The release of the Houdini 30 and Houdini 9 over the summer months has been a tremendous success. The 30 mm eyepiece has been our most successful model ever in its first couple of months.
We continue to expand the Houdini series as planned!
In the coming weeks, we expect to receive the prototypes of the 2× coma-correcting Houdini Barlow. This Barlow is optimized for all Houdini eyepieces with a 1.25" barrel. It corrects 75% of the Newtonian coma, while the remaining 25% is corrected by the eyepieces. The result is a number of high-power combinations that are essentially diffraction-limited over the entire 86° field.
When the whole Houdini line-up is finished (see below), you'll have 12, 9, 7, 6*, 5.3, 4.5*, 4, 3.5*, 2.65* and 2* mm coma-corrected 1.25" eyepieces. The * denotes the focal lengths obtained with the Barlow.
The Barlow is a doublet design using advanced glass types in a 1.25" barrel. It has a modular body with a T2 connector, a centering clamp, and a detachable cell containing the optics. Another nice comfort feature is that the Barlow is designed to be parfocal with all the 1.25" Houdini eyepieces.
This week, we also finalized the design of the 5.3 mm and 4 mm eyepieces and started production of the prototypes. They are expected in about three months, so we're well on schedule for a launch in the first half of 2027.
Clear skies!
Robert