The Askar 185 APO is a BUDGET MONSTER
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2024
- PRE-ORDER: bit.ly/483YLpv
In this video, I rig up the giant Askar 185 APO for astrophotography - and bring you along for the ride.
ASKAR 185 APO SPECS:
• Aperture: 185mm
• Focal Length: 1295mm
• Focal Ratio: F/7
• Optical Design: Triplet Air-Spaced APO
• Weight: 40 lbs (with dovetail)
• Focuser: Dual Speed, Lock, Rotator
UA-cam GEAR:
Camera: amzn.to/3uQsGz6
Wide-Angle Zoom Lens: amzn.to/3hViIaN
Low-Light Lens: amzn.to/42OI4fu
Microphone: amzn.to/2MIRbgq
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That scope is cartoonishly huge! So funny that your guide scope is my main scope on my AP rig 😂
lol same
😂😅
I knew about this monster in Nico's channel and it reminded me of Arnold carrying a huge log in Commando.
Hey Trevor. Great photo. Great demo too. The scope is a bit outside my price range but it's great to see what it can do. I was glad to see you pair the Williams optics scope/guide scope as thats what came to mind seeing the aesthetics of the Askar. I am looking forward to seeing what else you can get out of it.
Thank you very much for the work and time you always put into your videos. Your videos are incredible. Keep it up😊👍
I just had that sort of flare on one of my Ha sets when doing the Flame and Horsehead. I air dusted the filters and it went away, hasn't returned since.
That’s a beast!!
Wow. Great work. I hope you do more with this scope and sort the flare issue. Nice job!
Great to see that Rudy is still Rudying!
Our boy turns 10 this year! He is still a puppy at heart
Very interesting scope. Thanks for the great videos.
Hi Trevor this is one awesome monster great video Clear skies my friend
Great video as usual. I've been eyeing one of the smaller brothers, but I think I will wait to see if there's an update on the star's artifact. It's a beast though! Thank you for the detailed review.
What a monster ! Incredible !
NOT "BUDGET"
@@vaibhavsati538 of course not, but having a refractor that big for this price is not so crazy ! Some smaller apo refractor cost much more….
I just had first light on my new Askar 140. Not the beast that you are trying out but on its "little" brother. I got very good results with no such star flares. Great video, as always.
Thank you - and glad to hear that this is probably an isolated issue!
This telescope is a monster of beauty. This video is so good. Well done, AstroBackyard Team.
Hey Trevor, great stuff! For the flares, I'd suggest you do a test run using an OSC camera with no filters, just to close out the issue of the mono +filter wheel combo. Try aiming to the same or similar targets , or at least similarly bright stars and see what you come up with.
If you still see an issue, remove the flattener and try it without and see what you get. It's really best done with an osc camera or even a DSLR to make things easy and fast.
Clear Skies!
Great review Trevor
I have the tiny 😂 120Apo and after a month of using it I couldn’t be happier. Works well on my AM5 and the 1x flattener does a good job.
Interested to see if you work
Out the issue you had with the flares.
Cheers
Si
Great video. Need this in a petzval.
Stunning image. My 2 cents I thinking pinched optics easy fix had two scopes from new that the stars had the same appearance.
Respect from the Astronomer AstroKid from Romania
Nice Video on a " budget Scope" , i got the same Problems with these shades on youre Stars.
In my case it was moisture inside my Flattner/Reducer from getting the Scope not long enough Outside.
Interesting to see that. Not like the pinched optics I have seen on my Esprit. How cold was it? Running a dew heater on the scope? Were the filters with the spikes later in the night? I sometimes see a similar result when I get some branches in the frame causing diffraction spikes. Might want to try shooting sequential LRGB subs as it is high in the sky to rule that out. I've been wanting a bigger refractor and was interested when I saw this. Will wait for more info before looking further. Thanks
Beautiful scope zowwee👍😊 a 7 inch refractor,, nice to see them in the scope market ,, did you spend some time doing visual views of the moon and planets and stars & deep sky ,, your doggy is awesome like mine was, ,, i was there when the nightmare meade 7 refractors came out years ago,,
Nice rig
Are you putting the skyshed back up on the new property in the future? Would this monster fit?
probably frost in the system that came up later in the pictures. maybe on the corrector/reducer. when i know its a cold night and the scope comes out of the warm, i make sure to let ALL warm air out of the scope. open the rear end and let the warm air escape with its moisture by putting the scope head down and wait 15 minutes approx.. cold, less moist air will replace automatically and you should be good with internal frost....
