Antares Speers-Waler 24mm

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Eyepiece Reviews:Antares Speers-Waler 24mm

 Info  Votes  Messages  More Stats  Up One Level
Brand and Model:Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
Price ($USD):$129.00
Type:Misc Wide Angle
Focal Length:24 mm
Barrel Size:1.25 in
Apparent FOV:67.0 degrees
Field Stop Dia.:0.0 mm
Eye Relief:0 mm
Elements:8
Weight (lbs):0.0
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
Sadly, Antares has discontinued this eyepiece. It is my search eyepiece, and gives good contrast and sharpness. I think the FOV is more like 64º, but that's close enough for me. I find the views sharp to almost the edge. Mine didn't come with a rubber eyeshield, and I do wish it had one. Works well in both my f/5 Newt and my f/9.5 refractor.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=589956

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
I really like this eyepiece. At f/6 it has it's faults for sure, but I don't think you can better the level of performance without spending at least twice as much. Basically I've found it performs pretty close to my UO 40mm Mk-70 Konig, so if you own one or have used one, then you know exactly what to expect.

The eypiece is larger in diameter than most 1.25" eyepieces (probably around 1.6") and of a typical length for a 25mm eyepiece. The glass appears to be of high quality and has nice coatings. The construction is nicely done and there is a rubber grip ring. A fairly wimpy rubber eyegard is included but has to be removed to fit the dust caps. My solution was to buy an aftermarket "eyepiece bolt case" that fits with eyegard installed.

Views are bright, wide, and have good contrast. Blackouts are not a problem. Yes, there is some astigmatism around the edge but the rest of the view is just fine. Curiously Antares has billed this as a 67 degree AFOV eyepiece, but I recall somebody measuring it as 73 degrees. This checks when comparing AFOV to my Mk-70 Konig, which advertises a 70 degree AFOV. This may be because (like the Konig again) the edge really isn't usable so the advertised number is reduced. Personally I rather they just used a slightly smaller field stop.

Eye relief is tight if you want to take everything in, but you don't loose anything by backing off the view slightly except edge distortion. In so doing you probably gain 3-4mm and this makes a huge difference in comfort (although with an aftermarket heavier style winged cup similar to Orion's it's not at all uncomfortable to start with).

I also think this eyepiece betters the 25mm Mk-70 Konig which I reviewed earlier and found not up to par with it's big brother. I've also heard those who compared it to the Meade 24 SWA prefered this one, though I personally haven't compared the two. This would seem to make it the best of the bunch in sub $200 wide field 25mm-ish eyepieces.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43410

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
Simply put: too much off axis astigmatism.

On axis sharpness is very good, but dependant on eye position. If you don´t hold your ayeball dead center over the eye lens, sharpness degrades noticiably.

Contrast is good to very good, but not excellent.

Eye relief is perfect. No kidney bean, nor blackout problems at all. Ergonomically, a really comfortable ayepiece.

But too much off axis astigmatism. The worst off-axis eyepiece I have ever used, from f:4 to f:10. Astismatism does not improve in slower telescopes. Weird, but true.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:7 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=348951

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
UPdate to my coments in previous rating. My 24 mm developed some problems that required return of the eyepiece to the manufacturer. I noticed small round areas of obscuration ( like little air bubbles ) when viewing planets jupiter and saturn. I replaced this eyepiece with a Panoptic 19 mm.What an improvement. the sharpness and contrastof the image is excellent compared with the antares. I dont think I'll be buying any more SW eyepieces, Televiews really are the best in this arena.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=58197

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
This one is a bit of a dissappointment over the 5-8mm S.W. I measured the field at nearly 73 degrees, but it shows considerably astigmatism in the outer 1/3rd of the field. This one is an also-ran.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:5 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=57729

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
A nice looking unit but only the center 1/3 of field coma free.Lack of edge sharpness noticable and irritating. When used in tandem with Antares 3x barlow edge sharpness dramatically improved. So basically what you have is 7mm Wide angle eyepiece.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43409

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
I think that this eyepiece is a great deal. The performance is sharp to the edges on my Parks 6" and you will not find a wider view (67+ degrees) for a 1.25" eyepiece. Eye relief is a bit lacking (about a half inch), but still acceptable without glasses. The ER is way better than my UO 16mm Konig. By the way, I picked mine up for about $110 in Canada (shipping included) because the exchange rate is rather weak these days.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43408

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
Excellent in my MN56. I took a point away for that stupid eyeshield.
Wish they'd include a decent folding rubber eyecup to assist in
positioning ones eye.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43407

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
Excellent piece, great value. Very slight field edge star streak.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43406

Antares Speers-Waler 24mm
This is my standard, first-of-the-evening eyepiece; I sold my 24.5 Meade SWA after a year comparing the two. Bright, sharp, good value.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43405

[Click Here to Login]
Don't have a login? Register!

Jay Freeman's Eyepiece Primer
Starting out in Amateur Astronomy
 
How to use This Site
Why Register?
Voting Guide