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Orion ShortTube 80mm f/5
| Brand | Orion |
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| Availability | available |
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Product Info
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Reviews
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Jun 16, 2008
Orion ST 80 Grab & Go
Pros:Great grab and go scope; Inexpensive
Cons:Color distortion due to not being an APO; Had to buy 90 degree diagonal
Comments:After a lot of thought and research on the Internet, I decided to purchase an Orion Short Tube 80mm (Achromatic) scope for grab and go, and wide field observing. The deciding factor was that Orion put it on sale for $149.95 (without tripod). I also purchased a "good" 90 degree mirror diagonal at $50.00.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
I really was not expecting to get a very good system with this purchase but when I got the scope I was very impressed with the quality and lack of plastic. I immediately mounted the scope on our "sort of" heavy duty camera tripod and waited for clear skies and darkness (very uncommon with a new telescope purchase).
The next night it was clear and the first thing I did was put my 24mm Panoptic eyepiece in the barrel which would give me 16x magnification and about 3.9 degrees actual field of view...WOW..I could actually fit the three stars in Orion's belt with room to spare in my field of view and not bad optics at that!
Now for some deep sky stuff (if possible) and to my amazement, I could observe M81 and M82 and even make out the "missing chunk" in M82. The Moon was Excellent even using the 5mm Nagler eyepiece with a 2x Barlow lens (160x) though just a bit soft. There was a purple edge around the Moon but I could live with that. Saturn was crisp and clear at 40x. The Bee Hive cluster actually looked like its name.
All in all I really like the scope and wanted to share with the group in case anyone else might be interested in such a buy.
Date: 6-24-07Aug 15, 2007A Great Grab And Go Scope
Pros:Small size; Great wide-field views; Inexpensive; Very versatile
Cons:False color on bright objects; Sloppy focuser
Comments:Orion's ShortTube 80 has to be one of the best buys in small rich-field achromats. This scope sports a multicoated 3.1 inch objective and has a 400mm focal length resulting in a f/5 speed. The focuser is a simple rack and pinion that takes 1.25" eyepieces and accessories. However, do yourself a favor and buy a quality 90 degree diagonal to get the most out of this scope.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
The scope usually comes with a 6x30 or 6x26 "correct image" finder, but I prefer one of the red dot finders.....like the Orion EZ finder. There is a camera-tripod adapter plate on the bottom of the tube, but now it can be purchased without this plate so that you can use tube rings.
The wide field images are fantastic, but there is false color on bright objects. This is a great grab and go scope that is small and inexpensive. A great buy if I ever saw one! Highly recommended.Jun 30, 2007Great Grab-n-Go or guide scope
Pros:Small, lightweight, available with FMC optics
Cons:Some purple tinge on bright objects, best for moon and low power observing.
Comments:I have had my trusty ST80 for almost 2 years now, and have enjoyed it very much. It is short in overall length, and very light weight. Mine is the version with simple coatings on the optics. The lens cell is not adjustable, but it arrived in perfect alignment. Orion is a company known for being easy to deal with, so if something were ever wrong with one, you could easily return it.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
Being a fast scope at F5, it is best to use plossls so stars stay sharp to the edge. If I try and use my Agena Astro SWA with a 70-degree AFOV, the stars near the edge stretch out into lines, but that is expected with such a fast scope and a wide-angle eyepiece.
This scope can handle the planets okay, but since it is not an APO and only has a doublet lens, there is some purple tinge around bright objects. The moon shows good detail, but not as much detail as an APO could show. Then again, the detail it does show is pretty good for such as a small scope. Deep space objects can be seen somewhat mostly due to it being F5, but since the front objective is small at only 80mm, don't expect much detail.
The real highlight of this scope is LOW POWER STAR GAZING!!!! This little scope when matched with a low power plossl or even a low power wide angle eyepiece shows an INCREDIBLE amount of stars!! It is truly breathtaking! It's hard to imagine all those stars are there but not visible in my F8 APO which has a 100mm objective. The F5 ratio of the ST80 really shows its stuff in low power observing.
Great for low power star gazing or views of the moon. Okay for everything else. Unbeatable in being light weight and having decent quality optics for such an inexpensive product.
AND THE BEST NEWS: Orion now has a version with FULLY MULTICOATED OPTICS!! This version is also available with mounting rings instead of the 1/4-20 mounting base. There is also a trimmed down version without accessories for use as a guide scope. If you want an inexpensive grab-n-go scope that will not disappoint, check out the new version of the ST80!Sort by
