Well, a little refractor called Pronto and its crossover cousin Ranger have turned my large-aperture dictum on its ear. Perhaps my expectations of what a small-aperture scope could reveal were jaded by a surplus of mediocre models on the market. Or maybe I was thinking one should graduate to larger apertures while advancing in the hobby. Whatever its source, that paradigm quickly evaporated after a few observing sessions this past spring with two compact refractors offered by Tele Vue . . .

Little Scopes That Can

Ranger and Pronto feature identical optics. At the heart of each scope is a two-element, 70mm (2.8-inch) f/6.8 objective made from extra-low dispersion glass. Both optical systems yield a focal length of 480mm or 19 inches. I evaluated both sets of optics, but settled into using the Pronto because its features were more in line with what I want in an astronomical telescope. After one evening under the stars, I quickly came to the conclusion that you can't buy a better portable, rich-field telescope.

Pronto is tailored for people looking for a compact astronomical scope. Ranger meshes more comfortably with those looking for a premium-quality spotting scope that can cross over to the night sky with ease. Pronto accepts 1 1/4-inch or 2-inch eyepieces; Ranger only accommodates 1 1/4-inch eyepieces. Ranger also offers greater flexibility to terrestrial photographers by including a retractable extension tube that draws out over a range of 2 1/2 inches when needed. Ranger also features a helical focuser that twists to bring objects into focus.

The Pronto uses a brass rack-and-pinion focuser in a black anodized aluminum housing, a type preferred by refractor users, which offers 2 1/2 inches of travel. One turn of the focusing knob yields one inch of movement. Oversized 1 1/2-inch knobs with rubber handgrips afford a sure handhold, even through heavy gloves. I found the Pronto's focusing action to be sure and smooth, one of the smoothest focusers I've ever used on any scope. Its focuser has a lock knob that makes sure focus doesn't wander during astrophotography sessions.

The scopes take different approaches to the problem of tube balance. Often this becomes a critical issue on motor-driven equatorial mounts, where an out-of-balance tube might affect the efficiency of the mount's clock drive. When altazimuth-mounted refractors like the Pronto or Ranger are out of balance, they have a tendency to tip when the altitude bearing lock is loosened for slight adjustments.

To get around this potential problem, Ranger rides on a six-inch, built-in dovetail bar that adjusts and locks the tube assembly's center of gravity. Pronto can rebalance by sliding its ring mount back and forth. Pronto also uses an accessory that seats the scope three inches forward of the altitude axis to avoid unsteadiness. This Pronto Balance Aid, standard on models with the 2-inch diagonal, secures to the existing tube ring with two Allen-head screws. Both balance assemblies come fitted with 1/4-20 holes for mounting either scope on a photographic tripod.

Finally, Pronto includes a retractable aluminum glare hood, but Ranger doesn't. Also, Pronto's aluminum lens cap threads into place; Ranger's plastic cap clips over the objective lens.

Treading Night

The Pronto attaches to the Up-Swing mount head with two hand nuts. The Balancing Aid plate (shown) moves the scope's center of gravity forward for better balance with heavier eyepieces.

Pronto works best as an astronomical telescope when it's coupled with Tele Vue's Panoramic mount. This lets the scope nod smoothly up and down in altitude and pan left and right in azimuth.

The Panoramic mount, which sells separately at a list price of $425, incorporates Tele Vue's Up-Swing cradle. It features a variably-resistant altitude (up-and-down) axis that you loosen or tighten depending on whether you want to lock the scope in place or have the ability to pan smoothly. An anodized aluminum pinch-lock bushing surrounds a brass bearing to create the right mix of smoothness and friction. Tighten brass tension knobs on each side of the telescope cradle to arrive at a desired level of resistance.

The azimuth axis doesn't have as fine a friction adjustment because Tele Vue figures most balance problems manifest themselves in the altitude axis. Up-Swing is now offered separately to work on any camera tripod. I used it as such when I coupled the Ranger to a heavy-duty Bogen tripod for birding. The Panoramic mount also proved itself adept at dampening vibrations. Even after I boosted the magnification up to 205x with a 7mm Nagler and a 3x Barlow lens, the entire mount dampened in about five seconds after a moderate rap of the tube.

I was also impressed with the mount's lightweight and durable tripod. Its legs extend to raise the mount to a height of five feet; the retracted height measures three feet. Each leg can be adjusted in its track with a locking nut. A protruding stop nut at the top of each extendible leg prevents it from overextending and slipping out of the track.

On one occasion I carelessly loosened the lock nut and let one leg fall out to its fully extended length too quickly. This caused the leg to pop out of its track completely; it slipped back into place after only a few seconds' effort.

The mount also includes a metal tripod tray held in place with three hand-tightened wing nuts. The tripod tray comes in very handy for holding accessories, though there are no holes in it for holding eyepieces. When the time came to pack up, I removed two of the nuts and left the third one in place to let the tray swing downward and the legs fold together. The mount's wood surfaces all have multiple coatings of varnish to resist moisture, and the metal fittings and tray are anodized - no black paint to scratch off with wear and tear.

Fitted to this system, Pronto steers beautifully with one hand to go anywhere in the sky. Coupled with a diagonal, I could comfortably look in all directions, even overhead. Specifically, I used Tele Vue's 2-inch mirror diagonal that accommodates 1 1/4-inch or 2-inch eyepieces.

An Undiscovered Cosmos

A bat-handle fastener on Pronto's cradle loosens for tube rotation.

