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XW's On Death Row!!

Damo636

By Damo636
in Discussions - Eyepieces

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E621Keith

E621Keith

Posted
Posted

Don't worry about it. As a dealer stated later on in that thread and as John stated above. Pentax XW are used in their spotting scopes, so unless they decide to quit the sport optics market as well, the 1.25" XW will be safe. I would not be surprised to hear Pentax sells more XW to birders than they sell to us astronomers.

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alan potts

alan potts

Posted
Posted

Let's hope Keith is correct. I only have the one as I prefer Televue's myself for the wider field. I borrowed the 7mm for a good while and I found that was a class act though for me there is nothing between what I have seen of them and the Delos range.

Alan.

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John

John

Posted
Posted

Would love to get the chance to look through one of these one day. Never been tempted enough.

I was tipped off by Steve at FLO about the quality of the XW's a few years back. I had "ultra-wide-itis" back then though so I stuck with Tele Vues. It was when FLO loaned me the XW 10mm that I realised how good they really were as it managed to improve on my much loved Nagler T6 9mm, albeit slightly.

Last year I moved from my remaining T6 Naglers to XW's in the 5mm and 3.5mm focal lengths and I've no regrets at all in terms of performance. I do miss the compact dimensions of the T6 Naglers sometimes though, the XW's are pretty whopping for 1.25" eyepieces. Lovely glass though :smiley:

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Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

(On 20/02/13) "As of 1:45 PM today, according to our latest conversation with Pentax, most 1.25" XW eyepieces are available in limited quantities. The XOs and 2" XWs are gone for good. The Pentax sales department in the States themselves have not been told by corporate in Japan, and so cannot tell us, if production is going to continue on the 1.25" versions or whether their stock on hand is the last that they are going to have. "

(On 21/02/13) "

As of today, Pentax's own website lists only 4 focal lengths of XW as available:

http://www.pentax.jp/english/products/binoculars/scope/xw/index.html

Those are the 4 focal lengths usable in the Pentax spotting scopes.

The 40, 30, 5, and 3.5 were outside the normal range for spotting scope use.

It may mean they are planning to confine XW availability to only those four focal lengths from now on.

Or it may mean those are the four focal lengths left.

It would be good to get an official statement, somehow.

It's also interesting the spotting scopes are not noted as coming with a Zoom, and the XL 8-24 zoom is not listed on the site. Likewise it's interesting the PF-100ED spotting scope, long-discontinued, is listed.

So I am not certain whether the website is up-to-date.

Their on-line Buy Now website shows more choices:

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/category/sportoptics/eyepieces

But only the 5mm is "in stock". All the others are listed as out of stock. "

and then..

(02/03/13)

"Stopped by the scope shop yesterday, the lady there had talked with Pentax on the Phone and they told her that only the 30mm and 40mm XW were discontinued. They will continue to manufacture the 3.5-20mm versions. "

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

Posted
Posted

Its been rumoured for some time, ever since Pentax were acquired by Hoya and the tsunami, that some of these would be casualties. You cant rely just on the manufacturers statements, look how quick the BGOs disappeared and the Pentax XO, my money would be on anything that doesnt find use in a spotting scope getting the chop.........

If you think the secondhand BGOs were expensive then your in for a shock when/if XWs go out of production even assuming anyone wil sell one. I have been waiting for a secondhand 30mm, i may as well wait for a UFO to land in my back garden or the arribal of the Messiah. The few XWs that have come up have been brutal on price.

Like John I was averse to Pentax, partly on cost grounds but also because I never liked their cameras ...had a few and never liked them. Silly I know.

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E621Keith

E621Keith

Posted
Posted

It's is a shame. When Hoya bought Pentax, they killed the telescope and mount division, but I guess Hoya sold glass to various telescope makers and they continued to sell astro eyepieces. It seems like Pentax current owner, Ricoh (essentially printer and fax machine company), have even less interest in astronomy than Hoya. The 2" XW and XO were axed last year. Now my worse fear may come true where the astronomical 3.5 and 5mm XW will be going next. Hopefully this will be wrong as the 3.5 and 5mm XW is still listed in the Japanese version of the site.

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/products/telescope/eye/xw/

It's a shame to see Pentax being gradually destroyed. Fortunately, Televue released the Delos to occupied the spot left behind by the XW. Unfortunately, the Delos (and to some extend the Nikon) would have contributed to XW's demise.

On the bright side, there was a new Pentax 125 SDP dressed in Vixen livery in last month's CP+ trade show. Apparently Vixen bought licences for some Pentax products. If we are lucky, we may see the XW reincarnated as the next LVW.

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E621Keith

E621Keith

Posted
Posted

If Pentax were to drop there Spotting scope range then the XW's would surely follow, but whats the point of producing a Spotting Scope with no EP to fit in them,,,,,,

Fortunately there are still no sign of Pentax doing this.

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alan potts

alan potts

Posted
Posted

Keith,

Has the Delos been around that long? I know the lions share of the range only got launched at the back end of last year, Telescope House e-mailed me on it the day before because they knew I wanted 2 that had been unavailable.and I posted a heads up.

I didn't think the others 10mm and 17mm had been on the market that much longer.

I have used two XW's 7mm and 10mm as well as own the 14mm and I don't think there is anything in the performance, but then I would say that wouldn't I.

Alan.

Alan.

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E621Keith

E621Keith

Posted
Posted

I think Ricoh looks at it's balance sheet in quarters like any other big corporation. The full Delos range was released two quarters ago and no doubt it would have impacted the sales of the astro specific XW.

Delos aside, I'm sure Nikon's 72deg NAV-SW have done a lot of damage in the Japanese home market. Unlike here in the West, a SW in Japan cost about the same as a XW. If Pentax behaves anything like Vixen, then the products' performance in the home market would ultimate determines its fate.

Lets hope Ricoh executives are not that short sighted.

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