A night under the stars with my new UWAN's Part 1

[Doc]

Had a little clear spell tonight but the moon was 99% full so very very bright which did hinder alot.

I'm going to try and compare these against the Hyperion range of eyepieces from Baader.

What really amazed me was the difference in seeing colour in different stars. The Hyperion 21mm hardly ever showed colour, most stars looked white with the odd red star showing. While viewing the double cluster the 28mm UWAN showed loads of colour stars ranging from Dark red, Orange and yellow stars. The colours were very distinctive. I'm sure with no moon out the background would be very black making the colour more intense.

Second thing that stands out is the field of view. The extra 14° really does show itself and you get that immersive sense of feeling.

Contrast was very nice indeed and I would say a little better then the Hyperion. Jupiters bands were clearly visible and the contrast in them very nice indeed.

I'm a little dissapointed as in my Hyperions I had little comet tails emerging from the stars, oddly enough this is still occuring in the UWAN's, not as bad but still visible. Is this a secondary mirror fault or would it dissapear with a Paracorr or a MPCC, hard to say as I'm not experienced enough to say.

The 16, 7 and 4mm didn't seem to suffer from comet tailed stars as much.

The rotating eyecup will take some getting use to. I found it better to not use it. When I did use it I found a lot of stray light entering the eyecup, again this is mainly from the full moon, on a dark night it shouldn't be a problem.

So what do I think off them, so far I would say a step up from the hyperions. Colour, contrast and the immersive sense of viewing makes them a little better but then they do cost more. They are definietly better made, feel like quality, and they do ooze quality but then the hyperions are that far behind.

Thats it for now. I will report back when the moon goes away.

[johninderby]

It sounds like it is the lack of a coma corrector that is causing the comet tails that you're seeing. The main indicator that this is the problem is that it gets better in the short focal lengths and worse in the longer focal lengths. I found that over about 13mm the coma corrector becomes more effective.

John

[alfi]

hi

sounds nice. thank you for the writeup.

im getting a 7 and 16mm nirvana tomorrow, and the 28mm next week, and a comacorrector.

so it sounds like im waiting for something really nice.

alfi

[John]

Very interesting report Mick. Having tried the 16mm UWAN and the 28mm Nirvana I understand what you mean regarding the eyecup - it does take some getting used to, especially with the 28mm where it's more of a "face cup" !.

I think you are seeing coma produced by your scope rather than the eyepieces so a coma corrector should make a difference to that I would have thought.

Interesting that you say the extra FoV is very noticable - can you see the whole field in one go of do you need to move your head to see the field edges ?.

John

[Doc]

I agree with you guys, I'm sure it's coma I see so a Coma corrector is next on the list.

John I was pretty surprised at how much more FOV I could see with 82° over 68°. It's a bit hard to explain but you seem to get immersed more. When I tried the Ethos's 100° I had to continually move my eye around to the extreme to encompass the whole field of view, on this eyepiece Just a very small movement is required to see the whole fov, alot more comfortable.

I like your comment about the eyecup being a face cup, thats dead true.

[johninderby]

I like your comment about the eyecup being a face cup, thats dead true.

The UWAN 28's eyecup is the main reason I went for the Nagler 26 instead. I liked the performance of the UWAN 28 but just couldn't get on with eyecup. On the smaller UWANs the eyecup is just fine and I find them comfortable to use.

Ultrawide FOV an insidious thing, once you get used to it you just don't want to go back.

John

[alfi]

hi

found this, seems like another clone Orion MegaView Ultra-Wide Eyepieces | Orion Telescopes

alfi

[johninderby]

The Orion Megaview are the same as the UWAN / Nirvana but way overpriced in the UK.

http://www.scsastro.co.uk/it030033.htm

:eek::eek:

Orion 4mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £179.00

Orion 7mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £179.00

Orion 16mm MegaView, 12mm Eye Relief - £219.00

Orion 28mm MegaView, 18mm Eye Relief - £379.00

John

[Doc]

hi

found this, seems like another clone Orion MegaView Ultra-Wide Eyepieces | Orion Telescopes

alfi

Indeed another WO clone. I bet WO aren't to pleased.

Btw Alfi what coma corrector are you getting.

[alfi]

hi

i recieved it today.

its baaders MPCC.

alfi

[Doc]

hi

i recieved it today.

its baaders MPCC.

alfi

I looked at the MPCC but inside my focuser I have a lip about 70mm down and this stops anything going further then this point.

I'm not sure how deep this set up is, 28mm UWAN + 28mm step ring + MPCC I'm sure this is more then 70mm. I think you need the 28mm extention tube to make the 55mm needed for the MPCC to work.

The Paracorr sits into the focuser 60mm so is ideal for me and also has the benefit of you not having to remove the MPCC everytime you change eyepieces.

[alfi]

hi

i have not been trying it out yet, i bought it mostly for photo use, not so much for visual.

but i will be trying it out visually to.

alfi

[albedo0.39]

Great to hear you've given the new UWANs some airing Mick. I'd be interested to know if the coma apparent in the view grows with the size of the EP. Remember, coma reduction is also a function of collimation and now you have jumped up a ladder on EP's should have also gained from the improved correction in the lens. Certainly at the SSP, I didn't notice excessive seagul / comet defects on the Nirvana's (which frankly...was a shock)

I think you have made a cracking choice and look forward to reviews when the moon is out of the night sky.

Steve