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Buy the right telescope, not the biggest one

75×
Saturn at 75× in 80 mm — exit pupil 1.1 mm, Bortle 6 sky. Computed, not photographed.

72–80 mm ED refractor

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80EDX

A small, very well corrected refractor. Modest aperture bought at a high price per millimetre, in exchange for images with no false colour and a second career as an imaging telescope.

€569seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop

See it at AstroshopAll the sellers
  • 80 mmAperture
  • f/7.5Focal ratio
  • 4 kgTypical weight
  • 13–160×Useful magnification

Should you buy it?

  • Yes if what you mainly want is first astrophotography, serious deep-sky imaging, taking it with me: that is what this family does best.
  • No if your priority is nebulae, clusters and galaxies, by eye: other families do better for the same money.
  • The price is for the tube alone; add a mount before you compare.

Computed from its family's per-goal scores and its own numbers — not a rating, not one evening's opinion.

Where to buy

Also search at First Light Optics · Optique Unterlinden · Pierro Astro · Teleskop-Express (searches; neither price nor stock checked)

1 of these 5 links earn us a commission, marked above. Sorted by price, never by what pays. How this site is funded.

Prices are observed on the date shown, never live. Links marked earn us a commission and cost you nothing extra.

What it shows, really

These circles are simulations, computed from the aperture, the magnification and the sky — indicative, not exact. A real night also depends on the turbulence, your eyes and your experience. Closer to the truth than the photo on the box; still not a promise.

Under a suburban sky (Bortle 6), through a common 25 mm eyepiece for wide targets and a 10 mm for planets. Every circle is the true field — nothing is enlarged.

The Moon24× · 80 mm 3.3 mm exit pupilDetailed
Saturn60× · 80 mm 1.3 mm exit pupilRecognisable
Jupiter60× · 80 mm 1.3 mm exit pupilRecognisable
The Orion Nebula24× · 80 mm 3.3 mm exit pupilRecognisable
The Andromeda Galaxy24× · 80 mm 3.3 mm exit pupilRecognisable
The Hercules Cluster60× · 80 mm 1.3 mm exit pupilDetectable
Photo credits

These thumbnails are built from real photographs, scaled and darkened by the same arithmetic as the large view.

  • The Moon: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio / LRO, public domain
  • The Orion Nebula: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (heic0601a), CC BY 4.0
  • The Andromeda Galaxy: Adam Evans, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
  • The Hercules Cluster: Wikimedia Commons, Messier_13.jpg, CC BY-SA

The numbers

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80EDXPhoto: Astroshop
Aperture80 mm
Focal ratio600 mm · f/7.5
MountOptical tube only — no mount — not included
Typical weight4 kg
Useful magnification13× to 160× at 80 mm
Resolution (Dawes)1.4″ — the tightest double star this aperture can split
Faintest star, suburban skyaround magnitude 10.8
Observed price€569 seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop

Made for

  • First astrophotography

    The standard first imaging telescope, and it stays useful for years.

  • Serious deep-sky imaging

    Small, forgiving of mount error, and short enough to guide easily.

  • Taking it with me

    The whole setup fits in a rucksack and a small case.

  • The Sun

    In white light: sunspots with their penumbra, faculae near the edge, and granulation on a steady morning. Dawes' limit on the Sun: 1.4″ (116 ÷ 80 mm, arithmetic). It needs a certified cell over the front whose range holds its 123 mm outside diameter: the Omegon Helievo 112 (104–128 mm), €69 (seen 26 Sept 2026). Every time: certified filter over the front · finder capped · never an eyepiece filter · an adult with children · never without the filter · measure first.

Not made for

  • Nebulae, clusters and galaxies, by eye

    Wide-field sweeping is lovely; faint galaxies are not on the menu.

The Sun, safely

No solar filter in the box

The Sun with this model

It needs a certified cell over the front whose range holds its 123 mm outside diameter: the Omegon Helievo 112 (104–128 mm), €69 (seen 26 Sept 2026).

In white light: sunspots with their penumbra, faculae near the edge, and granulation on a steady morning. Dawes' limit on the Sun: 1.4″ (116 ÷ 80 mm, arithmetic).

The listing gives a fit of 104–128 mm across the outside of the tube. Clear aperture 112 mm. The listing names no standard; no international standard exists for filters on telescopes, binoculars or lenses (AAS).

Where to buy

1 of these 1 links earn us a commission, marked above. Sorted by price, never by what pays. How this site is funded.

Every time

  • A certified solar filter over the FRONT of the instrument, fastened so it cannot slip or blow off.
  • Cap or remove the finder. It is a second telescope, and it has no filter.
  • Never a filter at the eyepiece end: the concentrated sunlight there can crack it in an instant.
  • With children, an adult is there every time.
  • Never look, or point, without the filter on. Check it before each use; a scratched or torn filter goes in the bin.
  • Measure before ordering. A cell that sits loose can fall off.
Sources for the Sun

The family it belongs to: 72–80 mm ED refractor

What it does well

  • No colour fringing worth the name — the view is clean in a way small achromats are not
  • Light enough for a modest mount, which keeps the whole setup portable
  • Becomes an astrophotography telescope later without being replaced

What it costs you

  • Expensive per millimetre of aperture. A 200 mm Dobsonian costs less and gathers seven times the light
  • Visually modest on deep sky — this is not what you buy it for

Worth knowing about this model

Tube only, 4 kg: no mount, no finder and no star diagonal in the box, per the spec table, so all three are extra.

Everything about 72–80 mm ED refractor →

Same family, other sizes

Read next

Open this telescope in the simulatorIs it the right one for you? Ask the advisor

€569seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop

Where to buy