Ethos Arrival Imminent (VERY excited)

[Rodstar]

Michael Chaytor (Bintel) called yesterday to advise that the Televue Ethos shipment is Australia bound, with some prospect that they will be available for collection on Christmas Eve.....

I DO believe in Santa, I DO believe in Santa....

:party::jump::xmas::cool:

Sorry, guys, the weather over the New Year period is going to be sheit.

[iceman]

Wow, just in time for xmas! What good timing!

I'm looking forward to having a gander through it at the Jan new moon meet!

[Rodstar]

Mike, unfotunately the skies will not be clear until at least February, with this new acquisition, and about 20 other Ethoi* arriving at the same time at Bintel. But as soon as the skies clear, you are most welcome to take a peek.


*the plural form of Ethos currently being employed by many on Cloudy Nights

[xstream]

:) :thumbsup:

[wavelandscott]

Great News!

I look forward to the clear skies that will occur again in February and the much anticipated first light in your lovely telescope. The two will undoubtedly make a handsome pair.

I will make sure to pack a bib so that I will not drool on either!

[RB]

Rod you're welcome to take a detour on your way home from Bintel with the new baby. :whistle:

We can celebrate the new arrival in the 'traditional way' regardless of the weather. :evil:

[Ric]

I was reading a review of the 13mm Ethos just today and wow what an eyepiece. I can see why your so excited I think it will be a stunner in your scope.

Congratulations

[PhilW]

It is an amazingly versatile piece of glass. I have found it a perfect match for big, fast newts (down to F/3.9), triplet refractors (thanks Stephen), and of course binoscopes, assuming you can lay your hands on multiple Ethoi.

Phil

[Stephen65]

I'll have to drop by Bintel tomorrow morning and see what the story is on mine...

[Rodstar]

Stephen,

Bintel are expecting to get the shipment today (24th), and are calling me to confirm they have it before I traipse all the way in. I'd suggest you also call before going in, given the propensity for delays of all kinds at this crazy time of year.

They only have Ethoi for those who have ordered them. For those thinking of a last minute purchase, sorry but you will have to wait until the next shipment (and you should place an order in the meantime).:P

[Rodstar]

The Ethoi have landed!

Michael Chaytor just called (10am Monday) to advise the shipment has arrived, and the Ethoi are available for collection for those who pre-ordered for this shipment.

On your bikes, people!

[iceman]

Not a nice day to be driving into the city! It'll be busy on the roads I bet.

Be patient! :)

[bizarro]

Very cool Rod. Even though you've doomed our viewing until well into the new year it's good to hear you're just about to get your hands on it. Will look forward to a quick peek through it when we catch up at the SPSP.

Cheers,
Greg

[wavelandscott]

I'd offer to pick it up for you but you would likely not see it until March!

Do be careful going down to pick it up today...traffic around the Fish Market will be a zoo!

Hope you get a chance to use it soon!

[Stephen65]

I hope this means us Melbournites will be getting ours later in the week.

[GrahamL]

very timely rod :)..guess you'll find a way to get there today ? :D

[Rodstar]

Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm, folks!

I was not able to get to Bintel on the 24th in the end....between hosting a lunch at home and Bintel's closing time on Christmas Eve, it would have been too rushed.

Anyway, I am pleased to report that the Ethos now rests happily in my eyepiece collection, having been collected this afternoon from Bintel.

It is a huge piece of glass.

Here is a couple of pictures, the first shows the size of the Ethos next to a visual Paracorr, a 22mm Panoptic and a 7mm HD orthoscopic. It is hard to imagine how the Ethos could be made in a focal length much longer without ballooning out in size. The second shot shows the relative sizes of the top glass for each three aforementioned eyepieces.

Hopefully the weather will co-operate tonight, and I can report on its actual visual performance in the morrow.

