ED 80mm - Confused???? Which one?

[StarLane]

I would like to buy an 80mm ED refractor but can't decide which brand, please help........

Do I go for Orion, Saxon, Skywatcher, Meade, Vixen, William Optics or TMB, any other brands???? Can't afford a TAK or TV, so they are out of the picture.

I would prefer a focal length of around 600mm BUT not essential. Will be using for mostly widefield astro photography and sometimes DSO's.

Any opinions will be much appreciated.

Cheers.

[acropolite]

The ED80's from Orion, Skywatcher and Saxon are basically all the same optically and physically, just different paintwork, they perform exceptionally well for the money. Keep your eyes on price but also check to see whether rings, dovetail and finder are included as some deals have them and others not.

[Lee]

The Orion, Saxon and Skywatcher are the same thing, repainted/rebadged. I haven't seen the others, believe the WO one at least has a better focuser than the three above though.... I don't think there is a great deal of difference between them optics-wise.

[iceman]

.. and don't think that the ED80 itself is the end of the purchases.. especially for DSO work!

Then comes the reducer/flattener, bits and pieces to connect the camera, guiding, mounting, software, etc.

[netwolf]

I too am in the same boat and this is what i have found so far..
The Vixen ED80SF is the same as the Synta clones from Celestron/Orion/Skywatcher etc. The best in this category would be the Stellarvue 80 Night Hawk Next Generation but its a bit heavier than the Synta clones, and is about 599$ USD. There are upgrade options and often you can find on of the optioned out ones on Amart for a good price.

The Vixen ED81SWT are a level above these and the optics are made by Vixen Japan. This OTA weighs in at 2.5kg the lightest one next to the Borg 76ED.

William Optics has so many to chose from, but the one that best fits the above category would be the Zenithstar 80 II ED. Very nicely made.

Oh wait there are more, Long Perng the manufacturer behind some of WO telescopes has also released there products direct. Andrews is geting these in at present the have the 80mm Achromat and the 72mm ED. But the manufactures website lists a 80mm ED scope.

When I contacted AOE about there 80mm ED scopes, they also mentioned the had there own branded one. I would hazard to guess these are the Long Perng OTA's badged for them.

Oh and there is the Borg 76ED very light weight.

I think the latest Andrew's magazine ad I saw has the ED80 ota for 499. York Optical quoted 599 but I think this is with rings and dovetail like the Bintel one for 699.

Regards
Fahim

[dannat]

you can get a stellarvue 80 from SDM at the moment on special for 750 - I would give it a look. i think it comes with a finder/diagonal check out the SDM webshop

[luka]

The $499 from Andrews is non-pro version. I asked about difference to the pro and this is what I have been told:


Also make sure you get one with Crayford focuser.

[netwolf]

Thats an excellent price this scope is a cut above the Synta clones.

[netwolf]

Luka, the ED80 and Ed80 pro are exactly the same, well at least thats what i was told by York optical. They told me that the older blue ones are not made any more. So weather you buy a ED80 or pro you will get a gold tube now. Unless its older stock.

[Hagar]

Most are from the same manufacturer. (Synta). All appear to have good optics. Focal length is in some cases different but one big difference is the supply of mounting rings and dovetail bar. These can cost a couple of hundred dollars on top of the cost of the scope.
Have fun researching this one..
I have a Skywatcher and love it "Bang for your buck " is an understatement.

[StarLane]

Hi Mike,

Yeah, I have some other purchases to make before I can go shooting. I need to start somewhere, so I thought the scope would be a good start.
Next purchase after that will be an EQ6. I have a 10inch reflector also so an EQ6 will work great will both (I'm hoping).

I was really impressed with your prime focus M42 images you posted recently shot with your Saxon ED80 and Canon. Did you use something else to get so close???

When I get the scope and mount, I will be posting quite a bit to find out exactly what I need to get started in astro photography. It's all new to me and need as much help as I can get.

Thanks,
Paul.

[ballaratdragons]

Paul, as much as I love using my ED80 for DeepSky imaging, don't forget that some of the Achromats these days are giving remarkable results, especially when used with an IR/UV filter or a Nebula Filter!

Bigger glass for about the same money.

Achromats are not as bad as they used to be :)

Just an alternative if you want to go over 80mm.

[StarLane]

I have noticed than some of the William Optics scopes have FPL51 glass, so does this mean they are inferior in performance to the Synta with FPL53 which is cheaper??

[StarLane]

Thanks for the info mate,

I didn't think about Stellarvue, Borg or Long Perng. Refractors are new to me, I guess I'll work it out. Gives me some more research to do.

Cheers,
Paul.

[MortonH]

FPL51 isn't as well corrected for colour as FPL53, but for deep sky objects this won't be an issue, I think. For brighter objects, however, (e.g planets and bright stars) you may notice a bit of colour with the FPL51. It can vary from scope to scope, too.

