80mm Refractor Recommendation

I'm considering purchasing one of the 80mm apo/semi-apos that seem so popular today. With the recent offerings from Orion, William Optics and others, I'm wondering what other people are purchasing. How do you rate the optical quality of these 80mm OTAs selling for under 1,000.00. What am I giving up when I spend less than $1000.00 vs. the 80mm triplet some manufacturers offer for $1500.00+? Are the differences related to color correction, fit/finish, optical quality - or a combination of all of the above? Any insight/experience would be appreciated.

For what it's worth--

I'm having really good results with an Orion 80ED, now that I've replaced the focuser with a model from Moonlight. The optics of this scope are pretty good--not too different from a TV85. The mechanical build quality is not remarkable, however, and the stock focuser is pretty weak. You can get a used Orion these days for under $400; the Moonlight focuser costs about $275, and you still have a good scope for less than $700.

The bottom line is, you pay for what you get. The current crop of scopes from China are a major step up from previous offerings, but quality control remains something of an issue, even with the best of them, so be vigilant if you buy one: check the scope's optics and mechanical features carefully. You may have to return a scope once or twice before you get one that's acceptable. On the other hand, the Japanese APOs are top notch, and they cost much more...but that extra quality pays for itself in the long run, in my opinion. Optically they're very good, and the mechanicals tend to be superior, plus the quality control is MUCH better. If you consider the TMB/APM 80mm APO, you have a scope that is excellent all the way around...at a price. Still, I'm amazed at the variety of quality scopes currently available across the board. It's a smorgasbord of small refractors! You simply need to be a little more watchful of the scope you receive if you choose a Chinese unit. Have fun choosing!

Walter

One of my greatest regrets of late is that I sold my trusty old University Optics 80mm f/6.25 ED refractor last year. These were sold as kits back in the 90's for $350 or so.
It was butt-ugly, and the focuser wasn't smoothest, but the objective was a delight. If you can find one somewhere here on Astromart, I'd say snap it up.

If you can find a used Stellarvue SV85S that would be another option. This 85mm doublet apo is no longer made (seems like everyone wants a triplet, so that's what Vic is offering now). You probably would pay more than $1k, though. If price is a big concern and airline portability is not an issue, the Stellarvue 80/9D is another one to consider. It uses an objective with a higher Abbe rating than the typical achro, and combined with the F9 f/l, it has very good color correction.

Jim