Skywatcher SWA 22mm eyepiece Review

[bomberbaz]

Kind of a review but as the ep in question only saw a very limited sky and brief comparison you will have to take it for what its worth.

Last Tuesday (26th) I popped down to moonshane's place for a bit of comparing our eyepieces (read boys toys   )  We had a good old natter over all things astronomical and drool over each others EP collection but one of the aims of our meet was to compare coma correctors but that's another story. In the end the main thing gained was just how excellent the sub £100 Skywatcher SWA 22mm eyepiece is.

Ok we only used it on the double cluster but we used it without a CC (in an F4 scope) and compared it with a TV Nagler 16mm. Not an ideal comparison I agree but these were the nearest we had. Cutting to it both of us agreed that the SW compared as well if not a smidge better than the Nagler. It really was that good and I am sure shane will back this up.

Now I know it was a very limited review and more is needed for a full comparison but this re-opens the premium vs mid range argument to quality of optics. No doubt in the budget end I think we all agree but as we get further down the line I think the lines become a little more blurred.

Just to finish off last night I did a brief re-check using my own scope with the 22mm SW using my own F4.9 dob and the results were the same, an excellent sharp view accross most of the 1.09 degrees of view until the last 15% where it slurred a little. A Baader MPCC improved the results to the outer edges but as the view was already excellent, I am not sure if the CC was actually needed.

So if your looking for great performance at not silly prices, this might be something to consider. (btw, I have read its bigger brother 32mm sucks in comparison but I cannot confirm that)

Steve/Baz

[John]

Very interesting report Steve. I can confirm that the 32mm in this range was not too good in my F/5.3 dob so it's interesting that there should be such a difference with the 22mm. Maybe it's the "gem" of the Skywatcher SWA 70 degree range ?

[Moonshane]

I agree Steve. My 16mm t2 was definitely second place during the views we had with no corrector althoughabout the same with I think.

What this exercise did certainly prove is that good quality and great quality are not far apart other than in cost

[Paul M]

I've just been on FLO's website looking at that range - probably while you were writing the review so it's very interesting. Thanks for posting.

The 22 is probably too close to the 2" Skywatcher 28mm bog standard one that came with my scope to be a sensible purchase for me.

All my other EP's are what came with Ye Olde Fullerscope 30 years ago. All unbranded but have served me well.

Time to upgrade and allow me to leave the old ones at our caravan in Cumbria where the old scope now resides.

I'm not a critical observer and don't get out enough to warrant buying high end EP's. The SWA range looked to be just what I'm looking for to use with my SW 250 P DS.

It's just a little disconcerting that opinions can vary from one focal length to another.

What I might do is splash out on the 13mm and see how it performs.

I'll only be able to compare it to my unbranded 12.5mm Ortho so will most likely prove to be a vast improvement!

[John]

I found the 13mm and the 5mm in this range to be better performers than the 32mm. The optical design is different with the 13 and 5 than it is with the 32mm. I don't know what design the 22mm is.