What we liked

• Extraordinary coma correction for fast Newtonian reflectors.
• Excellent coverage of large-format CCD chips.
• The potential to make top-notch astrophotography more affordable.

Enter the Big Paracorr Type-2

• My first exposures with a CCD camera having a KAF-16803 CCD were remarkable. Despite the crudeness of the [16" f/3.2 telescope] setup, the Big Paracorr yielded perfectly round, virtually pinpoint stars across the frame. Vignetting was minimal in all but the very corners; and there was no discernible change in focus for exposures made through clear, red, green, and blue filters.

Notes from the Field

• There is little question that I'm excited by the potential of the Big Paracorr. It clearly raises the imaging performance of the humble Newtonian reflectors with fast primary mirrors to a level that can compete with today's elite astrographs having exotic optical designs.

Tele Vue's 3-Inch Paracorr (Type-2) from Sky & Telescope online.

This "beyond the printed page" online writeup features extra images and hardware notes from the April 2015 BIG Paracorr review published in the magzazine.

• As is usually the case for S&T Test Reports involving imaging products, there were more photographs made with Tele Vue's new 3-inch Big Paracorr coma corrector than would fit in the review that appears in the April 2015 issue. Furthermore, pictures appearing with a review are often selected to emphasize aspects of the product rather than be aesthetically pleasing. Thus we're presenting here some of the images that remained on the cutting-room floor when the review was prepared for publication.

Quote from SkyNews review by Todd Carlson:

I admit that it takes a lot to surprise me after so many years observing with this scope, but this certainly did.

Quotes from Cloudy Nights Reader's Choice Award 2010:

Once again, Tele Vue was the leader in the field, with the most products voted into the top.

Paracror Type-2

Meanwhile the new dobsonian revolution is driving faster mirrors, and Tele Vue has stepped up to the plate in two ways - they've introduced a new version of their venerable Paracorr (now in a Type 2) specifically to work with these new, faster mirrors, and further, they continue to collaborate with other companies to provide amateurs with the best gear possible.

Astronomy Technology Today excerpt from Paracorr-2 review

• The new Paracorr Type-2 does such a magnificent job of eliminating coma and increasing the size of the diffraction limited field of view that contrast, resolution and limiting magnitude are all enhanced! In fact, the increased contrast and the jet-black backgrounds were the first things every observer commented on.
• All in all, using ultra-wide-field eyepieces, such as the Ethos with the Paracorr Type-2 in a fast reflector achieves a synergy that brings a new level of dramatic visual observing experiences.