I've got APERTURE FEVER - Askar 185 APO Review
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Over the past month I've been able to try out a new MASSIVE refractor, the Askar 185 APO, and after seeing the imaging results, I've got aperture fever :) Pre-order the 185 here: bit.ly/3S7T9ot
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Askar 185 APO Imaging Test Data
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Link to the imaging test data shown in this video: tinyurl.com/askar185APOdata
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Gear reviewed/mentioned in this video
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Askar 185 APO: bit.ly/3S7T9ot
1x Flattener for the 185 APO: bit.ly/48EUgTk
0.8x Reducer / Flattener for the 185 APO: bit.ly/3S5aTRl
ZWO ASI6200MC: bit.ly/3U6JMrz
ZWO ASI6200MM: bit.ly/3S8nWkG
Sky-watcher EQ6-R (I'd only suggest using this mount with this scope if you have an observatory with a solid pier like me): bit.ly/423hIYa
Sky-watcher EQ8-R: bit.ly/3ObFhs6
iOptron CEM120: bit.ly/3HsFu6p
iOptron Tri-pier: bit.ly/4246nqE
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Table of Contents
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0:00 Good timing...
1:30 Disclosures / Thank yous
2:11 The APO Line
2:37 $5000 is affordable?!
4:06 What's included? and optional parts
5:05 Weight/Height and appropriate mounts/piers
6:35 Physical Characteristics
8:30 4K video of the moon (imaging test)
9:38 Single 4 minute subs (imaging tests)
12:14 40 minute stacks (imaging tests)
13:51 Chromatic Abberation (imaging tests)
15:26 Final processed images
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Social:
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Twitter: @nebulaphotos
Instagram: @nebulaphotosdotcom
Astrobin: www.astrobin.com/users/2ghouls/
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Channel Disclosures
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I am a member of the High Point Scientific, Agena Astro, eBay, ZWO, All-Star Telescopes, B&H Photo Video, Astrobin, and Amazon affiliate programs. Product links in my video descriptions are typically affiliate links, which means, at no extra cost to you, I will make a commission if you click them and purchase something. I also have working relationships with the following companies/brands to receive products to test: Askar, ZWO, DwarfLab, OG Star Tech, Svbony, High Point Scientific, Agena Astro, QHYCCD, WOBoyz, SmallRig, Venus Optics, Astrogear.net, Night Sky Camera, Woodland Hills Camera & Telescope, Hunt's Photo & Video. Any gear received for review and/or brand deals will be fully disclosed in the video. If you have any questions about any of this, please get in touch.
The color split at 14:24 looks like atmospheric dispersion because the split in all of the corners and the center is in the same direction - blue at the top and red at the bottom.
It may be, but I associate atmospheric dispersion problems to be more common at low altitude. I picked the Elephant Trunk because it was high in the sky in December when I was shooting it (50-70 degrees up).
@@NebulaPhotos Hah, I thought I knew the answer :) The other possibility is that this is an artifact of stacking - if you run Star Alignment on individual color channels of the stack, you might be able to fix this completely because the aberrations appear to be in the same direction and of similar magnitude.
@@Nabby13 Good idea -thanks!
@@NebulaPhotos It looks very like AD to me. You maybe know that an optimal (theoretical 100% Strehl) teleskope is downgraded to an roundabout 90% Strehl "anything" just by that 20-40 dregrees from zenith. Therefore the old rule says "the wise astronomer observes around the zenith" ;-). Or buy an ADC. A usable ADC should have at least 2 prism-pairs, the cheaper ones are hardly to use and inefektive on lower altitudes. A well made ADC with two hq-prisms pairs will work good down to about 50 degrees, okay a bit lower but still ten times better than none. Sadly that I just know two companies who offer such in the amateuer range. Large pro-telescopes usemore pairs or triplet designs (its cool, google for that) to be able to correct even lower. Its a riddle why so few know about that and prefer to give up more and more money for "better" telescopes, oculars, software and so, all things that can solve the physical problem of dispersion, instead of buying an ADC. Including me. For all the money that I waste on the way my current setup I have could buy tho aperture steps up on my nice oil-filled triplet Refraktor. Expansive learning.
