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Rating: 
Summary: The Orion 80mm ED Apochromatic Refractor - Outstanding!!
Review: The Orion ED80 refractor is an outstanding little telescope! The ED80 is a fantastic bargain in the world of apochromatic refractors, and it is worth every penny. Orion really made a genius decision when they decided to distribute this scope. I've had my ED80 for about 6 months now, and it impresses me more & more every time I use it. One of the biggest selling points of the ED80 is that it shows a significant reduction in chromatic aberration, the infamous "purple haze" that surrounds bright celestial objects viewed in achromatic refractors. The only hint of false color shown through the ED80 is around the brightest stars, such as Vega, Sirius, Rigel, etc. And even then, the purple is barely detectable. It's really not even noticeable unless the observer is specifically looking for it. Views of the planets are absolutely purple-free and razor-sharp. The ED80 will show planets at magnifications much higher than one would expect of an 80mm telescope. I routinely observe Saturn at 200x, and on nights of excellent seeing, I can crank the magnification to 240x. One night when the seeing was exceptional, I shot up to 300x with very little image breakdown! The Cassini Division is a very easy target in the ED80. Cloud bands are visible, and I've also seen as many as five of Saturn's moons. I find that Jupiter shows itself best at about 150x in the ED80. Moving up to 200x usually results in a slightly soft image. The Great Red Spot is readily visible, as are multiple cloud bands. The four Galilean satellites, easy targets in any scope, display sharp, inky-black shadows on the cloud tops when they transit. Open clusters are very beautiful through the ED80. Stars appear as pinpoints and stellar colors are apparent. Bright stars show textbook Airy disks with nice diffraction rings. Other bright deep sky objects that are within reach of an 80mm scope are wonderful targets. The Crayford focuser on this telescope is silky-smooth. Focusing on planetary detail at 200x is an easy task; details "snap" into focus and the image doesn't shift when racking in & out of focus. The focuser also has a tension adjustment screw, which is very helpful if you use a heavy diagonal/eyepiece combination. In conclusion, this telescope is an excellent performer. I very highly recommend it for anybody looking for a small refractor!!
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