Price: $239.95
Design: Multi-coated wide field Plossl.
Description: 2 inch Plossl type eyepiece with a wide field.
Review
May's theme is 40mm and 32mm eyepieces. I just recently purchased my third Meade eyepiece and it is the 32mm SWA. I own both the 6.7mm and 14mm UWA eyepieces and rate both very highly, especially the 14mm which is my most used eyepiece of all. I have used this 32mm a few times now and have found that it performs very well in my 6" refractor. I own an SV80 also, and due to only having 15x available using the 32mm in it, I have not even slipped it into the focuser. It is a nowhere near as large or heavy as the 14mm and it gives me 37.5x power in the refractor which is just fine for clusters, both globular and open. The eye relief is fine for my eyes and the views it affords are sharp and clear out to the edges. At the lower power level it provides, I am not using it on the planets or moon simply because I much prefer a higher power level when viewing these objects. I have said before and I will say it again, "eyepieces are a very personal item". No two people see exactly alike. I happen to have adapted very quickly to using this particular 32mm eyepiece and I find no kidney beaning or blackouts unless I really push my eye into it or pull back to where I can cause those effects. I have found the correct eye position for my eyes and that's all that counts in my book. There are other 32mm eyepieces available that I am sure will perform right up there with the Meade, maybe even better. But some of them cost a heck of lot more and the purchaser has to be the judge of just how much better they are for the additional money being spent. For the money I spent to have a low power, wide angle eyepiece for viewing clusters, nebulae and certain brighter galaxies like Andromeda, I feel the Meade 32mm SWA is an excellent value and has certainly found its place in my eyepiece collection. A definite keeper.
Submitted by Terry Oquinn - oquinn@aini.net - Meadow Vista, CA