noah way
member
Reged: 11/04/09
Posts: 26
Loc: The Edge
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VIXEN ED80Sf vs. Stellarvue Raptor 80ED?
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 2121
Loc: The TV/SV Wolfpack
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Who do YOU like best?
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Kit
'Don’t worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God’s wondrous universe.' - Thomas M Back
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DLB242
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 545
Loc: Pen Argyl, PA
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Stellarvue is f/7 and weighs about four pounds includes case and F2 MRF finder for $599. Vixen is f/7.5 and weighs 7 1/2 pounds and is $100 more with no finder or case. Your pick. 
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David B
10" f/5 DOB
6" f/8 DOB
Celestron C8
Antares 1529 6" f/6.5 MoonLite Focuser
Orion ShortTube 130mm f/5 Reflector
Stellarvue SV102BV f/8.7 LOMO Doublet APO
Stellarvue SV90T f/7 Fluorite
Synta ShortTube 80
Stellarvue SV70ED
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Adam E
member
Reged: 06/29/09
Posts: 90
Loc: Orange Park, FL
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The Vixen is $699 and includes: a 9x50 Finderscope, Finder Bracket, 2" Eyepiece Adapter, 1.25" Flip Mirror, Tube Rings, Dovetail Plate and Aluminum Telescope Case.
Quote:
Stellarvue is f/7 and weighs about four pounds includes case and F2 MRF finder for $599. Vixen is f/7.5 and weighs 7 1/2 pounds and is $100 more with no finder or case. Your pick.
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Vixen ED80sf, Meade AR5 (LXD 55 EMC), Orion ST80 (Guidescope), Sky Watcher 8" Dobsonian, Celestron CGEM, Canon 350D (Modified), Celestron NexImage, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider, Astro-Tech Field Flattener
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m9x18
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/12/07
Posts: 812
Loc: Abilene, Texas
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And...the Stellarvue includes a star test conducted by no other than Vic Maris himself.
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Robert
All that is complex is not useful and all that is useful is simple. -- Mikhail Kalashnikov
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DLB242
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/08
Posts: 545
Loc: Pen Argyl, PA
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Quote:
The Vixen is $699 and includes: a 9x50 Finderscope, Finder Bracket, 2" Eyepiece Adapter, 1.25" Flip Mirror, Tube Rings, Dovetail Plate and Aluminum Telescope Case.
Wasn't clear about the case and finder on the Vixen. Thanks for clearing that up.
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David B
10" f/5 DOB
6" f/8 DOB
Celestron C8
Antares 1529 6" f/6.5 MoonLite Focuser
Orion ShortTube 130mm f/5 Reflector
Stellarvue SV102BV f/8.7 LOMO Doublet APO
Stellarvue SV90T f/7 Fluorite
Synta ShortTube 80
Stellarvue SV70ED
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noah way
member
Reged: 11/04/09
Posts: 26
Loc: The Edge
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Vixen ED80Sf - $699
9x50 finder-scope
2" eyepiece adapter
Flip mirror
Tube Rings
Dove-tail plate
Aluminum Telescope Case
Explore Scientific 80mm f/6 ED Apo - $799
Air-Spaced Triplet
99% dielectric-coated 2-inch diagonal
8x50 Erect-Image Viewfinder with Illuminated Reticle
flight ready case
Stellarvue Raptor - $699 (sale $599)
airline carry on case
red dot finderscope
mounting ring
Vixen style dovetail foot
Edited by noah way (11/07/09 06:33 PM)
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Adam E
member
Reged: 06/29/09
Posts: 90
Loc: Orange Park, FL
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The Vixen is $699 here: OPT
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Vixen ED80sf, Meade AR5 (LXD 55 EMC), Orion ST80 (Guidescope), Sky Watcher 8" Dobsonian, Celestron CGEM, Canon 350D (Modified), Celestron NexImage, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider, Astro-Tech Field Flattener
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BillP
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/06
Posts: 3934
Loc: Vienna, VA
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I have not owned or viewed thru any of them, so can't comment optically (although most reviews give them all great marks). I would image due to the Explore being a triplet that it is probably a little better corrected for color - only an assumption though.
