--- Jim Davidson wrote:

>
> The ST80 is good for visual observations, but there is a little false color so
I would not recommend it for photography.
> As Leo says, a Right Angle Diagonal is included and is not very friendly for
birding. My 80f5  Celestron 80WA came with 45 degree diagonal and I use 100% of
the time for terrestrial viewing. 
>

Hi,

There is some color, but it is not that bad for a scope that is currently $209
(has been $189-$249 USD). I took many astrophotos with one before I traded it to
my wife who took many Moon photos with it. Sure, there is a slight purple fringe
in the Moon and Venus but a minus violet filter will fix that. Alternately you
can display the image in B&W. Here is a mosaic of the Double Cluster taken years
ago with the ST-80 and an SBIG monochrome camera:

http://pages.cthome.net/astroleo/n0869.jpg

I moved up to a Stellarvue 80/f6 which cost twice as much but has less false
color and a sturdy 2 in focuser.

Orion sells two versions:

Shortube 80-T is terrestrial with 45 degree erect prism ($209)
Shortube 80-A is astro version with 90 degree mirror ($229)

Leo Taylor