Seeing the rings of Saturn, the nebula in the distance, the moon’s craters, Jupiters’ moons through a telescope opens up your eyes to the magic that lies hidden happening beyond the stars. Most astronomers will tell you that life just is never the same again after that first view. More often than not, these revelations of beauty inspire them so much that they have to show a neighbor or a friend. You must have heard tons of such stories.
Mine is no different. While out on summer vacation about 15 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting a very inspiring couple who were in their late 70s. They were out celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and they stopped me asking for me to take a picture of them with their telescope. I happily obliged and ended up spending much of that evening and night with them discussing telescopes and observing the night skies. Just like that, I was hooked! A few weeks later, I had my very own telescope sitting on my front porch and I had brought my friend along to enjoy the experience together. Years later, I’m still a passionate stargazer and I spent a lot of time researching on the best scopes out there. This is a review of two of the best refractors in the market.
What are the differences between the Infinity 80 and Orion ST80?
INFINITY 80 |
ORION ST80 |
|
Type of telescope |
Refractor |
Refractor |
Specs |
Aperture 80mm, 400mm Focal length, f/5 Focal ratio
Magnification on eyepiece 26mm: 15x Magnification on eyepiece 9mm: 44x Magnification on eyepiece 6.3mm: 63x Max. Useful magnification: – Min useful magnification: – |
Aperture 80mm, 400mm Focal length, f/5 Focal ratio
Magnification on eyepiece 25mm: 16X Magnification on eyepiece 10mm: 40x Max. Useful magnification: 160X Min useful magnification: 11X |
Mounting |
Alt-Azimuth Mount |
Alt-Azimuth Mount |
Assembled Weight |
10.8 lbs. |
10 lbs. |
Price |
Meade Infinity 80 vs Orion ST80- How they compare
The Infinity 80 is a refractor telescope that has everything you could possibly require to give you a view of the wondrous happenings of the sky at night the very first day out of the box. 80mm refracting telescope guarantees you crisp and detailed images perfect for observing both terrestrial and celestial targets. It features an Altazimuth mount fitted with slow motion controls rod that make it very precise in its tracking of celestial objects as they move across the night sky. The Orion ST80 is pretty much the same scope and features the same specifications that the infinity 80 does. This is normal in telescopes and most frankly most products. This review could help us see a difference, if any.
Meade infinity 80- Overview
Infinity 80 – Overview and Key features
Marketed as a refractor telescope, the 80mm Meade Infinity is one of its most popular models. Great for the whole family, this telescope will give you plenty of reasons to go for camping just to sit back and enjoy taking turns on it. Whether you are aiming for celestial objects or terrestrial ones at a distance Infinity 80 will get you there.
Meade Infinity 80 is a powerful telescope capable of providing nightly opportunities to enjoy stargazing. With the wonderful combination of precision optics, mechanical simplicity, and rock-solid stability. Planetary objects of significance like Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are brightly seen in this scope which allows you to have a deeper look at them in detail. The 80mm aperture is also large enough to gather substantial amounts of light further up in the distant celestial objects making for beautiful views of shimmering star clusters, dusty nebulas, and distant galaxies. This refractor telescope is a great buy putting into consideration the great quality views achievable across an array of celestial objects.
Infinity 80 has a 80mm diameter achromatic and fully coated primary mirror and this is mounted in a cast-aluminum support cell. It also has a tubal focal length of 400mm which gives us a focal ratio of f/5. This guarantees us a decent field of view with great options for clarity giving sharp and true views with moderate to high magnifications. That’s accurate for clear nights with good seeing conditions. This way, your ability to observe the nebulas dust lanes, hash-out the bright globular star clusters and the much fainter structures on galaxies is greatly increased.
Meade gives us awesome accessories with 3 different eyepieces granting us a wide variety of magnifications to experiment with. They are the MA type which refers to Modified Achromatic. While barely good enough, they also come with a Barlow lens 2x which can significantly double the lens magnification power. Though that is possible, they give a smaller apparent field of view and it would be best to invest in a better set of eyepieces.
Infinity 80 is a beauty in its shimmery blue glossy finish. It comes with a strong tripod stand that is capable or standing stable in rough terrain. This makes it perfect for travelling with. It also has a separate and optional carry-on bag that is branded in the blue Meade color and name. setting up is really easy as most of the parts come already aligned and collimated and all you will need to do is use the adapters to attach the different parts together to make a complete optical tube assembly. It is great practice for young and intermediary level astronomers.
The Infinity 80 also comes with a smooth and approximate rack and pinion focuser featuring a removable 1.25-inch Barlow adapter accepting either 1.25″ or 2″ eyepieces and accessories. Ensuring all focus adjustments are seamless, approximate, and free of delays and shifts regardless of the weight of accessories installed achieving targeted focus easily.
The included 1.25-inch Meade MA eyepieces measure 26mm, 9mm and 6.3mm giving us low, medium and high magnification power that can be doubled with the use of the 2x Barlow lens. The rack and pinion focuser could be used to zero in on target objects that are spotted on the Star Tracker software. It also has a 90-degree right angle corrector that works to enable you some eye relief and for clear and upright image viewing. A red dot finder is also part of the optics and helps keep the object within the apparent field of view. It should be turned off when not in use.
