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WideScan Type III eyepieces?
Has anyone here used the new WideScan III eyepieces?
When I went to New Zealand last winter I took my Orion 80ED f/7.5 with me and made the most of the pristine, rural skies. While it was mild, there were only three nights clear enough for observing in the two and a half weeks I was there. Bleh.
I was able to do some testing with my equipment which included a WideScan III eyepiece made in Japan. This was a 20mm 1.25'' which was very light - not much bigger than a corresponding plossl.
I estimated the eye relief at about 13mm it was just barely useable with eyeglasses. I got this eyepiece because it provided the greatest field of view in a 1.25'' barrel, using the 80ED gave a magnification of 30x and true field of 2.8 degrees. Televue don't make a 1.25'' Nagler 20mm.
Performance was acceptable in the inner 45% of the field (by diameter) but dropped off rapidly as one went closer to the edge. However, the picture window effect was amazing and it was very easy to follow things around and star-hop. I have to say that M13, despite being very low, looked particularly good. However, this isn't the thing to try on your f/4 dob unless you have very modest expectations. After replacing the eyepiece with a Nagler 16mm T5, the old adage that you get what you pay for became painfully evident.
Overall grade: B-
Has anyone tried the other eyepieces of this line? I understand there is a 13mm, 16mm and a big 30mm.... would be interesting to see how they stack up against the big names and whether they represent a value deal. I also heard Andrews have come up with new 2'' eyepieces in 12mm and 15mm for $219 and $149 respectively!
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