Jim, it is a honey of a deal, but bigger is better in astronomy! This telescope is almost assuredly a test product, if I can draw any parallels from my own experiences in manufacturing. There is even a good chance that Orion was asked to test market it by the factory, in which case they may be in the dark on expanding the line (sure looks like a Vixen telescope to me), however it could genuinely be Orion designed too. But if they can retain the low mark-up as aperture increases, Al Nagler's brow will furrow. I've had this thing over a month now with no dark-sky opportunities, but on the moon and planets, where it counts, it's a winner. Color levels are every bit as low as those in a TV Ranger. BTW, has anyone heard anything about the new TV 5" refractor, other than you need to take out a second mortgage to afford it? ;) C. --- Jim Gibson <xajax99@yahoo.com> wrote:
Chuck wrote something about the Orion 80mm ED's tube appearing to be bigger than it needed to be and a possible larger version could be made of it. I wrote to Orion and asked them about the possibility of a bigger version of the ED mentioning that the tube looked like it could accommodate larger lenses. This is there reply:
Thanks for your e-mail and your interest in Orion products.
There is nothing immediate that I am aware of. But, our product development team is always working on new and exiting products.
Maybe if they get enough inquiries, they may consider coming out with a bigger version. No matter, the 80mm ED is a honey of a deal.
Jim
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