My first 80mm scope was a Stellarvue 80mm D/9 achromat. It was one of the early models with a fixed dewshield and 2" R&P focuser. Not quite real long focus at f/9.4, 750mm focal length, but what a great performer. It was well made and gave excellent views with very little CA. Star colors were just a touch yellow compared to an APO but star images and collimation were spot on, sharp with good contrast. I sold it to get more aperture... a big mistake.
My second 80mm was an early made-in-China Celestron First Scope, f/11.4. Views were very good with great contrast, good baffling, and a smooth tight 1.25" focuser with 6" of travel. Images of Jupiter under steady skies showed multiple belts, barges, faint festoons and sharp moon transit shadows. Star images like the Double-Double in Lyra were easy and clean splits. Star clusters were wonderful under dark skies. this model had a plastic lens cell but performed very well. I lined the dewshield with felt for extra contrast. I sold this one only after buying my third 80mm and comparing them side by side.
My third 80mm was an even earlier made-in-Japan Celestron/Vixen First Scope, f/11.4. It was mostly identical to the Chinese model but the quality was noticeably better. The lens cell is metal, the1.25" focuser also has 6" of travel but has additional baffling in it. It is very smooth and tight. The star images are just a little cleaner and the views of Jupiter had a bit sharper detail, not a lot, but noticeable. I am keeping this one no matter what else I get. I paid around $150 for this one, about $125 for the Chinese one on the CN classifieds. You can't go wrong with these or the Meades like Jon mentioned. These are all pretty well-made scopes that can take a lot of use and keep performing. A ScopeTech 80mm f/15 would be an interesting comparison.
Vote with your wallet here. A used older Japanese First Scope is hard to beat. You can get one for not that much and save your money for a nice 102mm ED f/11.
Paul
Edited by paul m schofield, 10 January 2021 - 06:00 PM.