Overall all of them come with everything needed, including mounting plates. While the illuminated finder on the Explore is a neat addition, I'm just as happy with red dot finders. The most distinguishing difference IMO, aside from the Explore being a triplet, is the focal length. Realize that the Vixen is f/7.5, SV is f/7, and the Explore is f/6 (probably why a triplet as f/6 is a bit short for a doublet APO-class - not impossible but easier being a triplet). So the Vixen is the longest and Explore probably the shortest. If you are a rich field nut then also realize the Explore with its f/6 will give you the largest TFOV of the bunch. Another thing to consider is the 2" diagonal...if you don't already have one then the Explore is a bargain as these are usually over $100 (FWIW the flip mirror I don;t consider in the same class as a good dialectric diagonal). So for me the choice seems to be more between the Explore and the SV, with I feel the Explore getting a bit of an edge given the shorter FL and the included diagonal.
btw- I've seel the Vixen on sale at some places for $649 and I thought for $599 at one place possibly but that lowest price might have been a bare OTA, not sure. On the Raptor I believe it's carbon fiber version only on sale, so some people love that material, others hate it, I've never had so have no opinion.
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Bill Paolini
XT10i Dob---TSA-102 S-APO---APM80/480 S-APO--- P.S.T.
TMB Supermonos---Meade UWAs---TV Panoptic---AT Titan II ED
To your own eyes be true...
Edited by BillP (11/07/09 02:57 PM)
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joelimite
sage
Reged: 09/01/08
Posts: 235
Loc: Fayetteville, AR
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I'm in a similar predicament. For months I've been wrestling with what 80mm ED or APO scope to get. Originally, I was leaning towards the Orion Eon, but now I'm considering either the Stellarvue Nighthawk NG or the Explorer Scientific triplet. The Explorer Scientific looks to be the better deal, considering it's a triplet and not a doublet, and as Bill points out, it comes with a 2" diagonal. While relatively new to the business, Explorer Scientific has garnered a lot of favorable reviews, both for their scopes and for their eyepieces.
Are you going to be using it exclusively for visual, or do you plan on doing photography as well? If the latter, then the shorter focal length of the Explorer Scientific would give it the advantage.
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Orion XT8 Dob w/ Moonlite 2-speed Crayford focuser, Vixen A80MF w/ GSO 2-speed Crayford and Porta Mount
32mm Televue Plossl, 31mm Hyperion Aspheric, 24mm Meade SWA, 17,13,8mm Hyperions, 6,5,4mm TMB Planetary, 5mm Baader Genuine Ortho
Garrett Optical 20x80 UL Binoculars, Nikon Action Extreme 10x50 Binoculars
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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 730
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Among this crowd I would go with Vixen. That's just me, I believe they (and some of their Japanese peers) have some of the best quality control in the business. I own two Japanese refractors (FS128 and Vixen 102mm f/6.5 ED doublet) so that's by way of disclaimer).
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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noah way
member
Reged: 11/04/09
Posts: 26
Loc: The Edge
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I'm leaning towards the Vixen. f/7.5 seems like a reasonable compromise between visual and photo. Ed Ting rates Stellarvue in the same league, but even with the SV discount the Vixen seems better outfitted.
Thinking about a bigger aperture (aren't we all?). The Vixen ED100SF (f/9) is $999.
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Adam E
member
Reged: 06/29/09
Posts: 90
Loc: Orange Park, FL
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There are two things I would note about the Vixen. I'm an owner, and I like the scope, but it does have a couple of nuances. The first is that not all ED81sf scopes have dual speed focusers. The older ones, like mine, have single speed crayfords. It's a nice focuser, but still only single speed. The newer ED81sf's have dual speed focusers. I would confirm what you're getting from a supplier just to make sure.
The second oddity is that the scope, and the focus travel, is designed to be used with the flip mirror. The focuser does not have enough room with the focuser racked out for prime focus AP. This means that you need to use a 1" barrel adapter for a DSLR or CCD imager in order to interface with the flip mirror. That is, unless of course you pick up something like this from Astonomics: Astro-Tech. The 40mm of extra space will get you in focus with all 2 inch equipment. You'll go without the flip mirror in that case.
All that being said, I like the scope. The flip mirror does have a number of advantages such as the ability to still look through an eyepiece in your imaging scope when lining up on a target or performing an allignment on your mount.