Frost would not leave that organized a pattern across tne lens and would not be visible on just the stars. I agree with the cooling of that size glass but that definitely looks like more of an optical aberration.
@@bobbymccourt6794if it's the optics, then his Red-Filter should show the same artifacts
Unless, somehow, red is treated completely differently by the scope :p
@@crateer yes, it is treated differently, this is how refraction works lol
No, it's the giant lens with a fast focal ratio (let alone for such aperture) fabricated presumably from the cheapest chinese ED glass (presumably FK61), hence the price. You can't get perfect correction with such input conditions, especially not in blue a and violet. You get exactly what you pay for. ;)
I must admit that I also think its significant that its in the higher frequences, blue green. Probably most significant in the blue.@@zorg1396
For testing optics you often have to forgo beauty shots and just shoot with as simple an optical train as possible. And with OSC. Filters can add all kinds of artifacts that are not the fault of the scope or reducer. And also star test the optics visually. That can reveal minor on-axis aberrations at the 1/4 wave level that won’t show up in images. Have fun with the big beast! I’m sure it’ll prove to be a keeper. Clear skies!
Decent filters don't produce artifacts. You can judge better by inspecting different colors, especially blue filter tells you a lot. Luminance filter works as OSC, anyway.
those flares from the bright stars are absolutely a result of the scope's optics. A few main factors, are at play here: the glass quality, coating quality, and collimation of elements within a wave length of light is really really hard. As Trevor said, if you want the best in the class, you'll need another $13,000, and I assure you it's not because of some brand name premium. It comes down to diminishing returns in engineering effort. Good enough costs 5K, a little better costs 8K, almost perfect costs 10K, and then perfect doubles that. Companies like Takahashi, Stellarvue, and TeleVue, don't charge what they do because they're "proud" or because they have marketing savvy, they charge what they do, because it's what it costs to go the extra mile in order to achieve science grade measurement and sensitivity tools, which is what they make.
@@plumberman19 or maybe just buy bigger SCT like C11 Edge?
I love the vid!
Your idea of budget is RICH
Agreed, I have an 8 inch newton for 500 bucks and it blows this out of the water
Compared to another premium refractor of this size, it’s totally budget, haha
Compare this to literally any other 180mm triplet and then complain again 😂
Can't even buy a 6" Dob😭
Yep literally just checked after reading your comment, and now I agree, this is budget 😂 extremely budget friendly considering other options @@crateer
Relating to the issue of light flares you were seeing on brighter stars when imaging the Running Man Nebula using the Askar 185 APO....on a recent clear night when doing a star alignment using my WO FLT120, I noticed the same thing on a bright alignment star (I think it was Sirius). I thought to myself that maybe this was due to light gathering
Eeeehhhhhsss beeegg! .... Big and beeyoootiful for sure! The big orange blob can be covered with tape or fancied up with a thick white strip in the middle leaving thinner orange rings showing... The flares don't really bother me although they really shouldn't be there for that money. Still a nice resulting photo! 👍👍
nice color grading to match the scope!!!
I always think The Running Man looks more like The Running Sasquatch. Great vid, thanks!!
Trevor, I didn’t notice a dew heater in your configuration which is something you normally do. Could the fix be as simple as that?
Trev, a full frame OSC test would be more revealing as to the performance of this lens. Also how long is the cool down on that lens assembly?
Hi, I got one Question: did you ever try a newton style telescope? Nice Video!
Hey @AstroBackyard - I see you use asi air app on the phone. Is it possible to use it via wifi from home? Or you have to be close to the asi air to connect?
Hi Trevor, I had a quick question when it comes to light pollution filters. Is the post processing in DSS, or photoshop and different with or without a filter? I used a light pollution filter for the first time the other night, and a lot of things started to go wrong in the post processing that never happened before. Wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the filter, or if it was just a coincidence. Thanks
Would Askar send out a scope for review with pinched optics? Hope it's dew or something that can be addressed.
What does Nico say, and others? Did they get the star spikes (if using mono + filters)?
Did you have a dew heater on the scope? I don't have the experience you do, but I'm wondering if you got some kind of moisture somewhere, either the main element or maybe even on the reducer? I assume you had the heater on for the camera.