I started my optical tour with an eyepiece that lets Pronto work within its richest form of wide-field observing. Tele Vue's 35mm Panoptic works the scope at 14x to yield a relaxing, wide 5° field of view. With it, I captured astonishing views of Comet Hale-Bopp during April that took in most of the comet's bright dust tail and tenuous ion tail, which, on one particularly crisp spring evening, even showed a hint of blue. I rocked the scope up and down in altitude while panning north in azimuth to follow Hale-Bopp's dust tail out to 10°.

Pronto's knack at showing such fleeting detail is a testament to its ability to provide superior image contrast. Much to my surprise, the low-power view even showed a hint of hood structure around the comet's inner coma region. I confirmed that fans of material slough off from the hidden nucleus by slipping in a 7mm Nagler to yield 68x. I could easily glimpse crisp, dark demarcations between hoods . . . not bad for a 2.8-inch telescope!

On another night I used the Pronto in concert with the 35mm Panoptic fitted to a 2-inch Ultra High Contrast nebula filter to tour glowing gas clouds along the summer Milky Way. First stop was the North America nebula in Cygnus, which fit comfortably into the inner half of the eyepiece's wide field of view.

Nudging to the south I came across the twin lobes of the Veil Nebula. On a whim, I removed the filter just to see if the Pronto could pick out these ethereal arcs of gas against the sky glow. No problem there.

But the biggest surprise of the evening came when I cruised the rest of the Milky Way, stumbling onto things I never realized a small scope could reveal. With the help of the UHC filter, I was discovering wreaths of glowing gas clouds, each as wonderful a view as their more famous cousin, the North America Nebula.

Deep photos of the Milky Way barely capture these areas; the galaxy's stars literally wash out the subtleties. But to the eye and a Pronto armed with a UHC-fitted 35mm Panoptic eyepiece, these "undiscovered" emission regions seem to bloom to life. The filter squelches skyglow and starlight to let the light from the nebulae pass relatively unhindered.

Views through Pronto at 14x reminded me just how common these wafts of hydrogen gas were along the plane of our galaxy, especially from Cassiopeia into northern Ophiuchus.

So Pronto really shone as an RFT, but could the optics hold up to magnification? Most experts don't advise pumping magnification beyond 50x to 60x per inch of aperture. For Pronto's 2.8-inch aperture, this translates into 168x. But I decided to go for broke and plunk a 7mm Nagler into a 3x Barlow lens while looking at Epsilon (e) Lyrae, the famous "double-double." To my delight, the little scope split e1 Lyrae (2.8") and e2 Lyrae (2.2") into disks, with black sky in between each pair.

Another test of the Pronto's performance was Epsilon (e) Bootis. Discerning the double's 2.9" separation often proves difficult because the primary star's magnitude 2.5 brightness smothers the light of its 5th-magnitude companion. But good optics - along with exceptional glare management through optical coatings - made the double a snap at 140x.

The optical Qwik Point 1x finder dovetails onto a mounting bracket.

The low-power regimen that Pronto and Ranger work within most of the time means you won't need an elaborate finder scope. Even though the field of view through a 35mm captures close to 5°, it was still useful to have a means of pointing the scope.

For this, I used Tele Vue's Qwik Point 1x reflex finder, available separately for $45. The Qwik Point Arming System is small, measuring 4 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches high, and half an inch wide. At 4 ounces, it's lightweight as well.

The Qwik Point works by projecting a tiny point of light from a red LED off a round, transparent window that measures roughly a half inch across. You don't sight through the window per se, but look past it toward an area of sky behind the window. Whatever area of the sky the red dot appears against is where the scope is pointing. You calibrate the red dot with the telescope's field of view by adjusting two screws, one that nudges the dot up and down, and another that slowly moves the projection left and right. The finder slides onto Pronto's tube assembly on a dove-tailed mounting plate. Where on the tube to place the mounting plate will depend upon whether you want to sight up the left or right side of the telescope. A switch on the right side of the finder's housing turns the LED on and off. Qwik Point runs off a single, flat, 3-volt lithium battery that powers the miserly LED for hours. I left my finder on for eight hours without noticing a drop-off in the LED's intensity. Nonetheless, be sure to have an extra battery on hand in case you accidentally leave the switch on; this battery is esoteric enough that I wouldn't expect to find it at any mom-and-pop country hardware store. To access the battery, merely slide it out from under a clip that doubles as a contact. There's no battery hatch with which to fumble.

An auxiliary circuit board slides between the battery and a contact to let you control the LED point's intensity between a high and low setting. While this board offered a useful degree of flexibility, its open components were somewhat exposed to wear and tear. I'd suggest removing the brittle board and stowing it in a safe place before packing the scope in a carrying case. (Tele Vue mentions this has never been a problem.)

Incidentally, Tele Vue includes a padded carrying case that works beautifully to store and transport the scope along with six other eyepieces, making Pronto a go-anywhere, instant-setup astronomical telescope.

Over-the-Shoulder Starship

Quick and easy access to the sky is probably the premier reason to own this telescope. For sure, you will see fainter objects with more detail by using larger optics. But does a large aperture, poor-quality scope really outdo a premium-quality, small-aperture telescope? Perhaps by brute strength. Then again, I've seen star clusters and galaxies on hundreds of occasions through scopes up to 32 inches and always got the views I anticipated. It took the finesse of a well-crafted 2.8-inch refractor, one that fits over my shoulder in a carrying bag and sets up in a minute, to open my eyes to a whole new sky on a macro scale.