Orion optics vx6L any good

[stafford_stargazer]

Been a while, so hello peeps hope your all well. 

Looking at buying a scope again for planets and casual observing visually. 

Was thinking of the orion optics 1/10pv vx6L. 

Anyone used one and can tell me how it might conpare to the chinese ones. 

I live within 20 miles of orion optics so easy to collect. 

 

Thanks Gary 

[johninderby]

I had a SW 150PL that was a very good planetary scope but replaced the mirrors with a set of Orion Optics 1/12 PV mirrors. What a difference ! So much sharper with better contrast and detail.  While OO advertises the optics as 1/10 PV they are usually better than that with the 6”L. Good on general observing of course but really performed on lunar / planetary.

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by johninderby

[rl]

OO optics can be extremely good, especially the long focal length variants with more accurate mirrors and small central obstructions. I'm using 3 of their 1/10 wave mirrors...6, 8, 14 inch and they're all stonking performers. 

Bear in mind that the long tube lengths can become unwieldy if undermounted. 

How they compare against the cheaper Chinese offerings depends a lot on the local seeing. If the atmosphere imposes a 2 arcsecond limit on detail then you won't see much difference. On a really good night they do start to pull ahead a bit but it's not dramatic. The difference probably gets less with increasing aperture as the atmosphere and other factors tend to be the limit more often.

If buying new bear in mind that the depreciation on a new OO scope will be very heavy if you decide to sell it on. There seems to be an unwritten law that the price of any secondhand Newtonian is set by the equivalent Skywatcher model....not really too much of a problem if you intend to keep it a long time but seriously painful if you can't get on with it after 3 weeks...

Edited November 25, 2021 by rl

[NGC 1502]

Not knocking Orion Optics but Asian mirrors are generally very good.  Most of the time telescope views are limited by the quality of the atmosphere we look through.  The rare occasions that we enjoy steady skies is when premium optics may pull ahead with objects like planets and double stars. For the faint fuzzies, galaxies and nebulae then optical quality is not crucial.

As always, your mileage may vary…..

[neil phillips]

long time user of 245mm Orion optics 1/10th Mirror now with 1/30th Antares secondary. Really sharp optics. Was going to get the 6" Orion F8 but got a stella lyra 8" cc instead. 

But i reckon those 6" F8  newts are likely pukka 

[johninderby]

Funny how people keep say seeing isn’t usually good enough to bother with premium  grade optics but great seeing does come along now and then which makes the extra investment worth it. 

[rl]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

Funny how people keep say seeing isn’t usually good enough to bother with premium  grade optics but great seeing does come along now and then which makes the extra investment worth it. 

Agreed....the reason to buy the best optics you can afford is to make the most of those rare occasions..or take the scope to a decent site.. And the knowledge that if the scope is'nt performing the problem is likely be something else which might be fixable...

[neil phillips]

7 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Funny how people keep say seeing isn’t usually good enough to bother with premium  grade optics but great seeing does come along now and then which makes the extra investment worth it. 

Ive always looked at it as a safer bet. Having said that. I once had a 1/12th set from orion. That really didnt seem to do what i hoped for.

For what ever reason. However this old set 1/10th with Antares 1/30th. Really are rather good. So personally i would rather pay for better optics at least in the hope, they excel. But i do realize some far east mirrors can also do well. As i found out with a 12" Sky watcher F5 

Edited November 25, 2021 by neil phillips

[stafford_stargazer]

Thanks for the replies all, sorry for delay in replying. 

Sounds like its a possibility, my only concern as im stuck for room at home is it would have to live in the cold garage..not sure if this would over time be detrimental to its optics etc. 

One other option would be a small grab and go refractor. 

Do any of the smaller refractors gice descent performance for planets? That could be kept in the wardrobe. 

Thanks Gary 

[dweller25]

On 25/11/2021 at 19:52, stafford_stargazer said:

Been a while, so hello peeps hope your all well. 

Looking at buying a scope again for planets and casual observing visually. 

Was thinking of the orion optics 1/10pv vx6L. 

Anyone used one and can tell me how it might conpare to the chinese ones. 

I live within 20 miles of orion optics so easy to collect. 

 

Thanks Gary 

The OO 6” F/8 is a very capable scope and gives truly apochromatic views with a known optical performance.

At £628 it would give the same performance as a 120mm APO triplet costing much more.

A Chinese 6” F/8 MAY be very close optically for less money BUT the optical quality does vary.

Whatever you get, If you store the OTA supported from the garage roof the optics will be fine.

 

[Captain Scarlet]

7 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Whatever you get, If you store the OTA supported from the garage roof the optics will be fine.

 

Why the garage roof as opposed to anywhere else in the garage?

[dweller25]

31 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Why the garage roof as opposed to anywhere else in the garage?

Walls and floors can be cold and damp, hanging the OTA from the roof is the driest option possible - optics will last much longer - I stored a newt for 23 years like this and it faired well.

Edited November 27, 2021 by dweller25

[johninderby]

And don’t forget to cover the bottom of the tube to keep those pesky spiders out. 🙂

[Carbon Brush]

All good comments on the technical aspects.

As you are buying from the manufacturer, not a retailer, may I suggest a read of the 'supplier reviews' section?

HTH, David.

[Second Time Around]

One of the other advantages of the Orion Optics Newtonians are the superb Dobsonian mounts.  You'll also like the small footprint compared with other Dobs.  It'll also take up less space than a tripod.

If you go for their Dob mount do make sure though that you buy the optional friction brake.

Plus also bear in mind that their prices don't include VAT.