Vixen SSW 83° Eyepieces

[FLO]

We have received details of the new Vixen SSW 83° Eyepieces scheduled for release around October

They are Japanese-made premium quality eyepieces that deliver a full 83º field of view without you needing to turn your neck to peer into the edges (this is music to my ears, I am still using SWA eyepieces for this reason) and are suitable for use with telescopes down to f4! 

The new 7-element optical design includes the low-dispersion glass materials lanthanum and tantalum. All air-to-glass surfaces are fully multi-coated and a new coating has been developed for the glass-to-glass surfaces. 

The colour-coded (violet = short wavelength and short focal length, red = long wavelength, focal length) anti-roll bodies look very practical. Actually, the colours might not be so practical in the dark but they do look rather classy in daytime 

Being a visual astronomer (most here at FLO are imagers) I am genuinely excited about these new eyepieces, I might even be tempted away from my Pentax XW series! 

Steve

[FLO]

We won't know the prices until nearer their arrival but we are anticipating around £250. 

[F15Rules]

Still not too keen on the rainbow colours but the design looks good.

Will this mean you will be having a sale on your LVW remaining stocks?

Dave

[DirkSteele]

They look rather snappy!  Look forward to reading some performance reports.  At the moment there is only green and black colours   in my EP case.  Perhaps a new splash of colour can be added!

[FLO]

Will this mean you will be having a sale on your LVW remaining stocks?

Not yet. We are not sure if the LVW will continue alongside the new SSW or be phased out (we suspect the latter). 

At the moment there is only green and black colours   

Out of curiosity, where are your 'green and black' eyepieces being manufactured these days?  

Steve

[John]

If they have reasonably good eye relief, 83 degree AFoV's, are sharp to the edge at F/4 and have  a neutral tone like the LVW's they will be impressive indeed

My "green and blacks" are mostly made in Taiwan ROC. They still use Japan for the plossls, the T6 Naglers and the Powermates though.

I'm looking forward to these new Vixens following my experiences with the SLV's

[David Smith]

They certainly look the part. Be interesting to see how they measure up to the ES and Televue's of this world.

[FLO]

They certainly look the part. Be interesting to see how they measure up to the ES and Televue's of this world.

They are Japanese-made so we are expecting them to compare very well indeed 

[Mr Spock]

Might have to lose a Nagler or two...

[DirkSteele]

Not yet. We are not sure if the LVW will continue alongside the new SSW or be phased out (we suspect the latter). 

Out of curiosity, where are your 'green and black' eyepieces being manufactured these days?

Steve

Mostly on an island off the coast of China I believe with a few still in the Land of the Rising Sun....

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very interesting development

[FLO]

We have added Vixen SSW eyepieces to the Astronomy Tools FOV Calculator

Using the calculator you can see the FOV available when using SSW eyepieces with your telescope. You can also enter your existing eyepieces for comparison and choose a different target

[FLO]

Will this mean you will be having a sale on your LVW remaining stocks?

Not yet. We are not sure if the LVW will continue alongside the new SSW or be phased out (we suspect the latter). 

We are still unsure if the LVW will be ongoing but, either way, we think the new SSW eyepieces might be game-changers so most people considering an LVW eyepiece will probably spend extra to own a SSW. With this in mind we are reducing our stock of LVW eyepieces. 

The following Japanese-made Vixen LVW eyepieces are available at our clearance section with £40 discount

Vixen LVW 3.5mm 

Vixen LVW 8mm

Vixen LVW 17mm

Vixen LVW 30mm (2")

[faulksy]

if you sell your pentax steve give me a shout they do look good though

[Ju Piter]

Just found this info online.