Anyway, nice image.
Now, here's my question. The 185 APO is about $4,800 USD. A 6" RC can be had for as little as $500 USD, and is almost the same focal length natively. Other than the spikes created by the mirror holder, how would you compare the two, using basically the same imaging train?
Is it the filters? Image without them and check
Thank you. So about that flares ? Frozen dust or anything else ? This could be a real problem i think. Could you give us the reason ? Thank you !
Excellent video, beautiful photo!! What is the song when you reveal the photo? Thanks!!
I suspect that's the kind of scope that more or less belongs in an observatory. I can't imagine hauling that thing in and out whenever there *might* be a break in the clouds - especially since even something as bulky as the EQ6-R Pro might be on the smaller side of the mount you would need.
$5,000 is budget? Oof. I’m in the wrong hobby.
just abt to say this 😂😂
For a 185. Definitely.
For visual it's probably fine, but for AP I'd much rather buy an Esprit 120 and with the money saved get the 2600MC.
Budget in the same sense as getting a 2024 corvette for $60,000.00😉
Relavtive to the next 180mm scope...its about 1/3-1/4 the cost. So 'budget'
Scanning the comments I didn't see what occurred to me with your frost blurb. Was it a frosty night? High or higher than normal for you location. Just a thought but on such a large diameter scope the heater band might not have supplied enough heat (band age deterioration)? IR thermal sensor to measure the temp to prove the band is doing its job. Overkill on my part? .>>>=====> Outsider looking in...
....power of my scope in combination with the super bright star and beautifully clear night. Kind of looked like the light spikes you get when using a reflector.
I've had those exact flares show up on bright stars, and it was due to frost on my reducer, ruined about 6 hrs on M31 from a dark site.
Think so? Looks more like pinched to me. Pinching happens when it is cold; thin metal shrinks more quickly (and more?) than thick glass
@@zbnmth I’ve had pinched optics before too, this looks more like frost.
크흐~영롱한 자태!!!!
The star spikes make it look ?pinched??
Is it possible to have it on a ZWO AM5 mount?
A scope this long and heavy must have a large moment arm meaning a higher payload mount is needed. But the price is cheap for a refractor this size - I think I'd put the same money into an SCT or Newtonian. Thanks for the info!
Banana for scale next time. I don’t know the Ashley to banana conversion. That scope is a beast.
Wow! What an image....Novice here but those flares...they don't bother me!
A simple visual Star test?
185mm!! 😮
I’ve seen this flaring before on the stars of M 45
If you take a look at any image of m45 there is definitely flaring , could that be your answer, bright reflection nebula maybe?
those look like diffraction spikes, maybe caused by the baffling or potentially debris in the optical train? Maybe take some flats to see if you see anything.
I have the ff130 and I’m experiencing the same issues
Hopefully a second follow up video in the works to rule out any doubt. Very nice image regardless though.
Recently and for most of my life I've been into outer space and its wonders, but even more recently I have a job to buy things with. I don't have any experience with stargazing/navigation and I assume its a good idea to start there but I would really love to do some astrophotography in the near future, even if its just in our solar backyard lol. Do you have any advice on where to start? It would mean the world to me.
Seestar50 ?
@@KingKing-tf8lq ?
“Budget” lol. Your budget and my budget are way different 😂
Also I know others with about the same specs are way more but still. It is a good deal
@@ClownRoyal5considering you can get a TAK's for a 3rd of the price and get the best image quality possible, this still isnt a good deal. Calling this a "budget" apo is nothing short of slimey scallywag bs. Any TAK doublet will run circles around this triplet.
@@Sharpless2 Pretty obvious it's a budget scope in the 7" APO refractor category. A TAK of this size would cost 10 times as much.
Hi, Optics look pinched to me. I accidently pinched my lenses on my Astro Tech 102EDL (long story) and this is exactly what my stars looked like. My issue was visible in cold weather only. It is colder in Ontario, Canada than the factory where this telescope was assembled and tested. Cold weather may pinch a refractors lenses as the cell contracts with the cold. At any rate, I would be worth a call to Askar technical support.
I actually really love the light flares. Artistically, they just make them look like big, hot, fiery, balls of burning gas. Funny thing about that.... 😅
I think it's the reducer. Try the native focal length next.
