Vixen Optics ED81S 3.2"/81mm Refractor Telescope Kit with Sphinx Mount

Vixen Optics manufactures fine telescopes in several aperture sizes and configurations, to assure that you'll find one perfect for you.  The ED81S is the smallest of their Japanese-manufactured premium apochromatic refractors, featuring fantastic contrast in a grab-and-go size that can be taken anywhere.  For observing purposes, it is a great lunar, planetary, and wide field celestial viewer.  Its brilliant optics mean that for astrophotography purposes it is only limited by your imagination and the accuracy of your telescope mount-in this case, with the Sphinx mount, you can have accuracy worthy of a professional observatory.  The ED81S scope and Sphinx mount's exemplary manufacturing caliber are immediately apparent upon first inspection.  For an observing experience truly justifying your apochromatic refractor choice, convert to 2" eyepieces with an optional 2" star diagonal and get yourself a 25-40mm 2" eyepiece for a breathtaking wide field view of galaxies.

With its refractor design benefitted from ED glass elements, chromatic aberration in the ED81S is reduced to nearly undetectable levels-permitting a more practical use of higher magnification when seeing conditions permit.  ED Glass has returned refractors as a premium telescope choice, competing with ubiquitous 8" and larger Schmidt-Cassegrain designs.  While the catadioptric scopes do bring in enormous quantities of light, they simply cannot deliver the contrast, dark backgrounds, and wide viewing fields of the apochromatic refractor.  There is a place in the market for both; the 'big cats' allow you to see the faint deep sky stuff, but for many other objects the ED refractors yield the better viewing.

Vixen's ED81S, like all their premium apochromatic refractors, has a 60mm inner diameter focuser drawtube.  Vixen chooses this size because the scopes are intended to be as good at imaging as they are as observing devices-a large focuser inner diameter permits use of larger CCD cameras and benefits typical SLR cameras by reducing internal vignetting and reflections.  Vixen has a complete lineup of imaging accessories, and their scopes remain a popular worldwide choice for serious astrophotographers.  Properly positioned, all of their ED refractors will often make superior images than nearly any Cassegrain model-much more intense color with crisper star pinpoints and inky-dark sky backgrounds.

This package of the ED81S is delivered with Vixen's Sphinx Mount, their premium standard in a "GO TO" equatorial mount.  While the GP2 and GPD2 mounts are true classics, the Sphinx's mechanics have some enviable evolutionary benefits:  the included motor is in the shortened declination axis to allow more strength and less counterweighting, and the counterweight shaft collapses into the body during transport.  But the Sphinx's best feature is its incomparable 4.7" LCD STAR BOOK controller unit, which functions like a handheld video game.  STAR BOOK's displayed star map also controls the telescope's slewing speed-push a button to 'zoom in' on an area on the star map, and the mount accordingly slows down its movements.  Select anything you like on the map and the telescope immediately centers upon that object.  The 22,000-object dropdown menu only lists objects available to be viewed at that time you're viewing, eliminating the frustration of other systems that don't tell you the object is below the horizon until after you've selected it.  STAR BOOK lets you spend more time viewing and less time searching.

The ED81S Kit with Sphinx Mount is delivered with everything you'll need to begin observing except the 8 "D" batteries.  It should be noted that Star Book's luxury comes in something that's a bit of a battery hog; when operated upon "D" batteries, you'll only likely have enough juice for one night of observing.  Unless using rechargeable "D" batteries, most take advantage of Vixen's #3599 AC adapter or their #8644 Cigarette Lighter Adapter combined with a Celestron Power Tank.