Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Short Tube 80 Rich Field Refractor
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A great comet catcher
Pros
size, weight, cost, optical quality
Cons
limited magnification, 45 degree diagonal
Recommended it?
Yes
Short refractors like the Orion ShortTube have been very popular lately, and with good reason; they're small, easily portable, inexpensive, and capable of delivering sharp, contrasty images- provided you understand their limitations.
Every telescope design is a tradeoff; in the case of the ShortScope, the makers are trading off size, weight and cost for increased chromatic error. Put simply, that means that a scope like the ShortTube, with its very fast f/5 focal ratio, isn't capable of the same levels of magnification as a more traditional f/15 scope.
A good 3" f/15 refractor should be capable of delivering sharp, high resolution images at magnifications of around 150x; the short scope is limited to about 40x, or perhaps 60x at the absolute most. But that's not a limitation for a scope like this.
There are scores of interesting objects in the sky that the ShortScope is perfect for- the moon, comet hunting, the Great Galaxy in Andromeda- and the Short Scope is small and light enough to carry everywhere you go- like camping trips, where you can view the stars under a really dark sky. And it makes a great birding or nature scope, too. In fact, for birdwatching around dusk or dawn it's just about ideal.
I like to use the ShortScope with a small, solid tripod, and a 28mm and 12mm eyepiece. Under a really dark sky, and a new moon, you'll be amazed what you can find just strolling through the Milky Way.
One caveat- get rid of the 45 degree erecting prism, and replace it with a 90 degree mirror diagonal. The 45 degree diagonal is fine for daytime viewing, but at night you'll see a lot of ghost images from extra reflections.
Every telescope design is a tradeoff; in the case of the ShortScope, the makers are trading off size, weight and cost for increased chromatic error. Put simply, that means that a scope like the ShortTube, with its very fast f/5 focal ratio, isn't capable of the same levels of magnification as a more traditional f/15 scope.
A good 3" f/15 refractor should be capable of delivering sharp, high resolution images at magnifications of around 150x; the short scope is limited to about 40x, or perhaps 60x at the absolute most. But that's not a limitation for a scope like this.
There are scores of interesting objects in the sky that the ShortScope is perfect for- the moon, comet hunting, the Great Galaxy in Andromeda- and the Short Scope is small and light enough to carry everywhere you go- like camping trips, where you can view the stars under a really dark sky. And it makes a great birding or nature scope, too. In fact, for birdwatching around dusk or dawn it's just about ideal.
I like to use the ShortScope with a small, solid tripod, and a 28mm and 12mm eyepiece. Under a really dark sky, and a new moon, you'll be amazed what you can find just strolling through the Milky Way.
One caveat- get rid of the 45 degree erecting prism, and replace it with a 90 degree mirror diagonal. The 45 degree diagonal is fine for daytime viewing, but at night you'll see a lot of ghost images from extra reflections.
