Hello all,
Just thought I'd write a quick review after viewing last night for anybody interested. This review is more about the range and an upgrade than comparisons at one focal length.
Eyepieces: SW (skywatcher) 25 and 10mm plossls, UO (university optics) 12.5 and 18mm volcano top orthoscopics.
Telescope: 10" SW Dobsonian
First up I was surprised how good the sw stocks are at certain things. Comparing the views between the 25mm and the 18mm on open star clusters (M46, M47) there wasn't a lot of difference. Looking at Jupiter there wasn't much difference between the 10mm and the 12.5. I could see just about the same amount of detail and about now I started to wonder whether the extra $ were worth it. Even the neb NGC 2438 in M46 was detailed just as well in the 10mm as the 12.5mm
. This was just the initial impressions though!
As the night went on the quality of the UO's became more apparent. Looking at the orion neb and NGC 3372 there was definately more detail and a brighter image. The nebula's took on an almost ghostly 3d effect where the sw's felt 2d and flat.
When focusing the UO's were definately easier to use. The SW's have a short 'area' where the stars focus. The UO's focused easier with a 'longer' length of focusing available, stars were sharper and just brighter than the 25mm. Where they stood out was looking at tighter or dimmer star clusters. There were definately some wow moments. It also seemed that there were more faint stars on occasion in the background. Something else I became aware of was the strain that the ep put on your eye. The sw's where harder to focus with and I had to strain my eyes more to take in the views. I naturally found myself going for the UO's as it was easier to view with and the clarity was becoming more apparent.
FOV you aren't really going to miss much in the way of 5deg. when comparing the plossl vs orthos. I enjoyed the views through the OU's as I spent most of my time looking at dso's at the centre of the e.p. and very rarely go looking at the sides. Only on big open star clusters did I find that the view was a little restricting (that being the same for the plossl and ortho). This was only 2 objects viewed out of 27 last night.
Probably the only small negative is no eyeguard on the UO's for blocking light. I use a dark cloth over my head to block light as even on a moonless night there is still usually some light around. With the UO's the light was coming off the white background of the telescope around the focuser area. It wasn't that offputting but it still made me wonder whether it was affecting my views. The SW's have roll-up eyeguards and all surrounding light is supressed when using the dark cloth.
In short:
I found that the SW 10mm is great for viewing planets/moon but just bearable for DSO's and the 25mm is great on DSO's and not very good for planets.
The UO's while providing similar views can perform well in both areas and better. After looking back at the night I can say that I'm definately happy with my purchases
and I am contemplating getting some more. There was a feeling of these views are just sharp!
If I was constricted in budget then I wouldn't worry now that I have compared the two ranges cause the views of the SW's are, in their best circumstances, just as good or within 90% of. Everything I saw in the UO's I saw in the SW's, just a little differently.
Hope you find this interesting if you're contemplating an upgrade or wondering if you need to spend the money.
Simmo
Thanks Simmo great little review , just one Q , were the UO 12.5 and 18mm Orthoscopics ? and the SW 10 and 25 plossl's .
There aren't any reviews yet and in my mind I pictured the Japanese with their very professional quality and morals compared to Chinese just get it done cheap and on mass techniques. Not to say that the new orthos might not be good it just seems that way to me at the moment and with time running out not a gamble I want to play with. Price is a winner for some people and hopefully the quality is just as good with these new products. Time will tell. 
Thanks Simmo , I to have 12.5 and 18mm volcano top ortho's ( 5mm to 25mm full set of circleT ) and yes you are right , great eyepieces . Very sharp . 
