Tele Vue Optics Article Page

Got Astigmatism? Get the "Cure" - DIOPTRX™

Your telescope’s focuser is used to compensate for your near- or far-sightedness; DIOPTRX™ compensates for your astigmatism. These units attach and lock onto the tops of

Rotate to the best orientation.

over 20 long eye-relief Tele Vue eyepieces to achieve the sharpest full-field viewing possible. DIOPTRX™ models are available in ¼ to 3½ diopter (¼ steps from ¼ to 2½ diopters, then ½ diopter steps to 3½-diopters), and are rotatable for tuning to the best orientation. A series of engraved letters on the barrel helps to monitor orientation. Simply choose the DIOPTRX™ model that matches your eyeglass prescription for astigmatism. All lenses are multi-coated glass in anodized aluminum housings with rubber eyeguards.

HOW TO CHOOSE DIOPTRX™ MODELS

Your prescription may look like this, with different numbers.

		SPHERICAL	CYLINDER	AXIS
Right Eye	O.D.	+1.50	-0.50	45
Left Eye	O.S.	-0.50	+1.50	135

Ignore spherical and axis values.
Ignore all ± signs.
Simply choose DIOPTRX™ to match the cylinder (astigmatism) value of your preferred viewing eye. In the example above, you would choose 0.5 diopter model for your right eye and 1.5 diopter model for your left eye.

Look How Easy!

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Adapters for DIOPTRX™ to

24mm Panoptic, 19mm Panoptic, & 20mm Nagler Type-5
Nagler Type-6

These adapters convert eyepieces with small eyeguards to larger eyeguards, so DIOPTRX™ can be installed. Note that these eyepieces have shorter eye relief than others recommended for DIOPTRX™, so to minimize any vignetting, it's best to use these for deep-sky applications where your eye pupil is large.

Notes for Use with Bino-viewers

DEA-0001 When used for bino-viewers, you may encounter "nose relief" limitations because DIOPTRX reduces the normal eyepiece eye relief.

DNA-6000 When used for bino-viewers, remove DIOPTRX, because limited "nose-relief" and eye-relief will prevent seeing the full 82° field. The new larger eyeguards are still fine for use with binocular viewers.

Reviews

	Dioptrx: Prescription for Perfection Sky & Telescope July 2007 Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
	The sharpest image Astronomy October 2006 Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
	Tele Vue’s Dioptrx: The Final Answer for Astigmatism? SkyNews January / February 2006

Long Eye-Relief Tele Vue Eyepieces that Accept DIOPTRX™ Eyepieces with * require noted adapter
Plössl	55, 40, 32mm
Radian	18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3mm
Panoptic	41, 35, 27, 22mm & 19, 24mm (*requires DEA-0001 adapter)
Nagler Type 4	22, 17, 12mm
Nagler Type 5	31, 26mm & 20mm (requires DEA-0001 adapter)
Nagler Type 6	all* (*requires DNA-6000 adapter)
Ethos	6, 8,13, 17mm

Product List & Code

Eyepiece Accessories
DRX-0025			0.25 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0050			0.50 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0075			0.75 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0100			1.00 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0125			1.25 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0150			1.50 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0175			1.75 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0200			2.00 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0225			2.25 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0250			2.50 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0300			3.00 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DRX-0350			3.50 DIOPTRX Astig. Corrector
DEA-0001			DIOPTRX Adapter for 24/19 Pan, N20T5
DNA-6000			DIOPTRX Adapter for all NT6

Featured Dealers

Adorama Camera New York, NY

Phone: 1-800-223-2500, 1-212-741-0052 E-mail: michaelp@adorama.com

Astronomics Norman, OK

Phone: 1-800-422-7876, 1-405-364-0858 E-mail: questions@astronomics.com

B&H Photo, Video, Pro Audio, Inc. New York, NY

Phone: 1-212-502-6236, 1-800-336-7916 E-mail: photo@bhphotovideo.com

High Point Scientific Montague, NJ

Phone: 1-800-266-9590, 1-973-293-7200 E-mail: info@highpointscientific.com

OPT Telescopes Oceanside, CA

Phone: 1-800-483-6287, 1-760-722-3343 E-mail: opt@optcorp.com

Telescopes.com Omaha, NE

Phone: 1-800-303-5873 E-mail: info@telescopes.com

See all Tele Vue dealers

Report By Al

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:

DIOPTRX™ always works at least as good as eyeglasses and mostly better.
People who dislike using glasses and have astigmatism are most pleased.
Some people are lucky enough to have no astigmatism and will not benefit from DIOPTRX™.
I found many people using progressive eyeglasses, which by definition are horrendous for observing with telescopes or binoculars.
Many people do not realize that they don't need their eyeglasses if they are near or farsighted and don't have astigmatism.
Critical observers easily detect as little as ¼ diopter of astigmatism.
DIOPTRX™ units can be stacked (one person had 5 diopters) to accommodate more than 2½ diopters astigmatism.
It is easy (and analogous to focusing) to "dial in" rotation of DIOPTRX™ for optimum correction. It is virtually intuitive.
DIOPTRX™ units are very effective in binoviewers.
Night tests seem to confirm no discrepancies with our daytime tests.
Sharper stars and detection of fainter stars are clear benefits.
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."

DIOPTRX™ Owner's Comments

Dear Mr. Nagler,

I am writing to praise your DIOPTRX, which has changed my astronomical life. You may recall that I was the first one you assessed at RTMC and I replied, when I looked through the 2.5 diopter version, "Bloody Fantastic!"

I immediately ordered one and I used it this past weekend at 7,500 feet elevation, under beautiful dark skies in northern Arizona (I have a Panoptic 27mm, a Radian 18mm a Radian 12mm and an 8" SCT).

To me the great advantage is the ability to see the entire field of view through an eyepiece. That is simply marvelous. I spent hours this weekend viewing nebulae, star fields, etc., in a manner of enjoyment I have never had. As my wife said, given the odd occasion when she has glanced through my telescope with her glasses on (she does not wear them for viewing normally), she always pitied me and other glasses wearers who had to view with such restricted fields of view, even with the longer eye relief eyepieces.

By coincidence, I had my annual visit to my optometrist yesterday, and we discussed their use. I actually would need a 3.0 diopter for my right eye and 2.75 for my astigmatic left eye, but he suggested I stay with the 2.5, as higher diopters (via stacking) would introduce possible unnecessary aberrations, and the 2.5 works well for me. The net result is that I ordered a second 2.5 DIOPTRX for use with my bino viewer (I have a pair of Radian 18s), which now will get much more use.

A sincere thank you for bringing it to market.

— Jim Fitzpatrick, Scottsdale, AZ

Dear Mr. Nagler,

The DIOPTRX 1.25 gave me excellent results with my 41 Panoptic, 31 Nagler, 26 Nagler and 18 Radian. I used the DIOPTRX in several different scopes I own (20 inch Starmaster f4.3, AP Traveler f6, and AP 178 f9.) I found improvements in star images and the appearance of Jupiter's moons in every scope/eyepiece combination producing an exit pupil greater than or equal to 3mm. I did not find that I needed more or less correction as the exit pupil became smaller or larger.

It is obvious that you truly care about the amateur astronomer and strive at every opportunity to enhance the experience of visual astronomy.

— Kim D. Colter, MD, Washington, MO

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Report By Al

DIOPTRX™ Owner's Comments