25 replies to this topic

[Bill Grass]

My Orion 80mm ED refractor arrived today! Here are my initial impressions.

The appearance is almost identical to my 100mm SkyView Pro refractor. The 100's tube rings fit the 80 perfectly, so I was able to pop the ED on my SkyView Pro mount. The dew shield fits around the objective perfectly; the 100's dew shield never quite made it all the way against the lens cell. But anyway, on to the important stuff!

I popped in my little collimation eyepiece, and as expected, the ED was out of collimation. (If you don't know by now, this scope doesn't have an adjustable lens cell.) I simply loosened the 3 screws (very slightly) attaching the focuser to the tube, wiggled the focuser until the collimation was right, and re-tightened the screws. I didn't have to use shims or anything. When I looked down the tube from the objective end just to double-check, everything appeared concentric.

Once it got dark, I brought everything outside. It's remarkable that the sky was mostly clear! There were a few clouds, but nothing that interfered with observing. I looked at Mars, and MAN was the seeing poor!! After the scope cooled down a bit & the seeing improved, I began checking out Mars with different magnifications. First of all, I didn't see a trace of chromatic aberration. I was shocked at the difference between what I saw & what I had been seeing through the 100mm achro! My top magnification is 200x; I used a University Optics 6mm Ortho with a Celestron Ultima Barlow. Mars appeared a whole lot sharper than it had through the 100mm at 200x.

I also took a look at Vega. At high powers, I did see a very, very slight trace of false color. But it certainly wasn't anything to complain about.

The Moon looked spectacular! Again, absolutely no Hendrix effect (purple haze) around it.

The Double-Double split up very cleanly. I could even make out all 4 stars at around 54x. Albireo looked beautiful, and so did Gamma Andromedae.

I glanced at the Double Cluster, but the Moon was way too bright to really see much. I also took a quick peek at the Ring Nebula. I was surprised at how well I could see it, considering I was using an 80mm instrument under a nearly full Moon! But it was pretty faint. I can't wait to see these DSOs when the Moon isn't around.

Finally, I LOVE the Crayford focuser! This thing is so smooth it seems like you could almost breathe on it to adjust the focus.

I give this little scope an A+. I can't wait to see Saturn & Jupiter through it!

[Bill Grass]

Hi, Tom. I'm thinking that I'll probably get rid of the 100mm. I still need to spend some more time with the 80, though. I'm looking forward to trying it on some deep sky objects on moonless nights. I'd also like to bring both scopes outside & do a side-by-side comparison. But I do have a suspicion that the 100 will be neglected & eventually go up for sale!

[Bill Grass]

Oh, yeah! The glasses! I was wondering if somebody might notice them hanging there!

[Trever]

Thats a sweet setup you have there, Bill. Makes me want one...

[Bill Grass]

Thanks, y'all! I'll keep posting some updates as they happen.

[Bill Grass]

Alright, Otto! It sounds like you're having great results like me. I haven't seen Jupiter through mine yet, but maybe tonight (or tomorrow morning, actually) I'll get a chance. I've also been able to see the Cassini Division every time I've looked at Saturn, as well as at least one cloud band. 2 and sometimes 3 moons are visible.

I still haven't been able to push the power up to 200x yet on planets; it gets kind of hard to focus. I hope that's just due to seeing being bad. I get a slightly clearer image at 187.6x, and at 150x, everything is nice & sharp.

I wish the Moon would go away so I can try some deep space objects!

[Bill Grass]

If the seeing is good, I can see a 1st/2nd magnitude star with an airy disk around it. As I mentioned, Vega did have the slightest trace of chromatic aberration around it, but it wasn't anything bad at all.

I guess I should mention that when I cranked up to 200x the first time, it was on Mars. Due to Mars's shrinking size & the fact that my scope may have not had sufficient time to cool down, I'm thinking that's why it appeared a little "mushy" at 200x. I glanced at Saturn at 200x the other night, but it was pretty low in the sky.

It's a beautiful, clear night, so I'm gonna be going outside soon! I'll see what else this little scope can do for me. This time I'll let the scope sit for a while & cool down.

[Bill Grass]

It's a beautiful, clear night, so I'm gonna be going outside soon!

Never mind...I waited too long!! @#$%^&* clouds!!

I think my last 3 weekends have been spoiled by weather!!

[Bill Grass]

This little scope continues to impress the heck out of me! I had it outside earlier for my first look at Jupiter through it, as well as my first good view of Saturn through it.

Saturn was near the zenith and the seeing was excellent, so it really blew my socks off! I saw at least 2 bands on the planet, and maybe some subtle shading in different areas. The rings were magnificent. The Cassini Division was so sharp & easy to see. I could also see differences in shading around the rings.

Jupiter was just rising above my neighbor's house. Once it got a little higher & cleared all the really turbulent air, I watched Callisto's shadow move across the planet. There were several cloud bands visible on Jupiter. Also, there was no sign of chromatic aberration around it.

I was able to crank the power up to 200x; both planets (especially Saturn, since it was so high) remained sharp at this power. (200x is as high as I can go; I used a 6mm UO HD Orthoscopic with a Celestron Ultima Barlow.)

I also glimpsed a 5th star in the Trapezium! I think this is the first time I've been able to see it with 100% certainty. The Orion Nebula itself, even with the gibbous moon nearby, was quite a sight to see.

This scope is wonderful! I can't say enough about it!

(By the way, when I said, "I can see a 1st/2nd magnitude star with an airy disk around it" in the post a couple of spots above, I meant diffraction ring! I just realized my error! :o )

[Harvest Moon]

Congratulations neighbor,
Everybody has been buzzing about this scope. I am happy to read such a great report on it.

[Bill Grass]

Thanks, Carolyn!

[Bill Grass]

Actually I'm in the process of selling it. I never had an urge to use it since I got the 80. The 80 is too good to not use! I'm more into planets & other bright things, so the 20mm of aperture that I've lost is no big deal to me (not that 100mm is a light bucket!! ).

[Bill Grass]

I would recommend it. For a quality planetary scope, the price is really unbeatable. And if you decide you don't like it, you won't have any trouble selling the scope! Of course, if you bought the ED80, you'd also have to buy accessories since it comes only as an optical tube assembly. You'd need a couple of good eyepieces, some type of finder, a diagonal, and a mount. That could get a little pricy. I figured out the total cost of my setup, and the number approaches $1900!! But that includes a SkyView Pro mount, TeleVue Plossls, motor drives, and other non-essential items.

[Tom T]

I figured out the total cost of my setup, and the number approaches $1900!!

Mistake #1) you know the total cost of your setup (new).
Mistake #1a) you know the total cost of your setup (used).

Mistake #2) the wife knows the total cost of your setup (new).
Mistake #2a) the wife knows the total cost of your setup (used).

Just wait Bill, just wait.

Tom T.

[Bill Grass]

Actually, my wife doesn't know!! She'd have 6 cows if she knew!

[Cow Jazz]

As a relative newbie (1 yr), I would recommend the ED80 in a heartbeat. It blows my 120/f8.3 Synta out of the water in clarity and contrast, although I haven't had a chance to compare the two on DSO's yet. The moon is amazingly clear and colour free. M42 was breathtaking last week under dark skies, and M31 the same (but viewing at the zenith with an AZ3 was a pain). The Pleides are beautiful with a 30mm Ultima. The ED80 is easy to move, doesn't require a hugh heavy mount (although I am trying my EQ5 tonight), and is a steal at the price.
John