On 31 Jan 2005 23:16:16 -0800, "Bill H" wrote:

What about optical smoothness, Rich? Does that fit in somewhere with
focuser smoothness? Good glass is one thing, what you do with it is
another.

rat
~( );

Sure it is. But anyone who is implying the Orion EDs are suffering
from rough optics, such that they produce a noticeably different image
quality versus TeleVue's is either wrong, or grossly exaggerating.
But like I said; If someone really does want to spend $1700 instead
of $400, obviously, it's a big decision. So I would try to find both
scopes at a star party and compare them.
-Rich