Orion 80ED

[Ylem]

Hey all, I have been eyeing this thing for years. At $449. it seems like a good buy, for years it was 499, and even 525. With looming tariffs, who knows.

I'm not really a refractor guy, other than my lovable ST80
So I was looking for some opinions, oh strictly visual

Thanks

[notFritzArgelander]

It's a fine performer! I used to own one and it was quite enjoyable. Nice color free views at low power and could take magnification pretty well. At f7.5 it didn't show much color until you went really totally crazy with high power. The OTA is maybe a little heavier than it has to be but that's not terribly bad. The focuser does not have the finesse of my Stellarvue ED80 Access but it's perfectly serviceable for visual use. When I decided to upgrade I didn't sell it. I kept it in the family so I can still visit it on occasion.

It's a nice one and a bargain.

[Ylem]

Yeah, I see it has a 100mm tube, I'm not worrying about the focuser, I am pretty good at tuning them up. Or I could up grade it later.
Decisions... LOL
I really don't need another scope and my car needs tires.

But I want another scope and I don't want to buy tires

:bla bla bla:

[notFritzArgelander]

Oh! I have the ST80 too. The Orion 80ED will complement it nicely. It takes high magnification much better on the Moon and double stars gives better color differences.

[notFritzArgelander]

Yeah, I see it has a 100mm tube, I'm not worrying about the focuser, I am pretty good at tuning them up. Or I could up grade it later.
Decisions... LOL
I really don't need another scope and my car needs tires.

But I want another scope and I don't want to buy tires

:bla bla bla:

Well, of course, as is only right and natural! I'm ignoring a check engine light at the moment. (I'm sure it's just due to change in altitude.)

[dritter]

I have a Lunt 80 that I think is quite similar to the ED80. And I also have an ST80.

The Lunt I have is the LE80OTA model which is an 80mm ED doublet with a two-speed focuser and sliding dew shield. The build quality is quite good and I really like this little scope.

I use the Lunt 80 as my wide field visual scope piggybacked on my Edge or other big tubes. It also serves as my autoguider for AP and it also works as a quick setup grab-and-go rig for camping trips and the backyard.

So the Lunt is very versatile and it works very well in all the roles I use it in.

The ST80 is a good little scope too. No problems with it and the view is as good as can be expected from an achro. But honestly, it sits on the shelf now.

So, not saying to get the Lunt or any other particular brand. But rather saying that of you love your ST80, you may get all unprintable about an ED version with a better focuser, be it from Orion, Lunt or any other maker of 80mm ED scopes.

Other than being a wee bit heavier than the ST80, the only real drawback is that ED system does not deliver perfect color. It's far better than the ST80 though, particularly at higher magnifications. But it's not an APO.

Still, it's pretty good in its own right.

For example, to find the violet flare around Vega in the Lunt, I have to go looking for it. in the ST80 though, the flare looks for me.

And it's not just the ST80 either. I also have a very similar Vixen A80Mf achro. (80mm 910mm F/L) It's got some real interesting strengths for sure. But accurate color rendition is not one of them.

Dave

[pakarinen]

Oh! I have the ST80 too. The Orion 80ED will complement it nicely. It takes high magnification much better on the Moon and double stars gives better color differences.

Curious what you use(d) for max mag on the ST80 vs the 80ED.

[notFritzArgelander]

Oh! I have the ST80 too. The Orion 80ED will complement it nicely. It takes high magnification much better on the Moon and double stars gives better color differences.

Curious what you use(d) for max mag on the ST80 vs the 80ED.

The Orion ST 80 tops out at about 80-100x and is optics limited. The 80ED is seeing limited and can be pushed to 150x and is usually atmosphere limited. My SV ED80 has been pushed to 187x with excellent seeing