Eclipse Optical SWA 26mm

4.0 Nice Views

Wide Field; Great Contrast; Low Cost

Some Edge softness

I nervously ordered this eyepiece concerned with some reviews that I've seen regarding coma at the edge of field of view. I have a 8" f5.9 dobsonian which is a "fast" scope that some have said have problems with this eyepiece. I suspect that f5.9 is right at the edge of quality performance for this eyepiece since I had very little problems using it. Perhaps faster scopes such as f4.7 have significantly more coma issues.

First light for this eyepiece astounded me. Absolutely incredible views! The field of view is huge and it makes a great finder eyepiece, even doing great resolving some stars on the fringe of M13. I noticed no softness at the edges either.

On the second night out for this eyepiece, my eyes may have been more dark-adapted or I was looking for coma because I found it. It's really not that noticeable nor does it detract from the beautiful views that this eyepiece produces. As long as your eye is in the center of the eyepiece up against the eyecup, you'll never notice coma. The only way to see it is to physically move your head so that your eye is at one edge of the eyepiece and you look across to the other edge. Not something I do that often during my observing sessions. Anyway, the background sky is black in this eyepiece, providing great contrast for DSOs.

I should say here that I've recently returned to this hobby after an extended absence. My last foray into amateur astronomy was circa 1994 with a Tasco reflector. And, I'm amazed at the quality that is available for the low cost these days.