Tele Vue recently announced its celebration of product anniversaries in 2024, including significant milestones for their innovative optical designs. From the Big Barlow to the comprehensive Ethos line, the company continues to influence the field of astronomy with products that have stood the test of time. Each anniversary - marked as Emerald, Pearl, Silver, and Ruby highlights the relevance of these solutions and achievements of Tele Vue's iconic products.
1989: 35 Years Ago - Emerald Anniversary
Before the Big Barlow was introduced, Tele Vue Barlows were only compatible with 1¼-inch eyepieces, designed for reaching magnifications higher than those provided by the shortest focal length eyepieces. At a dealer's urging, Tele Vue developed a 2-inch Barlow, which quickly proved successful. The 2x BIG Barlow enhances the power of wide-field, 2-inch eyepieces while preserving the original eye-relief. It ensures parfocality for both 2-inch and 1¼-inch eyepieces when fully seated, making it ideal for Dob/Newtonian scopes, but not recommended for scopes using a Star Diagonal. Featuring brass clamp rings, filter threads, and full multicoating, the Big Barlow celebrates its Emerald Anniversary as a time-tested tool.
1994: 30 Years Ago - Pearl Anniversary
After 30 years, the 68° Panoptic 27mm eyepiece remains a standout "Pearl." Launched as an intermediate focal length, its design mirrors the performance of both the 35mm and 22mm Panoptics it originally accompanied. Like all Tele Vue eyepieces, it boasts full multi-coatings, blackened lens edges, filter threads, and rubber grip rings.
1999: 25 Years Ago - Silver Anniversary
- Despite the tech industry's fears of the "Y2K Bug" in 1999, Tele Vue found a silver lining as all four products launched that year are still in production, proving their enduring success and quality.
- The first 2-inch barrel Powermate notably increased magnification fourfold without altering the exit pupil location, preventing vignetting. It combines a negative doublet and a positive “pupil-correcting” doublet in a 4-element system that functions like a Barlow lens but without its drawbacks, essentially providing pure magnification. The latest model includes an optional T-Ring adapter for DSLR and M42 thread astronomy cameras.
- Celebrating 25 years, the Nagler 31mm Type-5 eyepiece became a classic upon its 1999 release. It's our longest focal length 82° Apparent Field Nagler eyepiece, featuring 19mm of eye relief, a wide grip ring, and a unique 6-element design with exotic glass. Ideal for owners of Paracorr corrected Dobsonians as fast as f/4, it offers a nearly maximal true field for a 2-inch eyepiece with an optimal exit pupil size that minimizes the visibility of the secondary shadow.
- The TRF-2008 is an essential imaging accessory for Tele Vue-85, -76, or Pronto telescopes, enhancing photographic speed and flattening the field. This fully multi-coated 3-element accessory with a 48mm filter thread fits directly into 2-inch focusers and is compatible with standard T-Rings for 35mm and M42 astro-cameras.
- Our Everbrite diagonals offer the brightest and most natural image for astronomical eyepieces. Featuring a dielectric coating that reflects 99% of light across the visual spectrum, these diagonals provide a bright, color-accurate image without the aberrations typical of prisms. Crafted from CNC machined aluminum, they maintain precise alignment and resist heavy accessory-induced misalignment. All models feature brass clamp rings, anti-reflection threads, and both 1¼-inch and 48mm filter threads.
2004: 20 Years Ago - Emerald Anniversary
- The X-Y Adjustable mount enables the Tele Vue-60 telescope to be mounted onto a Tele Vue ring-mount or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes 8″ or larger, transforming the Tele Vue-60 into a "superfinder."
- This finder mount connects to the accessory slots on all Tele Vue mount rings, accommodating 50-mm finder scopes. It features a dual-ring design with six screws for aligning the finder scope with the main scope and includes a built-in Dovetail (QRD-1006) that fits into the Quick Release Bracket (QRB-1002). This setup, also standard with the Starbeam (SRT-2010), allows for easy conversion of other accessories like Sol Searcher and Qwik Point Finder into quick-release versions.
2009: 15 Years Ago - Ruby Anniversary
- The 10-mm and 21-mm Ethos eyepieces completed the groundbreaking 100° line, with the 10-mm bridging a gap in the series and the 21-mm extending focal length as far as possible while maintaining the line's high standards. The 10-mm features a dual 1¼-inch/2-inch barrel, whereas the 21-mm is exclusively 2-inch.
- The “Some Holes Just Need to be Filled!” campaign highlighted the 10-mm Ethos by visually representing it filling a significant gap between the 8mm and 13mm models in Utah's White Rim Canyon.
- At the 2009 Stellafane Convention, a prototype 21-mm Ethos was auctioned to fund the next year's event and site improvements, offering the winner early access to the eyepiece.
- The NP127fli was developed in collaboration with Finger Lakes Instrumentation (FLI) to offer a seamless imaging solution, featuring Nagler-Petzval optics, a Large Field Corrector, and robust Atlas focuser, all designed for a stable, high-performance astrograph setup. Gordon Haynes showcases its capabilities through his AstroBin gallery.
- The BIG Paracorr Type-2 was created following the success of the Big Barlow, targeting users of fast Newtonians for imaging. This 3-inch coma corrector minimizes star distortion and accommodates wide-field imaging with large sensors, significantly enhancing image quality with a design that allows for additional optical accessories.