[UniPol]

I received my long awaited Ethos EP and Dioptrx from Bintel yesterday afternoon and wouldn't you know it, the sound of thunder was heard just as I was opening the package. Needless to say the rest of the evening clouded over and it rained. Not to beaten I got up this morning to be greeted by rolling clouds and twilight but the waning gibbous moon looked to be ideal for initial testing. And so it was, with a simple turn of the Dioptrx the moon appeared crystal clear and no glasses! I suffer from astigmatism in both eyes and they both have to be corrected by 2.00 diopters, this is fortunate as I can use either eye for viewing.

The ED80 gave around 46X with the Ethos and at a guess the field of view looked to be about 2.5 to 3 degrees (using the moon as a gauge and too early in the morning to do proper calculations). The moon showed no colour and was sharp right to the edge. Of course you have to shift your eye to look at the edges as it can only take in about 30 degrees of clear vision. I also tried the Ethos with my 2.5X powermate and even though the set up looked unwieldy and large, it performed flawlessly at 115X albeit not as bright. There was still plenty of field left even with the moon still in centre.

I am ecstatic with my purchase even though it was pretty expensive, the EP cost a similar amount to the ED80 (OTA, finder, dovetail, rings, case etc.). Fortunately, with the recent price drop to $745, the EP and Dioptrx came to $895 which was not much more than the earlier price of the EP alone ($869). The Ethos would be totally lost on me if I had to wear glasses as the eye relief is not sufficient to take in the huge field. The only drawback I can see with the Dioptrx is that if you are viewing with other people then it would have to be removed unless they suffer from the same amount of astigmatism of course. I meant to add that the Dioptrx comes with its own rubber eyecup and cap so the ones that came with the EP can be stored away. At least the Dioptrx will keep dust and dirt of the eyelens.

I took some quick pics of the set up this morning which will give some idea of the EP's size. I primarily bought the Ethos to complement my G11/Tak TOA-130 which I hope to try out this evening if the weather is kind. I will certainly write up a more in depth article at some stage featuring this combination.

Thanks to the guys at Bintel for their usual great service but not to Australia post this time as the registered package containing the EP was crushed and split. Fortunately Bintel wrapped the the EP and Dioptrx in lots of bubble wrap and the Televue boxes and contents were undamaged.

Cheers,

Steve B