The very versatile ED80mm refractor...

[Craney]

What a marvellous little scope the ED80 is.  

I have collected a range of scopes over the last 2 years ( SCT, reflectors and other refractors ) but in terms of usefulness and reliability the ED 80mm  genre takes some beating.

I have an SW Equinox 80mm  (F6.25) and it rarely gets put away when we have the occaisonal fortune of a few nights of clarity.

Here are some pictures I took last night.

 

The Moon used a 2x Powermate.  HH has a 0.8xFF (21x 1m)  and the Pleiades (52 x 1m)  is  native 500mm FL.    

Used a 2" Baader UHC filter due to moderate light pollution and a modded 600D.

Some cropping and PS tweeks along the way.

It will probably be out tonight as well  .. fingers crossed..... what a performer and recommended to folk wanting to get into imaging.

 

Sean.

[xtreemchaos]

great shots Sean, I wouldn't be without my little ed, ive even had half decent shots of Saturn with mine.  charl

here a sample.

[Craney]

Thanks Charl,

As I type,  it is out there collecting OIII data from the Heart Nebula.   Not tried it on the planets as I have a 250mm SCT, but may give Jupiter a go tomorrow morning if I make it through the night.....brrrrr.....

[laser_jock99]

The SW ED80 also makes a good guidescope for a 'proper' scope!

[ronin]

Few years back on CN they said the 80mm refractor was likely the best all round scope. May not have the biggest aperture nor the greatest magnifications but they deliver sufficent light collection and sufficent magnification for 90% or more of what people actually require. They are easy to transport, views are good, they image and with a solar filter or herschel wedge they do solar well. The ED version is not too costly either, being only a doublet (ggod one), also that reduces the weight.

Always seems almost a crime that when anyone asks "Which scope?" the 80mm's are generally ignored and something large is suggested, especially when it is a persons first scope. For a first sacope an 80mm (or there abouts) seems the ideal do everything option.

[Craney]

2 hours ago, laser_jock99 said:

The SW ED80 also makes a good guidescope for a 'proper' scope!

Yes it does make a fine guide scope as well.    I have an 80mm F5 on the back of my SCT.  

I remember seeing one of your 'proper' scopes in a post a while ago (was it a 12"F4 ?? ),  I think you said  it needed 4 or more counterweights to balance it up !!!!... that must be warping the local space-time as the mount tracks.   Is that the same one as in the picture ?

I bought a second hand Orion Optics 12"F4  in an observatory-sale as a project.  Got to admit, it is a bit of a beast and needs a few days notice to get it up and running.

How do you get it to run at F2.9 ?   Does it not become an aberration nightmare ??

 

Sean

 

[laser_jock99]

2 hours ago, Craney said:

Yes it does make a fine guide scope as well.    I have an 80mm F5 on the back of my SCT.  

I remember seeing one of your 'proper' scopes in a post a while ago (was it a 12"F4 ?? ),  I think you said  it needed 4 or more counterweights to balance it up !!!!... that must be warping the local space-time as the mount tracks.   Is that the same one as in the picture ?

I bought a second hand Orion Optics 12"F4  in an observatory-sale as a project.  Got to admit, it is a bit of a beast and needs a few days notice to get it up and running.

How do you get it to run at F2.9 ?   Does it not become an aberration nightmare ??

 

Sean

 

The ED80 is piggybacking on my 10" F4 in the photo above- I use a lighter guidescope (the standard ST80) on my obsy rig to keep the weight down a bit 1.5kg vs 3.25kg for ED80).

To turn an F4 Newtonian into an F2.9 instrument you need an ASA Keller 0.7x coma corrector/reducer. Needless to say at F2.9 every thing needs to be spot on collimation wise. In theory though, the corrected circle covers an APS-C sized CCD.

[Craney]

Lordy !!!... that's a good Christmas present for somebody ... see it comes with it's own strong box and security detail.

 

[Luna-tic]

On ‎12‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 10:24, Craney said:

What a marvellous little scope the ED80 is.  

 

 

........what a performer and recommended to folk wanting to get into imaging.

 

Sean.

The others are good, but this is fantastic!. Sold me on getting an 80 of some sort.

[Pete Presland]

A superb collection of images to prove the point as well!

[Craney]

Thanks Pete,  It was an unusual night in that it was clear from dusk til dawn (..... now there's a movie and a half !!).

With such a good forecast I just let the shutter roll and popped outside every 1/2 hour to check on the alignment and battery life.

You're never quite sure what you will get with imaging and I was very pleased upon processing to have the nebulosity leap out of the frame with 95% of the subs being of good quality. 

I got about 5 other DSO targets as well  and then the thin sliver of the Moon popped into view !!   All in all a great night.

 

Sean.

[laser_jock99]

22 hours ago, Craney said:

Lordy !!!... that's a good Christmas present for somebody ... see it comes with it's own strong box and security detail.

 

The downside is the coma corrector is 3x the cost of the basic telescope! The plus side is it only 1/4 the imaging time. I once did a challenge to see how many DSO's I could 'bag' in a single session from my dark sky site.

Twenty targets typical exposure ~600 seconds or less with 6" F2.9 Newtonian.

[Craney]

Wow !......  that is an astonishing capture rate.    I would be happy with that output over the entire Winter.

The one that fascinates me is the Witches Head....(IC2118).... So far it is elusive and all my attempts have resulted  in a washed out sky with no nebulosity at all.

It is such a big and diffuse object that it really needs a dark site.  I lived in Powys for several years in the nineties, I wish I had taken advantage of the location.

Thanks for posting.

 

Sean

[tooth_dr]

I agree Sean. They are so good I bought a second one 

[laser_jock99]

7 hours ago, Craney said:

Wow !......  that is an astonishing capture rate.    I would be happy with that output over the entire Winter.

The one that fascinates me is the Witches Head....(IC2118).... So far it is elusive and all my attempts have resulted  in a washed out sky with no nebulosity at all.

It is such a big and diffuse object that it really needs a dark site.  I lived in Powys for several years in the nineties, I wish I had taken advantage of the location.

Thanks for posting.

 

Sean

The Witches Head is a tough one. I'v never been 100% happy with any of my attempts for one reason or another. Due to low altitude and increasing levels of blue (LED streetlight) pollution, it really needs a dark southern horizon. With my reflectors the nearby, bright blue star Rigel often causes flare issues even though it's out of the FOV. In this case the extra contrast of refracting scope might be the way forward?