[Starkler]

Rod you will love it.
When i got to try one in my f4.8 I had a paracorr on hand. The eyepiece was so well corrected I didn't consider it worth the effort to bother putting the paracorr in :)

[davidpretorius]

Geoff, for your well trained eye not to need a paracorr, it must be a very good eyepiece for a newt:thumbsup: thanks

[Rodstar]

Spot on Geoff!

I have just finished my first session in the backyard with the Ethos, and I found that the Paracorr was not required. There is a small deterioration towards the edges, but it is so minor that it is only noticable if you are looking for it.

With passing heavy clouds and lots of light cloud smeared across much of the celestial canopy, I was very restricted as to where I could observe, but I was able to get some time in Orion, Canis Major, Carina and the LMC. The rising moon, glaring its gaze across the veneer of cloud rendered any further observing after 10.45pm futile.

M42 was stupendous and highlights the benefit of the 100 degree FOV. The area of sky covered by the Ethos (13mm) is roughly the same as the area covered by my 22 Panoptic, but the views were substantially different. Greater contrast gave sharper views, with the Trap's six main stars spread over a larger area, and plainly visible through light cloud passing through the FOV. The larger magnification does wash out the colours in M42 observable at lower power, so the Pan will still have a role until I have placed my order for the 31 Nagler.

Scanning the LMC was a treat, with one object spilling out onto the next, and many areas of nebulosity far clearer and sharper than in the 22 Pan. The star cluster at the heart of the Tarantula was well resolved.

I enjoyed some close doubles in and around Orion and Canis Major. The conditions were not conducive to splitting Sirius/ the Pup, but many other doubles resolved well. Star colour rendition was slightly more neutral than the Panoptic.

Not many well known open clusters were well placed, but I spent some time admiring NGC 2516, with razor sharp stars across 85% of the FOV, with exquisite colour variation.

NGC 2808 was a little too low to resolve with any clarity, but 47 Tuc snapped into sharp focus. It was a similar object as in the Panoptic, but the image scale was so much bigger that I am sure under better conditions the detail that would be observed would be remarkable.

In terms of its focus point, I found this to be a little further in than the Panoptic. As I use a 2 inch extender to observe with the Panoptic (if not using the Paracorr) this was no great deal, and the focus point was simply towards the innner most point with the extender.

I have read some people poo-pooing the idea of 100 degree FOV on the basis that you cannot possibly take in all of the view at once, making the extra 50% FOV unnecessary and/or pointless. I guess this is a personal preference issue. For me, the wider FOV made ny first Ethos observing session extremely pleasurable. At one point I actually lost balance on the ladder because my sense of direction was a bit lost with the huge FOV. This is what some on Cloudy Nights have referred to as "space falling" (an increase on the "space walk" feeling of the Nagler). It certainly takes observing out of the "looking from afar" feeling which some narrow FOV eyepieces can give.

This EP will probably stay in my focuser for the majority of all future sessions. Its use will only be curtailed in either exceptionally poor seeing or exceptionally good seeing, in which lower and higher powers respectively will come more to the fore. My first session with this beauty tells me that it is a purchase I will never regret, and it is an eyepiece that I will keep forever.

Now for some dark skies....:D

[iceman]

Fantastic report, Rod! Sounds like a definite keeper! I can't wait for my first look!

[davidpretorius]

great :( ............ now i have to add one to my wishlist.....
what did they cost again?
anyone help me with suggestions to convince the wife?

[Rodstar]

$829 at Bintel.

I find letting HER get something special first helps wear down any resistance.

Also, if you sell some other gear as part payment, such "self-sacrifices" are bound to earn some sympathy.

[Stephen65]

Mine arrived today, shame it brought a layer of cloud with it.

[Rodstar]

Congratulations and commiserations, Stephen!!

It will be worth the wait. I had another session last night under excellent conditions and my jaw was in the "dropping" position. Simply stupendous.

One interesting test was Mars, which was well positioned last night as far as the maze of houses blocking my northern-eastern horizon is concerned. The Ethos produced wonderfully sharp views of Mars with a number of darker markings very clearly defined. It does well as a medium power planetary eyepiece in the Mary Rose at about 195x.