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 Tele Vue EyepiecesWhy Choose a Tele Vue Eyepiece? "Your eyepiece is half the telescope, use the best -- Tele Vue" - said Jack Marling, founder of Lumicon. "Fast" telescopes (f/4-f/6) of all types -- refractors, reflectors, Schmidt Newtonians, and Mak-Newtonians require the finest eyepieces for sharp, full field viewing. All Tele Vue eyepieces are personally tested at f/4 by our quality control staff to ensure the sharpest full field possible. It is the nature of optics that being the best in fast scopes also always assures the best performance in "slow" scopes. While all Tele Vue eyepieces type will yield the critical center sharpness so necessary for planetary viewing and splitting double stars, observers get the added bonus of a sharp wide field and comfortable eye relief with the different design models. The Tele Vue Plössls are patented to be sharper over a larger field than any competing brands of Plössls. Tele Vue 60° Radians, 68° Panoptics, and 82° Naglers are the eyepieces of choice, along with the 50° Nagler 3mm--6mm zoom, for full field sharpness. The finest performance requires the finest materials, such as high index lanthanum and fluorite type glasses, in some cases costing up to 15x more than ordinary glass types. At Tele Vue we ask "how can we make things better, rather than how can we make it cheaper." We think you'll agree that the views are worth it. DesignAn optical design incorporates a number of lens elements utilizing different glass materials and shapes. Elements cemented together are called a group. Each Tele Vue design is configured to achieve the sharpest full field, with the number of elements and groups minimized, while yielding the largest possible true fields and eye relief. Some design types are "scaled",that is, one form is "scaled" to provide a range of focal lengths. Note that eye relief, size and weight "scale" along, but image quality and apparent field cemain constant. Examples of "scaled" Tele Vue eyepieces designs are Plössls, Panoptics and the Nagler type 5. Other designs set a particular characteristic, such as eye relief, and tailor each focal length in the series as individual designs. The size, weight and number of lens elements will vary little within a given series. Examples are: Radians, with 20mm eye relief, Nagler type 4 models with approx. 18mm eye relief, and Nagler type 6 eyepieces with 12mm eye relief. We are gratified that designs of Tele Vue eyepieces over the past 20-years have reached almost iconic status. New innovative designs, improved materials and coating techniques have allowed Tele Vue to continually produce what many consider to be the best eyepieces available in the world. As a result, discontinued eyepieces, such as the "Wide Fields" and original Nagler and Nagler type 2 models, have often become collector items that can often sell for more than their original cost. The "Backyard Astronomers Guide" notes: "Al Nagler has introduced more innovations in telescope eyepiece design than anyone else in the history of amateur astronomy." Indeed, every Tele Vue Plössl, Wide Field, Panoptic, Radian, and Nagler eyepiece is based on patents by Al Nagler. Other accessories -- such as Barlows, Powermates, and the Paracorr (coma corrector for fast Newtonians) -- are also original Nagler designs. Design Types Plössl: 50° apparent field (43° in 40mm focal length). Focal lengths available: 55mm (2"), 40mm, 32mm, 25mm, 20mm, 15mm, 11mm, and 8mm. Eye relief is approximately 70% of focal length. 4 elements in 2 lens groups. Radian 60° apparent field, 20mm eye relief in all models. All have 1-1/4" barrels. 6 elements in 4 lens groups: 18mm, 14mm, 12mm, 10mm, and 8mm focal lengths. 7 elements in 5 lens groups: 6mm, 5mm, 4mm, and 3mm focal lengths. Panoptic: 68° apparent field, focal lengths available: 41mm (2"),35mm (2"), 27mm (2"), 24mm, 22mm, 19mm, and 15mm. Eye relief approximately 70% of focal length. 6 elements in 4 lens groups. Nagler type 4: 82° apparent field, 17mm or more eye relief in all models. Focal lengths: 22mm (2") and 17mm (2") have 7 elements in 5 groups. 12mm has 6 elements in 4 lens groups. Nagler type 5: 82° apparent field, focal lengths available: 31mm (2"), 26mm (2"), 20mm (2"), and 16mm. Eye relief is approximately 62% of focal length. 6 elements in 4 lens groups. Nagler type 6: 82° apparent field, 12mm eye relief in all models. Focal lengths available: 13mm, 11mm, 9mm, 7mm, 5mm, 3.5mm, 2.5mm. 7 elements in 4 groups. Nagler Zoom: 50° apparent field 3--6mm focal length range. 10mm eye relief. 5 elements in 3 lens groups. More Tele Vue Eyepieces >> |
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