Kowa 32X WIDE New and Old Versions (1 Viewer)

Greetings...After a long search I was able to find a 32X WIDE for my 823 a few weeks ago..I was after the screw-up eyepiece version, but was unsure whether if the optical design had changed from the previous version ,or was merely an ergonomic upgrade, with the use of a more modern eyecup..I had an 824 a few years ago,with both the 50X and the 32XWide,..Both nice eyepieces, I guess..To be honest I dont remember much about their performance ..Wide field,yes, I remember that..but not how wide or if the eye relief was good or adequate,.. Neither I remember the edge performance or the level of distorsion..Oh well...
The eyepiece I have now is the new version with the screw-up eyecup,and I do believe this is an improved optical design,over the older 32xWIDE model,..I was surprised ,first of all, by the large diameter of the ocular glass...It is a pretty large, and very flat ,glass surface,and kind of reminds me (even in the general reflection pattern) to the Swarovski 30X SW..This large glass opening and the Wide field create a very comfortable,easy and inviting view,that allows you to "move around" the image ...The eye relief is the highest I have seen for now in a Wide eyepiece..The Nikon Eyepieces I have been using (both in my ED50 and adapted to the 823 )are also wide and have good eye relief, but nothing like this eyepiece.This one must have at least 25mm , if not more. I use glasses and I need to lift the eyecup two stops , to comfortably center my eye in the view and still have the whole Field of view available. I am not very much into digiscoping ,but probably this quality helps with this practice.
The Edge performance is very good,a bit better than the Nikon WA eyepieces I have for comparison,and Shows a bit less false color towards the end of the FOV, again,almost in the league of the Swaro 30XSW, for what I remember..A very Flat ,sharp image up to the edge,with minimal field curvature...If this is indeed the same image as the original 32XWIDE, this was the best eyepiece of its generation,for It is much better than swarovski eyepieces of the same vintage.
This eyepiece is definitely closer to a last generation of optic designs,I would say.
Contrast is also superb,and looking at lights at night I noticed that internal reflections are also minimized...


I am curious to know how different the older version performance´s Is, specially concerning Edge performance and eye relief ..Anyone has both versions at hand?,,Also..How old this eyepiece is (release date?)..I think it was a very good thing that Kowa upgraded the 32XWA eyepiece for this series ,and introduced the 21X WA, ( I imagine must be also extraordinary!). I dont think the 50X WIDE was upgraded
Now..I must say that the Nikon 27-40-50X DS that I use (with adapter)in the 823 ,grants 43X ,and nowadays I find this extra reach more usable than 30-32X in a large scope,for I think the main advantage (of a large scope) is to be able to get High power while staying moderately bright.
Although is nice to have a large exit pupil in the mid power,is hard to justify carrying a large scope owning already the ED50 /27XDS ,that does similar duty in a more portable package
So as nice as this eyepiece is, and with all the anticipation I had to get a fine 32X again ,It does not really brings any or much new excitement to the use of the scope, specially to my sketching practice,where I find this 43X giving a really useful amount of detail...

Manuel,

Could this be the same optical design as the 32x eyepieces for the Kowa High Lander.
It also has options of 21x and 50x. I had a chance to look through a High Lander Prominar at Photokina in September and it was a revelation.
Only two minor drawbacks - a total weight of around 16 kg with dedicated tripod and head, and a price of over €8000!

John

John...Is very possible that the Highlander eyepieces have indeed the same designs as the 82 series newer eyepieces...They are about the same age,and look very much alike .They both share the same helicoid Eyecup,same large Ocular ,etc.....Both versions of the 82* series 32X WIde ,and the HghLdR eyepiece, have 70º AFOV and the new version that I reviewed and the Highlander seem to have 20mm Eye relief ( I would have said 25mm in my experience,but spec say 20)..that is the first difference I see with the older version 32X that had 16.5mm Eye relief on paper..