Celestron Ultima 80 ED? (Help!) (1 Viewer)

jayuk22 · Mar 12, 2005

Hello, i'm thinking of buying my first Scope, which on browsing around will be the Celestron Ultima 80 ED, because its an ED scope which is good value for money, all i need to know is if there is anyone at all out there who has used this first hand, is it fog-proof and what is the image is like (brightness and clarity etc), what eye piece would you recommend and how does it compare to top of the range scopes like Leica, Zeiss etc etc or even lower priced scopes B
can anyone help. ... Thanks ever so much B

medinabrit · Mar 13, 2005

this must be a very rare scope. i.ve asked about it on several sites without one reply
brian

william j clive · Mar 13, 2005

Looking at pictures of this scope, I would hazard a guess that it is made by Vixen, and is an Opticron clone.

dbradnum · Mar 13, 2005

Never seen anyone using one of these in the UK - I believe Celestron's main line of business is in scopes for astronomy.

I agree with Clive, it does look a great deal like the Opticron ES80, which is generally held to be a good scope for the money - see the Opticron section of the Forums for a few related threads.

In general, the section of BF devoted to telescopes holds a huge amount of very useful and objective advice - plenty of people have asked "which scope should I buy for roughly £x ?", over the full price range, so your budget is almost certain to be covered here somewhere!

Good luck - hope someone can help you further.

David

Leif · Mar 13, 2005

jayuk22 said:
Hello, i'm thinking of buying my first Scope, which on browsing around will be the Celestron Ultima 80 ED, because its an ED scope which is good value for money, all i need to know is if there is anyone at all out there who has used this first hand, is it fog-proof and what is the image is like (brightness and clarity etc), what eye piece would you recommend and how does it compare to top of the range scopes like Leica, Zeiss etc etc or even lower priced scopes B
can anyone help. ... Thanks ever so much B

I suspect that it is Chinese made. Have you asked on the www.CloudyNights.com forum?

Leif

Leif · Mar 13, 2005

jayuk22 said:
Hello, i'm thinking of buying my first Scope, which on browsing around will be the Celestron Ultima 80 ED, because its an ED scope which is good value for money, all i need to know is if there is anyone at all out there who has used this first hand, is it fog-proof and what is the image is like (brightness and clarity etc), what eye piece would you recommend and how does it compare to top of the range scopes like Leica, Zeiss etc etc or even lower priced scopes B
can anyone help. ... Thanks ever so much B

I came across a review of the 100mm version when looking for something else and recalled that you might be interested:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=232

Leif

holam_4 · Mar 15, 2005

I just wonder why celestron is that uncommon among birders as it is a popular brand in astronomy. Besides, its' price is bargaining when compare to those low end birding scope. Is that the requirements to be a good scope for birding is different from one for star grazing?

medinabrit · Mar 15, 2005

it got a pretty bad review on the astromart articles spotter reviews.

zack2 · Mar 15, 2005

holam_4 said:
I just wonder why celestron is that uncommon among birders as it is a popular brand in astronomy. Besides, its' price is bargaining when compare to those low end birding scope. Is that the requirements to be a good scope for birding is different from one for star grazing?

The requirements ARE different. Birding scopes need to be relatively lightweight, compact, and waterproof. They will also get banged around in the field so they need to be durable. Astro scopes are usually set up in a backyard in a spot which can be driven to. Mass and stability are far more important than portability. The scopes can be carefully babied, so the ability to withstand knocking around is not important. And clouds, let alone rain, are enough to send astro observers home so waterproofing is not an issue.

The Celestron may be a good scope optically (I have no idea), but a quick look at the specs -- about 7.5 lbs, 22 inches long (without eyepiece, I think) is enough to see that it completely irrelevent for the uses I would put it to. Note also that one reason that astro scopes have outstanding optical performance is that they do NOT normally utilize an erect image system -- not necessary for astronomers, and the complicated optics cause light loss and increase the possibility of various optical distortions.