And an ADC is sooooooo! cool. It feels just like an focuser for the colour. Try it a venus on daylight, Without its a wobbling bright glob, tune in the ADC and snap, the colour is off and there is a shape. Hard to describe, easy to see. It is also a excellent tool to seperate double stars.
My list of astrostuff I have had to buy much much earlier: An encoder driven mount instead of annoying autoguiding, an ADC and an simple polar alignment wich is, thanks good at least this, common nowadays. Each of them saves me now ton's of nerves, time and errors.
Thank you
Now that's a chonky scope. Makes the EQ6 look like an EQ3.
Askar is definitely putting out some nice glass. Excellent results from a scope costing a fraction of the competition. Love the license plate, too :)
spot on. I'm so impressed with their recent stuff. I want to sell my Esprit for one their newer scopes.
@@beatsntoons indeed, there's a very good comparison between the Esprit 120 and the Askar 107PHQ in a forum !
I have the Askar 103 and I use it in my Bortel 4 skys at home - I love the images I get from it!
Dream scope right there! Thanks for the amazing review!
Great shots, Nico! Great review! Thanks!
I found that "chromatic aberration" isn't purely due to optics. You can also consider atmospheric dispersion to be the cause of the aberration you see in your highly saturated comparisons. The only way to correct for atmospheric dispersion is shooting at high altitudes, using an ADC (which may be only applicable to planetary), or using LRGB filters. Anyways, great video!
It's mostly down to the optics.
It's kinda funny that just one year ago you posted a video asking if there's such a thing as too big regarding telescopes and in that video you were talking about the Askar 130. Now you are really in the big leagues!
Excellent review! I just got the little sibling 120 APO a few months ago, loving it!!
Niko, love your composition. You have a real artistic eye for that. Your new observatory looks really nice, you must be proud of that.
Excellent video Nico! Looking for to seeing more from this scope! Clear skies!
OK, right up front it's beautiful and I'd love to have one. My big argument against it though is exactly what you pointed out at around 4 minutes - if I am going for ~1m focal length at f/5.6 - f/7, I could get an entire quality imaging system for $5k by going for a reflector. There is a reason why refractors aren't this big - they're just too expensive to make.
As usual AMAZING ,once again nice review
8:30 I'm just amazed at the steadiness of the air! Here in the UK we have to wait a long time to get that.
Great performance from the Askar and good to see your observatory in action.
Great review and images Nico! 👌
I’ve been looking at that 140… the 185 though, wow what a beast!!!
the 140 is borderline for affordability for me - but the 185 is defiantly out pricewise).
the 103 with all accessories is slightly less than the V with all accessories.
the 120 is around $350 more than the 103 and the 140 is$700 more than the 120 (all accessories included).
Excellent review! I really appreciate your enjoyable and in-depth review. For the money it looks to be a nice refractor. Looking forward to some visual reviews of this telescope down the road.
Great review. Concise and focusing on what we need to know! Thank you!
Skywatcher brought me here, lol. This is a great transition from the What’s Up Webcast!
Great review, very detailed and all the aspects that are important. Well done. Thanks.
Funny I was just looking at those expensive scope last night. Good review Nico, Thanks.
This is a wonderful review, Nico! Thanks and keep up the awesome work. Fantastic images!
Thanks Cody!
Thanks for another great video. The observatory looks really nice. Will be nice to see your next documentaries for the build.
Ditto! I was like, "What?! The roll-off roof is done?! Where's the video?!" ;) (Great video, Nico!)
Well done some beautiful shots of the moon and deep sky, thanks for sharing.
I'll never be able to do this kind of photography but thanks to your channel i can enjoy it, too!
Excellent video, as usual. Probably can't beat a 7" apo for crisp high contrast imaging. Looking forward to seeing your new observatory.
Really enjoyed this video 👏 thanks for putting this together 👍🔭
Great video and great telescope! Thanx for review! 😊
Love this review, Nico! I've been wondering about this scope's performance because it is less than half the price of similarly-sized refractors. Seems like it lives up to the hype.
The Skywatcher people are going to love those eccentricity numbers!!