The mount is in a yoke style which gives the scope incredible balance and ease of movement during tracking of objects even at high magnification. Th mount is an alt-azimuth that gives you the ability to swing the scope in different directions; up, down, left and right.
To set up and align your scope for the first viewing, set your tripod on level ground, attach the accessory tray and set the stands to a favorable height. Then attach the slow-motion controls to the mount. There is a dove drill on the mounting bar and this should be used to attach the optical tube and using the knob to secure it in place. Then slide on the viewfinder and attach the diagonal mirror with your choice of eyepiece. There is a convenient handle on the side of the assembly for angle manipulation. Use this to look through the eyepiece to align your scope and focus on a faraway object in space or on land. Then look through the viewfinder and tighten or loosen as need be until the crosshairs of the viewfinder are centered.
What we absolutely love about Infinity is that it included AutoStar Suite Astronomer software to keep informed about which constellations, planets, stars and deep-sky are visible at any day and time. Realistic simulators of the sky and useful features like telescope control, the interactive, easy to use AutoStar Suite software helps plan your viewings and gives detailed information on what you see. You would require PC running Windows 10.
Conveniently separated into two manageable pieces the Infinity 80 is made for easy transport and storage. An assembled weight of 10.8 lbs. gives the Infinity 80 greater mobility to and from your viewpoint.
This is an awesome refractor with the optical capability to excite both the ardent amateurs and expert stargazers. Its sturdy design is guaranteed to remain in the family for many years to come.
What we like
- Easy to use
- Quick and simple set up
- Compact design that is portable
- Great warranty deal and customer support
- Access to a learning database great for beginners
- AutoStar Suite Astronomer software with all details
What we don’t like
- Might need a moon filter
- Needs better eyepieces and angle corrector
What you can see with the Infinity 80
- The polar caps on mars
- Moon surface craters and general lunar shots
- Phases of Venus
- Jupiter’s moons
- Saturn and its rings
View price on Amazon
Orion ST80 – Overview and key features
The model comes with parts undone and will need some time, patience and skill when making the assembly. Thankfully, it comes with a manual and there are tons of videos done by Orion officials that will work you through the whole process. It may not be the ideal telescope for amateurs but if you are really determined and passionate, its not a big deal.
This telescope boasts of a 400mm focal length steel tube and an 80mm diameter lens that gives us a focal ratio of f/5 which is great for wider field of views, brighter images and increased variety of objects to observe. It is coined “The Observer” as it is great for both terrestrial and celestial observation in the day and night time.
Being a refractor telescope, collimation and mirror aligning has been taken care of at manufactures end and this eliminates that annoying and time-consuming activity. Orion provides 25mm and 10mm Kellner eyepieces that give a magnification of up to 16x and 40x respectively. They added a 2x Barlow lens that when used with either eyepiece, seeks to double the magnification power giving you even better imagery. Even more cool of them is to have the Barlow come with an adapter that will accept a 1.25-incg extra lens that you might want to buy just to try out a different view. A right-angle corrector is included and this enables you to see images right side up giving much-needed eye-relief and guaranteeing you a comfortable time observing.
The ST80 comes with an equatorial mount that will ergonomically align the telescope with the earth’s rotational field making it easier and quicker to find and focus on target objects in the galaxy. A rack and pinion focuser is attachable to the assembly and they do have a Finderscope with a reflex focuser for a clear more visible line of sight. Orion provides a moon map too that has all informative details about the moon and its features. We love that it has a big picture of the moon with the right angle and with the mirror angle. With a little practice, you will be an expert in moon astrology.
More useful accessories come with the ST80 such as a Red Beam light that is an LED tiny flashlight that allows you to look at your map even in the dark night without interfering with your dark-light adapted vision. There is a Guide book as well for more information on other celestial bodies and the deep-sky objects. In terms of software that is compatible with Windows PC, there is the planisphere put together by Orion dubbed the Star Target. It allows you to key in a date in future when you are planning on taking your telescope out for a night of observation and it will let you know what will be happening and which direction to point your scope towards. That is extremely convenient and smart.
This refractor telescope’s tripod is made of aluminum and is adjustable, making for a great choice when manipulating the height of the optic tube whether for clearer sight or for lower interference in high magnification. The stands of the tripod are sturdy and can stand in uneven ground given a great weight is used to keep the scope stable. In between the tripod stands is an accessories tray for convenient placement and reach of your extra parts which you might need for any reason at any given time. This accessories tray is also good for placing a weight on just to keep the tripod from shifting in uneven ground or in windy atmospheres.
What we like
- Easy to use
- Sturdy design that is portable
- Great warranty deal and customer support
- Access to a learning database great for beginners
- Star Target Planisphere software with all details
What we don’t like
- Set up a bit complex for amateur
- Might need a moon filter
What you can see with the Orion ST80
- The polar caps on mars
- Saturn and its rings
- Eclipse prominences
- Moon surface craters and general lunar shots
- Phases of Venus
- Jupiter’s moons
View price on Amazon
Verdict
Both these refractors are stellar in their own right. They are both made to target beginners in astrology and they both have great design and performance. Between the two, either would be an awesome option for a beginner. They give the user the chance to learn the scope by way of assembly and they are great for quick and spontaneous trips out of town.
