Orion 80mm ED--in my hands--tested!

Orion pulled it off.

I was utterly suprised that the Orion has FAR LESS color than a
Megrez. In fact it rivals the Takahashi FS-78. I know this because I
had all three scopes on the same daytime artificial star. I would
place it in the same league as the Tele Vue 76, which is somewhat more
colorful that the FS-78 due to its faster F#. Hats off.

More importantly, the wavefront is very good. The "correction" of
spherical abberation is very good, 1/8 wave or even better, just a
hint of overcorrection. The fresnel rings are pleasingly round, and
the focus "snaps".

From the manual, the tube is aluminum; the focuser has about the same
feel as the Megrez. The 1/4-20 block is set a little too forward, best
balance will be with a 2" diagonal. Or 4" rings can be used.

What else do Synta and Orion have up their sleeves?