I find them amazing and never thought you would get that with that scope on that mount; just on its length alone!!
Excellent video….. as always.
Excellent and informative review.
Great review!
Nice setup, keep up the good work
5k is many greens, but heck if it isn't very good value!
Always enjoy your great videos, and I must say, it's because a part of your dear persona comes through.
I could listen for hours (and I have xD). Must be a show to accompany in loco for one of those sessions.
good things and clear skies :)
Thanks for the video, it looks like a nice scope. Since I would have to buy a mount and probably a tripod/portable pier as well I will probably not be adding this one to my collection any time soon but it is nice to know it is out there.
Those corner stars look great. Honestly I'm impressed with what I'm seeing from this APO line. The whole line seems to perform well to the corners despite being the "budget" line. I wonder if a phq version is in the near future :)
Great video! and analysis. Sharpstar is sending me the 120mm version from this series. Will be fun to do some similar testing.
great work , as always. this is a beast of a scope, and it looks very promising at that price. it would be nice to make a visual orientated review using single eyepieces and binoviewers. i know it's not your area of expertise, but since there arent any reviews online yet , it would be nice. also your observatory looks great! clear skies!
I am a big fan of your high quality work. State of the art level.
Great repport! Thanks 👏👏
There is something very beautiful about the moon video, it really takes you there. Looks like a great scope for a very reasonable price. Oh, and that number plate 👍👍
Great review Nico. Too much scope for my mount (and pocketbook) but Askar has really been coming out with quality, economical products lately. Tempting! Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦
I have been hoping for the reviews of the new Askar large aperture telescopes.
Thanks for getting one - I am looking at the 120APO (the 140 is borderline and the 185APO is outside my budget)
I wish that they were a little more honest about the ED Glass - or more foreword about what type of glass that they use.
I also wish that the case for these had a cutout for the flattener and reducer and a space for a cutout for an astro-cam (using the default size for ZWO diameter would be nice).
Good to see a sky watcher mount there! And thanks for your content.
Great video!
YOU GOT ONE!! AWESOME
Fantastic photos!!
Thanks for the review.
Hi Nico, wow thats one monster refractor of a telescope, great video ! Will you make the test data available ? Would be nice to see it, without youtube compression. Appreciate your work, keep it up !
Just added the test data to the video description - thanks!
Thank you for your excellent review. Based on this I just bought Askar AP0 120. I have been following your channel for while and I appreciate all your work. One think I would like to point out is the traces of chromatic aberration that you showed in the 2 parallel examples. When you are comparing the views from the flattener and reducer the reducer sample exhibits more chromatic aberration because you are basically you are shortening the focal length this actually changes the calculated compensation on the telescope and produces more chromatic aberration. This event will happen to any telescope that uses lens elements because different wave length of light will bend slightly differently and the focus point will be slightly ahead or behind based on wave length. When you shorten the focal length with the reducer you are causing the light to bend on a steeper angle and this will increase the effect of the chromatic aberration making it more visible. So in collusion if you would like to achieve the maximum optical performance with the minimum chromatic aberration you need to choose a sensor that does not require reducer in order to prevent the additional chromatic aberration. Also the higher the pixel density on the sensor the more defects it will pick up from the surface finished of the optical elements . Again matching the sensor to the optical tube even at pixel density will ultimately improve the overall performance and produce better looking images.
Damn, Nico !! That's massive ! 😂 Can't wait for what you're gonna capture with it !
If anyone deserved to test this out it would be you. Can't think of anyone more deserving 👍
Awesome telescope and awesome shots!
Beautiful image Nikko
The video of the Moon was very cool. Thanks for the videos.
Great video mate, thank you
Great review. I just got my 140. Can't believe the price is under 2000 USD... With thr FF and FR, the total is 2600. It seems the 140 is good too.
Thanks for a great presentation! Have a much fun and dark nights!
I get more CA from my glasses than the images themselves. Very nice!
Excellent, thorough review, Nico.
On an unrelated note, seeing your observatory in the background with all the snow, did you think to install heating wires under your exposed rails to keep the snow and ice clear?
