Telescope Reviews: Orion ShortTube 80

I'd like to add some comments on the ST80. I purchased one for myself recently, on the same sale that you got yours.

My introduction to scope ownership started with borrowing a friend's ST80 and taking it to very dark skies around the Mt. Lassen area in Northern California. This scope is at its best under those conditions of wide-field viewing under dark skies. It was an immersive joy for slowly scanning dense star fields under very dark skies. Used that way, it will just knock your socks off, and I think it is a very (undeservedly) under-rated instrument in that regard.

Agree completely on the vibration using even a high quality camera tripod. For the magnifications used in a telescope, a camera tripod is convenient, yet definitely not ideal for using this scope. That being said, that's what I use when I grab & go.

On a camera tripod this scope will be underwhelming for planets, with its short focal length and achro objective, planets will generally appear small, as the scope can't push magnifications too high. Higher magnifications for planets will make the vibration hugely more apparent, and getting a planet centered can be a challenge using typical camera tripod clamping mechanisms. I have not yet used this scope with a GEM, since my GEM is a rather heavy SkyView Pro, and I grab the ST80 precisely when I DON'T want to drag the heavy mount outside. (I'm open for any recommendations on a good, very lightweight EQ with hand controllers.)

I'd like to suggest definitely upgrading to a mirror diagonal for astro use, and I'd like to humbly suggest upgrading the eyepiece. I gave quite a bit of thought to eyepieces for this scope, and you might be surprised that I decided to pair this scope with a Baader Hyperion 8mm-24mm clickstop zoom. Surprising, because the zoom costs around twice that of the OTA (I paid $215), and adds a hefty weight to the viewing end, which does make the scope a bit rear-heavy, even using the rearmost 1/4-20 mounting hole in the stock dovetail. Again, a better mount than a camera tripod would help mitigate this.

I think a zoom is an excellent eyepiece with this telescope, and some other zooms would probably be good contenders too, such as Orion's Explorer 7mm-21mm. When using the 45 degree correct image prism, this scope doubles as an excellent terrestrial scope, and a zoom works very well here, to avoid needing to swap eyepieces to zoom in on something that catches your eye.

You've already made excellent notes about the soft case, I'd like to add that the case isn't large enough for carrying anything other than the telescope, a diagonal, and the finderscope (dismounted, in the top compartment). It doesn't have any extra pockets or compartments for carrying something as large as say, the Hyperion zoom eyepiece. I find the case to be satisfactory for carrying the scope, my other scopes don't have any cases at all, so this is actually a step *up* in protection for me! But plan on a second well-chosen case for carrying eyepieces and other incidentals.

I used the Hyperion zoom with a mirror diagonal to look at Saturn, and the zoom was very useful for aiming the scope with the zoom out at 24mm, then progressively increasing magnification. Saturn was still small at 8mm (50x), but the rings were clear. Now that our weather is warming here in California, I hope to view again on the SkyView Pro mount for stability, and push the magnification on the ST80 using an Orion Lanthanum 3.8mm (105x).

But let me just be clear: The strength of this scope for astro use is for wide field staring and scanning under dark skies, while being capable of viewing planets, albeit at lower magnifications. You'll get better planetary results with other purpose-designed scopes.

One big factor I've left out is Lunar performance, only because I haven't had it out under the moon yet, but I hope to get some lunar time with it this weekend. I'd expect pretty good results out of it, but I just haven't had any experience with it yet.

I think this scope is best as an ultraportable, best on widefield, dark skies (perfect for camping), viewing clusters and the moon, while doubling as a good terrestrial instrument. It's a far better scope than the "department store" specials, while remaining price competitive.

There are now some interesting contenders in the smaller objective ED scopes for about 2x to 4x the price. I'd suggest checking them out as well if considering this scope, but I haven't had that luxury myself. The ability to repurpose this instrument as a guide scope on a future large scope makes it a particularly attractive choice.

-Mark

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Orion 150mm Mak, Orion 100mm Skyview Pro Refractor, Orion 80mm ShortTube Refractor.

Foothill Observatory, Los Altos, CA