Agena 2" Super Wide Angle (SWA) Eyepiece - 32mm

4.0 Great value

Great glass' I really love it. Of course it's no televue, but I think it's a great buy.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Nice widefield, low cost EP....

Very comfortable to use and has good optical quality, especially for its cost. Easy to recommend as a good "sky sweeper" eyepiece to help you find those DSOs.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Agena 2" Super Wide Angle Eyepiece - 32mm

Very good optics, excellent service, super fast shipping, highest recommendation.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Great Eyepiece

my son got this so he could make the most of his new 10" dob, he said its amazing compared to using his 1.25" 25mm eyepieces.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Nice eyepiece for the money.

Nice eyepiece for the money.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Fair price, good performer

On my Celestron 8" SCT this eyepiece give me more than 1 degree field - that is good! 50% FOV - very sharp, outer regions - blur, but as EP for survey it work good.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Nice wide field eyepiece for my ST120 refractor

Very nice, inexpensive eyepiece for my ST120 refactor. Works well in my DSO viewing. Plus, Agena provides fast shipments, excellent service.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 very good eyepiece for the price

I was trying to hold out until I could save enough pennies for the ES 32mm 82deg eyepiece but I didn't have the patience. Using an 8" f/5.9 reflector the stars around the outer edge are a little out of focus, but that is expected if you want to spend 1/4 the amount of money it takes to buy a premium eyepiece. I am satisfied enough with the performance of this eyepiece that I'm not planning to replace it with a premium low power eyepiece anytime soon

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Very Good Optics, Excellent Value

Accurate,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

See extended review under the set. These eyepieces work well in F6 telescopes, and very well in F6.5 and above. Very good engineering and manufacture. I have and use TV and UO with similar AFOV. But for star parties, Astronomy Merit Badge, Grab and Go, other "many hands, eager hands" uses these just can't be beat. The set of three costs less than one of "the best". Peace of mind combines with the Agena SWA very good optics to create comparable views in the central 2/3s of the field, with the surround enhancing the experience. Include Agena's case, excellent customer service, and prompt free shipping and you are at 5 stars.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Great Eyepiece for the Budget Astronomer

Accurate,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses,Lightweight,Easy to Use

This is a great eyepiece. Everybody on the astronomy forums wants to recommend ES, TV, or Baader eps. I am sure they are great eps but not everybody can or wants to spend $ on top eps. Well now you can spend less and get the same quality on this ep. This eyepiece spends the majority of the night in my scope 1200mm f/5.9. Clear crisp views right to the edge of the fov. Thanks Agena for a great product.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 High quality, low price

Very happy with this ocular. Searched long for a quality 2 inch eyepiece at a reasonable price. This has met and exceeded my requirements.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Good Performer

Quality Lenses

Overall fit and finish are good, but not in the same class as the more expensive Explore Scientific and TeleVue offerings.

I use this eyepiece with a F/8 Celestron C6R refractor. Images stay sharp out to about 90% of the field- the last bit looks a little less crisp than the center but stars don't smear or have tails. In a faster F ratio telescope this will likely be more pronounced. This is a nice eyepiece for wide targets such as the Pleiades and the full Moon. Eye relief is good, making it easy to use for multiple observers and public sessions.

I had a chance to test this eyepiece against a friend's 35 MM TeleVue Panoptic on the Orion Nebula. The Panoptic clearly was better (a bit brighter and crisper) but the Agena gave a very good accounting of itself. Bottom line: a solid performer.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Well worth the $

Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

This is an excellent low power EP, with performance you would normally get from a much higher priced / big name unit. When seeing is great, the views are awesome and be prepared to move your eye / head around to take it all in. Again service is / was top of the line. Thanx once again Agena !

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Performance for a great price

Lightweight,Easy to Use

I bought this eyepiece so that I could have a nice wide field view in my 80mm refractor. With this eyepiece I get 15X and a 4.7 degrees FOV. This makes for a wonderful setup for viewing things like the Pleiades, Butterfly, and Beehive clusters.

The downside is that there is considerable coma at the edge of the field of view but even if I only have 3 degrees of view without coma, it is better than spending 4 or 5 times as much for one of the big brands. I give it 4 stars but would really like to say 4.5 for the quality/value ratio. I'm happy and would buy another one.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Fantastic eyepiece!