Morton

[StarLane]

Hi Mate,

Just been over to SDM and checked out their offerings.
The Stellarvue 80 is listed at $885.
Is there a specials section I am missing??

This is the page I looked at,

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/shop/product_info.php?cPath=44&products_id=30 (http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/shop/product_info.php?cPath=44&products_id=30)

Cheers,
Paul.

[netwolf]

On the left hand menu on the page you linked there is a specials link with 2 items in that section. The item listed as the NHNG2 is the one I think was mentioned as the special price above. Not sure what the difference is between the NHNG and NHNG2, but i think its possibly just to separate the specials item from the usual inventory listing. So possibly they are physically the same item. This is a great price. I am very tempted.

Regards
Fahim

[StarLane]

Thanks for that, I must be blind, how did I not see the specials???:doh:

Sounds good to me for the money. I am seriously considering it.

Cheer,
Paul.

[netwolf]

Paul i did find one thread on CN where one user reported seing some color on bright objects, but it may have just been a one off. Others who had it said the did not see this color on the same objects. Also I joined the yahoo group for Stellervue users and i found out that this is definetly not a Synta clone. The use optics that they seem keen not to reveal however they have advised that its not FPL51 nor is it FPL53 but something as good as FPL53, if not better.

I am trying to decide between this and the Vixen ED81SWT at the moment.
The Vixen has the weight advantage and i have only ever heard good things about Vixen japan's optics. But the look of the SV and the jewel like finish is outstanding. I have head nothing but praise about the SV by everyone who owns or owned one and the always mention the mechanics are awesome.

Regards
Fahim

[StarLane]

Fahim,

That was my next question.
What glass do they use in the Stellarvue NHNG??, is it FPL53 or 51.
I can't seem to find this info anywhere, not even from the AUS dealer SDM.

If it's as good as FPL53 or better, I'm happy with that.
Do you know are they made in USA or China/Taiwan etc?? At the moment I can't decide between the SV and the Vixen either, both nice scopes for the money.

Cheers,
Paul.

[chris lewis]

Hi - this may help.http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Stellarvue/message/67874

[netwolf]

Paul, wonder over and join this yahoo group
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Stellarvue/
Indications from SV are that it is not from China. It is customer made for them to there spec and tested by them before its used.
Vic does indicate that no doublet under F9 unless its a very very well made Petzval or Triplet (from reputable sources) will not be 100% color free. The doublet however can be made very close to color free and thats what they have done with the NHNG.

Regards
Fahim

[chris lewis]

Apparently they use FK-51 Glass - which is similar to FPL-51 but has slightly better CA reduction. Reading more about this thou other factors have to be taken into account like the mating glass, optical polishing and quality of assembly. With these factors the differences between the glass types visually may not be so apparent. AP may be different. Schott FK51 has an Abbe number of ~84.FPL51 has an Abbe number of ~82.FPL53 has an Abbe number of ~95.(decimal values rounded for convenience)
The higher the Abbe the better. FPL-53 is similar to pure Fluourite glass but not as fragile..

[StarLane]

Thanks Chris and Fahim, Thats exactly the info I've been looking for.

Cheers.

[AstroJunk]

I believe the objectives come from Russia. The European market sees most of the output from the former military optical works, TAL for eg. Lots of very capable optical workers were trained by the Soviet war machine and are producing some very nice bits of kit now that the cold war has thawed out a bit.

[kosh]

I will be looking for and 80mm spotting scope soon myself and I was thinking about the Meade 5000 series. APO Triplet with ED glass at F/6. Sounds good to me for about $799 from bintel. I haven't really seen it meantioned here. Does anyone know something about this scope that would put anyone off from buying one?

[chris lewis]

There are a few reviews filtering thru and they appear to be the 'equivalent' to they current crop of FPL-53 doublets in CA correction / images.
The use Hoya FCD-1 glass which is 'similar' to Ohara FPL- 51 in its Abbe value.
[The Abbe value is 81.6 for FPL-51 / Hoya FCD-1 glass. Schott FK-51 is 84. [ Night Hawk glass ]. FPL-52 is about 90 and FPL-53 has an Abbe value of 95 almost the same as pure Fluorite glass - the higher the Abbe value the less dispersion / CA - a minimum Abbe number of 80 is required for it to be called ED glass].
They make it a triplet to get the improved color correction but being a triplet the maching and tolerances have to be more exact.
Ohara FPL-53 gives 40% better color correction then the FPL-51 / Hoya glass but a triplet design should eliminate that somewhat. FPL-53 glass is 2-3 times more expensive then the FPL-51. Visually the differences are not so apparent. A.P maybe. The Bintel staff would have 'reviewed' them and should give you some honest feedback. The 127mm version is not being released by Meade.
http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=534