This should be fun. I'm drawing up my eyepiece wish list (at this point only a wish list, it could turn slowly into an actual shopping list over the next couple of years, but for now making lists is cheaper than buying things, and gives at least some of the pleasure!
My instruments and me:
I have a 12" f5 Skywatcher goto DOB, with 2" focuser and an 8" f6 non-goto Dob with Parkes Optical mirrors.
I have a few cheap eyepieces, but I do also have a good old Japanese-made Televue 13mm Plossl, 1.8x and 2.5x barlows as well, all 1.25".
I have quite bad astigmatism and would refer to keep the option open to use Dioptrx lenses at some point.
My budget isn't infinite, but if the purchases are spread out over a couple of years it would be manageable.
I've heard great things (mainly from Televue!) about the TV Ethos eyepieces. I was thinking the first one I might save up for would be a 21mm Ethos, for a really impressive wide field view, to replace my current generic 28mm ?Orthoscopic.
After that I'm not sure where to go, and if we include the existing 1.25" barlows and a possible future 2" Powermate in the discussion, weighing up the ultra wide spectacle with contrast for planets etc, there are many options.
Televue have the eyepiece calculator at their site, they recommend not exceeding 350x magnification so that would mean I should keep my eyepiece focal lengths over 4.3mm. Sometimes on unusually good seeing nights maybe it could be pushed higher, but I'm not going to buy a special eyepiece for those nights, I'll just use the barlows.
I was looking at the Nagler planetary zoom eyepiece, but can't quite see the point of it. It's only got a 50 degree AFOV, the same as a plossl. I hear nothing but good things about plossls for planetary observing, and for the price of the Nagler planetary you could buy several plossls.
The Ethos SX 4.7 has 110 degree AFOV and is reputed to be pretty good with planetary observing. The thought of that huge field of view while doing lunar observation sounds pretty cool, plus the Ethos has a 15mm eye relief which is a bit better. Does anyone have any advice AGAINST going with the Ethos 4.7?
So I'm kind of set on the Ethos 21, strongly considering the Ethos 4.7 if not a couple of good plossls, and then there is the whole range in between. What mid-focal length eyepieces would people recommend. I know people have been known to buy lots of eyepieces and end up selling ones they seldom use, so would buying a 10mm make more sense than buying a 13 and an 8?
Maybe I'm guilty of swallowing the Televue CoolAid. How about some suggestions for non-TV gear if there are better eyepieces to be bought elsewhere?
Thoughts, opinions, angry diatribes, cautionary tales of woe, debates and pithy witticisms would all be welcome.
Travis