Quality Lenses,Wide Field of View,Good contrast,Strong Construction

Fantastic eyepiece, especially for the money. Performs very well in my f/10 8" SCT. It's great to know that even though I can't spend hundreds of $ on a TeleVue or Explore Scientific eyepiece, I can still get such amazing quality and performance at a price that's affordable. Don't even hesitate to get any of the Agena SWA's.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Fair price, best product

Strong Construction,Easy to Use,Quality Lenses

I like to surf the wide angle in space. My telescope is Explore AR102. My choice is refracter telescope, more joy for me than 8" Newton although. Observations made with 1.25 eyepiece was very enjoyable with 2" Agena S.W. There are less distortion at the sides but it does not matter.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Perfect introduction to low-mag SWA EPs

Easy to Use,Clear Image,Quality Lenses,Durable,Strong Construction,Accurate

Heavy,Bulky

I went out to my dark sky site a few times over the Summer with this lens and my 10" LightBridge. The eyepiece performed better than I expected. I was only able to go out a handful of times before the winter brought cloud cover but I didn't notice any significant edge effects or problems with image clarity and ability to focus. Obviously the price is right and the thing weighs quite a bit... feels good in your hand. I didn't get any movement of the scope due to its weight though. I looked at the Perseus double cluster, some of the other globular clusters, ring nebula, saturn nebula and of course a half dozen galaxies. This is hands down my favorite lens so far. Can't wait till the cloud cover clears up for a few moments so I could sneak a peek at the orion nebula with it.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Agena SWA 70 32mm 2" Eyepiece

Ergonomics are top rate. Eyepiece performance is very good.

Performance with faster scopes not yet known. Some coma in the outer 10% of field.

In my f9 100mm APO refractor, the performance is very good with a flat field and some coma noticeable about 10% or so from the edge of field. No other aberrations noted. Light transmission is very good with no color cast noted (i.e. colors are true). The coatings are evenly applied and effective with no reflections or spurious light seen. The build quality is quite nice with a comfortable eye guard and a knobby rubber grab ring. The black anodised finish is very attractive. Though no lightweight, the eyepiece actually feels light for its size. Mine shipped free with a bolt type eyepiece bottle (a nice touch, as you don't have to turn around and buy one) as well as a cleaning cloth and standard eyepiece box and of course dust caps.

I would call this an excellent value and a great addition to any eyepiece collection with the caveat of the fact I am using it with a slower focal ratio scope.

5.0 Great quality at a good price.

Accurate,Compact,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

Slight coma on fast scope

This is a great eyepiece. It's very solid construction, excellent light scatter control, a good wide field and good eye relief without any kidney beans or any other nasty effects. Only minor problem it has is when used in Newtonian fast (under f/6) scopes. Then you see a bit of coma on the edge of the FOV extending for 10%. It's not much and I find it acceptable, specially if you consider that to get read of this you need EPs that cost 5 to 10 times as much.

It's very comfortable to use. It's one of those EPs that seam to "get out of the way" between you and the target you're observing. If you have an f/6+ scope you'll be 100% satisfied. With a f/6- they still perform great and are a great value for you money.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 I love this lens!

Strong Construction,Compact,Quality Lenses,Accurate

None

I bought this to complement my 26mm 2" 70 degree fov lens from another brand name. After comparing the two I must say this Agena is one hell of a lens. Very nice quality, very well made.

I've had many great viewing session with this lens. I like this whole line of lenses and spend most of my evenings at the scope using them. I tested the the barrel threads and they easily accepted my filter. Also tried this using my GSO 2" 2x ED Barlow. Worked very well together.

I'm really impressed with this lens series. I've purchased and tested a few lately and I've been thrilled with the performance of them all. Recommended!!

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Very Nice eyepiece for the money

Crisp, sharp views. Light transmission good.True color retention. Beautiful wide view.

manageable minor distortions in the outside field of view.

