17 or 21 Ethos

I have a C14 and have several oculars. I seem to get more bang for the buck using a 32mm erfle than a 40mm Konig (both 2"). I have a Pentax 10.5XL and a Meade UW14mm. These two eyepieces usually need very steady atmosphere and stable tube currents.

My wish would be for a 17 or 21 ethos. Would either be a good choice for a C14? I want good contrast and good definition and wide field...Does anyone have experience with the ethos in a C14 and is it worth it?

The 17 appeared nicer than its 21mm counter part. I tried the 21 in my 6" F-8 refractor and it was softer around the our edge compared to the 17. How it plays out in a C14 is hard to say, but that was at least my experience while comparing the two.

charles geiger said:

I have a C14 and have several oculars. I seem to get more bang for the buck using a 32mm erfle than a 40mm Konig (both 2"). I have a Pentax 10.5XL and a Meade UW14mm. These two eyepieces usually need very steady atmosphere and stable tube currents.

My wish would be for a 17 or 21 ethos. Would either be a good choice for a C14? I want good contrast and good definition and wide field...Does anyone have experience with the ethos in a C14 and is it worth it?

Howdy,
Although the Ethos line are excellent EPs, I sold mine. I have a 10" Maksutov with 2540mm of focal length. In the longer focal length scopes the extra wide field (the main selling point of the Ethos) is not a very useful way to get a wide field view. You have to climb in and swim around. For less magnification you might try something like a Meade 56mm or 41mm Panoptic. For the best all round viewing I use a 27mm Panoptic. From there I use either a Pentax XF Zoom from 6.5mm to 19.5mm, or any one of a set of Takahashi's LE series EPs. They have a 12.5mm and an 18mm, but with reasonable fields of view.

I found the Takahashi's compare well with Baader Orthoscopics, but with better eye relief. The turbulence problem is far more common in larger aperture scopes than on the little refractors. It's more a function of the whole instrument, the atmosphere and cool-down time than anything. Waiting for my scope to cool at star parties, typically means I start setting up just before sunset and get my first really good views at 11:00PM.

Thanks,
Steve
8)

However if you're looking at a specific flocal length EP,

I have used all the Ethos eyepeices above 10mm in my C-14 except the 21. I now have the 21 but my C-14 is down for mount replacement and optics cleaning. I will say the 17mm is a very nice eyepeice in the C-14 but for me so far I enjoy the views with the 31 Nagler the most. But that is me and I haven't tried the 21mm yet. I am really looking forward to the views it should provide.

Richard

Charles,

All of the Ethos eyepieces will perform to high standards, I have them all, and there is one thing I see consistently with the 21mm, if it is not completely cooled down, it will appear to be soft with the views. On nights when I use that eyepiece, I leave it in the focuser the whole observing session. It's just like a scope when it comes to cool down, it has to equalize to perfrom at it's best.

I also love the 27mm Panoptic in all my scopes.. it is a real gem, gives very nice low power views and is razor sharp. Quick to cool down too.

Mark Clegg
Pittsboro, N.C.