Orion 80mm ED

Has anyone looked through one of these? Are they a great scope or are they a good scope? Is it a great deal or do you get what you pay for?

There are lots of reviews / discussion around:
http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=192
http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=25
http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=37
http://www.cloudynights.com/reviews4/orion80.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/reviews4/orion80-2.htm
http://www.cloudynights.com/reviews5/orion80.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Orion_ED/

I've had one for about a year. For me pluses are
+ great optics
+ great optics
+ decent 2" focusser
+ quality construction

Minuses (realtively minor) are
- arrived out of collimation, but was fixable
- stray black paint, easily removed with rubbing alcohol
- fat tube for 80mm lens
- 1/4-20 mount block too far forward
- focusser not as good as optics

Yes, it is a great deal and a great scope.

Performance-wise it approaches TV85, but for
about 1/3 - 1/4 the price. TV85 is *slightly* better
all-around. Compared to high-end scopes, color correction
is nice, but not quite as good as Fluorite doublets or
ED triplets.

I would have liked to see an optional slimmer
tube, Feather-Touch focusser, and collimatable cell
for higher price $800 - $900.

Vince,
I also planned on saving my nickles towards acquiring a TV85 - as others note here it's probably "the standard" in this size scope. I had the opportunity to look through two of these ED80s and decided that the price was too good to pass up and ended up purchasing one myself. I too did not much care for the focus mechanism in the factory setup so I swapped the stock crayford focus mechanism for the Mercury Support Systems FF-1 and I love it. (The MSS SFA2 is on the way as well) I cannot complain about the price/performance ratio - it is a great value in my opinion.
-Gary