The views through this eyepiece are crisp and clear. Light transmission is good. Using it with a 10" Dobsonian reflector I found it excellent for viewing star clusters. Though due to the curvature of the lens, about 20% along the outside periphery of the field of view objects become just a little distorted, no noticeable major aberrations were apparent. This 2" eyepiece is a must for viewing messier objects not only because of the wonderful detail that it reveals but because you can watch the object moving against the field of view up to a minute without having to move the scope to catch up. I am definitely going to be buying more Agena 2" eyepieces in the future. I was mistaken in an earlier review in which I complained about it not having a standard thread. It is standard. It was my nebula filter that did not have the standard thread.

5.0 Very cool lens!

High quality, sharp views, affordable

none found

I bought this to compliment my 26mm 2" 70 degree fov lens from another brand name. After comparing the two I must say this Agena is one hell of a lens. Very nice quality, very well made.

I tested the views tonight using my 8" f5.9 dob, though it was a bad night for viewing. Humid and extremely cloudy. But I was able to at least catch a few good views of the moon. Very nice. Filled the eyepiece with room to spare. Crystal clear views.

I tested the the barrel threads and they easily accepted my filter. Also tried this using my GSO 2" 2x ED Barlow. Worked very well. Now when I make use of the 1.5x configuration I did have to pull the barrel out of the focuser a tad to get focus room, but I had to do that with my 26mm as well. 1.5 is a weird mag that way with this scope. Be that as it may the lens performed nicely with both Barlow settings.

I'm really impressed with this lens, and with the Agena line of EPs overall. I've purchased and tested quite a few lately and I've been thrilled with the performance of them all. Recommended!!

4.0 Good 2" Eyepiece and Very Affordable

Very wide field,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

Soft focus at edges

Very good price for a good eyepiece. Bear in mind this is no Nagler or Panoptic but at a fraction of the price, you'll get your money's worth. Very wide field.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Supreme quality at a fine price

Quality Lenses

Difficult To Focus

Fine performance at a wide field. It makes a very nice combination with the 2" SWA 2X Barlow Lens ED

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Excellent eyepiece at a great price

Quality Lenses,Strong Construction

I read a number of reviews and ultimately decided to get the SWA eyepieces opposed to the UWA eyepiece. I am extremely pleased with the quality, construction, and optics. The eyepieces large, heavy, and well constructed. The compression ring works well, and the views are outstanding. Not only is it easier to find and center objects, but the image is crisp and clear, even to the edge. Views of objects like the Ring nebula were excellent, but this eyepiece really earns its keep when looking at larger objects like the Pleiades are the Beehive or other clusters.

I have yet to find any cons, but I've only been able to use it for a brief period of time. I should also note that my telescope is slow (f/10), and it is possible that astigmatism and coma at the edge of the field of view are different in fast scopes. However, for my 9.25 SCT, this eyepiece is great, and a definite value for the price.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Agena 32mm SWA

Cost-performance ratio,Nice build quality,Works well in fast scopes

Eyeguard not adjustable,Eyeguard a bit too tall

...It's definitely a keeper!!!

I just came back inside from my first light with this eyepiece. Because my sole purpose was to evaluate the EP (and because my sliver of sky visible is rather small), I spent my time on just a few targets that I thought would reveal the type of performance the Agena SWA was capable of.

After collimating the scope and allowing it to cool down, I sighted the double cluster through and finder and peered into the SWA. The first thing I noticed was that the stars were very "tight" and pinpoint. The second thing I noticed was that the eyeguard was a bit cumbersome. It doesn't fold down, and I found that it took away from the immersive feeling that the 70 degree FOV would otherwise be giving me. Removing the eyeguard altogether helped, but now eye placement was tricky, and blacking out became a problem. Then I remembered that I had some old rubber eyeguards in my spare parts box. I went inside and found an old fold down televue eyeguard, and it fit perfectly!

After re-installing the EP, the difference was amazing. With the shorter eyeguard in the "up" position, the FOV was very nice. The field stop is very crisp and visible, but it doesn't detract from the view like I felt that it does with the 35mm Panoptic and eyeguard extender. Of course, for its price, the million dollar question is "how is the edge performance in a fast scope?" Well, in my f/4.5 dob with a Paracorr, here's what I found:

* There is no field curvature whatsoever
* There is a tiny amount of pincushion distortion, hard to see even when panning the sky
* There is virtually no false color near the edge of the FOV on bright objects. I wasn't able to test this on very bright stars like Sirius, Vega, etc., but on several 2nd and 3rd magnitude stars, there was no false color at all.
* Speaking of color, stars appear very "true", with warm color rendering - not harsh in any way, but easy to see true star colors
* Light transmission seems very good.
* Contrast was very good. Despite my light polluted skies, the sky background was dark overhead, and stars were vibrant against this background. (I would mention, however, that tonight the transparency seemed better than normal for my viewing spot)
* The main (and really, only) aberration is astigmatism, which begins about 20% from the edge of the field (I'm being very picky here - this is where I can first see any evidence of astigmatism), and becomes progressively worse towards the edge. About 10% from the edge, it begins to really hurt the view, and about 5% from the edge, bright stars become very elongated.