Haven't done that yet, because I haven't done any electrical work yet. So for this winter, I'll just be blowing/brushing the snow out of the rails. Hopefully for next winter, I will have the electrical done and can install the heating wires
Excellent review. The TEC180FL has been on my want list for years, but this Askar 185 is nearly a quarter of the price and seems like a superb value based on your imaging results. I do think it is best in an observatory as opposed to a portable scope. I am curious how it does as a visual scope on planets.
That vignetting you are getting is from the very narrow tubes of the camera. There is now way you would get those sharp stars with those vignetting figures if the vignetting would come from the optics, that is why the obvious problem is the camera opening and also the length of the tube of that opening which is about the diagonal of the sensor. You should have at least 5mm clearance on each sensor corner, but it should be larger due to the tube length, that is about 2 inches. So for this large sensor, a 65mm opening would work well, or the diameter of the correctors back end lens.
From what I'm seeing, you have both 68 and 54mm threads for those flatteners, which is good, because you can have vignetting free fields on full frame and possibly medium format given the very good field sharpness.
Espectacular teléscopio amigo
Mr. Carver, good review on this scope! It's hard to believe you can get such color free optics this large for under 5k. I'm glad you used the SW mount. It's good to know it can handle such a large scope. Are you going to keep the scope?
for sure, I'm glad he used the EQ6-R pro as well - that's a very affordable mount if you are talking about a 20kg load! It's way more accessible than the ones that are designed for piers
CEM70 would be better… the EQ6-R is maxed out, if you do it feed it 13.8v not 12.6v
Stunning images. How difficult was guiding?
I saw one of these on Saturday at the European Astrofest in London. Awesome telescope at £4750.
I know it doesn't impress you, but that last narrowband picture is gorgeous.
Some wonderful raw Lunar work. Great glass.
The observatory is looking great.
would love to see some side by side images of other telescopes of the same targets. great work
The observatory looks finished which caught me by surprise as you know, we only saw the walls last time.
I'm loving the observatory building series and I guess I already now know the end product. GREAT TO SEE IT'S ALL COME TOGETHER, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HOW YOU GOT THERE.
I love my FRA400. Very sharp and round stars. It works well with my ZWO 2600MC. Clear skies to you, but it's been raining here in NorCal since Christmas... :-(
good job Nico
I still can't get over the results people can get from their own backyards. Less than 20 years ago you would need the Hubble to take such photos. Then last year there was the introduction of the scope I'm most interested in, but can't afford on a retirement check, the ZWO SeeStar S50. I live in SW Utah, dark skies in my backyard and really dark skies a 30 minute drive away.
Hi there! Thank you very much for your review, probably the first about the big 185 mm😮 May I ask you: Have you detected some spherical aberration during the Star Test looking at bright stars of different colors? Thank you very much, regards from Italy.
Very nice!
I agree that the color split is atmospheric dispersion. Interesting scope.
The matched optics really help.
😂 the thumbnail, you look like the head vampire trying to communicate with the horde! "The enemy is close, we must prepare!" 🤣
Hello Nico, very nice review - loved it. Here's the thing: I've been mulling in my head for rational justifications to buy anything other than very fast optics; I own a RASA8 and the advantages of f/2 imaging are obvous. I mean, who would want anything other than f/2?? Indeed, why on Earth buy a 5000$ f/7 OTA, when you can have a 2000$ f/2 system that cuts integration times by more than a factor 12 ?? After a few months of letting that float in the back of my head, one day I found the answer. In one word : definition. Of course. An 8" RASA at 400-mm focal length doesn't quite cut it compared to a ~1400-mm 7" APO refractor. I can see a not insignificant difference when comparing your Elephant Trunk Image to mine taken with my RASA 8. A 1400 mm f/2 system would have to be a prohibitive a 28" aperture. So now, yes I think that a higher definition with beautiful details such as the one you've shown us is worth waiting 12x longer to obtain it. It's all a matter of compromise. Thanks for helping me sorting this out!
Say... have you compared an EdgeHD 8" with the Askar 185 ??
Different systems for different targets. A f/2 system is a wide field scope, and f/7 or 8 or 10 is a narrow field scope. If you want to image a small galaxy a f/2 system won't do it.
