Orion optics

[kid rok]

Hi

I still haven't decided on a scope yet but ive being doing some more searching and just wanted to know what's the opinions on the Orion optics vx 6" an 8"

[nicnac]

lots say they are the same in all but name to the skywatcher newts, difference being the skywatcher brand is much less expensive

[John]

The Orion (USA) newtonians are virtually the same as their Skywatcher equivalents but the Orion Optics (UK) are completely different as they are made in the UK.

I have an Orion Optics 10" F/4.8 Europa Deluxe which was the predecessor to the VX range. Optically it's very nice - probably just a little bit better than a typical Skywatcher 10". Mechanically I'm not so impressed and I'd say the Chinese scopes have the edge here. The VX range does include a few features that the Europa did not (eg: 9 point mirror cells) but do tend to cost quite a lot more than their chinese (ie: Skywatcher, Meade, Orion (USA), Celestron) counterparts.

[kid rok]

I was looking as I saw you can upgrade the optics to either 1/8 or 1/10 which I'm still not sure what that means at the mo

[nicnac]

got to admit i do wonder why they are charging so much, its not as if there are shipping costs.

they do look good and the optional extras are nice but them there prices.....

[John]

I was looking as I saw you can upgrade the optics to either 1/8 or 1/10 which I'm still not sure what that means at the mo

It means that you can pay for higher quality optics. My scope has the "standard" ones which are described as 1/6th wave PV. As you might guess 1/8th wave and 1/10th wave are figuered and polished to a higher quality - closer to an exact parabola.

This is a minefield to be honest - many reams of web posts on forums have been posted on the subject of "will you notice the difference".

Personally I'm happy that my scope does everything that a decent 10" F/4.8 newtonian should do, so I'm happy with it

I bought mine used by the way - it was in mint condition but cost just half as much as a new one would have. Orion Optics scopes do tend to depreciate rather a lot - don't know why but there it is

[brianb]

Orion Optics scopes do tend to depreciate rather a lot - don't know why but there it is

I think because the 2nd hand market is price led rather than quality driven ... you pay extra for above average optics (even the standard OO mirrors are much better than the cheap Chinese ones) but people will only pay the "used" price for the cheap stuff.

There is a BIG difference but you will probably only notice the full difference on rare occasions, when the seeing is unusually steady, and only then if you take the trouble to collimate the scope accurately and use top quality eyepieces. If you are a casual user & not much interested in getting the most detailed possible views (and images) of planets, you'll be OK with cheap optics.

If you can find a second hand OO OTA with 1/10 wave optics (and the Zygo interferometer trace to back the claim up) it will almost certainly be a bargain.

[kid rok]

Thanks for the replys I only asked as I do want to get the to the astrophotography so really want to buy some thing that's going do the job and I'm not going to want to change it after a few months I've also since the skywatcher ed80 pro and the images though that look good to

[John]

.... If you are a casual user & not much interested in getting the most detailed possible views (and images) of planets, you'll be OK with cheap optics....

I don't think that many folk would actually admit to being in this category, would they

I think everyone wants to get the best views they can, within the constraints of their budget

[Astro_Baby]

Take a look at Steve Richards (steppenwolfs) photography. Thats done with a Skywatcher newt and I dont think many people would find much at fault in his images.

If you want to go the astrophotography route you should read his book 'making every photon count' as well as it might save you making expensive mistakes.

[kid rok]

Just ordered his book the pictures are amazing

[brianb]

I think everyone wants to get the best views they can

Sure, but then they look at planets when they're low in the sky instead of waiting for them to cross the meridian; don't bother to allow their scopes to cool to ambient; don't bother to collimate them accurately ... and then wonder why they're getting poor views. Yeah, none of us have perfect conditions, even so you tend to get out what you put in - like most things in this life, really.

[nicnac]

i suppose it is all about education.

once they know, they do all those actions you mention. i know i do.

when i first got my telescope, i rushed through as quick as i could to get that instant fix and as my interest grew so did my knowledge base.

[NGC 1502]

I've had two Skywatcher dobs, 8" and 10", and currently own two OO (UK) scopes.

I agree about some OO mechanical issues, but I'm a DIYer and sorted them.

Optically, when I had the 8" SW, a clubmate and I did a comparison look at Saturn,

with his uprated 8" OO. We really could not detect a difference. The atmosphere

was steady, both scopes cooled & collimated. Perhaps, under exceptional conditions

at very high power, there could be a visible difference. I got my OO 6" F4 from that

same clubmate for a swap, and my OO 10" second hand, here on SGL. But if buying

new again, I'd go Skywatcher.

I do like the OO dob mounts, almost bomb proof, and smooth motions, much better

than my skywatcher mounts that needed some DIY to work smoothly.

But I'm still happy with my OO scopes.

Best regards, Ed.