Refractor Opticstar 80mm

[pluton]

Hello,

 Someone knows the refractor Opticstar (UK) of 80mm and 2" microfocuser? is good for terrestrial(birding) and astronomical observations?

 Thank you very much in advance.

Paco

[davefrance]

Opticstar list several Achromat and Apochromatic telescopes of this aperture can you be more specific.

[pluton]

Yes,

it is the Opticstar AR80S (f5) Gold - Dual Speed model.

Thank you

[davefrance]

Hi again, I do not own this scope or have any knowledge of it but my scope is of similar size so can offer some info based on that. Hopefully some other members can be more specific. 

I use my scope for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing and photography. For astronomical use I have an equatorial mount  but for terrestrial use I have a heavy duty photographic tripod, a monopod and I can just about hand hold to take the occasional quick photograph but it is heavy. The Opticstar is a little shorter so may be a little more manageable but magnification for same eyepiece will be less. For terrestrial use you will need a diagonal that corrects the image so that left is left and not right and visa versa. I have a 45 deg 1.25 erecting prism diagonal to fit my eyepiece into. When attaching a camera direct to the telescope the camera automatically corrects so the prism is not needed. You do need a 50mm extension tube to take the place of the diagonal in order to focus the camera. Not sure how close to the telescope you will be able to focus but that would be a consideration for bird watching and something you need to check. If your considering bird photography, would it give you sufficient magnification for your needs. My concern with your choice would be that it could be subject to chromatic aberration when viewing very bright objects like the moon, waves in the sea, white birds etc., that's a purple fringe around the subject. Achomat telescopes contain lenses which focus Red Green Blue light at different points. If you can live with that fine...... There are refractors (Apochromates such as Opticstar ED80S and my own) which reduce this but are more costly.  

I think this telescope is sold without diagonal and eyepieces so you need to factor the cost of these into your budget.

Have attached couple of photos taken with my camera (both these taken with 2x Barlow and cropped so more than double normal magniification)

Hope that goes some way to help