Yet another SW ep?

[triton1]

Seems SW have done another redesign on their swa 70* eps which I believe is a redesign of the Celestron ultima lx 70* which I have both.The new ones seem to have a conical top similar to the LET ep.I wonder why they do this because at the end of the day their the same but with different cloths on.Maybe charge more or less,are they prettier,easier to use I don,t know.The Celestron ones were about £140 when released and the SW where around £95.I can't do a link but there on eBay if you do a search.

[John]

Do you mean the ones reviewed here ?:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/211960-skywatcher-swa-70-degree-eyepieces/

 

[Mak the Night]

If they're the ones I'm thinking about I'm pretty sure they're Barsta/BST.

 

 

http://www.barsta.com/show_hdr.php?xname=MDA8V11&dname=OPFOR71&xpos=10

[triton1]

No there not those but redesigned with a conical top the ones above I have.I eBayed skywatchers swa eyepiece and some new ones cropped up from Germany under the SW brand.Sorry can't post a link don't know how with this tablet.

[triton1]

eBay no 271990746287 type in manually I'm afraid.

[Ruud]

These?

I found them here: http://www.barsta.com/show_hdr.php?xname=MDA8V11&dname=OPFOR71&xpos=10

At least, a number of the Barsta eyepiece lines are very good value.

But I'm not sure if I understand Barsta. They say they are a manufacturer-based company. Yet I recognize products in their assortment that are made by Kunming United Optics. I mean, can you be a manufacturer-based company without actually manufacturing anything yourself?

So is Barsta an actual optics manufacturer like JOC, Kunming United Optics, Synta and Long Perng?

[triton1]

No if you type in the eBay number into eBay it will take you to it.

[Mak the Night]

27 minutes ago, Ruud said:

But I'm not sure if I understand Barsta. They say they are a manufacturer-based company. Yet I recognize products in their assortment that are made by Kunming United Optics. I mean, can you be a manufacturer-based company without actually manufacturing anything yourself?

So is Barsta an actual optics manufacturer like JOC, Kunming United Optics, Synta and Long Perng?

That's an interesting point. It's possible that Barsta do manufacture their own products but that some items, such as housings and the like, are sourced from the same manufacturers that GSO, JOC, Kunming United Optics, Synta etc use.

In which case, slightly different products by different manufacturers may have a superficial resemblance or may even be virtually the same thing as products by other manufacturers.

It's bloody confusing lol!

[triton1]

If my German is correct the add on the bay says their good down to f5 which was not mentioned on the ones that Flo used to sell personally for the price I found them good if not abit ugly maybe that's why they changed their clothes and gave them a reboot.

[RikM]

There is nothing like it on the OVL page. Might be an old ep?

[John]

4 hours ago, RikM said:

There is nothing like it on the OVL page. Might be an old ep?

Having followed the e.bay link this is the eyepiece that is referred to. It's quite an old design that Skywatcher listed a few years back. It's not part of their current range. I looked though one once and it was decent but nothing special, rather like the more recent Skywatcher 70 SWA's.

A lot of these eyepieces share the same optical design put in different bodywork I think. Without dissecting them it's very difficult to pin down what you are looking through.

All these SWA designs do "work" at F/5 of course but my experience is that they do show a fair bit of outer field astigmatism at that focal ratio whatever the brand / manufacturer claims !

 

[Davesellars]

I have the SWA-70 set (except the 32mm and 3.5mm) and found they performed very well with my C8 at f/6.3 and my 120ED at f/7.5.  They are heavy eyepieces (The 5mm is a beast...) however they are really comfortable to use and all with 20mm eye relief (they are roughly par-focal as well needing a slight adjustment between focal lengths).  I use different eyepieces with my 120ST and 12" dob (f/4.92) though so can't comment how they perform at this focal ratio.

[triton1]

Yup that's the one I've never seen one so I thought it was a new offering I must admit it does look nicer than the other swa 70*.I also noticed uwa on the ep itself(ultra wide angle?)which at 70* seemed to be bragging abit.Maybe John has a point on it being an older model ep when the ultima lx came out I think that was described as ultra wide aswell same fov.

[John]

Yep - "UWA" means something like 80 degrees AFoV to me. 65-72 degrees is SWA I feel. There are no official definitions though so I guess they can use the labels liberally

I was hoping that the Skywatcher 70 SWA's would "wow" me a bit more than they did. I didn't try the 22mm which seems to be prety good from other folks reports so perhaps that one is the pick of the range ?

They are competant but considering their physical presence the 32mm, 13mm and 5mm were marginally underwhelming to me, as I said in my review.

 

[triton1]

The 32mm in both the SW swa and the ultima lx were both the worst of the bunch but after clicking on another link their available from 5 to 17 and the 3.5 being the newest does this mean their re releasing the older model.It can't be old stock can it? because the 3.5 wasn't available then.

[John]

2 hours ago, triton1 said:

The 32mm in both the SW swa and the ultima lx were both the worst of the bunch but after clicking on another link their available from 5 to 17 and the 3.5 being the newest does this mean their re releasing the older model.It can't be old stock can it? because the 3.5 wasn't available then.

The one in the picture the e.bay link is not from the latest Skywatcher UWA 70 range, it's from a much earlier range. However I think the advert is for one of the current range and the advetiser has just used an old, and incorrect, stock photo.

 

 

[SpaceWalker]

On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 21:38, Ruud said:

But I'm not sure if I understand Barsta. They say they are a manufacturer-based company. Yet I recognize products in their assortment that are made by Kunming United Optics. I mean, can you be a manufacturer-based company without actually manufacturing anything yourself?

So is Barsta an actual optics manufacturer like JOC, Kunming United Optics, Synta and Long Perng?

 

I noticed the same thing and it puzzles me a lot. Until recently I thought Barsta is a manufacturer but now... I'm not sure... 

 

[TheLookingGlass]

Hi guys,

I've just received a 5mm Olivon, 70 degree in the post. Pretty hefty EP! I've removed the rubber eyecup, and the top lens looks a LOT wider now. I'm going to give it a run in my 10" F/4.7 reflector when the weather permits. I'll come back here with a few comments regarding this particular EP.

Here's three pics. One with the rubber eyecup on, one with it off and another showing it with the eyecup off and a cap I found that fits over the top. 

I've owned the 17mm and 22mm Ultima LX, (which are the same glass in different clothing: Ultima LX, Astro Tech AF-70, Barsta, etc), and both were good performers in my 10" scope for the price. The 22mm was the better of the two.

Cheers !

[triton1]

I've noticed 365astronomy sell these for £88 with no name on the ep,Ithink their the same as the SW swa 70* which sell for £20 cheaper.I was thinking of getting one to complete my set but having not experienced über wide eyepieces I might take a punt on a 3.5 SW myriad instead.