Televue eyepiece advice please

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Ethos and XW are both fine EPs as far as I'm concerned, but I tend to use them for different purposes or experiences if you like.

That they have these different qualities is a bonus for us justifying them in our collections

[Profiler (Profiler)]

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

Ethos and XW are both fine EPs as far as I'm concerned, but I tend to use them for different purposes or experiences if you like.

That they have these different qualities is a bonus for us justifying them in our collections

Exactly!

I was beginning to think I should sell my XW but in light of Johns comments I now have reason to keep them both

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

I can see how people fall in love with the ETHOS series. Excellent optically across a 100 deg AFOV is going to get a lot of votes from a lot of people. It's just not quite my thing. As Matt mentioned there is something about seeing a sharp field stop and I get that with high quality ~70 deg AFOV eyepieces. It doesn't hit me in the face with the ETHOS, I have to go looking for the field stop. In addition my preference is to observe with glasses on which rules out the ETHOS. I could observe without them but I find it a pain to take them off at the eyepiece, particularly when high up a ladder, and then putting them on again to look at the Sky naked eye, to use charts, to look at the Argo Navis; etc etc.

The long eye relief ~70 deg eyepieces like Delos, Pentax XW, Vixen LVW and Denkmeier suit me ideally, but I can't dispute the ETHOS are exceptional performers.

Cheers,
John B

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

I thought the point of the Ethos and other similar AFOV glass was to be totally immersed in the view and forget about the field stop well, that was the attraction for me anyhow

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

I think the gist of this thread is that eyepieces are a very personal thing and what suits one person may not suit another.
Unlike John I have never had an issue using my Ethos along with my glasses in terms of eye relief. That may be a factor of the shape of the lenses in my glasses or where I like to position them (I like to have them high on my nose which means the lense is close to my eye)
I have found that the images are noticeably sharper when I observe without glasses however. This has really only become apparent in my 20" with the Ethoi. In my old 12" I simply couldn't tell the difference so I usually just left the glasses on. I now have a "granny strap" so I can remove my glasses while at the eyepiece.
All this tells us that each of us is an individual and the things we do to get the best observing experience will vary.

Malcolm

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

I thought the point of the Ethos and other similar AFOV glass was to be totally immersed in the view and forget about the field stop well, that was the attraction for me anyhow

First time I looked through an Ethos I tried to see the field stop and couldn't. Felt like I'd see my feet before the field stop!

The 100° eyepieces are nice but I feel no need to rush out and buy one. I find 82° is plenty wide enough.

These days my observing is largly restricted to one night a month (at Katoomba or the Pony Club) so I tend to pull an all-nighter. At 3am I prefer the comfort of 20mm eye relief in a Delos or XW

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by barx1963

I think the gist of this thread is that eyepieces are a very personal thing and what suits one person may not suit another.
Unlike John I have never had an issue using my Ethos along with my glasses in terms of eye relief. That may be a factor of the shape of the lenses in my glasses or where I like to position them (I like to have them high on my nose which means the lense is close to my eye)
I have found that the images are noticeably sharper when I observe without glasses however. This has really only become apparent in my 20" with the Ethoi. In my old 12" I simply couldn't tell the difference so I usually just left the glasses on. I now have a "granny strap" so I can remove my glasses while at the eyepiece.
All this tells us that each of us is an individual and the things we do to get the best observing experience will vary.

Malcolm

I agree Malcolm, I have no problem, at all, using my Ethos and Delos with my glasses. But then, I do have to observe with my glasses as I have astigmatism, so maybe I just got used to using them. I did buy them with that in mind anyway. They are the best eyepieces for me

Cheers Pete

[Gem (Grant)]

Might I add that it can also be horses for courses? I prefer a larger FOV in my non-tracking dob so that the object stays there longer when asking friends to have a look. My CGEM SCT doesn't have that issue, of course.

As it has been said - it is all personal preference. Not everyone's budget or eyes or likes are the same when it comes to EPs.

My brother told me something years ago... your EP is half your optics. When you think about the cost of your scope, and then relate that to your EP...

[Don Pensack]

Originally Posted by philipheaven

Hello everyone,
I’m seeking some input on eyepiece purchases I’m considering. My telescope is an 8 inch f/5 reflector on an eq5 mount. My current eyepieces are all Plossls - a 25mm, a 10mm and a 6.3mm, as well as a Televue 2x Barlow. I enjoy both deep space and planetary viewing. I also appreciate decent eye relief (I’m sick and tired of peering through tiny Plossl eyepieces!).

I’ve decided to finally take the step and start a Televue eyepiece collection. I’m attracted to the quality of Televue (I was stunned at the quality of my Televue Barlow), as well as the ability to expand my field of view while at the same time increasing magnification.

Obviously with Televue being such outstanding pieces of equipment they are very expensive. I’ve also taken on the advice that every eyepiece collection should be well planned out and considered. In saying that, I can only purchase three eyepieces to start. With those initial three eyepieces I want to be able to cover a range of magnifications, as well as fields of view, until I can afford to expand my collection and ‘fill in the gaps.’ I’ve decided I can’t afford Ethos at the moment.

I’ve come up with the following three eyepieces to start. I’ve included their apparent field of view, the magnification they would yield, as well as the field of view they would yield in my telescope. I would also be using my Televue Barlow (I will need a 2 inch Barlow for the 17mm).


Nagler 17mm 82°AFV 58.8x 1.39°FOV

Nagler 12mm 82°AFV 83.3x 0.98°FOV

Delos 8mm 72°AFV 125x 0.57°FOV


Does that seem like a good place to start until I can afford more eyepieces? A good range of magnifications and fields of view? Any other recommendations?

8" with 1016mm focal length?
Good set: 50x/100x/150x/200x:
20mm
10mm
6.7mm
good 2X barlow to yield 5mm (and 3.4mm for when seeing conditions are superb).
I won't make specific brand recommendations, but I think you'd enjoy at least 68 degree fields, and maybe wider on the 6.7mm. You can do really well in the $99-$149 range.