Celestron 80ED Refractor 3.1"/80mm Spotting Scope Kit (Preowned)

This is a really nice piece, beautifully crafted & producing beautiful images.   The 80ED Refractor spotting scope produces the greatest images within the family of Celestron sport optics telescopes.

First, its large 80mm aperture provides bright, breathtaking views of ground and celestial objects alike.  The use of extra-low dispersion glass delivers supreme color fidelity and resolution, as well as all but eliminating chromatic aberration-which is always perceptible in a side-by-side comparison to even the most novice of users.  Look for a halo of color at the fringe of an object, especially where it meets a brighter background:  that's chromatic aberration, which gets to be more and more of a bugaboo as magnfication increases, and as you increase magnification with the 80ED Refractor you will see the benefits of ED glass.

Next, the focusing barrel diameter is the preferred 2.00", permiting the use of 2.00" eyepieces.  The experience of observing through big 2.00" eyepieces is not to be missed, and proves upon your first glance to be worth the mildly unorthodoxed method that comes with viewing through a 90° diagonal with a laterally reversed image.  Compared to the included 45° erect image prism and smaller eyepiece, you will feel far more surrounded by a view which is noticeably brighter.  

This is not a scope to go hiking with, but it isn't too terribly big, either.  Like the 80mm and 102mm Wide View series as well as the C130 Mak & C5 Spotter scopes, this is a unit which is best suited to observing from a fixed locale(such as an apartment balcony or backyard deck) or for taking short distances from the vehicle when observing 'on location'.  But the optical brilliance of the 80ED Refractor must be seen to be believed; from terrestrial gazing at 25-60x powers to astronomy use with short eyepieces and magnifications beyond 150x, it continually delivers at a level that astounds-particularly for this attractive price.

The 80ED Refractor has a focal length of 600mm, so if you're using another 1.25" eyepiece you simply divide 600 by the focal length of the eyepiece to determine the magnification.  You'll need a sturdy tripod for terrestrial use or an equatorial mount for astronomy; if you'll be using the scope for earthbound observing, the first recommended tripod is a perfect accompaniment.  The included dovetail bracket adapts directly to Celestron's fine CG-5 mount, which is listed here in both its manual and computerized variants.