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Message: <blockquote data-quote="elkcub" data-source="post: 1796766" data-attributes="member: 14473">I believe the original Orion UltraView appeared about 1999.  They were somewhat smaller than Swift's 820 8.5x44 Audubon, maybe 8x40/42.  Anyway, they were made by Hiyoshi Kogaku, who also made the Audubon.  I never compared the two products, but seem to recall that the FOV of the UltraViews was narrower, and it probably used a 4-element eyepiece. For historical purposes, I'd be very interested in seeing a copy of the 1999-2000 Orion catalog, which had this UltraView on the cover.  Please send me a PM if you have the catalog.  Thanks.  The current UltraViews may or may not be made by Hiyoshi.  My limited experience with Orion products, however, is not particularly good, since almost everything was returned within 30 days for a refund.  My impression is that only limited repair services are available for their brand name products, and they suffer poor quality control.  (I'm only talking about the binoculars.)  Maybe someone else has a better experience to counterbalance mine.EdPS:  Just noticed EdZ's comments on this thread, post #13.  Sounds right.  <a href="http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=137247&highlight=orion+ultraview" target="_blank">http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=137247&highlight=orion+ultraview</a></blockquote>