Orion ED 80mm OTA

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Orion ED 80mm OTA
I ordered my Orion ED80 refractor a few weeks ago, on the day that it came out. What a great scope! I have mine mounted on a bogen tripod with a bogen 410 (model 3275) geared head. I have a Lumicon Lumibrite diagonal and Orion right-angle correct image finder. I've been watching Mars at x250 with very little off-color. Vega and Antares are color free. I have seen no purple fringe on any object, although I have yet to see the moon through it.
Having used other standard orion and synta focusers with their geared rack and pinion mechanism, the the crayford focuser is so wonderful. It is very smooth and precise. The scope if very light and well collimated. There is a built-in dew shield (removable). The lens cap, has the double cap where you can remove a smaller portion for stopping down the image (i.e., higher contrast). Although I've tried it on Mars, and it seems clearer without stopping it down.
I've been watching M4, M29, M8, M22, M5, M3, etc. Objects are very sharp and precise. I have a little 'coma' at the edge of field, but this may be my $49 expanse eyepieces.
The scope is a great bargain for $429. This is far better than your standard 80mm achro, this near-apo has very sharp, precise color stars. I split Epsilon Lyra 1 and 2 at 250x with a clean, dark separation, although they were very close together.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:9 Value:10
Weight: 7 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=293029

Orion ED 80mm OTA
I at last received my ED80 from Telescope House here in the UK. The OTA seems to be built very adequately, the focuser is nice and smooth. You also have the added advantage of portability. So far the scope has provided very sharp colour free images and shows virtually no fringing or aberations. I used to own a Televue 85 and can say that the optical quality for the money comes very close. I can highly recommend this telescope for Wide field, Planets and best of all it is a nice grab and go scope! A true bargain of the astronomy world!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=315727

Orion ED 80mm OTA
This scope rocks!! I can't detect any chromatic aberration at all around Mars. Saturn looks wonderful. There is the tiniest trace of false color around Vega (and other very bright stars, I'm sure), but it's not distracting at all; you really have to look to see it. I haven't used this telescope extensively on deep sky objects yet; the moon's been in the sky ever since I received the scope. But DSOs look very promising in the Moon-polluted sky!

The Crayford focuser is extremely smooth and a pleasure to use. It makes fine focusing very easy.

I have my ED80 mounted on an Orion SkyView Pro EQ mount, which provides a rock steady mount for this little scope. Vibrations dampen in a second or less!

This fantastic little scope is an incredible value! I'd highly recommend it to anybody looking for a small refractor.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=317972

Orion ED 80mm OTA
No color on Saturn, Rigel, the moon. Maybe a hint on Jupiter but that may have been chromaticism introduced by the ortho eyepieces.

Airy disk, diffraction ring, star test indicates optical qualities equal to or superior to a certified diffraction limited astro-rubinar.

From a suburban, 5.0magnitude ZULM, sky; have seen stars to magnitude 12.7 at 150X, five moons of Saturn, M81 and M82, a hint of e in the trapezium, a hint of the crepe inside the ansae, easily split Polaris, Rigel, eta Orionis, and epsilon Lyrae. 32 Orionis did not split but definitely an extended shaped double. Very dark fields at low and high powers. Even under the worst of skies, at 85X, very crisp images are given. With a 20 degree temperature differential, one can obtain clear views of the cassini division immediately after bringing the scope out of the warm house to the outside cold, under stable skies. Images from 20X to 150X are crisp. Even at 240X images are not mushy and can even be said to be crisp on such bright objects as the moon and Saturn. At 20X detail in sunspots, rice grain and faculae are visible. At 50X and occasionally 85X, the detail on sunspots is very nice. I have found the views to be more aesthetically pleasing than those through a C-90 (at twice the price), a Meade 1060 (at 1/3rd the price), a 102mm triplet achromat (at the same price) and an astro-rubinar (at the same price); and only a notch below the notable MK-67 (at 1/2 the price).

The crayford type focuser makes very fine smooth focusing easy. With a standard 32mm plossl one gets an FOV of 2.7 degrees. With a 32mm 2" format erfle (c. 65 degrees AFOV), on obtains above 3.4 degrees. Though adequately collimated, one can accomplish a complete collimation by enlarging the screw holes on the tube which hold the focusing assembly and readjusting the position of the screws. The plate on the bottom of the tube which contains the 1/4-20 fitting is not well placed for balancing.

