Which 80mm F6 ED Refractor?

[Guest]

Hi.I am looking for an additional telescope to add to my collection.I once had an 80mm F6 Atares Sentinel refractor which was an achromat lens.It gave fantastic wide field views and could be mounted on a robust photographic tripod.This was ideal for quick viewing or travelling to dark sky sites to view comets etc

I have had my eye on a Skywatcher 80mm Equinox ED.But have been put off by people saying that the focusser slipped when used with a two inch star diagonal and eyepiece.Especially when the telescope pointed high up.

Has anyone any experience with an Equinox 80mm or any other 80mm F6 that can be mounted on a photographic tripod?

Thanks

Martin

Edited April 17, 2016 by Guest
Poor spelling mistake

[rl]

I guess it all depends how heavy your eyepieces are. I've got a WO GT81 with a R+P focuser which will hold a camera and other accessories ok when vertical. It's also ok with a 20mm Nagler 2 and 2" diagonal which weighs not a lot shy of 1.4 kg, but you need to tighten up the focuser a bit past its buttery smooth point, and the 10:1 fine focus definately shows a lot less resistance down than up. . I've also got a Skywatcher ED 80mm F /7.5 with a single speed Crayford which does slip with the same eyepiece. With lighter eyepieces its fine.

R+P wins generally on this one, at least for stock focusers,....but the GT81 goes for about £500 secondhand while the Skywatcher goes for £200. 

Not sure I'd be happy with either on a standard camera tripod...

RL

[Mark at Beaufort]

Martin I know you were asking about 80mm Fracs but I thought I would mention this slightly smaller model. I bought this Altair Lightwave 72mm ED frac at the SGLX1 star party from DRT. It has good optics - a very good focuser - and is light enough for travelling. Here is a link - http://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-72mm-f6-ed-refractor-with-dual-speed-r-p-focuser-alu-case.html

Last night I had a very good view of Mercury and its phase - I was using a mag of 122X

 

[Size9Hex]

On 17 April 2016 at 18:27, Mark at Beaufort said:

Martin I know you were asking about 80mm Fracs but I thought I would mention this slightly smaller model. I bought this Altair Lightwave 72mm ED frac at the SGLX1 star party from DRT. It has good optics - a very good focuser - and is light enough for travelling. Here is a link - http://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-72mm-f6-ed-refractor-with-dual-speed-r-p-focuser-alu-case.html

Last night I had a very good view of Mercury and its phase - I was using a mag of 122X

 

Apologies if this seems like a thread hijack. I had the same thought to the OP about a small ED scope to fit on a photo tripod. Interesting to read your recommendation above on the Altair Lightwave 72ED Mark. Do you happen to know how it compares to the Altair Starwave 70ED please? Seems odd for a company to offer two such similar looking and identically priced products. Was wondering if one or t'other would be a better choice for visual (assuming the included accessories weren't of much interest). Thanks :-)

[Andyb90]

I have the 80mm lightwave and 2" lightwave diagonal. I've put my Televue Delos 8mm in the diagonal. Its a fairly large eyepiece, but I've had no problem with the focus slipping even when the scope is near vertical.

I also use my focal reducer and 600d with the scope for photography, again no problems with the focuser slipping.

Andy.

[Moonshane]

I must admit if I buy a scope, that has a cheaper Crayford, the first thing I start saving for is a used Moonlite. For around £200 it's a very rewarding investment. I did this with my 80mm f6 Meade APO (and my 120mm ED Skywatcher).

[paulastro]

I have an 80mm Equinox.  I use it for white light solar work, a gab and go night-time scope, a spotter and as a lens for wildlife on occasions.  While the focuser may not be the greatest, the optics are excellent.  OK, it's not quite up to Tak standard but it does everything extremely well and many observers wouldn't be able to tell the difference on all but the best nights under the very best conditions.  Ooop, ranting a bit - back to the focuser.  Mine does need a bit of TLC and occasional adjustment to keep it in order, but it's not rocket science and it does all it's jobs well.  Even if you hated the focuser, you could replace it with say a Moonlite and it would still be great value - even more so if you bought the scope on the used market. (I bought mine for £300).  Mine is indispensable to me, and if I could only keep one scope it would be the Equinox for it's optical quality and versatility.

[paulastro]

I forgot to mention.  If you want to mount your scope on a photo tripod, the Manfrotto 363 gimbal type head (I think!) is ideal for low to medium powers.

