Let me 2nd Bill's comments regarding William Optics...
I currently own 2 of their refractors, the FLT-110(mm) APO and
the Megrez 80(mm) II SD "semi-apo".
The fit and finish of both is outstanding.
The only shortcoming I've come up with so far is the lack of dual
speed focuser. Don't get me wrong, the focuser on each is very
smooth. I just find with my hopped-up-on-caffeine-twitchy-hands
it's easier with a dual speed focuser ;-)
WO is running a nice special right now for the Megrez 80 II SD on
their website complete with backpack, dielectric diag,
finderscope bracket, and illuminated finderscope for $599
shipping included. See it here:
I was thinking about the ZS80 as well when I was looking to
purchase an 80mm achro refractor (they were just coming out at
the time). Someone on the WO Yahoo group asked about the
differences between the two scopes and a reply came from William
Yang of WO:
-----quote on-----
The new ZS 80 is 480mm F/6 (cemented)
Megrez 80ll is 500mm F6.25 (Air spaced),
Megrez 80ll is 6% better in color correction than ZS 80
sharpness is about the same, both can take it up to 150X
-----quote off-----
After seeing this I decided on the Megrez. I doubt the 6% makes
a difference at the eyepiece. But mentally it makes me feel
better! LOL
-Lance
-----Original Message-----
From: Gator Chaser <gatorchaser_2001@No-Spam>
To: The Astronomy Connection <sf-bay-tac@No-Spam>
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:18:14 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: [TAC] Man! What would have happened if I'd have
bought an AP.
> Rashad:
>
> Williams Optics is a great company. Their diagonals are well
> machined and look good. A friend of mine has had the 80mm
> achromat for about 3 months. It is sturdy enough that he
> throws it into a suitcase with a camera tripod and uses it as
> a travel scope. He loves it.
>
> Bill Drelling
>
> Rashad Al-Mansour <ramjam@No-Spam> wrote:
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
>
>
> Over the past few years I’ve really wanted to own a small high
> quality refractor. I wanted something that would serve as nice
> grab and go platform, guide scope, or terrestrial spotter.
> The problem was I didn’t want to invest allot of money.
>
>
>
> My first thought was to get the very scope that got me into
> this hobby in the first place, the Orion ST80. But I had my
> sights set higher than that. The Stellarview model, while of
> higher quality, looked too much like the Orion scope, I wanted
> something that would look good sitting next to "Old School" my
> TV Genesis SDF.
>
>
>
> Then I ran across the new Vixen 80mm short tube. The scope
> comes with flip mirror diagonal two EP’s and a red dot finder
> for $360. The price was certainly right, and the scope looks
> nice. I was just about to make the order for the Vixen when I
> remembered that William Optics had come out with a new 80mm
> Achromat. I checked it out at the WO web site and after seeing
> the photos and reading the specs, I was sold! I made the order
> through their site on Wednesday and received the scope Friday
> morning at work.
>
>
>
> Many years ago a watch company introduced a wrist watch that
> was so simple yet so elegant in design that the Metropolitan
> Museum of Art bought one to display in its permanent
> collection, it’s now known as the Movado Museum Watch. Well
> IMHO the William Optics ZenithStar 80 f/6 Achromat would feel
> right at home in that same Museum collection!
>
>
>
> This scope is amazingly beautiful! The fit and finish is
> flawless, the 360 degree rotateable focuser is as smooth as
> silk and the color scheme is to die for! The daytime views
> I’ve had with it are very encouraging. Using the 35mm Panoptic
> I was treated to a very nice wide field view of the park
> across the street with the entire FOV sharp focus. I can’t
> wait to star test this puppy.
>
>
>
> At $399.00 some would say its allot to pay for a 80mm
> Achormat, but I'll tell you, for what you get this scope is a
> bargain!
>
>
>
> You know, I expected clouds when I ordered my new scope, but
> not a Tornado!
>
>
>
> Rashad
>
>
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Received on Tue Mar 22 10:53:23 2005