Telescope for Astrophotography - Askar V Review 

Well all in all, I’m very happy to hear things have been working out well for you!! Thanks for your feedback too! Cheers

Thank you, Bruce, that is very kind of you. I hope to have some solar photography tutorials in the future. Wishing you clear skies!

Thank you! 😄

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! It’s nice to hear your thoughts on this scope and accessories. Cheers!

Thank you, Denis! I think that the Sky Adventurer GTi with the 60mm imaging configs would be great.

Thank you! It is quite versatile. Hope all is well!

Thanks, Ken! It's been really fun reviewing the Askar V!

Thank you, Stephen. I've enjoyed becoming familiar with and seeing what it can do. Thanks for saying hello!

That’s awesome - congrats! I hope you have clear skies very soon :)

I would have to agree with you, well thought out, indeed. Thanks also for the kind words and for taking the time to stop by. Cheers!

Thanks, Keith!

Many thanks! Cheers!

Thanks! Lots of things going on to test this, but also very fun and interesting. I’m glad you found this helpful!

Of course :D

Hey Britt! Thanks very much. Cheers!

Glad to hear that! Cheers.

Thank you, Conor! It's a nifty device at a fair price.

It's a really interesting design, no doubt! Cheers :)

Thank you for the kind words and thank you for the wonderful ideas. I'll add those ideas to my list and try to find myself a Newtonian here. Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by.

Thank you for the kind words and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the CA. I'm always curious to learn what others' tolerance levels of CA and other aberrations are. Cheers

Thanks, Mike!

Thank you! The reducers and the extender are both correctors themselves (field flatteners). So the V Flattener isn't needed with them. Great question!

It’s quite the pair :)

Thank you and congrats on starting your astro journey! For post processing (non-linear data), I would recommend Photoshop, PixInsight, GIMP (free), and/ or Siril (free). For pre processing, DeepSkyStacker (Windows), Astro Pixel Processor, Siril, or PixInsight are all great options depending on your operating system, budget, and patience. Hope this helps and cheers!

Thanks!! Glad you like it :)

Couldn’t agree more! It’s a beautiful time! There’s some really cool products out there that are way more accessible to us than before, which is amazing :)

Thanks! If you were to attach the DSLR to any of the three correctors, you would just need a T-Ring adapter that would go between the camera (attached to your camera's lens mount) and then attaching the T-Ring to the back of the corrector. If you have an APS-C sized camera sensor then I would recommend using the M48 thread of the corrector but if it's a full-frame, I would use the M54. You'll need additional adapters or accessories if the latter to achieve the correct back focus. But with the M48 adapter to the T-Ring to the camera, that should be the correct back focus already for that configuration. Hope this helps!

Yes, very interesting, indeed. I have really been enjoying it. To your point, it's nice to be able to have FOV/ focal ratio options. Especially on camping trips, star parties, etc. Cheers!

Thank you, Rick! You have a nice scope there with the AT72EDII for DSO imaging! And I hope your planetary imaging season is off to a great start this year :) cheers!

What time of the year is planetary viewing season, is it always the same months ever year? Which planets are best to view during the season?

@@Mr.Thermistor7228 Generally August to November in my experience…

Hi Robert, I’ve done all of the above within the ASIAir app. But during my testing I eventually ended up going with resetting the focal length to 0 in the ASIAir app after I made a configuration change each time. I then would focus the optics, then plate solve and wait for the focal length to update in the app. If it was correct, i.e., matched what it should be for a given objective lens and corrector combo (which it was correct the majority of the time), I moved on to polar alignment. I liked doing it that way because if you, for whatever reason, forgot to make an adjustment to one of the correctors’ scales to match the objective lens, the ASIAir would update the focal length from 0 based on actual measurements from the plate solve. So if the focal length was updated to something wonky from 0, I could catch that I forgot to make the adjustment to the scale. This happened once and I found it very helpful. I would assume other times that if it failed to plate solve after manually updating the focal length to the actual focal length number that a possible issue would be that the corrector isn’t adjusted to the correct scale for the objective lens used. So all that is to say is yes, I set it to 0 :)

Many thanks! Cheers

It is! It’s the FWHMEccentricity script in PI. You have to have a luminance image for it to work. So you can just extract the luminance data from an RGB image and use that. I use the default settings in the script and then run it and then run it again with the “Source” function. That will generate the FWHM and Eccentricity maps I show in the video.

