New (first) APO: Askar Fra 400 x Askar 71F + Reducer + ZWO EAF

Askar FRA400 Refractors Buying Advice
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Jair Rillo avatar
Jair Rillo avatar
Hi all,
 

I am looking for my first APO refractor (currently, I am using a Skywatcher 130/650 reflector). Based on extensive research and my budget, the final list is:
  • Askar FRA 400
  • Askar 71F + reducer (with the savings, I could also buy the ZWO EAF).



Basically, the new scope will be paired with a Touptek ATR533 color DSO camera.
 

From my research, the FRA 400 has better optics, as well as its Petzval system. However, the quality of the 71F, especially with the reducer, looks really good. Although this will be my first APO scope, the goal is to keep it for a long, long time.
 

Thanks!
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Leonardo Landi avatar
Leonardo Landi avatar
I am the proud owner of a FRA400. I used it from my backyard for NB and now it's installed in my remote observatory under a bortle 3 sky. In my opinion it's a wonderful scope, but I always used it with a small chip (asi1600mm). Now I have a 2600mm at home ready to go remote asap, we'll see the quality of the images with a larger chip. You can look at my gallery for some shoot taken with that scope, but I definitely recommend it.
Alex Nicholas avatar
Alex Nicholas avatar
FRA400 is a substantially better telescope than the Askar 71 (hence, the significant price difference between them)

Potentially, you might consider the 65PHQ, which is a 65mm f/6.4 petzval, usually can be purchased slightly cheaper than the FRA400, gives a 416mm focal length (so basically the same as the FRA400. With the savings, based on the fact that you're running a ToupTek camera, you won't be running an AsiAir, so maybe put that little bit of saving into the ToupTek AAF focuser, that's about half the price of the ZWO EAF… 

If it were me, I would consider a 65PHQ or FRA400 and try to stretch for the ToupTek focuser being your best solution, especially if you want the scope to last… I have been into Astrophotography for decades, and over the years I've owned APO refractors from all the biggest names… TMB, Takahashi, APM/LZOS, William Optics FLT's (back when they had TMB/LZOS optics) etc. and my 65PHQ was AMAZINGLY good and I was more than happy to hold on to it for a long time… 

I'm certainly not saying the 71F is a bad scope - because it isnt… Its just that corners were cut to make it fit the market segment that it was designed to fit… If you want a scope that will last you a long time, you want one that isn't cutting too many corners.

65PHQ has the best optics of the 3,
FRA400 is next, but it trades slightly worse stars for slightly faster focal ratio (FRA is F/5.6 vs F/6.4 for the PHQ) 
71F is a step down from both optically, and is slower again at f/6.9. (yes, faster with the 0.75x reducer, but, that speed increase comes at the cost of optical performance).
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AstroÅmazer avatar
AstroÅmazer avatar
Take a look at the images from the 71F + Reducer in this video:

https://youtu.be/2rX1Fs12smY?feature=shared

There is some variation in quality of the reducer. Nico got great looking results without it in a previous video.

Same can be said about all refractors - it's a lottery. But odds of better QA/QC catching issues are higher in the FRA 400 segment.
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