I knew this was the scope in the previous video
hey astrobackyard is the celestron 130 slt a good telescope to upgrade to if your on a budget it would be my second scope and i am curious of buying the celstron eye piece kit would it be a good second scope to switch to or no?
its a more than perfect telescope for visual astronomy but for astrophotography it you will encounter field rotation due to its alt az mount.
so maybe look for a better mount or look for something a little more?@@butterbagelgaming3654
Many may have missed the point that it was sent to him for testing/evaluation. Trevor has the option to purchase - if he chooses to do so.
Yeah, im interested about some realy deep sky object some far far away galaxies or nebulas :)
damnnn must be nice to get a free telescope. Congrats, you earned it!
Impressive.
Your Guide Scope is equivalent to my main imaging scope (Z61)
The size comparison between the two shows off the size of this thing!
Genuine question: why would you take a 185APO at 7k+ instead of a C8 edgehd + 0.7 reducer at 2-3k ? Both would be around 1300-1500mm f7. The only reason I see is that refractors require less maintenance / collimation but beyond that I don't believe the image is any better ? But this 185 APO is over two times more expensive and also about twice as heavy as a C8 edgehd
This could not be answered, you have to see it yourself….
I had the chance to observe with a 170 Starfire refractor 30 years ago and since then I’m in love with refractors… The picture is not comparable, except to other refractors…
How was balancing that bad boy?
Lot of negative comments below. So yes it is a scope that is expensive to many. If it isn't in your budget, then fine.
Why rain on others parade? This is a budget scope for those that have a budget limited to 25% of similar scopes.
What is there not to understand.
Go Rudy!
Nice video, Trevor! One small bit of feedback tho - it seems like you have inserted some badass music bits here and there, which is something new in your videos. While they may suit the Askar 185 itself (being a monster refractor), the music tends to be a bit jarring. Do take this with a pinch of salt tho - I can't figure out if it's the music itself or the loudness which makes it jarring for me. Cheers, mate! :)
Hi Trevor,
That flaring on the brighter stars ... it looks to me like some very thin cirrus clouds passing through. How clear was your sky? Also, you might have been under a fast-moving jet stream which could also distort the light from the stars. Other than that, if it was me with that scope, I would pay several visits to the Y and lift weights to build up my lifting muscles. What an amazing scope.
I'm very curious how much the COMPLETE set you demonstrated in the video costs? Everything: from the tripod to the smallest screw that this set requires to be fully operational and functional. I assume the price of APO 185 is 5,000 bucks.
I don't mean the exact price down to the cent, I mean the estimated cost of +- 500 bucks.
I'm asking because I guess the APO itself is just the beginning of the expenses...
a 185mm APO is no budget optics at any price lol
I understand that not everyone thinks that $5000 is not a "budget" scope. But it is ground breaking relative to other 7" scopes. Likely 25% of the price. Yes there are compromises. What lots of folks are interested in is how it does visually.
I have one. Just one night with it. Seems good. Need more time with better seeing.
But for those that scoff at the price. There are likely to be used Askar 185s for 60% or so of the new price at some point.
Might make things a little better for those on a budget, not to be obnoxious.
But why this telescope for astrophotography over a Celestron C11 with Hyperstar?
I have the same question. The C11 is bigger too! More light collecting area for more detailed pictures. A refractor seems expensive and unnecessary if you have a C11.
@@thugglife95its not just aperture. This is an apochromatic triplet, its correction is near perfect. Near perfect color, near perfect stars, build quality, etc. Apo's are mostly used for AP because of that. ...and yet you still need a matching flattener.
For real tho, id take a C11 with Hyperstar over this thing any day.
if a 6 grand scope is budget then im either in the wrong hobby or need a better job
Some feedback on the spike issue would be great and some comment on the level of CA .
Can anyone help me decide what size scope i should go for, for my first astrophotography rig. I love both galaxies and nebula but as i understand it they both require vastly different scopes depending on their size. A good middle ground maybe with a good range of targets. Thanks all in advance!
80mm or 102mm ED Doublet. A triplet if you have the budget, but nowhere near this big. Youll want a mount with more AP Capacity than you actually need. Youll also want guiding.
For large Nebulae: 80mm ed doublet, astro modded dslr
For planetary nebulae and galaxies: 80 or 102mm ed doublet, dedicated astro cam. Something like the asi585mc Pro (regular 585mc is also fine). Smaller sensor will basically require better guiding but will also have a smaller FOV, so things are more "zoomed" in.
