I have had some interesting (good)experiences lately. I've flipped some EP's trying to re-adjust my jumps to better fit a newer scope. I am a big fan of the Meade 14mm UWA and had a 24.5 SWA, but didn't use it much.
I stumbled into a few other SWA's because everyone is dumping them to make room for the series 5000 EP's. All I have to say is WOW, what a deal. I picked up a 40mm used, then an 18mm used and a new 13.8mm. The views have all been very good and the price incredible cheap. The other piece has been the weight. I used the 13.8mm tonight from the yard (a ton of LP) and had an excellent view of M13. I switched to my 14mm UWA and while the fov was bigger, the 13.8mm SWA held its own. It is about the size of a plossl - weight is in ounces not pounds.
I'll have to say I have been very impressed. For a combination of price, weight, light transmission and fov, these are an exceptional buy right now. I do need to run them under some dark skies to really get a feel for them. And I do expect my 14mm UWA will hld the field a little crisper then the 13.8mm SWA, but not to wrestle with the weight/balance issues, I'll probably use the SWA's as the workhorse and save the UWA and big Naglers for the near perfect condition views.
On a closing note, I have a 32mm SWA from an AM auction heading my way now. The irony is the only SWA from the set I am missing is the 24.5mm which I started off with but sold to try something else.
Ed
I stumbled into a few other SWA's because everyone is dumping them to make room for the series 5000 EP's. All I have to say is WOW, what a deal. I picked up a 40mm used, then an 18mm used and a new 13.8mm. The views have all been very good and the price incredible cheap. The other piece has been the weight. I used the 13.8mm tonight from the yard (a ton of LP) and had an excellent view of M13. I switched to my 14mm UWA and while the fov was bigger, the 13.8mm SWA held its own. It is about the size of a plossl - weight is in ounces not pounds.
I'll have to say I have been very impressed. For a combination of price, weight, light transmission and fov, these are an exceptional buy right now. I do need to run them under some dark skies to really get a feel for them. And I do expect my 14mm UWA will hld the field a little crisper then the 13.8mm SWA, but not to wrestle with the weight/balance issues, I'll probably use the SWA's as the workhorse and save the UWA and big Naglers for the near perfect condition views.
On a closing note, I have a 32mm SWA from an AM auction heading my way now. The irony is the only SWA from the set I am missing is the 24.5mm which I started off with but sold to try something else.
Ed
