Celestron RASA V1 versus V2: practical differences and value - Forums

Topic starter

Mar 17, 2026

Hi everyone,

I’ve been looking into the Celestron RASA telescopes.

Recently, I came across a V1 offered for about half the price of a new V2, which made me curious about the practical differences between the two versions.

From what I’ve read, the V2 mainly introduced the Ultra-Stable Focus System, designed to reduce mirror shift and mirror flop during focusing.

For those who have experience with these scopes, I’d really appreciate your thoughts:

• Are there any optical differences between V1 and V2?
• Does the V2 focusing system make a noticeable difference in practice?
• Are there easy visual ways to distinguish V1 from V2?
• If the price difference is large, would V1 still be a reasonable option today?

If anyone has images from both versions, that would also be very helpful.

Thank you very much, and clear skies!

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Matus Smutny

3 days ago

Hi, I’m probably late to the party, but to visually distinguish between the V1 and V2 just look at the back of the OTA:

V1 is equipped with mirror locks & 10:1 Feathertouch focuser

On V2 there are no mirror locks & instead of 10:1 Feathertouch there’s a singlespeed Celestron focus knob

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John Hayes

Frequent contributor

Exemplary contributor

2 days ago

A number of years ago (going on 10), I worked on a project to produce a precision focuser for Celestron. The first version that I made went into a C14 Edge prototype scope that is still running in New Mexico. It provided zero backlash, zero image motion, and super-smooth focusing performance. The feel of the focuser was like a Leica microscope. Celestron decided that it was too expensive to put into their SCTs but they did incorporate it into the early RASA14s. I’ve since asked them what happened to the design and they told me that they “simplified” it considerably so that the current design does not look like what I designed. I haven’t tried the new design but if they figured out how to make the performance the same, that’s all that matters. IF (and that’s a big if) it’s as good as that first scope, it’s worth paying extra for it!

John

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Matus Smutny

2 days ago

RASA 36 V1’s back features orange mirror lock cap, different focuser base secured with 6 screws and a curved base around the fan. V2’s focuser base has only 3 screws and a flat fan base:

Few months ago I was extremely close to bying used RASA 11 V1 for a bargain price to replace my RASA 8, alas, other financial priorities won the competition.