Astronomy tests Orion’s grab-and-go refractor

The ED102T CF Triplet offers 4 inches of aperture, a wide field of view, and superb star images.

By Steve Edberg

Published: May 29, 2012

Orion’s ED102T CF apochromatic refractor has a carbon fiber tube that saves weight and minimizes thermal expansion.

Photo by Astronomy: William Zuback

When Astronomy asked me to test Orion Telescopes and Binoculars’ latest 4-inch apochromatic refractor, I got excited by the potential of such an instrument. The ED102T CF Triplet boasts 4 inches (102 millimeters) of aperture and a focal length of 714mm. Those numbers work out to a photographic speed of f/7.0, making this a pretty “fast” system that offers a wide field of view for visual observing or astrophotography.

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THOMAS SLOANE from ILLINOIS said:

10-4 on nudging up to the manufacturers. The only good scope reviews are coming out of Cloudy Nights these days. Astronomy's reviews are even starting to get boring.

JEFF LEPP from said:

The Orion website lists this product as no longer available for purchase. Wonder what happened. I bought an Orion xt8 classic dob as my first scope and like it for visual observing. I even built an EQ platform for tracking which is good enough for visual but not for photograghy. I was thinking about buying an apo to dabble in astro photography. Orion does make a 120mm apo but I have not seen any reviews for it.

GUSTAVO SANCHEZ from said:

I feel worried that the reviews on this magazine are a little bit biased toward the manufacturer. Looks like a two-page ad for the scope. I have the 80mm version (ED80T-CF), and although it gives nice images, it's very heavy for a CF tube. The ED102T CF weights as much as my Omni 120mm f/8 achromat (metal tube). How is that possible? The CF tube does not help weight at all.

Even if the images are good, a $2,000 telescope should not have the dew shield screw issue and should be better baffled, IMHO.

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