This TeleVue TV-76 refractor has out of this world optics in a very compact 14.5" long body. It's small enough and light enough to take anywhere with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of optical enjoyment.
The TV-76 uses a 3" (76mm) true apochromatic doublet lens using an SD (special dispersion) glass element. Thanks to this special low chromatic dispersion glass, chromatic aberration is essentially non-existent with the TV-76, even at magnifications over the theoretical limit of 60x per inch of aperture.
This ivory and black TV-76 optical tube has a 2" rack and pinion focuser with a non-marring brass clamp ring that holds 2" star diagonals and accessories securely in place. It comes in a soft foam-fitted Cordura-style nylon carrying case that has cutouts for six eyepieces in addition to the scope. A retractable lens shade improves daytime contrast when viewing at low sun angles and protects against dewing at night. A thread-in metal dust cap protects the optics from damage while stored or traveling.
You will need an optional split-ring tube holder/tripod adapter allows you to mount it on any optional sturdy photo tripod for casual use, or on an optional equatorial or altazimuth mount (such as the TeleVue Tele-Pod and Panoramic mounts) for more serious observing. The split ring design of the tube holder allows the TV-76 to be moved fore and aft in the adapter to balance the weight of camera or accessories.
Put in an optional lower power eyepiece and the TV-76 becomes a true rich field telescope, capable of scanning wide scenic vistas by day and revealing multitudes of large, faint deep space objects by night. With an optional 1.25" 40mm TeleVue Plössl (12x, with a 3.5 degree field), or a 2" 35mm TeleVue Panoptic (14x, with a 4.7 degree field that's wide and flat to the very edges), the TV-76 is not only a superlative rich field scope, but it is its own best finderscope, as well.
It's also excellent as a terrestrial spotting scope for vacations, birding, or nature studies. In addition, optional camera adapters turn the TV-76 into excellent 480mm (9.6x) f/6.3 telephoto lens for terrestrial and lunar photography.
Optional shorter focal length eyepieces and/or Barlow lenses will provide high powers to let you examine details in the storm belts of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the mountains of the Moon, and much more. And the resolution of those details will be crisp and detailed, often visibly superior to larger telescopes more easily affected by atmospheric conditions.
Here are some excerpts about the scope's optical performance from a review of the TV-76 in the September 2002 Astronomy magazine. Concerning double stars and planets, the magazine said "In-and-out-of-focus star tests, star diffraction patterns, and the ability to resolve various double stars reveal the TV 76's top-notch optical quality. If the atmospheric seeing permits, the TV 76 easily resolves doubles with a separation at the theoretical limit of a 76mm aperture scope of 1.6 arc-seconds. Planetary views in the TV 76 are best seen through the higher magnifications offered by the 3mm-6mm Nagler Zoom eyepiece. Jupiter and Saturn reveal subtle color variations and both planets' retinues of moons are visible. When the seeing conditions are good, the TV 76 reveals atmospheric belts on Jupiter beyond the two prominent equatorial belts, as well as Cassini's division in the rings of Saturn." About the Moon, the magazine said "The moon seen through the TV 76 is tack-sharp at all magnifications, with no glare or false colors in the view. Stars near the bright limb of the moon are easily picked out because of the absence of glare in the telescope."
While the 76mm aperture of the TV-76 might make it more a "light cup," rather than the more familiar Dobsonian reflector "light bucket," Astronomy had the following to say about the TV-76 performance outside the solar system. "When used as a rich-field scope for deep-sky viewing, the TV 76 excels. With a long focus eyepiece in the 2-inch diagonal, the scope offers impressive views of "showpiece" objects that are too large in angular diameter to fit into the smaller fields of view of larger telescopes. Under a dark Arizona sky, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) shows its full 3° extent, including its central dust lanes and two companion galaxies - M32 and NGC 205. Dozens of stars in the Pleiades cluster look like sparkling diamonds scattered on black velvet.
"The TV 76 'light cup' provides surprisingly good views of large nebular objects. I threaded Lumicon's UHC (Ultra High Contrast) filter into the 'pineapple' eyepiece (i.e. the Nagler 31mm Type 5) and it yielded clear views of the full extents of the North America Nebula and of the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant in the summer Milky Way." All in all, the Astronomy review called the TeleVue TV-76 "a fine choice for observers who require both high quality and extreme portability."
An optional TeleVue Qwik-Point non-magnifying illuminated finder quickly attaches to the scope's mounting ring. The Qwik-Point seems to project a small red ball of light wherever the scope is aimed, day or night, making it easy to align it on distant objects.
There are few optical systems that combine into one very compact body the ability to be customized into a serious astronomical telescope with true apochromatic optics, a terrestrial spotting scope, and a top-quality telephoto lens - but the TV-76 does it all beautifully. Whether you want to observe the skies from your back yard on the spur of the moment, or travel round the world with a very portable telescope that will reveal and photograph everything nearby and distant, you'll find it hard to beat this truly exceptional TeleVue refractor.
