Vixen A80MF Refractor

[technofan]

Hello everyone.... I'm itching to at least get a telescope but as a long time amateur photographer I realise how much money can get 'wasted' from buying the wrong gear and then having to buy again and possibly again:eek:

Until I know what I can afford and make a better decision I would at least like to have a telescope.

First Light are advertising a Vixen A80MF. Can anyone vouch for the optics on this low budget model? I don't want to make a mistake but if this scope is good as a starter I would eventually use it as a grab and run scope or even a 'big finder'.... I am hoping to buy an 80mm APO refractor. But I'm unsure as how these would work together on a mount. The finder (the Vixen) would in fact be bigger than the APO scope:icon_scratch:

I am not in a hurry but I do want at least something in the house! The rest can come with time and patience and those ever harder to get pennies to pay for it all.

Thanks for any help.

Pete:)

[Starblazer]

They are a very nice scope, but the best suggestion I could give is to Let those here know your budget and someone in the know will come along shortly and advise you further, especially if you are looking for an apo.

[nightfisher]

I cant vouch for this scope but on paper it looks to be a half decent grab an go so you would get a fair amount of use from it, if the glass is average to half decent there wont be much in the way of CA due to the long focal length

[technofan]

They are a very nice scope, but the best suggestion I could give is to Let those here know your budget and someone in the know will come along shortly and advise you further, especially if you are looking for an apo.

Total budget is something that's difficult to give as I will build up my equipment over time. The Equinox APO scopes are the sort of quality I'm aiming at but I realise to fulfill my photography passion I will also require a sturdy mount that can be used with auto-tracking software. All this adds hugely to the budget... So I'll probably begin with an 80mm Equinox or Skywatcher Pro and work up from there.

Sorry I can't be more helpful at this stage.... but I'm not fully sure myself until budgets are agreed with my CEO.....

[corsavan]

I recently purchased one of these refractors to go with an EQ2 mount I bought second hand. I have some binoculars that I use for observations, so I can't really give a comparison to more expensive scopes. I have only used it under moonlit skies so far, but had good views of Saturn and Jupiter. Have looked at some of the easier to find DSOs and I'm satisfied considering the light conditions. I could just pick out the cluster M34 as a blob with my binoculars in the moonlight, but the Vixen revealed a sharp view of the brighter stars in the 20mm eyepiece (Stellarium looked pretty similar so I hope that is what I was looking at!).

I hope to get some better eyepieces at some point, and a couple of filters for lunar observation. There is two different versions for sale at First Light Optics - I opted for the 1.25" focuser. It's quite a long tube but easy to take off my mount with the quick release screws on the tube rings for when I want to go further than my deck at the back of the house :-)

[JamesM]

Hi Pete, and just to say, its good that you're taking your time and planning ahead, so that any purchase now can be double as being useful somewhere else.

I have one of these and at the price they're being sold, I think they are a good deal. The main issues that concern refractors is chromatic aberration (false colour) and can be controlled via the front lens cell, be it in the form of a triplet (Apo) which is pricey, using ED or special glass (semi APO) less pricey or simply altering the length of the tube relative to the size of the aperture indicated by an 'F' number higher than 7. This scope does not cure 'false colour' but in fact keeps it to the very minimum.

I would recommend it for the money it is currently selling at, others my say different. The focuser is fine and its not as if you're going to be hanging a lot of imaging gear off the back of it. It is light and does what it says on the tin!

James

[F15Rules]

I had the 70mm version of this scope and it was a little beauty, I used it as a finder on a big 6" refractor and often liked looking through it in itself.

If you can stretch to the Japan made version you'll have a better lens and build quality, but the cheaper one is just fine too.

good luck

Dave