Fabulous XW!

[spaceboy]

It will go away Damo. That is away from the UK to NI

[Damo636]

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

It will go away Damo. That is away from the UK to NI

Thank goodness;)

[Demonperformer]

Just to stir the pot I found this: U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

7mm XW:eek: Go Demon! Go Damo! :)

(Do you think the seller was reading this thread?)

Thanks, Adrian.

DP is "going"!

Tried phoning his mobile, but got an automated message service, so have sent a message via ABS reply link. Haven't used them before, so have no idea how reliable their system is. We'll see.

[Adz]

Very tempting to grab and see what all the fuss is about

[Demonperformer]

Very tempting to grab and see what all the fuss is about

Paws off!!!

[Damo636]

Good luck Demon, i hope you get it. The reply system is pretty reliable although from experience its not a good sign when the sellers mobile is going straight to answer phone.

[Adz]

Paws off!!!

I wasn't trying to get in there before you!

[Demonperformer]

I wasn't trying to get in there before you!

Cheque is in the post ... no, it is ... really ...

[John]

Cheque is in the post ... no, it is ... really ...

Congratulations DP - the XW's are really nice eyepices

I picked up a 5mm from UK AB&S a couple of weeks ago and I've been very impressed with it's performance and build quality

[Demonperformer]

Yes, I like the 5mm, when conditions are good enough for it. But it gives 400x on my scope, which is quite a high magnification for most conditions. 290x will be a lot more usable - hopefully - while giving better views than the 10mm.

[spaceboy]

Very envious of all you XW owners

[faulksy]

just wondering whats the smc xw is that the same as you lot are on about or is this an old version

[RikM]

just wondering whats the smc xw is that the same as you lot are on about or is this an old version

Yes, it's the same. SMC = super multi-coated.

[faulksy]

thanks rik

[S.A.M]

Great report Damo, I have three of them and at least one of them gets used every time I go out viewing!

Peter

[Damo636]

Thanks Peter. I only have the one for now but would love to add the 7 & 5mm in the future.

[Damo636]

I found this 14mm on Ebay last night while innocently browsing I find that when the starting price is set quite high the item doesn't draw as much interest and so could end up a bargain for someone..

Pentax SMC XW 14 1.25 eyepiece | eBay

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I found this 14mm on Ebay last night while innocently browsing I find that when the starting price is set quite high the item doesn't draw as much interest and so could end up a bargain for someone..

Pentax SMC XW 14 1.25 eyepiece | eBay

I will stick with my Nagler 12T4.

[John]

I found this 14mm on Ebay last night while innocently browsing I find that when the starting price is set quite high the item doesn't draw as much interest and so could end up a bargain for someone..

Pentax SMC XW 14 1.25 eyepiece | eBay

I'm just a little wary of the 14mm XW. I've read a number of reports of field curvature and off axis colour being a little more prominent in the 14mm than the other XW's.

The optical design of the 3.5mm, 5mm and 7mm differs a bit from the longer focal length XW's.

The only things I'm not so keen on with my 5mm XW are it's size an weight which are substantially more than the Nagler T6's. Here is a, rather hurried, comparison pic with an Ethos 6mm and Nirvana 4mm in for good measure. All the T6 Naglers are more or less the same weight and size:

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The XWs are big, but then the T6 Naglers have poor eye relief. Increasing eye relief almost always adds bulk to EP.

[Damo636]

I wouldn't swap my 13 Ethos either Michael but i have read a few threads on Cloudy Nights where users have found the XW 14mm capable of going deeper than the Ethos! Has anyone on here ever compared the two directly?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I wouldn't swap my 13 Ethos either Michael but i have read a few threads on Cloudy Nights where users have found the XW 14mm capable of going deeper than the Ethos! Has anyone on here ever compared the two directly?

Going deeper with the 12T4 is not really the main aim (using an F/10 scope). I use it on planets in nights of poor seeing, and to get detail on bright small DSOs (planetaries, mainly). The 17T4 and 22T4 play the role of 13mm EPs in Dobs in my SCT. Anyway, My brand new 12T4 is just about a month old, so it is not up for replacement.

[Damo636]

I'm just a little wary of the 14mm XW. I've read a number of reports of field curvature and off axis colour being a little more prominent in the 14mm than the other XW's.

The optical design of the 3.5mm, 5mm and 7mm differs a bit from the longer focal length XW's.

The only things I'm not so keen on with my 5mm XW are it's size an weight which are substantially more than the Nagler T6's. Here is a, rather hurried, comparison pic with an Ethos 6mm and Nirvana 4mm in for good measure. All the T6 Naglers are more or less the same weight and size:

Looking at your high power collection now John it appears your Antares 1.6x is also redundant

[RikM]

With the longer XW's I don't get the edge and centre in focus at quite the same time, however, I find that preferable to the distortion you see with some EP's to flatten it out. Some EP's make you feel sea sick when scanning star fields. I am not sure if that is field curvature or an effect of coma in my f/4.7 Dob?