20x wa vs 30x wa for viewing pleasure (1 Viewer)

Hello all!

I am the new owner of a Swaro ATS 80 HD with 20-60 zoom.

I have been reviewing old posts about different eyepieces and it seems there is a real personal preference between individuals about which one they prefer. I have not seen much in regards to the 20x wa angle compared to the 30x wide angle. It seems as the 20x has a really wide real field of view of 180' vs 126' for the 30x. Both of the above are greater than the zoom at 108' at 20x.

Tell me what you enjoy the most and why about your chosen lense? How do you use them and at what distances? The zoom though enjoyable for it's magnification and ease of use, can have a slight constricted feel. Are the above wide angles similar in that, or is their view more open.

I'm new to the birding world and appreciate all who voice their experiences!

Silver,
I previously owned a Swaro ATS 80 HD and both eyepieces. I found that I kept the 20x on the scope most of the time. The 180' field of view allows you to be able to view the interaction of many birds at the same time, you can also be as close as 16' to a feeder and have incredible views. That combination makes this scope very unique with great quality. The 30x is still a tremendous eyepiece. I believe I'm in the minority on the 20x for in my experience I have found more people prefer the 30x. IMHO if possible I would purchase the astro-adapter and make your scope even more versatile.
Greg

Thank you Steve and Greg for your replies I really appreciate it!

How do the views feel with either the 20x or 30x? Do they feel really open compared to the zoom? Are they wide and soaring? With 20x do you feel under powered for magnification?

All others who have experiences with these eyepieces feel free to tell us your experience also!

Silvermesa said:

Do they feel really open compared to the zoom? Are they wide and soaring?

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Silver,

Oh, yes they are! Both the 20x and 30x (on a 80mm scope) exceed the resolution of the eye so many times that they practically feel "as sharp". The 30x may be a better compromise as a general purpose eyepiece, but the 20x supplements the zoom very well when you really need true FOV more than power (assuming that the 20xSW's eye-relief won't be an issue).

With 20x do you feel under powered for magnification?

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I hate to say this, but "It depends" .
- It is a magnificent low power stargazing eyepiece: just look at the Pleiads! The planets, however, are slightly too small at 20x.
- I don't need more power if I try to do high-quality digiscoping, but I often run out of power if I need to document a distant un-ID'd species.
- Our birdwatching towers are located so that 20x is often not quite enough (distance to the birds >50m). I use a Zeiss 3x12 monocular to get 60x - it is good, but to be honest, not as good as the the Swaro zoom at 60x.

The zoom and the 30x tend to be mutually exclusive - you may prefer either and the other is not used that much. In my experience a zoom and a 20xWide are together a nice combination where both have their strengths and uses. But as Stabor mentioned the 20xSW may not have quite enough ER for everyone.

Best regards,

Ilkka

Thank you Ilkka for your post!

Your experiences are really helpful in analyzing these eyepieces.

All others who have experience with these eyepieces feel free to come forward and post your thoughts. They are much appreciated by me and will help others who are making these same decisions! Tell us how you like to use these eyepieces and at what distances?

Silvermesa

my decision regarding 20x vs 30x

Hello all !

I thought it might be helpful to explain what choice I finally made regarding these eyepieces.

I would like to thank all who responded. Their responses are quite accurate with my findings.It really all boils down to how one uses the eyepieces and personal preference.

I ordered both eyepieces and have had them for a week. Both are very nice and have their places but I found the 30x worked best for me simply for the greater eye relief. I find that I wear my sun glasses a lot when I view, and the 30x with 20 mm eye relief gives a very easy and wide view. I found with the 20x and my glasses the view was constricted for me. It may not be constricted for everyone though, due to their glasses and their eye placement.

I wanted to like the 20x due to it does have greater field of view and is a little bit brighter. For me, it was fabulous without glasses and the eyepiece screwed in as if I were wearing glasses. With the eyepiece screwed out and me not wearing glasses it felt more constricted even though the view was wider than the 30x. I had the same feeling with the eyepiece screwed in and my sun glasses on.

I found that for myself I probably will use the 30x as a everyday eyepiece due to the phenomenal view. Our terrain here in Missouri is not as open as the western U.S. and 30x is plenty for looking at birds and mammals.Possibly when I go hunting out west I may switch back to the zoom eyepiece for viewing animals at long distances.

For my use, I found I like the greater magnification of the 30x and the ease of viewing made it feel like it had a greater field of view. I would have to say this eyepiece with the Swaro scope gives you a "wow" feeling when you look thru it.

For those who live in an area with massive flocks of birds viewed at fairly close distances the 20x could be a real positive if the eye relief works for you.