Telescope Comparison
Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro vs Vixen ED80Sf
The Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro is a complete setup. The Vixen ED80Sf needs a mount before it's usable.
First light
Sky-Watcher · 80mm · £690
The automated deep-sky platform
- 80mm refractor on a computerised mount with motorised tracking
- Good for: Moon, planets, bright nebulae, star clusters, and deep-sky objects
- GoTo system finds any object in its database after initial star alignment — no star atlas needed
- Tracking motors keep objects centred as Earth rotates — useful above 100×, essential for photography
- 22.5kg total — requires a fixed garden spot or car transport
Vixen · 80mm · £649
The custom-rig optical tube
- 80mm refractor — optical tube only, no mount included
- 600mm focal length at f/7.5
- Requires a compatible mount before you can observe anything
- Best for: observers who already own a suitable mount or are building a specific imaging rig
- Not a complete purchase — budget at least £100–300 extra for a mount before observing
The full picture
The numbers that separate these two scopes — and what they mean at the eyepiece.
Aperture
Equal light-gathering. Aperture won't settle this comparison — the mount, focal ratio, and observing experience are what differ.
Focal length
Same focal length — identical magnification with any given eyepiece. Differences come from optical design and coatings.
Focal ratio
Same focal ratio — the same eyepiece gives equivalent magnification and true field in both scopes.
Mount type
Vixen ED80Sf has no mount — add a compatible mount before you can observe. Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro is a complete ready-to-use system.
Weight (OTA)
Similar optical tube weight. Any portability difference between these setups comes from the mount, not the tube itself.
Optical design
Both are refractors — no mirrors to collimate, good contrast, colour-free stars with ED or APO glass. The differences between them are in aperture, focal ratio, and glass quality.
At the eyepiece
| Target | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
| Planets | ||
| Moon | Good 80mm aperture delivers sharp, colour-free craters and terminator detail; f/7.5 limits extreme magnification compared to longer focal length scopes | Excellent 80mm aperture with ED glass delivers sharp, colour-free crater detail; f/7.5 handles high magnification well |
| Saturn | Moderate Rings clearly visible and disc shows colour, but 600mm focal length keeps the image small — Cassini Division requires excellent seeing and high-power eyepieces | Good Rings clearly defined, Cassini Division visible in steady seeing; 600mm focal length adequate for useful magnification with a short Barlow |
| Jupiter | Moderate Main equatorial belts visible; 80mm aperture and 600mm focal length limit detail on the Great Red Spot and festoons | Good Main equatorial belts and GRS visible; ED glass keeps the limb clean, but 80mm limits fine belt detail |
| Mars | Challenging Small orange disc visible at opposition; polar cap glimpsable in ideal conditions but surface albedo features are beyond this aperture | Challenging Small orange disc visible at opposition; polar cap hints possible but aperture too small for surface detail |
Deep sky | ||
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Excellent Wide 600mm field frames the full nebula and Running Man beautifully — bright enough to show structure visually and a superb imaging target | Excellent 80mm aperture and 600mm focal length frame the full nebula with surrounding structure; trapezium resolved |
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Excellent 600mm focal length captures the full galaxy extent including companion galaxies; one of this scope's signature imaging targets | Excellent 600mm focal length captures the full extent of the galaxy; bright core and inner dust lanes visible |
| Open clusters | Excellent Wide field perfectly frames the Double Cluster, Pleiades, and other large clusters with pin-sharp stars across the field | Excellent 600mm focal length gives wide true field — Pleiades, Double Cluster, and M35 all fit beautifully with pinpoint stars |
| Globular clusters | Challenging 80mm aperture cannot resolve individual stars — M13 and M3 appear as fuzzy, unresolved glows | Moderate M13 and M3 appear as fuzzy concentrated balls; 80mm cannot resolve individual stars |
| Faint galaxies | Moderate Visually limited by 80mm aperture; however, with camera and stacked exposures, many faint galaxies are accessible photographically | Moderate Brighter Messier galaxies (M81/M82, M51) visible as faint smudges; no structure detail at 80mm |
| Milky Way / wide field | Good 600mm focal length is at the long end for sweeping Milky Way fields visually, but on camera the wide field and fast optics capture rich starfields well | Good 600mm is slightly long for sweeping Milky Way fields but still delivers rich star clouds with a wide-field eyepiece |
Other | ||
| Double stars | Good Clean ED optics split well-separated doubles cleanly; Dawes limit at 80mm is ~1.45 arcsec, so tight pairs are out of reach | Good Clean ED optics split Albireo easily and handle tighter pairs like Castor; Dawes limit ~1.45 arcsec |
| Astrophotography (deep sky) | Excellent HEQ5 Pro GoTo mount with tracking, 80mm ED optics at f/7.5 (f/6.3 with reducer), and massive payload headroom make this a benchmark widefield imaging rig | Not applicable |
| Astrophotography (planetary) | Challenging 80mm aperture and 600mm focal length produce a small planetary disc — limited detail even with lucky imaging techniques | Not applicable |
The real tradeoff
Both scopes are capable. The question is which one fits the way you actually observe.
Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro
- You'll spend your first ten minutes of every session on polar alignment, but once locked in, the HEQ5 Pro's GoTo will slew to targets and track them automatically — your observing is mapped out before you arrive.
- You're investing in a complete imaging workflow from night one: after you frame M42 on your camera sensor and process the stacked exposures at home, the visual eyepiece feels like an afterthought.
- You've bought into the HEQ5 ecosystem — it's heavy to carry, demands careful setup, but rewards you with massive payload headroom for guide scopes, filter wheels, and cameras without ever straining the mount.