Removing the Paracorr revealed tons of coma, which of course, at f/4.5, is to be expected, though i don't remember ever seeing quite this much through my 35mm Pan, 31mm Nagler, or 1rpd, to be honest. I don't know why coma would be more obvious through a certain EP, but I'm just reporting what I saw (and it was coma, not another aberration). For this reason, a Paracorr might be a good match with this EP in a fast scope, but then, a Paracorr becomes somewhat necessary around f/4.5 anyway.

Build quality is excellent, and the coatings have a nice blue or green tint, depending on the angle the EP is viewed from. It comes with a box, a plastic bolt case and a small cleaning cloth. The EP is very lightweight, lighter than the 1rpd, and much lighter than the 35mm Pan.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this eyepiece. I was going to write that it's an excellent EP "for the price", but that wouldn't be true. It's just an excellent eyepiece, period. True, it does have a small amount of astigmatism, but the amount is fairly small, and not really noticeable until you get about 10% or so from the edge of the FOV. It's not a Panoptic, but if pincushion distortion bothers you more than astigmatism, you might actually like this ep better than a Panoptic. For me, the 35mm panoptic was a bit too low in power, and 32mm seems a bit better, as far as exit pupil is concerned, while still providing a wide true FOV. With a slower scope, the 38mm version might be a better choice, since it will show a larger chunk of sky.

I am excited about this new eyepiece, but I'll say this anyway: I think this eyepiece is the best low power widefield option for fast scopes under $100 that I have ever seen. If the 26mm and 38mm versions are as good as the 32mm, Agena is going to sell a ton of these!

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 First impressions

Well constructed, very good value for the price.

Expect some edge effect coma with fast scope, not parfocal with others in series

The reader may want to refer first to my review on the 38mm Agena SWA eyepiece because the observing conditions are referenced there as well as some comments that will serve as the baseline for comparison. I tested this eyepiece along with the 38mm and the 26mm Agena SWA simultaneously this evening on a series of objects.

The eyepiece build quality was excellent, solid, no sense of cost cutting by use of inferior parts, or less than substantial construction. As I mention in the 38mm review, the coatings on the glass were uniform, so uneveness or blotchy appearance and the glass is flawless, no bubbles, no dust, no artifacts.

This was a very good eyepiece and contrast with this eyepiece seemed a bit better than the 38mm although I mention in that review that my sequence of testing began with the 38mm, my eyes may not have fully dark adapted early on. Again, with this eyepiece a bit of coma was evident, and again it was expected with my fast f/5 12.5" telescope. Quantitated, it was no more or no less than the 38mm showed, in fact the amount tended to remain the same over all 3 eyepieces. At least in the eyepiece I tested, there was NOT the 'ton of coma' reported in another review here. It was there, probably began about 85% of the FOV. My Paracorr corrected it, but as mentioned in the 38mm review I would probably not use the Paracorr unless I was demonstrating the telescope at a star party or such. By myself, it wasn't enough to warrant always using the Paracorr.

I also did not see any astigmatism evident in my eyepiece -- horizontal views across the field looked as sharp as the vertical view and rotation of the eyepiece in the focuser did not change the view. I did not see any field curvature with my eyepiece either, instead a nicely flat FOV without the need to refocus on edge stars. Use of a Paracorr did correct the coma with this eyepiece, but I tend to believe that all coma is not due eyepiece aberrations, especially in faster scopes.

One thing I did find with this eyepiece in the series of the 3 (the 26mm, 32mm, and the 38mm) I tested was that this one eyepiece was not parfocal to the others. I could take the 38mm, focus on an object, switch in the 26mm and not require a refocus (maybe a tiny touchup), but the 32mm required refocussing when switched in and out.

