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Which £500 ED80 apo/semi apo?

Highburymark

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Highburymark

Highburymark

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Hi all.

Just one more purchase to make before my bank manager sends the heavies round to confiscate my wallet. I want a lightweight travel ota that will not overpower my manfrotto/mini giro mount (ie something no heavier than 3kg). All roads seem to point to an ED80, but as it's purely for visual, not imaging, I'm not after an expensive triplet. So I've narrowed it down to the following doublets:

SW Evostar 80ED Pro F7.5 - £450 with finder/diagonal etc.

Orion ED80 F7.5 (presume this is same basic synta ota as the Skywatcher).

Altair Starwave 80ED F7 - competitively priced at £399, though needs diagonal, finder etc.

Then finally, there's the Explore Scientific ED80 (which is a triplet F6, good value at £450), though focal length is 120mm less than the SW/Orion, so might lack power.

After this I'm done. I promise.

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Highburymark

Highburymark

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Wouldn't part with mine either. But it ain't light. Once you add finder & hefty eye piece, you will be pushing your weight limit.

Paul

Hmm. It's supposed to be 2.5kg for the OTA, which I thought would be ok for my mount, but I will be using heavy eyepieces so this is a concern.

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Juel

Juel

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I've got my Evostar recently and I am very pleased with it. Everything is works very smoothly. A great grab-and-go.

I just put it on the scale and it weighted in at 3.3kg for the OTA with dew shield and rings/dovetail.

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Highburymark

Highburymark

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I've got my Evostar recently and I am very pleased with it. Everything is works very smoothly. A great grab-and-go.

I just put it on the scale and it weighted in at 3.3kg for the OTA with dew shield and rings/dovetail.

Ok that's really useful to know. Does that include diagonal and eyepiece too?

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Stu

Stu

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I'm guessing your tripod is the limiting factor for weight as the giro will cope with much more than 3kg. Can you upgrade it at all?

I use an 8" Edge and FC-100 side by side on my Giro-WR (very similar capacity to the Mini Giro) and it works fine but on an EQ6 tripod. Something between the two may help?

I think it's hard to beat the SW ED80. Cool down will be quicker than a triplet and the optics are very nice.

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Highburymark

Highburymark

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I'm guessing your tripod is the limiting factor for weight as the giro will cope with much more than 3kg. Can you upgrade it at all?
I use an 8" Edge and FC-100 side by side on my Giro-WR (very similar capacity to the Mini Giro) and it works fine but on an EQ6 tripod. Something between the two may help?
I think it's hard to beat the SW ED80. Cool down will be quicker than a triplet and the optics are very nice.


The tripod should be ok for 6-7kg, but the mini giro (or GR mini as it's officially called) is up to 3kg according to the tele optic website. What it doesn't say is how much extra load the mount could cope with if I added a counterweight - but looks like this is the way to go.
How's the movement on your Giro WR with those scopes, BigSumorian?
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Juel

Juel

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Ok that's really useful to know. Does that include diagonal and eyepiece too?

No, that is only with the accompanying dew shield, rings and dovetail (as it sits in the box, so to speak).

I just added the diagonal (with 2'' to 1.25'' adapter) and finderscope and put it on the scale again. 4.2kg. On top of that comes your chosen eye piece.

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Stu

Stu

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I'm guessing your tripod is the limiting factor for weight as the giro will cope with much more than 3kg. Can you upgrade it at all?
I use an 8" Edge and FC-100 side by side on my Giro-WR (very similar capacity to the Mini Giro) and it works fine but on an EQ6 tripod. Something between the two may help?
I think it's hard to beat the SW ED80. Cool down will be quicker than a triplet and the optics are very nice.


The tripod should be ok for 6-7kg, but the mini giro (or GR mini as it's officially called) is up to 3kg according to the tele optic website. What it doesn't say is how much extra load the mount could cope with if I added a counterweight - but looks like this is the way to go.
How's the movement on your Giro WR with those scopes, BigSumorian?


Just had a look at the Teleskop Service website which is where I got my Giro-WR from. It looks like there has been a refresh of the lineup.

There is now an Ercole mini which looks quite interesting. What's confusing me is that I was sure that the Giro-WR and the mini used to be rated at 9kg with counter balance but the new GR mini is much lower than this.

When properly balanced, the movement on mine is very smooth. The tension adjustment is quite progressive so it is easy to find the most convenient adjustment. With the two scopes on, or one with the correct counterbalance it works very well.
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jabeoo1

jabeoo1

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Sounds like I'd be pushing my luck hoping for a SW80 on the current set up. Maybe need to consider something smaller - like jabeoo suggested first in this thread. Any TV Prontos out there, 10,000 miles on the clock, one lady owner?

I think Olly on here has spoken highly of them in both performance & cost. 

Take a big breath.........Or maybe a secondhand 76mm/78mm Tak ?  You could always buy extra locks for the door to stop the bank manager trying to break into your home :) There is one on ABS for £600.  I reckon thats worth the broken front door to be honest. 

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Highburymark

Highburymark

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I think Olly on here has spoken highly of them in both performance & cost. 

Take a big breath.........Or maybe a secondhand 76mm Tak ?  You could always buy extra locks for the door to stop the bank manager trying to break into your home :)

How would I be able to afford locks?

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John

John

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I don't know a lot about them but I thought Borg refractors were reputed to be very light for their aperture ?. Good performers too so I hear.

Edit: I've just seen the Borg prices - maybe not !

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Stu

Stu

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Nice as the Prontos are, I think they are best as a widefield scope. They are not really apos, you need a 76 (which is out of budget although there's one on ABS for £690 at the mo) for that so an 80ED would give better results at high mag. They are also quite chunky so I'm not sure they would help on the weight front.

http://scopeviews.co.uk/TV%20Pronto.htm

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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The good thing about the Pronto is its bombproof construction, which is an asset in a travel scope. It is heavy per unit aperture, though. Personally I wouldn't be too fussed about the planets on a dark site trip because you can see them in dreadful LP. (I watched a shadow transit of Jupiter from under a streetlight on a town pavement once.) I seem to think I paid about £250 for my second hand Pronto. The bank would love that! It's an all purpose scope and resides in our sitting room so folks can grab it and dash outside if interesting wildlife appears. We keep an erecting prism in it by default but it is great with a 2 inch diagonal. Perfect for seeing the entire Veil, for instance. And last week we rattled off a quick moon shot in it.  I have to say, I do like it - but I like the ED80 as well.

moon%2023%2010%202015-M.jpg

Olly

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andrew63

andrew63

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Have you considered a 80 equinox -  much more compact , a proper 3" tube not like the oversized one on the ed80 and no tube rings - shorter and faster.  Ticks a lot of boxes for light grab and go use -  I guess it depends on what you intend to load it with ! If i was not happy with my ST80 that's the one i would have considered for a lightweight setup.

andrew

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recceranger

recceranger

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If weight is a factor I would bring it down a bit.  It could murder the pro's of a fine instrument if it's shaking like Tony Blair at a TU convention!  Would recommend this;

Altair Astro Starwave 70ED F6.  Comes complete with accessories right out of the box.  I have a friend who has one and its a great ED with cracking image results etc.  Failing that you could look at the Lightwave 72ED F6.  Doesn't come with some of the accessories but the optics are tip top.  I took a shot a M45 with this scope and it was a fantastic result.  

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