This particular scope was retailed by Company Seven and sourced from Orion.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=330404

Orion ED 80mm OTA
This scope renders excellent views of the moon and planets, with the best color (or lack of color) that I have seen. I believe that this is the ultimate poor man's scope. For those of us that can't afford $4000 to $5000 for an APO this is the best choice for excellent planetary views. My only question is when will Orion come out with a 100mm or larger APO. I will certainly be in line to purchase one when they do.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=345546

Orion ED 80mm OTA
An amazing value. I've had several telescopes over the years; achromats, reflectors, cats, so it was a surprise to experience several 'firsts' with the telescope...
One was seeing Jupiter's galilean moons for what they were; tiny differently colored disks, Europa's white, Io's orange, Ganymede's light brown, and Callisto's dark brown.
Two was seeing stars like so many diamonds over black velvet, the contrast and definition unseen before by me.
Three was seeing Saturn's cloud belts clearly defined and the Cassini division all the way round the rings.
Also performs incredibly well on bright deep sky objects.
Easily surpasses 200 power on planets without breakdown.

The only real fix-ups I did was with the focuser which needed a little work since it does not match perfectly with the tube. I fixed that with some black electical tape just inside the tube and added washers to the 3 screws to prevent further damage to the paint job.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=361340

Orion ED 80mm OTA
The optics is better than what I thought it should be. Cheap construction. However, the crayford focuser is very smooth and favorable.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=372038

Orion ED 80mm OTA
This "1" is for the average.
Where a Takahashi is voted as a 4 by an idiot and as a 1 by a
psycho this chinese ED is a 1.5.
I looked thru one and see lots of colour and the fokuser is a joke. I also see (little) colour with my FS-60C but more in the
chinese.
Not recommended (only for beginners, who upgrade from a 80mm f/4 ahro)

Lamont

Overall Rating: 1
Optics:1 Mount:1 Ease of Use:1 Value:1
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=378857 

>This "1" is for the average.
>Where a Takahashi is voted as a 4 by an idiot and as a 1 by a  
>psycho this chinese ED is a 1.5.
>I looked thru one and see lots of colour and the fokuser is a joke. I also see (little) colour with my FS-60C but more in the
>chinese.
>Not recommended (only for beginners, who upgrade from a 80mm f/4 ahro)
>
>Lamont
 Are you sure your talking about the same telescope???
Have you read the reviews on the Magazines (Sky and Telescope) for ex.??
All of them rated this scope as very good...stange...maybe they all have some kind of problem with their eyes.
>This "1" is for the average.
>Where a Takahashi is voted as a 4 by an idiot and as a 1 by a  
>psycho this chinese ED is a 1.5.
>I looked thru one and see lots of colour and the fokuser is a joke. I also see (little) colour with my FS-60C but more in the
>chinese.
>Not recommended (only for beginners, who upgrade from a 80mm f/4 ahro)
>
>Lamont


Lamont

You are in a minority of one
Lamont , just because someone trashes a tak whats that
got to do with this. tak. makes great scopes.
This little orion scope is the best apo/money wise i have
ever seen . dont drive angry!
Lamont,

You are a total dumbass and a complete idiot!!!
  
This scope has great optics and is an incredible value.  Every experienced astronomer that has looked through mine has been amazed and had nothing but wonderful things to say about it.  Actually almost everyone that has looked through my ED80 wants to go out and buy one!

Oh and by the way... Learn how to spell you dummy! Duh!

Anthony



>This "1" is for the average.
>Where a Takahashi is voted as a 4 by an idiot and as a 1 by a  
>psycho this chinese ED is a 1.5.
>I looked thru one and see lots of colour and the fokuser is a joke. I also see (little) colour with my FS-60C but more in the
>chinese.
>Not recommended (only for beginners, who upgrade from a 80mm f/4 ahro)
>
>Lamont
It takes an idiot and a psycho to recognize one.