[Mark at Beaufort]

2 hours ago, Size9Hex said:

 Interesting to read your recommendation above on the Altair Lightwave 72ED Mark. Do you happen to know how it compares to the Altair Starwave 70ED please? Seems odd for a company to offer two such similar looking and identically priced products.

Paul I don't really know the answer to your question. I know that the Lightwave 72mm has premium Japanese Ohara glass which I guess is better than the Starwave 70ED. In addition the focuser on the Lightwave 72mm is excellent. So although the scopes are both priced at 399 the Starwave has many accessories which the Lightwave is just the OTA. Tonight I had an excellent view of Mercury increasing the mag to 206X which gave a steady view of the Phase. I then switched to  Jupiter but only had a mag of 145X.

This is an excellent ED Frac which I know I will be able to use on holiday.

I will now let Martin get the chance to get recommendations on a 80mm.

[mikeDnight]

On 17/04/2016 at 18:02, Grumpy Martian said:

Hi.I am looking for an additional telescope to add to my collection.I once had an 80mm F6 Atares Sentinel refractor which was an achromat lens.It gave fantastic wide field views and could be mounted on a robust photographic tripod.This was ideal for quick viewing or travelling to dark sky sites to view comets etc

I have had my eye on a Skywatcher 80mm Equinox ED.But have been put off by people saying that the focusser slipped when used with a two inch star diagonal and eyepiece.Especially when the telescope pointed high up.

Has anyone any experience with an Equinox 80mm or any other 80mm F6 that can be mounted on a photographic tripod?

Thanks

Martin

Hi Martin.

I've owned a Equinox 80 ED and they are truly superb. On the focused there are some tiny grub screws. If the focuser slips, gently tighten each grub screw by a tiny amount and in equal measure using an Alan key until it is firm enough for your liking. I could use a 31mm Nagler at 2.2 lb without it slipping. The focuser also locks if you need it to. Personally I'd grab the Equinox 80 quick, its a gem!

Mike

[Commanderfish]

I have the Explore Scientific ED80 F6 triplet Apo and it is superb. I use it for visual and it is just so crisp and clear. The stock focuser has no problem with a 2" diagonal and a kilo of 21mm Ethos on top - no slippage. I use it as a travel scope on a redsnapper RSF 324 tripod with a Manfrotto 405 geared head, which has excellent slow motion controls and no issues at the zenith. Tripod could be upgraded to something slightly more sturdy against vibration, but it's very small and light for travel and has a counterweight hook from which I tend to hang a bag of sand. Great set up, good times.

[cs1cjc]

If money is no object then one answer is surely a Takahashi 76: tak-76.   Another answer(s) are either a Borg 67Fl, 71Fl or 90Fl: AOKSwiss, which also have a doublet fluorite objective manufactured by Canon. 

If you you do not mind CA, then the Kunming TS 70ED (and a similar version from Altair Astro) are more affordable TS-70ED.  The CA can be well controlled by a Baader fringe killer at the cost of a yellow tinted image: Baader-FK.

[Star Struck]

Martin,

I have an Equinox ED80 scope and the optics are fantastic. The focuser never slipped with a 2" diagonal, like most crayfords there is a tension screw underneath.

However, I was never happy with the fine focus and as my scope was second hand I put that down to whatever had happened to it before I owned it.

I replaced it with a Moonlite focusser from the FLO sale, and I am overjoyed with the complete setup now.

The equinox is an excellent scope and I use it most of the time.

 

[cs1cjc]

29 minutes ago, Star Struck said:

Martin,

I have an Equinox ED80 scope and the optics are fantastic. The focuser never slipped with a 2" diagonal, like most crayfords there is a tension screw underneath.

However, I was never happy with the fine focus and as my scope was second hand I put that down to whatever had happened to it before I owned it.

I replaced it with a Moonlite focusser from the FLO sale, and I am overjoyed with the complete setup now.

The equinox is an excellent scope and I use it most of the time.

 

You will see no chromatic aberration with this one.

Edited April 21, 2016 by cs1cjc

[JG777]

Another vote for the Equinox 80 a superb performing take anywhere scope. I use mine mostly for night visual with a 2 inch diagonal and often the BH zoom. No issues with the focusser and have done a little bit of moon Photography using a Nikon D5100 or a D610. I would consider a Moonlite though as the one on my 100 ED is superb. Only complaint about the Equinox is the retractable dew shield likes to retract at high angles but I cured this with a felt backed embroidery hoop.