Thanks !@@SarahMathsAstro

Of course!

Thank you!

Hey! Thanks for letting me know. Apologies! Here's the correct link: bit.ly/3QuSjTh

I think any of the 60mm configurations would be fine for the SA GTI. Both for focal length range and weight capacity, you're within good thresholds. For the 80mm configuration with the reducer, you may be able to get away with using this setup if your camera and any other imaging accessories e.g., guide camera, guide scope, filter wheel, dovetail, etc., are lightweight. You just wouldn't want to exceed the 11lb payload limit overall. As for the 80mm with either the flattener or extender, even with only a camera, attached, these configurations are pushing the 11lb payload limit and also, these configurations have longer focal lengths which I don't think you'd be able to get consistently good results. But, possibly with no wind, excellent polar alignment, and guiding. Hope this helps!

Hi Kurt, congrats on the new camera. I believe with the duo, the 2" filter would go in the M48 x 0.75 threaded adapter side of any of the three correctors of the Askar V. Peter Zelinka uses the Askar V with the 2600 Duo as well as a filter in a recent video if you want to check out his configuration (since he has direct experience with the Duo): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KF_zDDY6ig4.htmlsi=fcQ7aMxQfvnAd7pz Cheers!

@@SarahMathsAstro Cool, thanks!!

@kurtbauch5491 yep!!

Thanks Kurt! Sorry to hear about your injury - major kudos for keeping at it with astrophotography despite it all. I do think that the Askar V and the AM3 would make for a nice combo. Just running some initial numbers with the 80mm objective lens and heaviest corrector, along with an astro cam like the ASI2600MC Pro and a guide scope, + guide camera, you're looking at about 5.5 kg. Which is still below the max weight capacity without a counterweight for the AM3 (max payload capacity w/o counterweight is 8 kg). I still plan on testing the Askar V's heaviest and longest focal length combo with the AM3 to see how it performs though. More to come in the next few months. Cheers

@@SarahMathsAstro Yes, thanks. The original injury and subsequent surgeries have definitely helped. Quick question (I hope): What is the best way to ask you for something like a review on, let’s say, the ASKAR 103APO? When I just saw the advertisement the other day, I went “oh no, maybe I should have waited”, but then I looked at the weight and thought I still may a good choice.

@kurtbauch5491 glad to hear that it’s better. You can ask here on RU-vid or any of my social media platforms via messages or comments. RU-vid at the moment is best though.

What did you end up going with? And thanks for watching and for the kind words!

Well I started 3 years ago with the Redcat 51 and Skyguider Pro and I got the AM5 and ASI2600MM earlier this year and as much as I wanted to get a petzval no backfocus worry scope like the FRA 500 I got the WO FLT91 with the 68III Flattener so my back focus pain is about to begin :) @@SarahMathsAstro

No, I believe the white residue is just from removing the visual back and adding/ removing the corrective accessories.

Indeed, you do need to refocus for each config. I will probably install an EAF to it, but even manually focusing was pretty easy. But yes, agreed that Bahtinov masks would be great to have included.

Thank you, Tom!! :D

I haven't had the chance to check out a Takahashi (dream scope!), but you know, it's not terribly surprising. Just given the nature of refractors. You can do a lot with glass and types of glass and spacing etc, but there's a lot to consider. I really would be very surprised to find any refractor that is $1,600 without CA at those apertures though. And that's why I really think this system is priced more than fairly. For the 80mm images, the entire nebulae didn't fit all the way. Although, for the 80mm+ Reducer and 80mm + Flattener, it was close. I should have shown a Stellarium image of the FOV since single subs are challenging to reveal much in Bortle 6/7.

@@SarahMathsAstro Thank you. I wish you continued success in all your endeavors. Again, very nice videos.

@@user-yd1zl1tv8x thank you, it's much appreciated. Wishing all the same for you. Cheers

Thank you! It was fun :)

I was shooting in a Bortle 6/7 with a waxing crescent Moon.

Which part specifically? The first configuration I did the optics test on did have blue fringing from atmospheric dispersion. No filters used in any configs.

