Televue Nagler Petzval 101


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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
I have looked through better. The next overhyped, over priced scope from Televue.

Overall Rating: 5
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Most well known and published amateur astronomers consider this as one of the very best 4’ apo’s, but why should we listen to them when we got you?
>I have looked through better.  The next overhyped, over priced scope from Televue.

This may not be the best scope you have looked through but now you make yourself out to be a telescope snob that needs to get a life.

Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Had a chance to spend a couple of hours with this scope at a star party. The Televue rep was there with the NP101 and the TV102 along with every Televue eyepiece available (if only my dreams were this good...). After a while it was just me, the rep and another guy using the scopes, so I was able to spend quite a bit of uninterrupted time with it. One word, impressive! Over the years I've built 5 reflectors, including grinding and polishing the mirrors. I say this to let you know that I do understand how to test optics, both on a bench and the star-test. Using a 3mm and 5mm Radian I'd estimate the figure on this NP101 to be 1/10 wave or better. The view through the 31mm Nagler was outstanding! Highly recommended, and yes I'm going to purchase one.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Another Faaantastic engineered marvel from Televue! I have had this scope up to
2000x on mars without imagebreakdown! Not to mention scanning milkyway! Wow!
At this pricepoint, I consider it a real bargain! Not overpriced at ALL! Al
knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he brought out this one on the market!!
Thk´s Al! I´m so happy with this scope!

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
great scope

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
The sharpest 4" refractor I've ever seen! Beat a Tak-102 and 106, especially off axis. Star tests showed no color at 420X.
-Frank.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
I doubt the first person to review this scope ever actually looked through it.
Take the Tele-Vue bashing elswhere!

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
The first person, that's me, did look through one and my opinion stands. Although this TV is a good scope it doesn't hold up against others. By the way I am entitled to an opinion aren't I? Just because you don't happen to agree with me doesn't make mine bashing.

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Best 4" scope on the market today!

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
I,am very interested in this scope.I,am suffering from a bad case of PUPPY LOVE and all I've seen is pictures.Is 2000x a typo,were you standing on Evrest at the time.Where I live (N.Y.C.)200x is pushing the envelope.I would really appreciate a more detailed review no matter what your opinion.If it,s a negative one it's welcomed and valued.The price makes it a big step.And she who must be obeyed keeps giving me that look.I have bought very many Televue products and find them all to be excellent.

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Hi All,

Not sure about this particular scope, but there are a lot of good reasons to go refractor in the 100mm and lower aperture realms...

And yes, 2000x is an impossible magnification for ANY scope due to atmospherics (the ultimate barrier to fine optics everywhere - regardless of aperture!)

And for the other - no matter how fine the optics there are serious problems with exceeding an exit pupil (magnification / aperture) of .25mms. These include:

1. Inverse square surface brightness loss (for each doubling in magnification, each unit area of a studies surface decreases in brightness by four times or 1.5 magnitudes.)

2. Flotsam in the eye. The eye fluid contains sloughed off cells and other semi-opaque substances. These become very apparent at low exit pupils since only a very small area of the retina is involved in perception.

3. Once an exit pupil of roughly .7mm's is achieved (about 144x in this scope) you will realize no additional depth of resolution in terms of detail. HOWEVER, some advantage can still be had by higher magnifications in terms of bleeding luminosity from the outskirts of airy disks to fully resolve very close, evenly matched double star pairs.

So, when viewing the Moon or planets to advantage, 140x (or so) is optimal in a 100mm scope. And in a truly fine 100mm scope (Strehl ratios of 95%+) you can go up to 400x on very close double stars of equalish magnitudes! (You may actually exceed Dawes limit when so doing!)

In general though, please folks, let's be very careful about that zero placeholder. 200x is only 10 percent of 2000x! And 200 dollars is a long ways from the 2000 you will pay for a premium 100 inch APO refractor!

Clear and Steady,

jeff

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Did any body else catch the "100 inch" in that last post! Chuckle, chuckle

jeff

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Outstanding performance. Sharp, high contrast, color-free images. Flat field. Highly Portable. The best of the four-inch bunch.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
a gizillion dollars for a 4 inch scope. What else is new??? Why don't they just line em with gold and diamonds, and let Faberge sell em with their world famous eggs. I mean if your going to price something so rediculously high, that no one can afford it but millionaires, at least go for the billionaires too......

