Highest MAg for ST80

[mark81]

Hi All, I know many of you have had or still have an ST80 as a guide or a travel scope -- Im using it as my main scope for now and would like to know what eyepiece you use to get the most useable magnification out of it.  I know some will advise me to stick to low wide field views but.... what is the most you have got from it and what eyepiece did the job.  I did recently get a BST 8mm which gives x50 and x100 on Barlow, but the Barlow I have is one of those cheap plastic ones - so I have been thinking of going for a 5mm?

Thanks, as always

[celestron8g8]

I have a Stellarvue AT1010 which is an 80mm and I know that the power and mag can be pushed very high on it , more than specs actually say and Vic that owns Stellarvue will verify that . My highest EP is 7.5mm and using it with a 2x barlow I can see Jupiter and all planets just fine without break down . However Celestron has info on how to calculate formulas you are trying to find out .

http://nexstarsite.com/_RAC/articles/formulas.htm

 

Here's a calculator online that can be very helpful also : http://www.astro.shoregalaxy.com/index_010.htm#5

[John]

The Stellarvue AT1010 has slower and better figured optics than the ST80 I believe, so it will handle higher magnifications better.

I've owned a few ST80's and found that pushing them beyond 100x did not produce particulaly good results. At low to medium powers (eg: 25x - 60x) they are nice scopes to use.

 

[celestron8g8]

8 minutes ago, John said:

The Stellarvue AT1010 has slower and better figured optics than the ST80 I believe, so it will handle higher magnifications better.

I've owned a few ST80's and found that pushing them beyond 100x did not produce particulaly good results. At low to medium powers (eg: 25x - 60x) they are nice scopes to use.

 

 

I can agree with your saying about the ST80 , after the production of the original AT1010s' stopped the optics in the newer ST80s' were not as good . This is one reason Vic went the direction of the ED scopes and at a higher price   . That's one reason I have held on to my TANK AT1010 cause the viewing is fantastic for a small refractor yet the CA without LP filter is really bad in imaging but for viewing it's acceptable if you can handle the CA . 

[Louis D]

The maximum power I use with my ST-80 is 50x with my 8-24mm zoom set at 8mm.  Even my 72ED shows color at 125x, so 100x is more reasonable as a maximum usable power.  I could push the ST-80 higher than 50x, but the image fidelity really goes down hill fast beyond that.  You could invest in a better quality barlow and an 8-24mm zoom to figure out for yourself exactly how much is too much magnification.  Once you know that point, you can buy a fixed focal length eyepiece of higher quality around that value.

[billyharris72]

Maximum for me is about 100x, with a 4mm plossl and a Baader semi-apo filter. It works, but I wouldn't call it pretty.

Billy.

[25585]

On 20 June 2018 at 19:52, Louis D said:

The maximum power I use with my ST-80 is 50x with my 8-24mm zoom set at 8mm.  Even my 72ED shows color at 125x, so 100x is more reasonable as a maximum usable power.  I could push the ST-80 higher than 50x, but the image fidelity really goes down hill fast beyond that.  You could invest in a better quality barlow and an 8-24mm zoom to figure out for yourself exactly how much is too much magnification.  Once you know that point, you can buy a fixed focal length eyepiece of higher quality around that value.

My ST80 I use an 8-24 zoom also. Never go more than 50x usually for the purpose I use it. 

If the 72ED shows CA, it's better to upgrade to an 80 ED PRO which has better optics & a good established reputation. Also longer FL will help. 

 

[Ags]

I get pleasing views of DSOs with an Explore Scientific 6.7/82, giving 60x magnification.

[Louis D]

9 minutes ago, 25585 said:

If the 72ED shows CA, it's better to upgrade to an 80 ED PRO which has better optics & a good established reputation. Also longer FL will help. 

No desire to.  I like the more compact dimensions of the 72ED and I rarely go above 80x with it.  It's mostly for widefield.  I'd be more likely to try the 72ED II which uses FPL-53 instead of FPL-51 to better control CA.  I literally can't see color on anything below 80x.  It's probably there, but it's not apparent when casually stargazing.

[Ags]

Which 72ED are you referring to? There have been a few over the years.

[Louis D]

Just now, Ags said:

Which 72ED are you referring to? There have been a few over the years.

The Astro Tech version from Astronomics with a crayford focuser that tends to slip under heavy load.