Saxon versus orion 80-ED

[asimov]

Sorry guy's if this has been discussed in here before.

I'm a little bit confused @ the moment. My next scope purchase is going to be an 80-ED. But I keep reading conflicting info (what a shocker hey?)

The orion 80-ED versus Vixen 80-ED! What's the difference between the two? (apart from the orion costing $100 more)

I read the saxon is a orion re-badged on one site....& then the Orion is better on another!

Can anyone enlighten me with some facts please?

Thank you. :confused:

[atalas]

The Orion the Skywhatcher are the same scopes,the Vixen is not ! you will find It is a class above the Orion and the Skywhatcher's and the price would be doubled I would think.

Louie :jump2:

[Striker]

I think you mean the saxon is $100 cheaper then the orion...not the Vixen.

Exactly what louie said...both the saxon and Orion ED 80's are identical...the vixen should atleast be double...or close enough.

[anthony2302749]

If we say that the objectives are the same, the main difference between the scopes would be the number of internal light baffles.I think the Orion/Saxon has two baffles. The main aim of the baffles is to boost contrast and to prevent ghosting.

Anthony

[Starkler]

I would make sure if buying a Saxon that the dealer will stand behind the product if there is a problem.
I bought my Orion ed80 from Bintel and they had checked and adjusted the collimation before sending it to me. How do I know? One of the focuser mounting holes on the ota had been elongated to adjust it.

[beren]

That was the same for me , i could see evidence of collimation on my Orion through bintel......ive read that different companies like Celestron and Orion have some sort of agreement on the selection of lens produced by the chinese supplier with celestron having prime picking {could explain why they have a rack and pinion focuser on there 80ed scopes rather then the crayford types employed by the others to keep competitive}

[asimov]

Yes sorry about that. Replace the word vixen with Saxon. (typo) Obviously the reason I would be going for the Saxon is because it's $100 cheaper than the orion.

As stated, as long as the retailer is willing to stand by their product...(I know they will)

Then we have the issue of re-sale later. Does anyone think that if it has the word 'saxon' on it it would be worth less than an orion second-hand? I did read something mentioning this issue somewhere on site.

Thanks for the comments thus far chaps.:thumbsup:

[Starkler]

That was my comment because I bought an Orion :P

[asimov]

Seems like most of you guys purchase this telescope mainly for widefield astrophotography? I don't think I've seen any planetary images coming from this scope.

What about purely visual....How does it perform? I must say I love the view using a refractor over a reflector. Pinpoint stars/no diffractions/more contrast.

After using a 12.5" reflector & a 6" achro, Would I be dissapointed with the views in the 80-ED do you think? Obviously it won't go anywhere as deep as those two.

What about image scale on the gas giants? Has anyone any planetary pictures to share or links...

Thanks

[atalas]

Well mate,visually they peform really well! pinpoint stars and on the moon I detected no colour at all . The focal length on these is only 600mm,so a good barlow is a must have for image scale on planets . I've pushed mine to 200x with no problem at all, so I can't see how you can go wrong with one of these scopes for the money you pay .
Is It as good as a Tak ? no but It still is a good apo for a very good price !

Louie :jump2:

[Starkler]

My experience here
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=52128&postcount=7

[asimov]

What about on the planets Louie....Will I see the planets as good as in the pics?

I wish I had an idea on what I'm going to see as far as planetary image scale & details are concerned. I don't expect 80mm of aperture to compete with the other 2 scopes I have obviously.

I want to see one picture of jupiter & saturn so I can come to my own conclusions. Can't find any on the net after an hour of googling :confused: ?? Is this a hint in itself? ;)

Geoff I count myself pretty fortunate I have no light polution to contend with. Mag 7+ :prey:

[atalas]

Mate you will see much the same detail as in those pics you have there ! when the seeing allows, and Saturn will be sharper and a bit more colour . The colour on Mars is a bit more towards the orange at the eyepiece. I think you will need between 150x to 200x for the image scale your after,so when the seeing allows you'll get It !

Louie

[beren]

Guess you have to be realistic with what a 80mm will show but heres a example of a LPI image of mars with a 10"LX barlowed and one with the orion barlowed , visually the image at 200x through the orion seemed to be a little larger and could make out a little detail and was sharper . I agree with Geoff about urban viewing i cant wait to get the orion out to decent skies but with your skies i cant see how you could go wrong with this little scope.

[asimov]

Thanks Beren that really puts it in perspective for me..

[davidpretorius]

sorry, which is at what magnification?

[asimov]

I took it as the 1 on the left is with the 10"????

[gbeal]

Geoff,
horses for courses, but I have an 80mm ED scope, and a stuck up one at that.
I love using it, but mostly warm and fuzzy feeling comes from the fact that all up (with finder, and oak storage case) it was well over US$2600, and I bought it when the dollar was about $0.35!!!!!!!!! (it is currently about $0.69).
Does it image widefield, yep sure does, and much like the other shots we have seen.
Gas giants/lunar?? Same deal, and I have dug out an image or two just to help.
Do I use or prefer it for everyday use? No way. It is something I continually worry about damaging, and to be frank the views through my MN76 or my homebrew 10" f5 newt are better.
I recall having the ED80 a few years back, and finding/buying a damaged MN66 (6" f6 Mak/Newt). I was able to use the two side by side, and the all round views were just that much better with the MN66.
Nothing beats aperture I am afraid. BUT............. don't not look at one simply from what I or others say, try one, you will love it. Just don't expect it to outdo a bigger scope.

[atalas]

A bunch of very nice shots there as well Gary !

Louie

[TidaLpHasE]

:thumbsup:Nice shots Gary, i can't wait to get my ED80.

While i know it won't produce 12" newt images at the ep, the pics i have seen so far from these scopes is tops for their aperture size.....

[asimov]

Thanks for that Gary. I had no doubt about the 80s widefield DSO abilities photographically speaking, there's enough proof of that on this site alone. Nice pics BTW. It's all very interesting. I'm not in 2 minds at all about getting one......I'm in 3 minds!

[rumples riot]

Asimov, I have the Orion Ed. Great little scope and well collimated, I also got mine from Bintel.

Image quality is superb, and I was surprised at the size of nebula and clusters. However I have tried using it on the planets and its image scale is way too small for my purposes. Detail that is present in the 10" is not anywhere visible in the Orion. The small focal length is the source of this. So I would say that getting it for that purpose is best left alone.

As for build quality, I can only assume that Bintel would not stock them if they were inferior, I don't know however what their contractual relations are with other companies.

Anyway I like my little scope and it is bolted onto the 10"

[gbeal]

I'm with Paul, but reckon that the less than spectacular planetary/lunar/doubles views simply stems from the aperture, rather than the focal length.
My ED80 has a focal length of 840mm, and the MN66 was only 900mm. With doubles I have yet to get all six Trapezium stars, and the really tight ones are just that little bit more difficult. Bigger scopes perform better, but at a cost.
An 80mm will keep you very very happy for a while though, and it is normally only when you have a bigger scope next to the smaller one (or access to a bigger scope) that the 80mm gets left behind.
However if, because of it's size/portability, it gets used more often then this qualifies as "The best scope is the one you use the most often". We really are spoilt for choice.

[asimov]

Certainly makes sense to me Gary re: bigger aperture = bigger planetary image scale. The plus would be the lack of CA if I were to compare it to views in my 6" achro. The only scope I could image it being close to as an example of what I would see image scale wise is my 60mm refractor I guess.

Anyhow, gives me something to think about! Thanks guys.