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
This is the greatest 101mm apochromat out there!
No color flaw at all, at ALL!
Even with all the coatings this thing has it has good brightness
and the slightest of the slightest minor touch in vignetting.
Mounts are sold separately. Anyway I purchased the gibraltar
and voila! Great mount.



by daSentinel

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
Brand loyalty is so funny. It is even blind sometimes. It is funny to see so many posts for ALL brands of refractor (Tak, AP, TV, TMB) their owners claim to be the absolute best. I would venture most reviewers haven't looked through more than one refractor, let alone several to make an accurate assesment. Sometimes I just have to chuckle.

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
The perfect small scope!!

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
looks like sky & telescope really liked this scope, slightly out performing a TMB scope of similar aperture and focal ratio. i have not had the opportunity to use one, but all the comments this far would indicate it is a really great four inch scope. anyone out there own one?? comments would be appreciated.

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
This is one HELL of a scope.
This thing is built like a tank! The craftmanship is excellent. Man, the only thing that moves is the focuser, and that SMOOTH! Damn. It preforms like (actually, almost like) an AP, just that it costs less! Definitely recommended

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
I will not go into test specs on this scope as most people know that the optics are more or less first class. I wanted to write something that a will help someone decide if this scope is for them, not a review like "great scope" or "I can't believe someone would pay..." ect ect. I bought this scope to strap on my hog when I head to the hills, so portability was a main issue. I also wanted a scope with a wide angle FOV that differs from the rest of my scopes. Fitted with a TV 31 Nagler it offers a FOV of about 4.5* something one needs to see. Although a 4" scope is not quite the aperture I want in a fairly lit area, at a dark site it preforms well. At 10 lbs and 26" long it fits well on my Harley (In a special bag) and is also (possibly) air line portable as carry on luggage, but after 911 I would check first. My OTA came with a everbright 2" diagonal, a 2" to 1.25" adaptor, a 20mm 1.25 plossl, an adjustable tube ring and a nice hard case that will not make it as carry on. The scope is off white and seems heavy for its size. It has a metal dust cap and dew shield that retracts over the front objective. With a fairly fast f-ratio at 5.4 and a focal length of 540mm it can be used for photography with the correct tripod. I run the scope on 3 different tripods, a Losmandy GM-8, a TV-gibraltar and a TV-telepod that has been modified to handle the weight. With the Televue tripods, the OTA ring mounts with 2 large poly wing nuts. This is a fast grab and go combo. I also purchased the encoders for TV-tripods so I could use a lumicon sky vector digital setting circle computer and lap top.The NP-101 does not come with a finder scope but with the 31 Nagler or TVs 55 plossl you almost don't need one. I installed one of Howie Glatter's laser pointers that really helps. When switching from a heavy EP like the 31-N to a smaller 1.25 EP you will have to purchase the brass 2" to 1.25" adapator to keep the scope balanced. The focuser is smooth but not a 2 speed type. Instead Televue offers a focus handle that snaps onto the side of one of the focus knobs. It is a fine addition, but I would still like to see Televue offer a 2 speed version. As far as optics go, this scope is first class. And no, I have not looked through 200 high end scopes to make this decision. Of the high end scopes I have looked through the differences are subtle, making the case for those super critics that claim it's over priced. But the wide views make up for the price in my opinion. Being able to see the Veil nebula as a single object is awesome. The scope makes wide wide objects appear in one pinpoint flat FOV that has to experienced first hand. Open clusters like M-45 and M-44 are fantastic. This year while Jupiter flew through the beehive, this scope provided a site I will never forget. The NP-101 excells on many objects that did suprised me. The virgo galaxy cluster was great as a wide view area, giving dimension to the area, although many other scopes can also deliver these views IMO. As far as most objects go, at high powers this scope produces fine views at a dark site similar to what my 10" SCT can do at a semi-light polluted area. When I carry a minimal EP set, I carry a 31 Nagler, a 22 panoptic, a 8 radian, a 5 Nagler, and a 1.25 2.5 powermate. I have had it up to 270X but that is pushing this little scope and I usually run high powers around 168X. The next EP will be in the area of 216X(a 2.5 Nagler). One thing that needs to be told to people that have never looked through a refractor is how good your eyesite is. In my case I have astigmatism and at low powers stars are not pinpoint and are elongated unless I wear glasses. I hate this, which has kept me away from short focal length scopes. I primarily stick with Maks and SCTs, but they don't fit too well on a Harley. Even with my glasses I could not get pinpoint images at low powers. I called Televue and talked with David Nagler for a solution (I thought there might be a problem with the scope) and he said that the glasses would have to be special made, one's that I will never be able to use for anything other than this hobby. IF ANYBODY KNOWS A COMPANY THAT SPECIALIZE'S IN EYEWARE PLEASE RESPOND. To sum it up a well built portable scope that provides primium optics that gives me a wide view was a great choice and what I needed. I called Sam at scope city, took the 2 hour drive to San Francisco, picked it up and home before dark. The only complaint other than my eyesite was the price and the focuser lacking 2 speeds. I will rate this scope for my own need.
Optics: (10) high power-(7) at low power because of glasses!
FOV: 10
Gibralter mount: 8 fast to set up.
Ease of Use: 10 point and look.
Value: 8 kind of high priced.
Overall: 9---------------------------Big Dave Turlock Ca

