Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm f/5 ED Apochromatic Triplet Refractor With Field Flattener S11400

The compact Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm ED apochromatic triplet refractor has the premium high contrast/high resolution optical performance you need to let you use it as the heart of your observing and wide field imaging system.

The Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm apochromatic triplet uses a lens of extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, flanked by two carefully chosen mating lenses of premium optical glass. The trio delivers crisp, high-fidelity wide-field images of celestial objects. The views are unmarred by the faint but annoying halo of unfocused violet light (chromatic aberration) often seen around bright stars and solar system objects in other large aperture fast focal ratio doublet and triplet refractors.

The 80mm Sky-Watcher Esprit triplet utilizes the most modern optical glasses and fabricating techniques to deliver the ultimate in small aperture high-fidelity astronomical observing and imaging. Each lens element is individually inspected for purity and absence of striations and other image-degrading imperfections. Each element is then pitch polished to exacting standards of optical fabrication and performance by highly skilled opticians and tested on an optical laser bench to rigidly controlled optical standards. The result is a high-quality, diffraction-limited optical system performing to the theoretical limits of its aperture - one that will give you years of imaging and visual observing satisfaction.

Features of this Sky-Watcher refractor . . .

Apochromatic ED triplet refractor optics: 80mm (3.15") aperture, 400mm focal length, f/5 focal ratio. The optics use two mating elements of premium optical glass. The ED element is precision-polished from high grade ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass.

Fully multicoated optics: Each air-to-glass surface in the Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm triplet objective lens has high transmission antireflection multicoatings on all air-to-glass surfaces for high light transmission, minimal light scatter, and excellent contrast.

Fixed Dewshield: Because of the very short length of the Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm (only 17.4" including the dew shield), the dewshield is fixed and does not have to be retracted to fit the scope into its carrying case. The dew shield slows the formation of dew on the lens in cold weather to extend your undisturbed observing time. It also improves the contrast, similar to the effect of the lens shade on a camera lens, when observing during the day or when there is excessive ambient light at night, such as a neighbor's backyard security light.

Thread-on doublet field flattener: When you are ready for imaging, the Esprit 80mm includes a doublet field flattening lens that can be threaded onto the optical tube to transform your scope into an exceptional wide-field imaging Instrument. Using optical grade glass and multicoatings on all air-to-glass lens surfaces, the field flattener provides sharp, in-focus stars across a large fully-illuminated 33mm image circle that is ideal for most APS-C sensor size DSLR cameras and for CCD cameras using the popular Kodak 8300 sensor. Back focus is 75mm. A Canon EOS camera adapter (the most popular DSLR camera brand for astronomical imaging) is standard equipment. Optional Celestron M48 camera adapters are available for Nikon and Sony/Minolta Maxxum cameras.

Dual speed 2.7" rack and pinion focuser: The precision-made and mechanically ultra-smooth, backlash-free, rack and pinion focuser has a giant 2.7" diameter drawtube with a 2" accessory adapter. This rotatable focuser offers dual-speed focusing and has an engraved focusing scale. There are two coarse focusing knobs. The right knob has a smaller concentric knob with 10:1 reduction gear microfine focusing over the full 60mm focuser travel. This provides exceptionally precise image control during high magnification visual observing and critical DSLR or CCD imaging. The large focus knobs have ribbed gripping surfaces so they are easy to operate, even while wearing gloves or mittens in cold weather. A lock knob lets you adjust the tension on the drawtube to accommodate varying eyepiece/photo accessory loads, as well as firmly lock in a photographic focus.

2" dielectric star diagonal: The supplied standard equipment 2" mirror star diagonal of the Esprit 80mm slips into the focuser drawtube's 2" eyepiece/accessory holder. The 2" compression ring diagonal has 99% reflectivity dielectric mirror coatings for high light transmission. A 1.25" compression ring accessory adapter is included.

Finderscope: The Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm comes with a 9 x 50mm right-angle correct-image finderscope that is fully multicoated to insure maximum brightness and contrast. The finder shows the star field in its correct upright and right-reading orientation, as it appears to the naked eye and on star charts.

Mounting rings and dovetail: The Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm apo has dual hinged split-ring tube rings to hold the 4.875" diameter aluminum optical tube and a Vixen-style dovetail that fits directly into the dovetail slot on the head of many of the most popular medium capacity German equatorial mounts, such as the Celestron Advanced VX and CGEM.

Shipping/storage case: The scope comes in foam-fitted aluminum-clad shipping/storage case.

Two-year warranty: The Sky-Watcher Esprit 80mm triplet apo is protected by a two-year limited warranty against flaws in materials and workmanship.