William Optics ZS80II ED APO

[davekermito]

After much deliberation on whether I needed another scope I convinced myself that I needed something that is:

1. Portable, ideal for taking on holiday.

2. Something to get me in to this imaging lark!

My C6 on the CG5GT mount was to stay at home and I wanted a travel scope to explore darker skies with.

So after much scouring of the internet I managed to secure a Zenithstar 80II, which fulfilled both of my requirements and came in at the wallet friendly price of £120 including scope rings and case.

The Scope

The package I got was OTA, WO tube rings, L-bracket.

First thing I noticed was the sheer quality of the construction. After never trying anything outside of the Synta range, I was happy on the first cloudy night just getting to know this lovely piece of kit! With everything having the reassuring metallic feel, along with the smoothness of the two speed Crayford, this blue tube had already satisfied my requirement for a quality scope.

All the bits and bobs are well made as you'd expect:-

• Fully baffled
  
• Brass compression fittings on adapter
  
• Retractable dewshield
  
• Anodised blue finish
  
• Rotatable focuser
  

All I needed was a decent dovetail bar (quick order to FLO) and it was ready to go.

First Light

I wasn't expected amazing performance from an 80mm scope, in particular compared with my 150mm SCT.

Connected the OTA to my CG5 for a mooch about the sky.

First target, our nearest neighbour, the moon (40%). Using a Baader Zoom EP for ease, I had a test on a low moon. In and outside of focus, CA was visible similar to achromatic scopes I have used. At focus there was just a hint of fringing, which considering the brightness of the subject was not too agressive. However I would consider using my SCT for lunar work (especially with the more favourable focal lengths).

Next target was Jupiter, again quite low in the sky. Clear sharp image of disc and moons at low magnification.

Now comes the surprising bit.

At more powerful magnifications (betwen 70x and 100x), there was absolutely no difference in perceived resolution against larger SCTs I've used. Easily made out equatorial bands, and the disc remained the sharpest I've viewed.

After this, I tried a few DSOs (M13 being the main target). As expected this was not the scopes visual forté. I will report on imaging ability later on.

Summary

Overall, I am more than happy with this cracking piece of kit and hope to contract this extremely contagious APO 'frac fever that's going around!

[Darren B]

Nice scope at a great price.

[A McEwan]

Need pictures...!