Kowa (bad) news! Price increase and Kowa TE-17W - Discontinued! (1 Viewer)

Seems that Kowa thread down the same "narrow" zoom path as Swaro and Leica, no more fixed 30x EP alternative for Kowa TSN 883/773...

http://www.kowa-prominar.com/news/2015/0507-2.html

I also realized today that the price of Kowa 883/773 has increased with almost 20% by June 1st!!!

It means that the 883+25-60x price now is between Swaro ATX85 and ATX95,

And still no repellant KR-coating on the 773/883.

Now that the TE-17W is discontinued I was wondering if there is any difference in performance between using that eyepiece and the TE-14WD (30x) on an 883 (using the EC converter on the TE-14WD)? I currently have the 14WD on my 663, and if I do upgrade in future to an 883 it would be interesting to know whether I would need to try and source a 17W, as I tend to prefer a fixed eyepiece in some circumstances.

Spec-wise it appears as if both have identical FOVs etc, though I guess the 14WD will become a 32x with a consequently reduced FOV on the 883. If anyone has any experience of whether the 17W is a definite improvement and worth looking out for though I'd be grateful.

I have no experience with the TE-14WD,but owned the TSE-14WE ,for the 823...I Compared it with the swarovski 32XWA,allegedly the best ,or at least as good as any ,and also with some Nikon fieldscope eyepieces i owned and used,in the kowa,at the time..level of performance was really similar..I sold the scope and the 14WE to a friend that had his 823 with old 32x stolen from a vehicle,and when he tried the new 32x for the first time he was more than impressed,He was amazed.For what i know the eyepiece you own is very similar to the 14WE,if not the same with a different bayonet.Top of the line ,modern and updated and even if the TE17W has better optics,is not going to be that much better...having the fixed eyepiece already and wih an adapter available,is a no brainer ,If you upgrade to the 88 ,get the wide zoom and the adapter ...
Sorry i am not really answering to your question and only adding opinion to the call for a voice with experience in the subject that You just made...I am just making time to go look for my kid,and also keeping momentum in your thread until such response comes to light
Best regards

Thanks mayo!

Looking at some info I've managed to find online it appears that the 17W is physically a much larger eyepiece than the 14WD and 14WE, so that suggests the lenses etc are different and may well mean the 17W is an improvement. Be interested to hear from anyone with experience of using both.

To part answer my own question, I've realised that there is another difference between a TE-17WE (30x) and using a TE-14D on an 883: the TE-14D, which is 30x on a 663-type body, will actually be around 35x when used with the adapter on an 883, due to the different focal lengths. So, for a wider angle view the TE-17WE is preferable.

Go for a 1.25" ep

With the Kowa astro adapters available you can use many wide field astro eps:
An ES62 26mm will result on 20x with 60-62º AFOV;
A Baader Hyperion 24mm will result on 21x with 68º AFOV;
A Pentax XW20 will result on 26x with 70º AFOV;
A Docter 12.5 will result on 41x with 84º AFOV;
An Ethos clone of 9mm will result on 57x with 100º AFOV;
An Ethos 4.7 and its clones will result on 109x with 110º AFOV...

Hi,

I wouldn't consider a Baader Hyperion fixed mag EP in an f5.5 scope... regarding the others - note that the astro adapter is 1.25" only... so the 9mm ES 100 deg is out due to a 2" barrel only.

Joachim