Built to the exacting standards of its founder, optics pioneer Al Nagler, which have come to define the brand, Tele Vue’s line of apochromatic doublet refractor telescopes are designed for the discerning amateur astronomer who requires a fast and highly portable optical tube that does not sacrifice performance.
While Tele Vue has made its reputation designing superior-quality eyepieces, the company has branched out and applied its expertise to optical tube assemblies, including the new 76mm f/6 & 85mm f/7 Apo refractors, available in green or ivory. Ideally suited for astronomy and astrophotography, they are designed to be an easy, grab-and-go option for celestial observing, or a lightweight spotting scope alternative for birdwatching and other terrestrial uses. They were specifically designed with a fast focal ratio that not only reduces their length, but optimizes them for astrophotography. The 85mm model measures just 19" long and weighs 6 pounds, while the 76mm is just 14.5" at 5 pounds—making both models highly portable and easy to handle.
The telescopes employ Japanese-made optical glass, set in an apochromatic doublet lens configuration to produce flat views with accurate color fidelity and high contrast without fringing or halos. Complementing the lens design are broadband fully multi-coated optics that are specifically index matched to the lens glass to maximize light transmission across the visual spectrum and to further ensure accurate color rendition, improved contrast, and clarity. A 10:1 dual-speed focuser is used to bring lunar details, planetary features, and other distant objects into tack-sharp resolution. Tele Vue opted for a rack-and-pinion style focuser so it can carry heavy eyepieces or imaging systems without flexing. Its drawtube has a wide 2" diameter to handle larger eyepieces for a more comfortable viewing experience, and to ensure complete coverage on today’s larger imaging sensors for astrophotography.
Tele Vue offers the 76mm and 85mm models without accessories or mounts, but they have assembled accessory kits for each one to give users some essential gear if they need it. Both kits contain the same basic gear, including a 2" diagonal, 18.2mm eyepiece, reducer adapter, and a mounting ring.
The highly reflective Everbrite 90-degree diagonal has a Pyrex optical glass mirror, coated with proprietary Everbrite coatings that bring reflectivity to an impressive 99%. This virtually eliminates light loss and produces bright, clear images across the entire visual spectrum so colors are rendered accurately and resolution remains tack sharp. A reducer adapter allows the use of the smaller and more common 1.25" eyepieces and accessories in the diagonal. To get new users started, an 18.2mm DeLite eyepiece comes in the kit with an exceptionally long eye relief and wide field of view, and produces lower magnification for lunar and planetary use observations.
To attach the optical tubes to a mount or photo/video head, the accessory kits come with a clamshell-style ring that clamps over the tube. It has a tension-clamping design that allows you to adjust the position of the optical tube assembly quickly within the ring—letting you achieve the ideal balance point, which moves, depending upon the weight of visual or imaging accessories. The only difference in the kits is that the 76mm one adds a balancing aid, which attaches to the mount ring and moves the balance point about 2.5" forward to make balancing a bit easier—especially when using heavy gear.
Whether you want to view the night sky overhead far off the grid or observe birds from your backyard patio, the 76mm and 85mm Tele Vue apochromatic refractors provide outstanding performance in a compact form factor—the only thing you need to provide is a mount, tripod, and a desire to explore the larger universe around you.
