Skywatcher Evostar 80ED Pro Telescope Review

The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED is part of the elite circle of professional telescopes manufactured by the well-known Skywatcher company. Everything about the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED telescope spells out excellence and untamed power.

This is not a telescope for beginners, but for those who have mastered the basics of celestial and terrestrial observations. With the Skywatcher Evostar, you will be able to see more celestial events and objects than with a regular refractor telescope of similar aperture. These outstanding achievements are made possible by Skywatcher’s home-made lens coating recipe which involves some heavy-duty chemistry.

So, if you are interested in going all pro and don’t know what kind of telescope to purchase, we strongly encourage you to keep reading our Skywatcher Evostar 80ED Pro telescope review.

Skywatcher Evostar 80ED – Product Description

The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED has an 80 mm aperture, which ensures a great field of view. Apart from the more than adequate aperture, the image’s quality is also enhanced by the air-to-glass lens, which has received the Metallic High-Transmission Coating or MHC.

This special fluoride treatment has a double function: improve image quality, and reduce the chromatic aberration effect. In fact, according to the manufacturer, the MHC treatment reduces apochromatic aberration by 99.50 percent.

The whole mirror assembly is encased in a fiberglass optical tube, which protects it from bad weather and mechanical shock.

For the user’s comfort, the company also included one 28mm LES eyepiece, coated with an eye protection material. The telescope also has a 50.8 mm Di-Electric Star diagonal which can be used to make precise terrestrial and celestial observations without having to feel any type of discomfort.

Unfortunately, the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED telescope does not come equipped with its own tripod, but thanks to its dovetail-type brackets it can be installed on any type of EQ or altazimuth mount.

Other Specs and Features:

• Dual-speed 11:1 2-inch Crayford Focuser (Backlash- free)
• Fully Multi-Coated Objective;
• Highest Usable Magnification Factor: 240x;
• 9×50 Finder scope;
• Aluminum case included in the pack;
• Astrophotography support;
• The telescope is compatible with any GoTo devices;
• Schott crown glass;
• Weight (fully assembled): 10 kilograms.

Skywatcher Evostar 80ED – Additional Accessories

The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED can rightfully be considered the crowning achievement of the company, having all the bells and whistles you’ll need in order to turn your stargazing hobby into something special and unexpected. But there is always room for improvement. Below, you will find a short list of accessories that can help you see even more celestial objects:

• Skywatcher Field Flattener;
• Olivion Eyepiece Tool Kit Set 2 which contains: once super wide angled 26mm eyepiece, one super wider angled 32mm eyepiece, one super wide angled 38mm eyepiece, one 2x Barlow lens, one Polar Filter number 3, one Yellow Filter number 12, one Orange filter number 21, one Red filter number 23A, one Green filter number 56, one Light blue filter number 82A, and one Moon filter crystal view;
• Bresser SA 2-inch Barlow lens;
• Bresser Super Plossl 2-inch eyepiece;
• Marumi T2-Ring Adapter;
• 85x Focal Reducer/Corrector for Evostar 80ED DS-Pro;
• Canon M48x0.75 Adaptor;
• Nikon M48x.075 Adaptor;
• Skywatcher DSLR-M48 Ring Adapter;
• Gosky Bahtinov Focusing Mask for Telescopes Dew Shield Diameter from 75mm to 120mm;
• Orion 10145 Dual Finder Scope Mounting Bracket;
• Celestron 93419 T-Ring for 35mm Canon EOS camera.

What’s in the Box?

Here’s what you’ll receive with the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED:

• The 80m f/7.5 ED Fluorite Apochromatic Refractor Telescope;
• Dual-speed 11:1 2-inch Crayford focuser;
• 2-inch Dielectric Star Diagonal;
• 2-inch LET 28mm eyepiece;
• 9×50 Finder scope;
• Mounting rail;
• Pipe Clamps;
• Protective aluminum case.

Customer Feedback

The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED has received a 5 out of 5-star rating, with satisfied customers commenting on image sharpness and sharing detailed pictures of Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings. The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED is not only an excellent eyepiece but a good astrophotography support as well.

Where to Get it From

As always, the best place to buy the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED telescope is Amazon. Presently, it costs $649.00, and comes with free standard delivery.

Skywatcher Evostar 80ED – Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Great astrophotography platform;
• Excellent Image Rendition;
• Sturdy construction;
• Easy calibration;
• Is compatible with any GoTo Kit;
• Good for both terrestrial and celestial observations;
• Excellent light-gathering factor thanks to the MHC treatment.

Cons:

• Pricey;
• Hard to master;
• No tripod included in the pack.

Our Verdict

The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED needs some pretty precise calibration, and for this reason, we strongly encourage you to buy a polar alignment scope. The Skywatcher Evostar 80ED can be used for both terrestrial and celestial observations. In order to take advantage of the multi-layered optics, we encourage you to use it to track celestial objects.