SWA Eyepeice 32mm

[Radar]

I got to road test an eyepiece this week to see how it performed in my astrograph.

The eyepiece is an SWA , 2inch barrel, 32mm 70 deg FOV.

I'd never really looked through a super wide-field eyepiece before. I was quite impressed with the amount of sky I could see through it. This eyepiece would be good for looking at things like the LMC, SMC etc.

Light transmission was good. Using a DGM optics filter for my light polluted skies, this eyepiece transmitted just as much light as my other eyepieces did.

Eyepiece is $175.

So do I think it is a worthwhile purchase? For that price, you bet.

http://www.aleph-lab.com/pagine%20sito%20web/prodotti/oculari%202/Burgess%20-%20TMB/SWA2%20set-2.JPG

[beren]

Be careful Ray once you look through a wide field it will lead to more :eartoear: ....I know :Chessy_Smile:

[AstroTasmania]

Hi Radar,

That's interesting, Takahashi do not recommend a focal length any longer that 12.5mm for my Epsilon 180ED Astrograph, otherwise you see the big shadow from the secondary - in the centre. Did you have any secondary shadow?

Similarly, a 26mm is the max in a Meade SN, same problem with the central shadow.

Clear skies...

[Draig]

Hi Ray,

I have a problem with my back which really plays up when bending over a scope trying to see up the finder scope. To solve this problem I have ordered a Right Angle Correct Image finder scope, which should arrive next week.

To make do, till then, I have purchased a SWA 38mm with the same AFOV (70deg) and 2" barrell, the whole exercise was to use the 38mm as a "finder scope" before swapping to smaller lenses.

However, like you, I have found the view through it absoulety supberb with some of the larger Open Clusters looking fantastic.

Cheers Colin

[Radar]

Be careful Ray once you look through a wide field it will lead to more :eartoear: ....I know :Chessy_Smile:

lol, hey Beren, yeah I'm looking forward to getting this thing out under some dark skies. One thing I lack in my astronomy arsenal, is visual equipment. 90%of what I own is for astrophotorgaphy. So beleive it or not, I'm just finding out about this stuff for the first time.


Hi Radar,

That's interesting, Takahashi do not recommend a focal length any longer that 12.5mm for my Epsilon 180ED Astrograph, otherwise you see the big shadow from the secondary - in the centre. Did you have any secondary shadow?

Similarly, a 26mm is the max in a Meade SN, same problem with the central shadow.

Clear skies...

Hey Shev, only when I defocused the stars could I see the shadow of the spider. Whilst in focus, 90% of the FOV was tack sharp. The stars at the very edges were slighty out of focus, but this is because of my telescope (being an astrograph) and not designed for these kinds of eyepeices. Considering the fast F Ratio (3.3) of my scope, I feel this eyepiece held up quite well. Your scope being even faster though, probably has higher demands on what eyepieces you can use.


Hi Ray,

I have a problem with my back which really plays up when bending over a scope trying to see up the finder scope. To solve this problem I have ordered a Right Angle Correct Image finder scope, which should arrive next week.

To make do, till then, I have purchased a SWA 38mm with the same AFOV (70deg) and 2" barrell, the whole exercise was to use the 38mm as a "finder scope" before swapping to smaller lenses.

However, like you, I have found the view through it absoulety supberb with some of the larger Open Clusters looking fantastic.

Cheers Colin

In fact, I never thought of this, but the FOV through this eyepiece is probably just as large as my viewfinder. If that's the case, I'll remove my viewfinder.

[beren]

Ray before investing your more then welcome trying out some eyepieces I have , plenty of choices out there now :hmm:

[Radar]

Hi Beren, thanks for that mate, I might take you up on that offer in the coming weeks. What eyepieces do you use / prefer?

[beren]

I have a set of Meade series 4000 plossls eyepieces plus a Meade 32mm SWA {68deg}, Meade 14mm UWA {84deg}, Nagler 22mm, 9mm Nagler, 6mm Radian, 40mm University Optics Konig {70deg} and a University optics 9mm ortho.

Ones that get used the most are the 40mm konig , 22mm Nagler and 9mm nagler although I like them all :thumbsupmate:

[Radar]

Awesome array you have there. I'm surprised to see that a 14mm eyepiece can be 84 degrees! What FOV do you get with the 40mm Konig Beren?

[Draig]

That's one thing that never seems to amaze me - the eyepiece collecting that is. At the beging of this year I had three eyepices. Now I have ten.

And I am still looking at eyepieces, though I admit all the new news have a wide AFOV.

Cheers Colin

[beren]

At the beging of this year I had three eyepices. Now I have ten. :yesplease:

TFOV for the 40mm UO MK70mm with a F/10 SCT is I think 1.12 deg. Really nice eyepiece very pleased to have it but not for everyone I suspect, correct eye placement is needed to avoid blackouts or the kidney bean effect. A great alternative to the more expensive Televue nagler/panoptic and Pentax XW range.