Company Seven.

 

C-7 Home Page C-7 News Consignment Library Products & Services Product Lines Order Search C7.com

TeleVue Distribution History TeleVue Index News Notes & Interesting Articles Pricing Products

Accessories Eyepieces/Oculars Mounts Starbeam Sight Telescopes


"Report By Al"
Comments About the TeleVue DIOPTRX™ Eyesight Astigmatism Correction Lens TeleVue DIOPTRX (7,698 bytes).

The TeleVue DIOPTRX™ Eyesight Astigmatism Correction Lens was introduced to the general public in June 2005, but Al Nagler of TeleVue had been demonstrating the lenses at some public amateur astronomers events. This is a brief summary of comments by Al Nagler, followed by comments from the first persons who tried the DIOPTRX™.

For more information please refer to our TeleVue DIOPTRX™ Eyesight Astigmatism Correction Lens description page on line.

At TSP and RTMC in May and CSSP (Cherry Springs Star Party) in June, I had the pleasure of evaluating over 100 subjects using our DIOPTRX™ astigmatism correctors to evaluate both the absolute performance and performance relative to their eyeglasses. I used a Tele Vue 60 with 60° diagonal and 32mm Plössl (5.3mm exit pupil) to view our DIOPTRX™ test chart. In a few cases, I was able to confirm the performance at night using a 35mm Panoptic and 12mm Nagler Type-4 on our TV NP-127 to view star clusters. Most subjects did not have their eyeglass prescriptions or know their eyesight astigmatism, but I have enough experience now to guess at a reasonable starting point in trying DIOPTRX™. Since we had 10 models in ¼ diopter steps of astigmatism from ¼ diopter to 2½ diopters, it was easy for subjects to find their optimum values.

Following are some general conclusions:

  1. DIOPTRX™ always works at least  as good as eyeglasses and mostly better.

  2. People who dislike using glasses and have astigmatism are most pleased.

  3. Some people are lucky enough to have no astigmatism and will not benefit from DIOPTRX™.

  4. I found many people using progressive eyeglasses, which by definition are horrendous for observing with telescopes or binoculars.

  5. Many people do not realize that they don't need their eyeglasses if they are near or farsighted and don't have astigmatism.

  6. Critical observers easily detect as little as ¼ diopter of astigmatism.

  7. DIOPTRX™ units can be stacked (one person had 5 diopters) to accommodate more than 2½ diopters astigmatism.

  8. It is easy (and analogous to focusing) to "dial in" rotation of DIOPTRX™ for optimum correction. It is virtually intuitive.

  9. DIOPTRX™ units are very effective in binoviewers.

  10. Night tests seem to confirm no discrepancies with our daytime tests.

  11. Sharper stars and detection of fainter stars are clear benefits.

  12. Choosing DIOPTRX™ values based on eyeglass prescription is generally effective.

 I was very gratified by the instant and positive unprompted reactions. You might enjoy the following sample comments (sorted by astigmatism correction):

Star
Party
Customer
Initials
DIOPTRX™
Astig.
 Value
Comments
RTMC B.B. 0.25 "Can't tell."
TSP A.D. 0.25 "Slightly better, noticeable."
RTMC B.P. 0.25 "Makes a subtle difference."
TSP J.S. 0.25 "Noticeable but not huge."
RTMC S.A. 0.50 "I like it."
TSP B.C. 0.50 "At least as good as glasses."
CSSP G.C. 0.50 "An improvement over glasses."
TSP P.C. 0.50 "Greater contrast, finer resolution."
CSSP W.C. 0.50 "Great, a lot better."
CSSP C.D. 0.50 "Wow -- makes a difference."
CSSP B.G. 0.50 "About the same as glasses."
CSSP K.G. 0.50 "Better than my glasses."
RTMC S.G. 0.50 "Simply marvelous."
CSSP J.K. 0.50 "Holly mackerel, very impressive."
TSP A.M. 0.50 "Clearer than without glasses."
TSP R.M. 0.50 "Better resolution."
TSP S.M. 0.50 "Remarkably better."
CSSP B.P. 0.50 "Looks like it's sharper."
CSSP C.P. 0.50 "Wow!"
CSSP C.S. 0.50 "Amazing, like being at doctor's office."
CSSP J.S. 0.50 "Outstanding."
RTMC T.S. 0.50 "WOW! Time to get the scope out, wonderful."
RTMC J.T. 0.50 "O-wow."
CSSP R.W. 0.50 "Amazing, incredible."
RTMC A.B. 0.75 "Wow-wee, looks like a champ."
RTMC B.L. 0.75 "Noticeable improvement"
TSP G.M. 0.75 "Must have accessory"
TSP K.M. 0.75 "Don't wear glasses. Much better. Helps tremendously."
TSP M.P. 0.75 "Definitely sharper than no glasses.  Equal to eyeglasses but more contrast"
RTMC J.S. 0.75 "Small difference, but better than glasses."
CSSP P.B. 1.00 "Helps."
CSSP L.C. 1.00 "Definitely better than glasses."
RTMC T.D. 1.00 "Definite improvement."
CSSP B.E. 1.00 "Wow - amazing."
TSP J.E. 1.00 "Significantly better."
RTMC B.H. 1.00 "Excellent, crystal clear."
RTMC D.K. 1.00 "Slightly better than glasses."
RTMC P.L. 1.00 "Wow, look at that. I’ll be damned."
TSP J.S. 1.00 "About equal to eyeglasses."
CSSP M.S. 1.00 "Maybe better than glasses."
CSSP J.L. 1.25 "Definitely see a difference."
TSP S.P. 1.25 "Better than eyeglasses."
CSSP P.R. 1.25 "Fantastic."
TSP G.S. 1.25 "Better than glasses."
TSP E.B. 1.50/1.00 "O' my word, marvelous."
CSSP S.D. 1.50/2.50 "Just as good as glasses."
CSSP J.B. 1.50 "Incredible difference."
RTMC D.C. 1.50 "Close or equal to eyeglasses."
RTMC E.E. 1.50 "Makes a difference."
TSP P.F. 1.50 "Not better than glasses."
CSSP D.G. 1.50 "Better than with glasses."
TSP J.K. 1.50 "Huge improvement, incredible."
TSP G.M. 1.50 "Good grief, phenomenal, vastly better than eyeglasses, marvelous."
RTMC K.M. 1.50 "O' my god, I'll be darned."
RTMC S.M. 1.50 "Dandy."
CSSP P.P. 1.50 "Better than glasses."
TSP A.S. 1.50 "Same or better than glasses."
TSP R.T. 1.50 "Worked fine."
TSP D.G. 1.75 "Very slightly better than glasses."
RTMC L.K. 1.75 "Difference is amazing."
RTMC J.P. 1.75 "Oh My Gosh."
RTMC H.S. 1.75 "A little better."
RTMC D.L. 2.00 "Amazing, sharper than my glasses."
CSSP P.L. 2.00 "O’ my God, that’s the best view I’ve ever had through my left eye. Good Lord, right on, Holy Hannah. That’s the real deal, incredible, Wow, I’m amazed."
TSP P.E. 2.25 "Better with DIOPTRX™."
TSP D.F. 2.50 "A little sharper than eyeglasses."
RTMC J.F. 2.50 "Bloody Fantastic."
TSP F.H. 2.50 "Much better than prescription."
CSSP T.L. 2.50 "Amazing."
RTMC J.S. 2.50 "Really sharp."
* Specifications are subject to change without notice.

FURTHER READING


back

Contents Copyright 2005 Company Seven & TeleVue Optics All Rights Reserved