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Televue Nagler Petzval 101
About 8-months ago, I sold my Televue 102 and purchased a Televue NP101. My reason for changing scopes was that I wanted the wider FOV’s possible with the NP101 as well as slightly better color correction. I definitely got what I was looking for!! This scope is superb. It has a perfect star test and virtually perfect color correction. I cannot see any color on Vega at 300x and I was really looking for it in my tests of this scope. In addition, Sirius is completely color free at 216x (2.5mm Nagler), both inside and outside of focus. I have mounted my scope on a Losmandy GM8 mount and this mount seems to be made for this scope. It is the perfect compliment to this excellent scope.

As for mechanics, this scope is built like a tank. It is very solid. The focuser is smooth as silk and the satin like finish to the focuser, dewcap, and tube ring are very impressive. This scope is as nice to look at as it is to look through. The scope comes with the same hardcase as my prior Televue 102, but since this scope is about 5 inches shorter in length, the case has an extra space for a 31mm Nagler eyepiece. I do not own this eyepiece but the case has a pre-cut circle for it as well as several other eyepieces. The hard case is very strong and it is nice to see that Televue includes such a high quality hard case with this scope when other companies charge several hundred dollars for one. Also, I own the Starbeam Finder and the scope fits in the case with the Starbeam attached as well as the Everbrite Diagonal, Tube Ring, and the DUPS Mounting Plate for my GM8 mount. This was very important to me, as now, I can just pull the scope out of the case, attach it to the mount, insert an eyepiece and I am good to go. When I am done viewing, I have nothing to remove from the scope to put it into it’s case. A real time and effort saver.

During the recent close approach of Mars, I viewed it often with my new TV-NP101. The results were very impressive. I was easily able to see the South Polar Cap as well as irregularities along its edges. In addition, I viewed many of the surface markings on Mars such as Syrtis Major and the eye of Mars. These features stood out easily and the contrast of this scope was very impressive while viewing them.

Saturn is a spectacular sight with Cassini’s Division visible all of the way around the planet as well as a light band and darkening at the top of the planet which is easily visible. I have also seen the A,B, and C Rings. Saturn holds up well at high magnification with this scope and I routinely view it at 270x & 338x, and have even gone higher on exceptional nights.

Jupiter looks very contrasty and detail in the bands is easy to see. In moments of good seeing, 6 to 8 bands can be seen. The 4-moons can plainly be seen as different sizes and transits are readily visible. I have followed the Great Red Spot as it appeared on the edge of the planet all of the way across the planet. I have also seen numerous swirls and irregularities in the North and South Equatorial belts.

The moon is amazing with this scope with superb contrast and sharp detail. I have never seen any false color on the edge of the moon regardless of the moon’s phase. I have seen 4-craterlets in Plato pretty easily with this scope which is a sign of a scope with good optics.

I have viewed several double stars with this scope but the one that has impressed me the most is Antares. I obtained one of the cleanest splits I have ever seen with this scope on a night of very good seeing. The bluish color of the secondary stood out nicely and the split was clean. I have had trouble splitting this double with other scopes but my NP101 really did the job. My prior TV-102 could barely split Antares. My NP101 has done it on more than one occasion and the split has been cleaner. This may be due to the better color correction which helps this scope hold up better at higher powers.

As for deep sky, even though this is only a 4” Scope, it’s superb contrast still provides very nice, wide-field views of deep sky objects. I have viewed many of the Messier Objects and the outstanding contrast of this scope shows them with sharp detail. Open Clusters have pinpoint stars and nebula’s stand out against a very dark background. Viewing M31, M32, and M110 in the same FOV of a low power eyepiece is a truly awe-inspiring site as is viewing the Pleiades at low power. One other sight that has really impressed me as how often I can see the 6-stars in the Trapezium of M42. This scope does as well as can be expected for a 4” scope.

Overall, I have been very impressed with my NP101 as it can go from extremely low powers with a wide FOV (13x with a 5 degree FOV using a 41MM Panoptic) to high power lunar and planetary views with superb contrast (up to 216x without a barlow using a 2.5MM Nagler). This scope is easy to set-up and is a pleasure to use. It may be expensive, but I feel it is well worth the price.

Clear Skies!

Jeff

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
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