,7.5mm
Owl SP4,10,15
Zhumell EP&filter set 1"1/4
Baader 2" Neodymium/IR-cut,CelestronUHC/LPR
Zhumell OIII,UHC,SkyGlow,Polarizer
Zhumell 20x80 Giant&
10x50 plus 3 More Bino's
Brunton Echo Monocular
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drshr
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/08
Posts: 674
Loc: Darwin, Australia
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Now selling on ebay!
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Doc
14" F5 DOB.
APM 8" F6 Achro.
APM 105mm F6.2 CF APO.
120/F8.3
150/F5
80/F6.25ED
25x100 Binos.
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
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NGC007
super member
Reged: 06/02/05
Posts: 114
Loc: England
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I agree with Mike. The 100 deg field in the Ethos is only part of the story. In addition to the FOV it was the clarity, contrast and colour that swayed me.
Clem
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CPC 1100.
Ethos 17
Earthwin Power/Filter Slide
Giant Moonlite Focuser
Canon 10 x 42L image stabilised binoculars
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