Agreed, there are pros and cons to each. With Edge stars are worse then on apo refractors, filter choise is much limited and you can't have filter wheel on rasa. On the other hand if you are living under darkish skies you find that more than 10 hour integration (on F7 scope) is not really necessary and with higher focal length you can get much more details impossible with shorter focal length. My favorite photos lately has been from a guy on astrobin with 1000mm F7.5 takahashi apo using medium format cameras. With such setup you can get wide field shot but also so much details with single stack that you can zoom and zoom and find new details or galaxies you never thought were there.
@@blufferblue1599 1000-1500 mm FL is a sweet spot for all sorts of targets. Extremes like f2 or f10 are for specific targets, that's why many people use more than one telescope. There is no do it all setup, but there is some middle ground. Luckily the middle range of the FL is where you find many newtonians, so you won't have to break the bank for a Tak
I have just got a Bresser AR152L (6", in old money) refractor.
So far this is how my viewing goes:
Step-1, Take out mount/tripod.
Step-2 Take out telescope .
Step-3, Take out bag of lenses.
Step-4 Try to mount the bugger.
Step-5. Sit down for a bit.
Step-6. Starts raining.
Step-7 Repeat steps 1 to 4 in reverse.
Well done ❤
Fantastic instrument, for 4800 USD that is a pretty good deal! Nice pictures as well, you are clearly on the more experienced side of astro photography 🤩
That's a monster telescope! And although expensive, I agree that the price is surprising. $5k is still a lot but it's "not bad" compared to some other higher end refractors.
Good review and congrats on the observatory, but way too many compromises in a 180mm scope for $4800 for me.
Rewatching this video, that flare effect is most likely from the notches on the lock rings in the flattner and reducer. Might need to change them to the hole style to avoid the light skewing and causing those flares.
About three months ago I was shocked that this refractor cost € 6.800,- here in Europe, really dirt cheap, about 40% of the cost of premium brand refractors in this class(LZOS, CFF)!! Now I am shocked again since I learned that in the USA it cost $ 4.800,-, about 4400 Euro's! These price differences are one of the reasons I seldom buy new stuff in Europe, only when in big need. Anyway nice review and have fun with the big glass!
Totally different to see this from the dark site in NH! ❤🎉
Oh my Gosh, the thing is massive!
Obviously, as in all telescope choice, focal length and image scale depends on local seeing. That 's why i've got my TEC 160FL with AP QUADTCC x 0.72. I'm also very happy with my Askar 107PHQ.
Damn it's big, soo tempted for the price, but maybe the 140 is a more sensible option. Looks awesome
Nice review and your channel. Will be doing my astrophotos,( planetary) with a achromat 120mm 1000mm focal length Celestron XL and a Baader semi apo filter and using the ZWO-AS1224MC color camera on a XL 70 equatorial mount. As a note: Just got into this and at the age of 80 so maybe can do some simple processing with the SWO soft ware. Again, Thanks for posting very interesting. At 3,700 ft in North West Arizona
Great review, have ordered one for myself.
Did you use M48 rings and extenders ?
Yes, I did. It's possible the vignetting could have come from those a bit, but I think I've used them before and saw less vignetting with other scopes.
@@NebulaPhotos you see, clear aperture of M48 is far less than fullframe sensor diagonal, especially when you count the distance from the sensor to reducer. Try to use at minimum M54 instead
@@nadirteymurov1 It would be a lot of work though as the flattener and reducer both come with 48mm threads from where the 55mm should start for backfocus. So to change to a M54 train would mean buying non-standard adapters/spacers.
I hope you can test the scope more for visual use. Many of us are not imagers.
Fantastic! How high is your pier off the floor?
Noob question...do you not also get Chromatic Aberations from the Atmosphere as well ? How do you separate those from the Scope's Optical properties ? Cheers .
Yes, you can, but it's more common when the telescope is pointed lower (through many layers of atmosphere), I picked an object that was high in the sky for this reason, but there could still be some element of atmospheric dispersion or something else. I am extrapolating a bit from what I've seen from other Askar scopes as well.
Please review the willam optics pleadies 111
Nice!!
Yes, me too, aperture, building a 25 inch Cassegrain..wish me luck