New Vixen SSW 83 degree eyepieces will be available for sale at Vixen Optics USA dealers on July 31
Retail $349ea. Japanese-made.
Focal lengths: 14, 10, 7, 5, 3.5mm
7 element design using tantalum and lanthanum glass
Eye relief all sizes: 13mm
Hexagonal body can't roll if put down sideways.
Weights: 230g for 3.5 and 5mm, 225g for 7mm, 220g for 10mm, 210g for 14mm
There is a barrel undercut, but it is designed to not catch on compression rings.

so about £220

[FLO]

if you sell your pentax steve give me a shout they do look good though

Hold that thought...

Just found this info online.

New Vixen SSW 83 degree eyepieces will be available for sale at Vixen Optics USA dealers on July 31

Retail $349ea. Japanese-made.

Focal lengths: 14, 10, 7, 5, 3.5mm

7 element design using tantalum and lanthanum glass

Eye relief all sizes: 13mm

Hexagonal body can't roll if put down sideways.

Weights: 230g for 3.5 and 5mm, 225g for 7mm, 220g for 10mm, 210g for 14mm

There is a barrel undercut, but it is designed to not catch on compression rings.

so about £220

The details can be found at our website 

Except the price, we won't know that until they arrive here in the UK. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[Space Hopper]

Just found this info online.

New Vixen SSW 83 degree eyepieces will be available for sale at Vixen Optics USA dealers on July 31

Retail $349ea. Japanese-made.

Focal lengths: 14, 10, 7, 5, 3.5mm

7 element design using tantalum and lanthanum glass

Eye relief all sizes: 13mm

Hexagonal body can't roll if put down sideways.

Weights: 230g for 3.5 and 5mm, 225g for 7mm, 220g for 10mm, 210g for 14mm

There is a barrel undercut, but it is designed to not catch on compression rings.

so about £220

I'll be very surprised if they are sold for £220.

This IS the UK you know.....i suspect £275 may be closer to the mark to start off with.

I'm after 2 pairs of 14mm & 10mm for bino-viewing purposes, and have been looking at TV Delos.

But they are a bit on the big side, although they have that luxury factor : that lovely 20mm eye relief with adjustable eyecups, and those big wide lenses.

These new Vixens look interesting though.......

[Space Hopper]

Steve, could you offer any details about the eyecups on these new Vixen SSW's please....?

Do they twist up at all ?

I'm interested in them for bino-viewing purposes. In particular the 14mm, and maybe the 10's.

[FLO]

We are receiving a set of Vixen SSW eyepieces tomorrow for assessment, we shall photograph them as soon as they arrive then will send them to John Huntley who has kindly agreed to review them for SGL  

Steve

Steve, could you offer any details about the eyecups on these new Vixen SSW's please....?

I'll look tomorrow then let you know

[John]

We are receiving a set of Vixen SSW eyepieces tomorrow for assessment, we shall photograph them as soon as they arrive then will send them to John Huntley who has kindly agreed to review them for SGL  

Steve

Thanks Steve - I'm really looking forward to trying these out and reporting back to the forum

[Chris]

I'm very much looking forward to John trying these out also  

[pete_gamby]

Here they are, ready to leave the building - will be with FLO tomorrow. Not sure how long Steve will hang on to them though John - there could be some "just testing" time... :-)

Cheers, Pete

[FLO]

They are being packed as I type so should be with you tomorrow John

Having only had them one day (for photography) I haven't had an opportunity to try them under a night sky but they look and feel very nice indeed. Particularly like the body design that prevents them rolling off the table. Though they are made in Japan, the design is clearly related to the Vixen SLV series. 

Steve

[FLO]

Steve, could you offer any details about the eyecups on these new Vixen SSW's please....?

Do they twist up at all ?

I'm interested in them for bino-viewing purposes. In particular the 14mm, and maybe the 10's.

I'll look tomorrow then let you know

They are twist-up eyecups, like the Vixen SLV series. They feel well made and have a positive action. Nothing flimsy about them. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[John]

They are being packed as I type so should be with you tomorrow John

Oooh, an equipment packing post - that makes a change from an unpacking one !

I'm really looking forward to these Steve - thanks very much for offering to loan them