Quote:
I'm leaning towards the Vixen. f/7.5 seems like a reasonable compromise between visual and photo. Ed Ting rates Stellarvue in the same league, but even with the SV discount the Vixen seems better outfitted.
Thinking about a bigger aperture (aren't we all?). The Vixen ED100SF (f/9) is $999.
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Vixen ED80sf, Meade AR5 (LXD 55 EMC), Orion ST80 (Guidescope), Sky Watcher 8" Dobsonian, Celestron CGEM, Canon 350D (Modified), Celestron NexImage, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider, Astro-Tech Field Flattener
Edited by Adam E (11/07/09 11:43 PM)
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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 730
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I've seen the Vixen f/6.5 ED 102 SS on Astromart for under a grand. That's outstanding for that little scope. I put a Moonlite on mine. Although the day may come when I have money to burn, right now I can't imagine selling it. It's perfect at what it does. But it is a doublet so maybe not for astrophotography. Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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jrbarnett
Eyepiece Hooligan
Reged: 02/28/06
Posts: 4345
Loc: Petaluma, CA
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+1
I rather prefer the QC by a nameless, yet formally trained Japanese optician who has been doing QC exclusively for their many-decades career, and works for a firm that designs and manufactures many of their own astronomy products, including refractor optics, eyepieces and mounts, rather than mostly outsourcing design and manufacturing.
All of the scopes listed have optics designed and manufactured in Asia. There's not a "Made in USA" scope in the bunch. Chalk one up for the marketeer that without actually branding the scope "Made in USA" nonetheless via message board, innuendo, puffery, etc., manages to persuade buyers that the scope is "Made in USA". 
Also, given that these are doublets, the extra f/0.5 may help in the color correction department.
Regards,
Jim
Edited by jrbarnett (11/08/09 12:04 PM)
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pollux
artiste
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 6854
Loc: Vancouver Canada
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The ED80Sf is built by Synta in China
The ED81S is the one made in Japan....but costs a lot more
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Pentax 105SDP
Vixen VMC200L
Vixen VMC260L
Pentax XW eyepiece (complete set)
Personal Web Site
Telescope Comics
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Pete Kopfer
member
Reged: 12/01/08
Posts: 84
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Not that you won't find plenty of marketeering, puffery and innuendo here on this here board, Noah. Not picking on Jim, by the way. He is quite right that the optics for each of these models is sourced from Asia (probably all China). I am partial to Stellarvue but I recommend you do a search here on CN and look for threads associated with each of them and see what additional info you can pull up. I think the ES probably has the same optic as the Meade 5000 series if that helps. I'm not too familiar with the Vixen but I assume it's been around for awhile too. Can't see why you couldn't couldn't get several years of enjoyment out of either one these. Good luck!
Pete
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 16254
Loc: Hoover, AL
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I would look for a used Tak or even a SV with the feathertouch. I have a Vixen mount and one of the LVW eyepieces, they are great, but no experience with the scopes they have. I looked through a couple of SVs, they are okay too, no experience with the one you are looking at.
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Tak Teegul-Lapides
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33
Vixen Porta Mount
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Tomvictor
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/09/04
Posts: 509
Loc: N.59.11.47. Norway
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I have had both the SF and the S model. The SF is more or less a shiny synta copy with some extras. For imaging the ED81S is superior by far, get the reducer and everything and you are set to go. I sold my FSQ and l would go back to the S-model in a heartbeat if I could find one at a good price.
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Tom Victor
http://www.ccd-astrophoto.com/
Takahashi EM-200 - 10" LX200ACF - Artemis 4021M - Mini Borg 60ED - FLI CFW - DSI PRO II. Canon EF200L f/2.8 - 450D - Baader mod. 350D.
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 25195
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
Also, given that these are doublets, the extra f/0.5 may help in the color correction department.
Regards,
Jim
The lower dispersion glass used in the Synta doublet has been shown to provide significantly better color correction.
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John C
Urban Observatory
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 178ED F/9 "APO"
Meade ETX-125AT
C14
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
CI-700, NJP, GPDX/SS2KPC, CG5-GT
ST-10XME, DSI Pro
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