Not yet, unfortunately. But it's on my list. As you may have already seen, I do have two videos on astrophotography with a DSLR/ mirrorless camera and different camera lenses. -One for Deep Space objects with a star tracker (mirrorless camera + 135mm prime telephoto lens, which functions basically the same as a refractor telescope) here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C-X3ky6x8ss.html - and one for photographing the Moon with a DSLR and zoom lens, here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G0ZyR2A4TO0.html if you have any other video requests regarding a DSLR and a telescope, please let me know!

Thanks! I still use a DSLR :) they're awesome and so versatile.

Great points. I’ll need to double check and see if Cuiv and/or Nico experienced the same. It could have been just this model or me, with user error in some respect. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

That would be pretty sweet!

Right? And if the same base scope could use 60, 80, 100 and 120 objectives?? That would be amazing! I really love the concept of a modular scope!@@SarahMathsAstro

I definitely would if I could get my hands on one. Having a Takahashi is a dream of mine.

Excellent question. No filter used here. Just lots of light pollution :)

I think this setup paired with a full-frame from one of those camera brands would perform fine for landscape photography. Since those full-frame cameras typically have larger pixels, it's not ideal for DSO imaging (although not awful... just not great if you want loads of fine detail in a DSO at these focal lengths), but for landscape, 5.34 micron+ pixels are totally fine, in my opinion. And as long as you have a solid mount head and tripod, you're good to go. The 80mm + Reducer would show the most field elongation at the corners, at least from my testing with the 1-inch sensor. Hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by and thank you for the kind words! Cheers :)

:D

You would be able to see the Moon at a decent magnification with the longest focal length of this system (600mm). But for clarity, it would also depend on your location’s atmospheric seeing conditions. Hope this helps :)

Couldn't agree with you more.

Thank you! I really appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism. The filler words have been a real doozy for me, especially during my streams of consciousness. Certainly a hard habit to break but it's great to get your insight especially coming from your background. I will keep working at it! I'm also glad this review was helpful and I hope you have many wonderful years with your new scope. Thanks again and thanks for subscribing! :) cheers

At last!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! I've been curious to learn what others' thoughts are on this system since it's something different in the astro market. Cheers!

🙏😃

:’)

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

Haha, you caught that :)

I know, right? haha :')

Poor resolution combo due to the large pixels is why I didn’t add it. One of these days I’ll have a full-frame with decently small pixels.

@@SarahMathsAstro Just get a ASI6200MM Pro. Ez 🤣

That would be pretty nice. Common products definitely have their advantages.

@@SarahMathsAstro i just started astro and i come from other areas where everything has standard interfaces/mounts so its been weird. I built my own refractor and had some sticking points because all the available focusers are telescope or series specific with outlandish mounting requirements rather than a industry standard flange for the size of tube.

:D

Not very many people 😅

@@SarahMathsAstro why am I not surprised you have (had) one :))) Did you whack the poor thing with a hammer 🔨? I do love your eccentric sense of humour Ms "M". Anyway (s) Great video btw, it must have taken you a lot of editing. I think they should have made the 60mm a 50mm so that you could effectively get a Redcat51 or a GT81 - both brill scopes. We've actually got some clear skies over the South Coast of England, at long last as Summers (and last Winter) have been a bust 😔😔

Are you referring to the large, darkish circles on some of the test images?

Thank you so much for the kind words and thank you for supporting the channel and becoming a Patron! You rock! If money was no object? Oh man. Probably a Takahashi refractor with a Software Bisque telescope mount. With an observatory enclosure, of course :D tbd on the camera situation. And as far as a budget-conscious setup… I would go for a star tracker with a sturdy tripod, a 135 telephoto lens, and an inexpensive DSLR or mirrorless camera. And a dual narrowband filter :) but that would just be for DSO imaging. For planetary/lunar on a budget, I would probably go with a Dobsonian or a Newtonian telescope and a DSLR or a small planetary camera. Honestly, so many options! What about you?

@@SarahMathsAstro No clue. It's because of finding your channel that I'm even considering anything better than a noob telescope with an iPhone attachment. After seeing some of your videos and images, I'm thinking I might be able to get some good closeups of the lunar surface, nebulae, planets and galaxies with a serious investment. I'm truly unqualified to answer the question at this point. I like how you explain hardware and software and how to detect shortcomings in imaging. It's very helpful information. I'm learning a lot here.