Posts Made By: Larry Arbeiter

I have the ED 80 and faced the same question a year ago. The friendly folks at 20/20 telescopes in Lansing, Il. advised me to spring for the 2", which also allowed me to fit a televue 35mm panoptic, and I've never regretted it. The little 80 is surprisingly good on the moon and planets, but where it really stands out is with wide-field, low power views of star fields in dark skies. It was an awesome combination at last years' Texas Star Party, but it's even nice from my light-polluted suburban skies. Of course the panoptic is pricey, and you can spend a lot less for eyepieces that do much though not all of what the panotpic does. Or you could keep a 1 1/4 diagonal and get a 24mm panoptic, which fits it. You won't get as wide a field, but the sky will appear darker and you could save a bit. Either way it's a great way to go. Now if only I could find a way to combine two ED80s with the 35mm panoptics to make a pair of wide field, tack sharp to the edge, apo binoculars!
Best,
Larry