The Astromart and Cloudy Nights websites are definitely the place to go for great info about this scope and other astro scopes -- you'll find lots of good info there on the Celestron 80ED. Check both the review section and the forums. Lots of good info on eyepieces as well, which can be very useful if you end up getting a birding scope such as the various Pentax models which use standard 1.25" astronomical eyepieces. The general consensus is that the astro scopes which are best suited for birding purposes are the small Tele Vue scopes -- the Ranger (now discontinued but you can find them used pretty inexpensively) and the new TV60. These are both just over 3lbs. Their somewhat bigger scopes, such as the TV76 and TV 86 are by all accounts outstanding, but now you're getting into a significantly bigger, heavier, and more expensive item.

Zack

zack2 · Mar 15, 2005

zack2 said:
Astro scopes are usually set up in a backyard in a spot which can be driven to.

Whoops! Meant to write "Astro scopes are usually set up in a backyard OR in a spot which can be driven to."

medinabrit · Mar 17, 2005

i think you are getting the celestron ultima 100ed spotter mixed up with the celestron 100 ed astro scope .the spotter weighs 4.5 lbs & is 19'' long
brian

medinabrit · Mar 17, 2005

that is with the eyepiece

zack2 · Mar 18, 2005

medinabrit said:
i think you are getting the celestron ultima 100ed spotter mixed up with the celestron 100 ed astro scope .the spotter weighs 4.5 lbs & is 19'' long

Could be, but I thought that the original poster was sking about a Celestron astro scope? I'm not that familiar with the Celestron line! However, even 4.5 lbs and 19" is more weight and bulk than I want to deal with, since I use my scope while hiking. I just purchased a Pentax PF-65ED, which is 10" long,
2.3lbs (without eyepiece), and takes standard 1.25" astronomical eyepieces...

Zack

avan · Mar 22, 2005

Hi,
I have an Accuter 80 for about one year, it's a celestron 80 clone. For the money ($200 Canadian) it's pretty good, but not in the top range and yes it's very long and heavy, but no problem carying it on the shoulder. It work pretty well under 45-50X for wildlife observation, at higher magnification it's useless for fine detail. The ED version are a bit more in term of resolution, but at price extend ($500) for a non fog and non waterproof scope (but close in optic quality to the Bausch & Lomb elite, it can surprise you). If you don't have the money for a top or mid range scope, the celestron 80 it's a good starter scope. even if I want to upgrade, mine give me lots of fun for the money.
Alain

jayuk22 · Mar 22, 2005

Thank-You all for your Replies, i think i will leave this scope and look for something else. thanks again

walterb · May 15, 2005

Here is a review from Astro-mart. on the Ultima 100ED.

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=232

to save your self 5 minutes of reading, the bottom line is a big thumbs down..

Marc lefebvre · Apr 28, 2006

celestron

jayuk22 said:
Thank-You all for your Replies, i think i will leave this scope and look for something else. thanks again

Hi please reconsider that, i have a celestron 80mm ultima NOT ED, it is waterproof and give me absolutly wonderfull image until 45X , after that the light decrease rapidly,but most of time at 30-35x you will have the power you need.At this price nobody can justify the too higher price of a televid,diascope zeiss or swarovski.And beleive it or not at this price the celestron come with a soft carry case!!! Marc.

jvanoyen · Jul 12, 2006

Marc lefebvre said:
Hi please reconsider that, i have a celestron 80mm ultima NOT ED, it is waterproof and give me absolutly wonderfull image until 45X , after that the light decrease rapidly,but most of time at 30-35x you will have the power you need.At this price nobody can justify the too higher price of a televid,diascope zeiss or swarovski.And beleive it or not at this price the celestron come with a soft carry case!!! Marc.

I just got my Celestron Ultima 80mm. Do you have any pictures that I can view?
I use a 995. How do you proceed when taking a picture?
Thanks,
Jvanoyen

sdmarkow · Jul 14, 2006

Not sure about the ED edition, but I have the Ultima 80. It is a great value for the money. I had my friend over who got me into birding in the first place with her $1,000 swarovski 80m scope. Yes, her images were a little more clear zoomed all the way to 65. But, I paid $200 for it. Her Swarovski was not $800 better IMHO. I think you'll do fine with the Celestron.

g8ina · Jul 16, 2006

For Celestron info in UK, talk to Adam Hinds at "David Hinds".

A mate to my fellow astronomers, and a really helpful chap.

PM me and I'll give you some extra info which may be to your advantage

Celestron Ultima 80 ED? (Help!) (1 Viewer)

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