"Mike" wrote in message news:mFPAc.4162$7d2.3214@clgrps13...
So the question remains. Why an 80 after soooo many years?? What is it
with
the companies?

They are simply responding to market demand, that's what companies do.

The more pertinent question might be, why is there a demand for "fast" 80mm
refractors? My demand for a small refractor had to do with compensating for
a large scope that was difficult to manage in and out of the house Couple
that to the fact that a fast 80mm provides fields of view that compare
favorably with binoculars, and you have a compelling solution.

I purchased a Universal Astronomics UniStar Light Deluxe and the D&S Compact
CS Short Tripod that I use almost exclusively with a Celestron FS80-WA. The
entire setup weighs just 12 lbs. and breaks down into three small pieces,
one being the OTA, and the longest being the folded down tripod at 24
inches. With the 24mm Panoptic I get 3.9 degrees of field at 17x, and the
13mm, 9mm and 7mm Nagler T6's range from 31x to 57x with generous fields of
view from 2.5 to 1.4 degrees. And, since the TV eyepieces do very well at
surpressing the astigmatism that plagues the more simple eyepiece designs at
F5, the views remain quite sharp across the field.

I personally don't foresee myself replacing the "ST80" with an 80mm ED
because it would add unwanted weight and stress to the mount and ultra-light
tripod combo. I've also concluded from experimenting with other telescopes,
that although the planetary views could certainly be better, scopes under 4"
aperture just don't provide the exit pupil and resolution that I need to
enjoy planets, so the incentive to go with the extra expense of ED glass, a
longer (and more narrow) F7 ratio, and a more robust mount/tripod combo that
can handle the extra weight and moment arm, simply isn't compelling. Rather,
I choose to keep a 5" Mak for a "walk out" (it's on a GEM so I can't really
call it a "grab and go") planet and moon scope.

The ST80 I keep assembled and ready for wide field views of bright objects,
for terrestrial and solar (Baader filter), and for cruising the Milky Way.
It is also the first scope I think of whenever I am going on a trip, or just
stepping out back for a minute before bed. No doubt the 80mm sucks for
serious observing of dim, nebulous objects under urban/suburban skies. Under
such conditions, it is at best, a DSO "detection" device. But, there's
nothing wrong with that.

-Stephen