| 1946 |
In 1946, following the end of World War ll, technicians and drafted workers from the Optical
Department of the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal combined their collective advanced technical skills and
established the Optical Product Division at Kowa. |
| 1952 |
- [TS-1, TS-2] Released
- The TS-1 and TS-2 spotting scopes were the first spotting scopes produced by Kowa. The TS-1 was
used extensively during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
|
| 1960 |
- [TS-3] Released
- The TS-3 employed a helicoid system in which the focus was set by rotating the eyepiece prism.
|
| 1963 |
- [TS-4] Released
- The TS-4 was an angled 50mm spotting scope that made the TS-1 smaller and more compact.
|
| 1971 |
- [TS-6] Released
- Kowa developed the inner lens focusing technique which used a focusing lens that was placed
immediately in front of the prism. This made the 60mm spotting scope as light and compact as the
50mm TS-4.
|
| |
- [TS-7] Released
- The TS-7 was the only Kowa spotting scope to use a Dach prism system. This model was not sold in
Japan and was mainly exported to Europe and North America.
|
| 1979 |
- [TS-8] Released
- The ultra-short bodied TS-8 which had a total length of only 208mm was released under the TS-M
name, and became popularly known as the “Mini-Spo”, an abbreviation of "mini-spotting scope".
|
| 1984 |
- [TS-9] Released
- This was the only Kowa scope in which focus adjustment was carried out by moving the objective
lens through rotating a focus ring that shared the same axis as the lens tube.
|
| 1984 |
- [TSN-1, TSN-2] Released
- The motivation behind the development of the TSN (telescope new) scopes was "to create
spotting scopes that had the world's best viewing characteristics".
These scopes utilized all the knowledge that had been gathered from years of innovative design and
development. The results were the TSN 1 and 2 models which included objective lenses that were
larger than the 50mm and 60mm objective diameters of the TS line.
The new products were named TSN (TeleScope New) and were the first of a new category of spotting
scopes. Future models inheriting the TSN name were only those with lens aperture diameters of 82mm
and 66mm that had not previously been released.
|
| 1986 |
- [TSN-3 PROMINAR, TSN-4 PROMINAR] Released
- The TSN 3 and 4 PROMINAR models incorporated pure fluorite crystal objective lenses which
delivered the brightest, sharpest, and clearest images compared to any other spotting scopes.
Even though fluorite is an ideal lens type which has extremely low chromatic aberration (color
fringing that appears on the periphery of the images), it is crystal instead of glass and is more
difficult to process and polish and is, therefore, more expensive. However, fluorite lenses had to
be used to deliver "the world's best viewing characteristics".
The TSN 3 and 4 models were the first to have PROMINAR printed on the scope body which had
previously been used only as a descriptive name.
|
| 1987 |
- [TS-601/602] Released
- The TS 601 and 602 were developed as basic model spotting scopes.
Their proven performance and function, sturdy bodies, and reasonable pricecreated high demand in the
worldwide nature viewing market.
|
| 1996 |
- [TS-820 series] Released
- The TSN-820 Series were designed with an 82mm objective lens which increased light
gathering and improved resolution. Since the body was made of a lightweight resin, the increase in
weight from the larger objective lens was minimized.
This series was entirely waterproof.
|
| 1998 |
- [TS-500 series] Released
- Compact and lightweight model
|
| 2000 |
- [TSN-660 Series] Released
- This Series of scopes which included two PROMINAR models was the perfect balance of compactness
and high optical performance. It satisfied the wide range of user needs from beginning birdwatchers
to scientists and professional researchers.
|
| 2001 |
- [TSN-820M series] Released
- This series had outstanding light gathering and deliverance. The bright field of view made
this the dream instrument of birdwatchers, hunters, and target shooters throughout the world.
|
| 2003 |
- [TSN-600 series] Released
- High quality images are delivered in this user friendly, lightweight, 60mm scope with excellent
cost performance.
|
| 2006 |
- [TSN-880 series] Released
- The flagship of Kowa's spotting scopes, this is the culmination of over 60 years of
spotting scope development. It's extremely large 88mm fluorite crystal objective lens makes
this a most sought after spotting scope.
A locking eyepiece, dual speed focus mechanism and superior optical performance in a user
friendly body leaves a very satisfying impression on the user.
- [TSN-770 series]Released
- A 77mm objective lens in a compact body. With the portability and compactness of a 60mm class
scope and the optical performance of an 80mm class scope, this series will satisfy all levels of
spotting scope users.
|
| 2013 May. |
60th anniversary model with wide zoom eyepiece [TE-11WZ Prominar ] Released |
