| This Vixen ED80SF is an entry level compact medium focal length 80mm f/7.5 apochromatic refractor that performs at a much more expensive level than its entry-level price might lead you to believe. The Vixen’s air-spaced doublet apochromatic optical system uses an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass element to reduce chromatic aberration to essentially invisible levels in both visual and photographic applications. There is virtually none of the violet fringing (chromatic aberration halos) visible around the Moon, planets, and brighter stars that you find with conventional achromatic scopes. Colors are true and natural. Resolution and contrast are high in this fully multicoated Vixen refractor, often revealing subtle low contrast lunar and planetary details that are invisible in lesser scopes. Measuring only 22.4" long with its dew shield retracted, and weighing only 7.5 lbs., this is a very portable optical tube for terrestrial or astronomical use on your own altazimuth or equatorial mount. For casual observing, it is small enough and light enough to be mounted on virtually any sturdy photo tripod having an 8 lb. or greater payload capacity, as well. It is also available in several pre-packaged systems that include Vixen mounts. One is #VED80PM that put the ED80SF optical tube on the smooth Vixen altazimuth PORTA Mount for convenient terrestrial nature study and casual astronomy. There are three packages for more serious astronomical observing and astrophotography. One puts the ED80SF optical tube on the basic Vixen Great Polaris 2 German equatorial mount (#VED80GP2). A second uses the advanced Vixen Great Polaris Deluxe 2 German equatorial mount (#VED80GPD) that has an exceptional drive accuracy that is particularly suited for long exposure astrophotography. The third puts the ED80SF optical tube on the convenient Vixen Sphinx go-to equatorial mount (#VED80SX) that lets you observe hundreds of astronomical sights on your very first night out with your scope, even if you’ve never used a telescope before. The ED80SF optical tube measures 100mm in diameter and is supplied with tube mounting rings and a dovetail mounting plate that fits Vixen mounts, the Celestron CG-5 and Advanced Series go-to mounts, and the Meade LXD75 go-to mount. The dual large ribbed focusing knobs let you focus the scope precisely with either hand, even when wearing gloves in cold weather. The retractable dew shield/lens shade extends smoothly and easily. While no eyepiece is supplied with the system, to allow you to customize your observing experience to your precise requirements, the ED80SF has a precision-machined 2" rack and pinion focuser for use with 2" star diagonals, image erectors, or wide-field eyepieces. A dual T-thread 1.25" flip mirror star diagonal that fits into the focuser’s 2" accessory holder is also standard equipment. This flip mirror lets you switch instantly between two different 1.25" eyepieces to change magnifications at the turn of a knob (or switch between a camera using a standard T-ring and an eyepiece). Optional eyepieces are shown in the flip mirror diagonal in the image of the optical tube to the left, but they do not come with the optical tube. The scope comes with a 9 x 50mm finderscope to help you center the scope on objects of interest. A hard carrying case is also standard equipment. Optically the scope is very good. Due to its fully multicoated apochromatic ED optics, it has sharp, high-contrast images that are free of the spurious color halos of chromatic aberration. Mechanically, the scope is very well made and finely finished, as is typical of all Vixen products. If you need a top-quality refractor apo refractor that is not too big, and is priced just right, this is a good one to consider.
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Terestrial Photography