Televue Pronto

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Brand and Model:Televue Pronto
Price ($USD):$775.00
Type:(Semi) Achromatic Refractor
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:70mm (2.8")
f Ratio:f/6.8
Focal Length:480mm
Finder:None
Electric Power:None
Mount:None
Tripod:none
Weight (lbs):~6 lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):18 in. long
Description:Comes with 2" focuser, 2->1.25 adapter, Star Diagonal, 20mm Televue Plossl.

Televue's Pronto Page


Todd Gross's Review
Cloudy Nights' Pronto vs. Celestron 102
Ed Ting's Review

Vote Highlights Vote
Televue Pronto
Good optics and construction, typical Tele-Vue quality.

My only complaint is that it is a bit overpriced for what basically amounts to a simple Achromat. I puchased a William Optics Megrez 80 II for roughly the same price, and it is a 3-element APO, and is every bit as quality built as the Pronto. I think Televue should revisit the pricing on these scopes.

Other than the price, there is not much to complain about - this is one of the best achromats I have ever used.

Overall Rating: 7
Optics:7 Ease of Use:10 Value:5
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=420132

Televue Pronto
I have owned the Pronto for one month and it has had more time under the stars than my 8" newtonian has seen in years. The Pronto has excellent optics and high mechanical quality that is obvious everytime you focus. I purchased the scope with the 2" diagonal and Gibraltar mount. It is so attractive that it stays in the living room as fine furniture, not in the closet. Portability makes the package just about perfect. Views are very clear and contrasty in even in downtown Los Angeles. Mount is solid. Vibrations are damped quickly, even when used on a cantilever balcony. The minimalist alt-az mount works extremely well the wide-angle view of the Pronto.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37588

Televue Pronto
VERY NICE SCOPE HOWEVER NOTICABLE BENDING OF VERTICAL OBJECTS (POLES ETC.) NEAR
EDGE OF FIELD. ALSO BLUE HALO AROUND PLANETS

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37589

Televue Pronto
I bought my Pronto used about five months ago as a travel scope to take with me on my first trip to Australia. It turned out to be an excellent choice! It was portable, it fit easily in the overhead bin on the airplane, the padded case held the eyepieces I wanted to take - along with a red flashlight and an red dot finder. Set up and operation was fast and smooth throughout some very cold temperatures. I had three of the best nights of viewing I have ever had through this scope under amazing southern skies. The star images were sharp pinpoints, and the views of the megellanic clouds had good contrast. The scope is easy to mount and has an excellent focuser. I only wish that the focal length was a little bit longer so that I could get higher magnification since I don't have any 3, 4, or 5 mm eyepieces. Since the southern skies trip, I have had this scope out many, many times. It is my 'grab and go' scope of choice. I have chosen to take it to star parties and leave my 18" at home just because it's so convenient. I bought mine used and I found it very easy to get a few miscellaneous parts to restore it to look 'like new'. This is a great refractor and an amazing value if you can pick one up used!!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=461108

Televue Pronto
Pronto: Way Overpriced and overated. I owned one and eventually got rid of it, Why? Aperture. Too little to be of any real use. Probably best used for Bird watching. Anything under 80mm is a waste of time in a refractor. Televue makes wonderful astronomical scopes, Pronto is not one of them. That is not to say it is not a finely crafted instrument. Don't be sucked in by Televue ads that say "little scope with guts" etc.

Overall Rating: 4
Optics:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=336566

Televue Pronto
I sold my 4 1/2" reflector to buy a smaller,more portable scope.Pronto fits the bill perfectly.Excellent optics,pin-sharp images,little false colour,great build quality.One minute,I'm looking at milky-way starfields at 15x,the next,lunar craters at 240x,using a 4mm plossl and 2x barlow!Both Jupiter and Saturn look better than they did with my old scope.Truly a little scope that puts the WOW back into astronomy.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=113593

Televue Pronto
Star test is very good, images very sharp to 200x. Contrast is outstanding. Color correction is very good, false color un-objectionable, though visible on the limb of the Moon and, to a much lesser degree, on Jupiter, which takes on a very subtle blue tint. Star colors show nicely-- most stars and star systems don't show the chromatic abberation. Focus is VERY sharp, even at 200x, after which the image begins to break down a little. Fit and finish of the 'scope and Telepod leave very little to be desired. Outstanding durability, portability and stability.

I'm amazed at what can be seen in this little 'scope. Lovely widefield views, yet nicely resolves 2" doubles, and shows wonderful detail on Jovian bands. Saturn's Casini division resolves all the way around on most nights, and is jet black and sharp. Adding a UHC filter shows the North American nebula in it's entirety, and shows much of the Veil. Even M33 showed quite nicely from a semi-rural sky. Not much resolution on most globulars, but they still look quite pleasing. All open clusters look outstanding in this little 'scope.

Portability, Durability, resolving capacity, nearly non-existant cool down time, and ability to punch through poor seeing are the strong points of this 'scope. I use it on nearly every clear night, when I don't want to wait for larger 'scopes to cool.

Considering how much more the TV76 (let alone the TV85) cost than the Pronto, I can't find many objections to going with the Pronto over the others. That being said, I do aspire to get a TV85 at some point for the increased aperture and APO factors.

Unless I get a TV85, I'll NEVER sell this 'scope. It does everything it's supposed to very well, a joy to own and use. Gotta give it a 10.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37632

Televue Pronto
I have had a Ranger for years, and loved the portability and sharp optics. I began the upgrade to 2" ep this summer, and just recently traded the ranger for a Pronto. The optics are wonderful, and the build quility fantastic. When I origionally bought my ranger, I really wanted a pronto, but couldn't afford it. Now I finally have the small scope that I have always wanted.

Fantastic Scope! Some false color, but that is to be expected given the design.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37631

Televue Pronto
The Pronto is better than I hoped it would be. How often does any product live up to the promise of advertising copy? Pronto's performance, construction and design, all exceed the hype. I could rave about the way this superb 70mm wide-field telescope takes magnification or the incredible solid feel that quality components and flawless design give this precision instrument but I still might not manage to describe the Pronto as well as others already have.

Robert Frost wrote of a $600 telescope in 1923 that could be a Pronto. Read his complete poem to discover why, for some of us, cost doesn't matter with certain telescopes.

From The Star-Splitter-

It's a star-splitter if there ever was one
And ought to do some good if splitting stars
'Sa thing to be compared with splitting wood.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37627

Televue Pronto
Very pleased with the superly crisp star images and the mechanical/visual qualities of this scope. Doubt I'll ever sell it. Bought it mainly as a travel scope, but with a 3x TV Barlow and various TV Plossls on a Vixen GP mount I find I use it more than my C8. Only a 9 because I can only imagine what more aperture would do.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37626

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