TMB80/480 vs TMB80/600

Anyone have any views on 80/480 vs 80/600. I am leaning toward a carbon fiber 80/480 for two uses: quality view finder on my TMB-152 and as a grab and go to use on an alt/az. Seems to fit the requirement of light and compact as well as wide field.

I do not claim personal experience with these. I believe that Markus has noted that some people prefer the 600 as it will reach higher power for planetary viewing without resorting to very short focal length eyepieces or barlows (and tiny exit pupils). I suppose that it would also be more forgiving of eyepieces, but f 6 is hardly a real problem either, These would not appear to impact your intended use, at least very much.

Steve Vaughn said:

Anyone have any views on 80/480 vs 80/600. I am leaning toward a carbon fiber 80/480 for two uses: quality view finder on my TMB-152 and as a grab and go to use on an alt/az. Seems to fit the requirement of light and compact as well as wide field.

A friend got an 80/480 as a finder for his 175 and 229. It's quite nice.

As for the carbon fiber - I doubt it has any advantage over the normal tubes unless you like the look.

Steve,
I do not think that you could really go wrong with either scope as they are arguably some of the worlds finest IMO. I think if it were me and was planning on using it for a grab and go or travel scope that I would choose the 800/600 as it seems like there would be a little more versatility with it especially if you like planetary observation. This will be an envious set-up when you are done.
Good luck,
Dan