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I use an Astro Physics Barcon with my ethos eyepieces and think that the combination is magical!

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Yup, same here! Really helps stretch the 100* bonus to cover more ground.

So i dunno... tough call. I'm relatively new to the XW realm, with a 10mm... really fantastic optics! Acid-tested on Jupiter, too, with most impressive results. That, alone, would give my thinkin' a tough run against an Ethos!

But given the bonus of its 7mm brother, to bracket the Ethos' FL+magnification range? Like Markus has recently discovered, the flex to have TWO nearby FLs to match conditions... and of such optical quality. That would push me over the edge- jettison the E!

Then, as has been stated, pick up an uber-quality (2x?) Barlow... now those two XW's can leapfrog one another towards viewing just about ANYthing up there!

That's my ... yes, mileage will certainly vary.

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I have read that the Antares 1.6x and the AP Barcon share the same optics

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I've heard that also... cannot confirm... but i *CAN* state that the Barcon seems entirely invisible in use. A magnificent piece of optical hardware!

Won't be sellin' mine any time soon...

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The Pentaxes give longer eye relief and more focal length options. I'm assuming you are selling because you need the cash, so I am not going to suggest barlows or any other additional purchases.

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The cash from the sale of one or the other will be reinvested in another piece of astro kit The goal is to end up with a minimalist, but quality set of eps that will "hopefully" last me a lifetime. I have tried a lot of eps in recent years but don't tend to keep anything thats not going to be used to the full. I'm having a real problem deciding which way to go with these though. These 3 eps are all superb in their own right and I honestly don't believe I will be able to part with any of them! It means it'll take me a little longer to top out my high power lineup but I suppose, at the end of the day, the stars aren't going anywhere.

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... at the end of the day, the stars aren't going anywhere.

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Hi Damo,

It is a difficult choice I reckon. I've now moved to XW's for my 5mm and 3.5mm focal lengths and use the Ethos for 13mm, 8mm and 6mm. The 8mm Ethos is my least used of the three but this might change when my 30cm Orion Optics F/5.3 dobsonian comes "on stream" shortly. It's certainly not because it lacks anything in performance compared to the 13mm and 6mm Ethos.

I have considered switching from the 8mm and 6mm Ethos to 10mm and 7mm XW's to go with the 5mm and 3.5 but I do love the 100 degree FoV and coma won't be much of an issue at F/5.3 so I reckon I'll probably stick with the Ethos trio

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I think you will find the 8mm will get a lot more use in your 12" John. I have had some of the best views of Jupiter this time around with the 8mm (187x). If I had stuck to my original plan & bought a 5mm XW I wouldn't have found myself in this position, but, the 8E popped up at a nice price & I couldn't help myself

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...... If I had stuck to my original plan & bought a 5mm XW I wouldn't have found myself in this position, but, the 8E popped up at a nice price & I couldn't help myself

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Sounds a familiar story ....

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