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Old 01-01-2019, 05:52 PM
astro744
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astro744 is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,244
I bought the Tele Vue 60 because I wanted to know what such a small aperture would give me and I have been pleasantly surprised. I wanted to get the TV-76 but it was double the cost and I would have have likely wanted buy a TV-60 in due course anyway because I'd still be curious of the small aperture capability. The TV-76 does have the advantage of accepting 2" eyepieces as well as having that largest true field of any Tele Vue telescope.

I also bought the Tele Vue TelePod which is a perfect match for the TV-60. I did buy a used 4" clamshell which fits my ED80 but it is more stable on a Tele Vue Gibraltar than on the TelePod even though the head is the same.

Since having the TV-60 I have found that I mainly use it on planets in the evening and morning twilight and in general I favour planetary observing no matter what telescope I am using for this gives me the greatest viewing pleasure. Using the TV-60 I can be set up in minutes and this is also the time it takes the telescope to reach ambient conditions. It is because of the quick setup that I tend to use the TV-60 more than other telescopes but I do also enjoy my TV-101 when mounted on my Gibraltar or when I want tracking, my Losmandy GM-8.

The TV-60 rides nicely on the TV-101 too and is great for making comparisons. I enjoy testing the limits of my telescopes and will look out for objects on the limits of visibility. If I can detect a faint galaxy in 101mm I will then see if 60mm will show it and if so I look for an even fainter one. Of course varying magnifications and exit pupils come into play and having the Nagler zooms helps here.

I also enjoy nature viewing whether it be birds or bugs. Watching a Christmas beetle chewing on a gum leaf from about 30-40m one year was entertaining and even during daytime the 6-3mm Nagler zoom provided a bright and sharp image between 60 and 120x. I generally use a 16mm T5 Nagler for bird watching giving me 22.5x although I often favour a 19mm Panoptic at 19x but the same true field. I find that for daytime use I prefer the smaller apparent fields and the 68 deg of the Panoptic is just about ideal.

If I had to sum it up with one word then that word is convenience. The TV-60 is a very convenient telescope. It is also a very capable telescope and sometimes (often) I just like to see for myself what 60mm is capable of seeing rather than relying on text or the word of others that may say a larger telescope is needed. Sure something will look better in larger aperture but is it detectable in less. It brings me joy to prove in the affirmative.
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