>This "1" is for the average.
>Where a Takahashi is voted as a 4 by an idiot and as a 1 by a  
>psycho this chinese ED is a 1.5.
>I looked thru one and see lots of colour and the fokuser is a joke. I also see (little) colour with my FS-60C but more in the
>chinese.
>Not recommended (only for beginners, who upgrade from a 80mm f/4 ahro)
>
>Lamont
Orion ED 80mm OTA
I love the crayford focuser , i wish more manufacturers
offered them. The optics are top notch , even on venus
ther was next to no color at all. Incredible value for the
money. Apo's all around !! Great job synta , and Orion

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=388092

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Beautifull optics , I love this scope!!
cant wait to try the 100 ed
great price too , for an apo

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=388317

Orion ED 80mm OTA
i looked thru this scope a a star party and liked it so much i ordered one , finally recieved it. I really like this little scope.
optics are awesome i just wish it had a collimatable cell.
and the focuser really need a lock for it . the optics
make the whole thing worth it.

just a side note: i hope this site has a moderator i dont
understand some of these people giving this scope a low
rating just because they are angry about something.
Takahashi and astrophysics are beautifull scopes
but that has nothing to do with reviewing another manufacturers product. it hurts the integrity of this site
for people who really want to learn about products.
These kind of angry low ratings should be deleted
everywhere for any product on this site. i was really
surprised to see this kind of criminal activity.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=388502 

Yes, there are some moderators, but the philosophy of this site is to have everyone express their views, good or bad. The criteria for vote removal is usually that the vote is 1) completely unuseful (very short comments) and 2) the vote is anonymous. 

Otherwise, we also rely on users to self-moderate by rating votes.

>just a side note: i hope this site has a moderator i dont
>understand some of these people giving this scope a low
>rating just because they are angry about something.
>Takahashi and astrophysics are beautifull scopes
>but that has nothing to do with reviewing another manufacturers product. it hurts the integrity of this site
>for people who really want to learn about products.
>These kind of angry low ratings should be deleted
>everywhere for any product on this site. i was really
>surprised to see this kind of criminal activity.
Orion ED 80mm OTA
I'm sure the angriest voters are those who spent $3,000+ and want to make sure they really twice or three times the scope. I read these ridiculous 1s and 2s as a sure sign of buyers remorse.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=392718

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Excellent optical qualty. Very sharp and contrasty. Stands high power way better than the manual implies, I guess they are just being cautious.
The focusser is very good and copes with the weight of a binoviewer with no problem at all. Highly reccomended.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=394121

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Very light, easy to use, great views, very good for astrophotography. I also have a Tak FS 102 and took midentical photos of M42 and processed them to see how it compared. I was hard pressed to see any difference although the Tak is higher quality in all respects.

I am mightily impressed witht his little APO and it is incredible value for the money.

I also used it to photograph birds just using a tripod and the shots came out great.

A great secondary scope to piggyback on your SCT as it is light and excellent optics.

Mine does not show colour.

Greg.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=402047

Orion ED 80mm OTA
I haven't had this little scope out much but have been very happy with it. Very nice views of the moon with sharp contrast on the jagged looking mountains and jagged shadows that that they throw. After using a C8 alot I find the image looks smaller in comparison and that takes some getting used to for me. However, the features are there, including the Cassini division in Saturns rings. Four stars of the trapezium can be made out. I have used up to 157x with no problems. Also, I haven't seen any light fringing the moon or other bright objects. Good value little scope.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Mount:0 Ease of Use:0 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=409230

Orion ED 80mm OTA
I have a big ol' grin on my face!


I just got in from a couple of hours of quick & dirty observing with my new
Orion ED80 refractor. I love it. It arrived today, I did a couple of hours
of observing under a milky, cirrus-y, full-moon sky, and I had a ball. I'd
say that this review is off to a positive start.


I ordered the ED80 OTA and some simple Orion rings to go with it. I used
the Celestron CG-3 mount that once held my C-5 OTA. (That OTA was sold to
help finance the ED80.) The rings worked fine, after I removed the 1/4"-20
mounting block that comes on the ED80. (As Ed Ting pointed out in his S&T
review, this block doesn't do you any good, so I just took it off. I had to
remove the entire focuser housing, but that was easy to do, and easy to
reinstall. No worries.) Once the silly little mounting block was gone, I
put the OTA on the mount.


I don't have a refractor diagonal, which seemed like a big problem, until I
saw that I could just crudely stuff the end of my Orion 2" SCT diagonal
into the 2" focuser hole of the ED80, and it worked! Held in place by 2 set
screws, the SCT diagonal actually stayed put and gave great images. If I
can get this jury-rig to be a little less 'jury' and a little more 'rig', I
may forgo a refractor diagonal altogether. Crazy!


I used a 16mm type 5 Nagler and a 5mm type 6 Nagler.