Vixen ED80Sf
- You're holding a finished optical instrument with no mount decision forced on you — you can pair it with a simple alt-az, save for an equatorial later, or use it as a grab-and-go visual scope without any motorization at all.
- You'll enjoy sharp, colour-clean views through an eyepiece first, whether sweeping the Moon's terminator or framing the Pleiades, and only later decide if you want to bolt on a camera and tracking — the scope doesn't assume your ambition.
- You're starting with a premium 80mm that costs more upfront because of build quality and ED glass, not aperture — every pound you spend goes into optical cleanliness, not light-gathering power.
The dark side
Every scope has a personality. Here’s where each one gets difficult.
Sky-Watcher
Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro
80mm aperture will not resolve globular clusters visually or show satisfying planetary detail — high-power eyepiece work feels limited.
The ED doublet shows slight residual chromatic aberration on bright stars at high magnification, though this is negligible for imaging.
No field flattener included — edge stars will show coma and field curvature on camera sensors without the separate 0.85× reducer/corrector, adding cost.
The HEQ5 Pro is heavy (~10 kg head plus tripod) and not a grab-and-go setup, requiring careful polar alignment each session.
Astrophotography workflow requires additional investment in camera, software, guiding, and accessories well beyond the £899 bundle price.
Vixen
Vixen ED80Sf
OTA only — no mount, diagonal, finder, or eyepieces included, so total system cost is significantly higher than the £649 OTA price alone.
80mm aperture limits deep-sky and planetary performance compared to 100mm+ instruments at similar total cost.
At f/7.5 some coma and field curvature appear at the edges of camera sensors without a dedicated field flattener/reducer.
Focuser is 1.25" only on the standard model — limits eyepiece and accessory choice compared to 2" focuser refractors.
Premium pricing for 80mm aperture reflects build quality and ED glass, not light-gathering power, so you're not buying aperture advantage.
Which is right for you?
Two different buyers. Two different right answers.
The automated deep-sky platform
Sky-Watcher · Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro
You'll love this if you're ready to learn astrophotography and want a complete, supported system that handles guided imaging of nebulae and Milky Way starfields without straining under payload — the HEQ5 Pro and 80mm OTA are proven partners, and you're willing to master polar alignment and image stacking to get wide-field deep-sky images. This isn't for you if you want to spend most nights at the eyepiece enjoying planets and resolved clusters, or if you need a truly portable grab-and-go setup that doesn't demand careful alignment each session.
The custom-rig optical tube
Vixen · Vixen ED80Sf
You'll love this if you're an intermediate observer who values optical cleanliness and versatility over aperture — you want a colour-free refractor for casual eyepiece observing first, and the option to add an equatorial mount and camera later without being locked into a single workflow. This isn't for you if you need a complete ready-to-observe package out of the box, or if you're shopping for deep-sky aperture; a 100mm+ reflector or Dobsonian will give you far more light-gathering for similar total cost once you add a mount.
Our verdict
This comparison has a catch: the Vixen ED80Sf is a bare optical tube. You cannot use it without a separate mount — which adds meaningful cost and complexity. The Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro is a complete, ready-to-observe package.
For most buyers, the Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro is the right choice — you can observe the same night it arrives. The Vixen ED80Sf makes sense if you already own a compatible mount, or are deliberately building a specific imaging setup piece by piece. If I had to choose for a first telescope: the Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro, without hesitation.
Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro
View Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro →Vixen ED80Sf
View Vixen ED80Sf →Deep field: Full specifications
Every data point, for those who want to go further.
Full specifications
Fields highlighted in blue or amber indicate the better value for that spec. Data is manufacturer-stated and may vary.
How much can it see?
| Spec | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
Aperture The most important spec — bigger = more light = better views | 80mm | 80mm |
Focal Length Longer = more magnification potential | 600mm | 600mm |
Focal Ratio Lower f-number = wider field of view; higher = more magnification per eyepiece | f/7.5 | f/7.5 |
Optical Design The type of optics — each design has different strengths | Refractor | Refractor |
Coatings Better coatings = more light transmission through the optics | Fully multi-coated ED glass, FMC on all air-to-glass surfaces | Fully multi-coated ED doublet on all air-to-glass surfaces |
How do you point it?
| Spec | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
Mount Type The mechanical system that holds and moves the telescope | GoTo (Computerised) | None (OTA only) |
GoToⓘ Computer-controlled pointing — finds any of thousands of objects automatically | ||
Trackingⓘ Motor keeps objects centred as the Earth rotates — essential for astrophotography |
The focuser
| Spec | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
Focuser Size 2" accepts wider eyepieces and gives better low-power views | 2" | 2" |
Focuser Type Rack-and-pinion is standard; Crayford and dual-speed are smoother | Crayford dual-speed (with 1.25" adapter) | Dual-speed Crayford (with 1.25" adapter) |
Size & weight
| Spec | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
OTA Weightⓘ Optical tube only — useful for comparing mount load capacity | 2.2kg | 1.8kg |
Total Weight Full setup including mount — this is what you lug to the car | 22.5kg | — |
Tube Length | 600mm | 528mm |
Tube Material | Aluminium, white powder coat | Aluminium |
What's in the box?
| Spec | Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro | Vixen ED80Sf |
|---|---|---|
Eyepieces Included eyepieces — more is better, but quality matters more than quantity | 25mm Super eyepiece | — |
Finder Scope Helps you locate areas of the sky before switching to the main eyepiece | 8x50 right-angle correct-image finder with illuminated reticle | — |
Diagonal Tilts the eyepiece 90° for comfortable viewing — useful on refractors |
Blue highlight: Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro advantage · Amber highlight: Vixen ED80Sf advantage · Greyed cells: equal or subjective.