University Optics Widescan 16mm

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Brand and Model:University Optics Widescan 16mm
Price ($USD):Discontinued
Type:Ultra Wide Angle
Focal Length:16 mm
Barrel Size:1.25 in
Apparent FOV:82.0 degrees
Field Stop Dia.:0.0 mm
Eye Relief:8 mm
Elements:6
Weight (lbs):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
University Optics Widescan 16mm
This seems to be a mix of Wide Scan 16mm and 20mm reviews.

I'm commenting on the 20mm Wide Scan. This eyepiece was basically what I expected. A decent wide field eyepiece for the money.

The FOV is very wide but the images are very soft off axis. I have a bunch of Naglers and I'm not getting rid of them for this eyepiece. I use it mostly for finder scopes where the combination of wide field and light weight are more important than sharp images.

This is basically a pretty good erfle but don't be fooled into thinking it's a poor man's Nagler.

Overall Rating: 6
Optics:5 Value:7
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=303106

University Optics Widescan 16mm
Seeing as how this eyepiece is called simply the University Optics Widescan on the list page without a focal length following the name, perhaps I can review my Unitron (another company which sold the Widescan, probably built by the same Japanese optical contractor as the U.O. versions) 20mm Widescan and be within the bounds of this category. It is totally awesome. Gone is my 9mm Nagler because in my 6" f/5 Skyview reflector, my 20mm Unitron Widescan's view becomes just as full-field sharp when put on my Orion Shorty 2x barlow. The barlow just barely does not vignette the huge view of the widescan. What little remaining coma and astigmatism in the view when operating as a 10mm eyepiece is as slight as seen in the Nagler. I find the Widescan on the barlow to be more comfortable to look through than the 9mm Nagler because of the longer eye relief and lack of kidney bean black out effect common to the Type I Nagler design. I have just bought a 2" AP barlow for my Apogee 30mm type II Widescan to replace my Meade 14mm UWA based on these results. It is a shame Apogee can't convince J and R Optical Co. (the contractor who manufactures the Widescan II 30mm) to make the other, older widescans as well as the 30 type II. I do find that the type II Widescan is a little less prone to astigmatism at the outer edges of the field of view than my Unitron 20mm, so perhaps (my fingers are crossed) optical designers somewhere are secretly scaling down the type II 30mm to cover other focal lengths. Of all the Naglers I have owned, I may only keep my 7mm Nagler for tight clusters and planetary nebulae because Widescans are just so much brighter on deep sky objects, which are my primary target for wide angle low power eyepieces. Brightness = Aperture!!
Jeff Quinn

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43458

University Optics Widescan 16mm
I guess I was one of the lucky ones who picked up on the Widescan 20mm eyepieces when they first came out. In fact, they seemed so good and University Optics has always had such great eyepiece bargains (my 16mm Galoc remains one of my absolute favorites) I felt I couldn't go wrong. How right I was. Where to begin? The field of view? 84 monster degrees! The weight? Under a pound - no 3 pound thermos bottle size eyepiece here. Eye relief is fantastic - you don't have to keep moving your head in and out from the eyepiece to find the sweet spot for a full field of view like some other eyepieces. There appears to be no curvature of field when used in an f/5 or slower system. They are easy to clean and store - plus - they are 1 1/4" in diameter and do not need a 2" focuser to help support their weight. Why did I order two of them? Because I use a bino-viewer on my 24"f/5 Deep Sky Dob and on my 12 1/2" f/6.5 Sun & Moon Dob. What a joy to use - what a sight they bring to these eyes! I now can literally spend hours looking at the Moon seeing details I've never noticed even in photographs. The field of view is so large, it makes me feel like I'm looking out the port hole of the Apollo Command Module 60 miles above the lunar surface. These eyepieces may be burried with me when I leave this planet because who knows? I may not be able to replace them wherever I end up.....

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=136376

University Optics Widescan 16mm
It gives excellent images of deep sky objets. At the edge the sharpness isn't good, however it works very well for the star hopping. The FOV is impressionant! But the eye relief is very short.
A very good eyepiece

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=133835

University Optics Widescan 16mm
In my S-C f/10 the edge is sharp only for 50%

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=131326

University Optics Widescan 16mm
Amazing eyepiece. Same AFOV as a 16mm Nagler, but MUCH smaller and lighter, and seems to have better eye relief. Not quite sharp to the edge though; stars show astigmatism about 65 degrees out, but not a big deal considering the size of the field. Excellent build quality and barlows very well with no ghosting on bright objects. Far better than the UO 16mm Konig, which is itself a very good eyepiece. Only problem with the Widescan is it requires alot of in-travel and therefore cannot reach focus in my dob with helical focuser, or in my refractor when using a two inch diagonal.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43457

University Optics Widescan 16mm
Great eyepiece. I agree with the comment above.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43456

University Optics Widescan 16mm
A simply outstanding performer. It yields higher contrast and higher light throughput than the 16mm Nagler, however, at the expense of only a minor loss in edge performance. It is incredibly lightweight and a joy to use as I do not have to become concerned with any counterbalance issues that would occur with the heavier Ultrawides. It's a shame it is no longer being made by University Optics. If you see one on the used market, than I would strongly recommend you grab it.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43455

University Optics Widescan 16mm
Huge and bright field of view, extends all the way to edges. Sharpness degrades a little towards the outside, but is still, very acceptable. Views of the Moon are simply awesome.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43453

University Optics Widescan 16mm
It is me again, the author of the above post with an impression on another Widescan, the 16mm Unitron which I luckily was able to get just recently. Everything about my 20 is how the 16 is. More comfortable to use than my 14mm UWA despite tighter eye relief, and a lot less worry about dropping it or having it fall over off my accessory tray because it is tiny by comparison. It is the size of a 26mm Super Plossl; basically the size of a normal eyepiece. I can't belive I prefer these Widescans over the 8 element kings of edge sharpness, but there is something special about them. Despite their edge field astigmatism, they are just more satisfying to use for some reason. I am testing a Lumicon coma corrector in my f/5 reflector, which seems to help the edge problems, so I may have finally found the eyepieces that I won't ever want to sell.
Jeff Q

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=43459

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