First light was on the moon, natch. Instant first impression: No color. I
might as well have been looking through a reflector. I don't even know what
the color purple looks like. The moon was, of course, blazingly full,
although there was a tiny bit of shadow around the southern half of the
limb. It was actually a really nice view of the moon, believe it or not.
Mare Orientale wasn't exactly in view, but that part of the limb was
librated towards us, and I had the best view of Lacus Veris and Lacus
Autumni I've ever had. Seeing must have been 4 out of 5. The Cordillera and
Rook mountains stood out beautifully against the limb.


Then it was time for Jupiter. Took it up to 120x with the 5mm Nagler, and
it looked great. I was genuinely impressed by the contrast. I really had a
hard time believing that I was looking through a 3" scope, the detail and
contrast were so good. Again, I felt that I was seeing zero color. Violet?
What's that? Don't know what you're talking about.


Saturn was great, too. Very sharp Cassinin division, as well as belts and
polar zones. Titan and another moon were visible.


M42 didn't show much nebulosity due to moon and cloud, but 4 stars in the
Trapezium were trivially easy even at a mere 40x.


Beautiful split of Castor. Nice concentric diffraction rings at 120x, both
in focus and out of focus.


That's basically all I saw before packing it in. I can't wait to take this
scope out again. Very lightweight, very portable, and yet it performed very
well. I can tell that I am going to really enjoy using this scope. If it's
clear this weekend, I'll gladly go to some place like MB in order to play
with the scope some more, despite the full moon.


I can't believe that I can now use the phrase "my apochromatic refractor"!
Nutty! There's only one tragic problem...far from whetting my appetite for
refractors, by being a cheap-yet-good one...it just makes me want an even
bigger apo! Arrrrghhh! Noooo! I'm doomed!


Marek Cichanski

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=411040

Orion ED 80mm OTA
This scope is not comparable to others in its class because it is such a deal.It holds its own against much more expensive scopes.

It is grab and go but also can be used by itself for visual and astro photography. I have even used it to photograph birds.

If you were serious about it you would probably upgrade the focuser/visual back, check the collimation.Mine seems fine but it is a Chinese made scope at a bargain price and there are aspects of slightly cheaper fit and finish as a result. But you don't object to that knowing the miniscule price you paid.

Bang for buck it is top of the list.

Greg.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=421254

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Superb telescope...takes 200 power easily. Saturn SEB and brownish south polar region discernable, Cassini Division obvious, 4 moons visually detectable (Titan, Iapetus, Dione, and Rhea). Jupiter 5 belts including GRS, can detect the moons as tiny disks with their appropriate colour (Io is yellowish for example).

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=431592

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Beat the pants off my WO Megrez II triplet refractor in both sharpness and chromatic aberration. Not as good of finish as the WO, but it works well. Focuser is much better than typical rack and pinion units.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=472790

Orion ED 80mm OTA
Owned my ED80 since December 2004. Bought new for £330, which at the time seemed a tad expensive for an 80mm Chinese refractor. Especially as it looked identical to the Skywatcher Startravel range and they don't exactly have the best reputation for quality optics.
I can't deny that on first handling the ED80 I was a little disappointed. It looked and felt very much like the Skywatcher Startravel 102 I had just sold for a very small sum. Very low rent finish, with the same low grade paint finish. And the focuser didn't look a million dollars either.
But that really is where the bad stuff ends. From here on in things get a whole lot better, hugely better in fact.
Starting with the focuser. It may look a bit crappy but in operation it's smooth and image shift free. The focus wheels are nice to use and it's easy switching between 1.25" and 2" accessories. I know the focuser is less than perfect for the imagers (tends to slip with heavy cameras and doesn't rotate). The focuser performs as well today as the day i bought it!
The Optics really perfect. I've had this scope setup alongside a friends Tak Sky 90 and TV76. They were amazed a scope that cost a fraction of theirs really did perform within 2% of theirs optically. Only the fit'n'finish let it down when compared to the expensive brands.

After 2 and a bit years I've used the ED80 on just about every type of target. The planets are wonderful, the moon jaw dropping. Contrast is superb. The views of Jupiter last summer were some of the best I've had. Really didn't think an 80mm would show that much detail in the cloud bands. It also excels on double stars , wide open clusters, extended DSO's (such as M31, M42, M33, M45 etc) and the sun.

So what are the drawbacks? None really other than the fit and finish. I've since had mine resprayed white, just couldn't live with it looking like a regular cheapo Skywatcher acromat.

Bottom line.........A top notch scope!

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=546990

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