Shorty or shortened

[Ben the Ignorant]

Hi!

Just a general remark on diminutive and featherweight travel scopes, a frequent question: the 80/400 achromat is nearly always recommended because it has a rather large frontal lens, and a real compact tube, but if you pack an 80/600 like this one...

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7935_TS-Starscope-806-OTA---Gro-feldrefraktor-80-600-mm---optischer-Tubus.html

...you can remove the dewshield and unscrew the focuser (3 screws), the tube and cell together are about 40cm (16") long. Of course you can't do the same with a tripod, but at least one travel case can be shorter. An 80/600 is still a rich-field scope: through a 25mm/70° ocular it yields 3°, with the advantage of less curvature and chromatic spread than the 80/400. If you lay it along the case's side, the case has to be a little over 40cm long; however if you place the tube along the diagonal, the case can be smaller.