Assuming the camera and filters are "known good" (i.e. do not show such artefacts in, say, the Esprit 150 or Esprit 100), my best guess would be the optical quality of lenses or their mounting fixtures. Unless of course there really is ice or dew on any of the optical surfaces, but that tends to look more like fog and not as stringy in my experience. But I have seen artifacts like this in budget scopes, so again, that would be my guess. A well collimated APO with good lenses and lens holders should create a perfectly smooth halo without any structures in it. I'd personally stick with the Esprit 150 just for the optics and build quality ( I mean, it's almost as big if not quite as long, but that in itself is probably quite telling). But it is interesting that Askar/Sharpstar are able to make a scope like this at all, so cudos to them.
Show the IM-1 lander!!!!!
Giving “portable C14” vibes
9:00
Maybe pinched optics
Definitely looks like an optical issue. Quite possibly pinched optics. That much glass needs A LOT of time to cool. When I had my TOA-130 I’d allow 2-3 hours with end cap off to cool down. Was it under the cover during the day? How much time did you allow for it to cool? Also, at that size glass there is very little room for error in grinding, coating and aligning.$4800 for that size refractor is appealing but one needs to go in assuming it will not be perfect. As for the reducer at that price point I again would not be expecting incredible results. I’d also like to see images shot with a OSC camera.
Would have guessed the same, but then why does his Red-Filter stack look completely fine
I don't think it's the OTA which caused these issues
because the refractor might be better corrected in red (and that is also what I saw in a ronchi test somewhere). In green and very noticable in blue it was not all that great.
@@crateer
When your guide scope is larger than my main
I think you have too much light gathering power for the target. Remove the reducer and use a flattened instead.
Hey Trev? That looks like it might be Pinched optics bro!. At the 8.59 time stamp.
Was about to suggest the same thing. I had a similar issue on my (much smaller!) Zenithstar 61. It can be exacerbated by cold air too. A slight loosening of some adjustment screws near the front fixed it.
It’d be interesting to hear what Askar has to say, though.
Doesn't look like pinched optics to me - pinched optics usually result in rounded off triangle-ish stars or "spikes" where the collimation screws squeeze the lens (especially during cold night when the whole tube shrinks due to the cold). I see none of those in his images, so I doubt it. Also his Red filter stack looked pristine - if it was pinched optics, then the filter wouldn't make any difference
Might be the Flattener/Reducer which is causing these issues - might have been dew/frost on there, but all we can do is guess, really
Might be dew/frost on one of the main lenses as well, depending on how well his (small) dew heater band actually performs
If Trevor shot with the red dilter first, then that's an indication that it might have been dew/frost somewhere
You should test again in warmer nights or nights without risk of dew and also test with/without reducer
I don't think it's anything with the scope itself
I'll offer you to buy the 2nd same telescope and made binocular from them. That would be amazing visual instrument😊
That's a desirable APO that I would buy if I didn't have enough telescopes already.
Ugly stars in there. I would startest that scope as soon as possible, you could probably see something on it. Does it gives the same problem visually? I once had the opportunity to test a CFF 180 and it also had an ugly flare. Unlike it's smaller brother the 160 which was excellent.
"Budget" lmao
This is what happens to show like this. They start to get popular and make money and get cognitive dissonance. People who can afford this are not watching UA-cam videos. They are already professionals
@@SophiaAphrodite to be fair, 5k is sorta budget in the broad scheme of astrophotography. theres scopes that are over 10k. I have cameras of similar price
@@SophiaAphrodite For a telescope for astrophotography, 5k is rather cheap.
This kind of equipment is just extremely expensive in general.
He even showed another similar scope in the video which was over 10k
When I read the title, I thought, huh?
I want all the telescope star tracker and photography equipment this guy has so i can start a UA-cam channel and become famous 😅
This is killing me, I can't figure out why this scope just doesn't look like a 185 when he's handling it. It looks about the same size as my Tak FS128, I've seen a TEC 180 in person and it seems like it was a fair bit bigger than this Askar, maybe it's cause I'm not seeing it in person.
Those flares only look pretty cool. It makes those stars look like more galaxies. Personally, I find it to be a happy accident. But, I also understand the frustration... haha
Ha ha. The Bob Ross of AP.
Budget telescope, But Its 4700AUD in Australia 🥴