tak vs Pentax

hello

I was wondering if anyone has ever compared Pentax eyepieces with
takahashi's ( ie. say a Pentax 20mm XW with a takahashi 18mm LE). I
know the FOV would be larger with the Pentax but I was wondering
about contrast and brightness.

Thanks

Stephen,
I don't have any direct experience with the eyepieces in the focal lengths you have mentioned nor have I read any reviews of them. A difference of a few mm may not seem like much but it makes a direct comparison imprecise. I have compared a 10.5mm pentax XL with a 10mm XW and I had the impression of slightly greater lightthroughput in the XW versus the XL but another observer thought they were identical. Either way, it's somewhat remarkable as the new XWs have more elements in most of the focal lengths versus the XLs. You can also reference a cloudy nights review of the XWs versus XLs as a pay per view lab report. Hope this helps.