Eye relief is very good with this eyepiece. I am an eyeglass wearer.

Overall, a nicely recommendable eyepiece for the price, gives very good images, sharp pinpoint stars, better contrast than the 38mm, minimal coma but correctable with a Paracorr, no astigmatism seen. It did require refocus when switched from the other eyepieces referenced.

4.0 agena 32mm SWA

cost/performance ratio
works well in fast scopes
nice build quality

eyeguard a bit too tall, and not adjustable

...it's definitely a keeper!!!

i just came back inside from my first light with this eyepiece. because my sole purpose was to evaluate the ep (and because my sliver of sky visible is rather small), i spent my time on just a few targets that i thought would reveal the type of performance the agena SWA was capable of.

after collimating the scope and allowing it to cool down, i sighted the double cluster through and finder and peered into the SWA.

the first thing i noticed was that the stars were very "tight" and pinpoint.

the second thing i noticed was that the eyeguard was a bit cumbersome. it doesn't fold down, and i found that it took away from the immersive feeling that the 70 degree fov would otherwise be giving me. removing the eyeguard altogether helped, but now eye placement was tricky, and blacking out became a problem. then i remembered that i had some old rubber eyeguards in my spare parts box. i went inside and found an old fold down televue eyeguard, and it fit perfectly!

after re-installing the ep, the difference was amazing. with the shorter eyeguard in the "up" position, the fov was very nice. the field stop is very crisp and visible, but it doesn't detract from the view like i felt that it does with the 35mm panoptic and eyeguard extender. of course, for a $69 eyepiece, the million dollar question is "how is the edge performance in a fast scope?" well, in my f/4.5 dob with a paracorr, here's what i found:

*there is no field curvature whatsoever
*there is a tiny amount of pincushion distortion, hard to see even when panning the sky
*there is virtually no false color near the edge of the fov on bright objects. i wasn't able to test this on very bright stars like sirius, vega, etc., but on several 2nd and 3rd magnitude stars, there was no false color at all.
*speaking of color, stars appear very "true", with warm color rendering- not harsh in any way, but easy to see true star colors
*light transmission seems very good.
*contrast was very good. despite my light polluted skies, the sky background was dark overhead, and stars were vibrant against this background. (i would mention, however, that tonight the transparency seemed better than normal for my viewing spot)
*the main (and really, only) abberation is astigmatism, which begins about 20% from the edge of the field (i'm being very picky here- this is where i can first see any evidence of astigmatism), and becomes progressively worse towards the edge. about 10% from the edge, it begins to really hurt the view, and about 5% from the edge, bright stars become very elongated.

...removing the paracorr revealed tons of coma, which of course, at f/4.5, is to be expected, though i don't remember ever seeing quite this much through my 35mm pan, 31mm nagler, or 1rpd, to be honest. i don't know why coma would be more obvious through a certain ep, but i'm just reporting what i saw (and it was coma, not another abberation). for this reason, a paracorr might be a good match with this ep in a fast scope, but then, a paracorr becomes somewhat necessary around f/4.5 anyway.

build quality is excellent, and the coatings have a nice blue or green tint, depending on the angle the ep is viewed from. it comes with a box, a plastic bolt case and a small cleaning cloth. the ep is very lightweight, lighter than the 1rpd, and much lighter than the 35mm pan.

overall, i'm extremely impressed with this eyepiece. i was going to write that it's an excellent ep "for the price", but that wouldn't be true. it's just an excellent eyepiece, period. true, it does have a small amount of astigmatism, but the amount is fairly small, and not really noticeable until you get about 10% or so from the edge of the fov. it's not a panoptic, but if pincushion distortion bothers you more than astigmatism, you might actually like this ep better than a panoptic. for me, the 35mm panoptic was a bit too low in power, and 32mm seems a bit better, as far as exit pupil is concerned, while still providing a wide true fov. with a slower scope, the 38mm version might be a better choice, since it will show a larger chunk of sky.

i am excited about this new eyepiece, but i'll say this anyway: i think this eyepiece is the best low power widefield option for fast scopes under $100 that i have ever seen. if the 26mm and 38mm versions are as good as the 32mm, agena is going to sell a ton of these!