antares vs celestron focal reducer

They are also less expensive than many external focusers of similar build quality. Blue Fireball M42 T/T2 Thread Camera Adapter for Prime Focus Photography - 2" # P-06, Celestron T-Ring for Canon EOS Camera # 93419, GSO 2" Crayford Focuser for SCTs - Dual Speed, Length of male SCT thread = 5mm (0.2") but this is preceded by an unthreaded part on the eyepiece side making the total length = 8.8mm (0.35"), Length of female SCT thread = 7.5mm (0.3"). My application is mostly visual now, but I'm looking to do more astrophotography over time. Read our 101 article or get in touch. It also leads to larger (although fainter) images of extended objects like the Moon or planets for astrophotographers or visual observers. It's usually specified from the base of the mounting threads on the reducer's housing, and this is the most practical way of providing this specification. None of this was offensive, nor did it interfere with views in any significant way. Its a good thing I have the super lube handy or my neighbors wont be happy with me.come to think of it, Im sure the small mammals here wouldnt be thrilled either! Edited by bluewater, 05 September 2020 - 11:27 AM. In terms of reduction and correction - which are what reducer/correctors are supposed to do - both are superb. Some coma is visible in the corners, but the image is quite good for EAA applications. Stars in the corner of the image frame are indistinguishable between the Antares and the Celestron. First, I wanted to compare the actual reduction provided by these competitors, as many threads here cite different ideal spacing from the reducer to eyepiece focal plane to achieve the correct f/6.3 result. . With both, using the same diagonal set-up, the exact same stars were visible at the very edge of the FOV. When placed in the focal plane in front of a camera or eyepiece, a focal reducer leads to a wider field of view and a brighter image of extended objects, which is important for reducing the exposure times when imaging faint extended objects like nebulae or galaxies. This is one of our best-selling items, and customers have reported that this product is at least as good as, and probably better than, other leading f/6.3 focal reducers sold on the market for a lot more. In terms of reduction and correction which are what reducer/correctors are supposed to do both are superb. I've only used it a few times but it looks good to me. Request stock alerts and we'll let you know when the item is back in stock. It can also be used with any other small chip CCD camera having a 1.25" nosepiece, such as the Celestron NexImage, Meade DSI . For Stephen Wilkerson: The ZWO ASI120MC-S does come with a wide angle lens, HOWEVER, it is NOT intended to used when you are using the ASI120 camera attached to your telescope. To further factor out my natural astigmatism (I normally wear glasses while observing), I did the tests with my regular progressive lenses, single vision glasses I use when observing, and naked eye. As another example,GSO makes focal reducers for their line of Ritchey-Chretien imaging telescopes. And, the reality is that every F/6.3 RC out there Celestron, Hirsch, Astromania, etc., etc. Your mileage may vary. With this telescope and this focal reducer, it does not help to move to a 2" eyepiece and a 2" diagonal as the visual view will be akin to looking through a porthole within the larger apparent field of view of the eyepiece. Most focal reducers are designed to operate optimally at the working distance in the optical path to achieve their specified reduction factor, which is usually between 0.5x and 0.8x. You may need spacers or a T-adapter to ensure the correcting working distance. In some cases, focal reducers also act as field flatteners by correcting for field curvature and coma of the objective lens. They usually have a 2" barrel that slides into the telescope focuser. Not a bit. A few people have reported issues with the male SCT thread diameter on this item being a bit larger than necessary. The most commonly available focal reducers for SCTs are the f/6.3 reducers from Celestron and a similar f/6.3 focal reducer from Meade. How about for visual observers? My experience is that CN sellers are way above those listing elsewhere. control and Sky Viewer display makes selecting your target easy. It features a standard male SCT thread (2" OD, 24 TPI) on one side and a standard SCT female thread on the other. This is very impressive performance given how hard this problem is to mitigate in general. Some are available in 1.25" barrel format but with C threads. Even though they may have been slightly dimmer, galaxies were a bit easier to tease out of the urban light soup I deal with. It covers the basic optics and design specifications of a focal reducer, and goes through some practical factors to consider when selecting and using a focal reducer. The most popular accessories for your new telescope! Very helpful, thanks a lot for this article! Celestrons award-winning Nature DX binocular gets a major upgrade with the addition of ED objective lenses. Better images are also obtained when using these focal reducers at a reduction factor of 0.5x 0.8x, approximately. However, it will not thread into William Optics accessories, and with GSO it is a hit or miss. To calculate how much back focus spacing you need to add, take the thickness of the filter and divide it by 3. On the trail, at the job site, in the classroom, or simply sitting at home relaxing the Celestron Elements ThermoTank 3 will keep your hands toasty. In this case, d2 = FR/2, which means the back of the focal reducer is located at a distance FR/2 from the camera or eyepiece. Refractors, or SCTs with external focusers, may not have sufficient in-travel to reach focus in some configurations. 3. So, this past week I challenged the Antares and Celestron models to a head-to-hear on my C8 on some decent nights of good seeing and transparency in my Bortle 5-6 urban skies. Optically, it consists of a four-element lens that is fully multi-coated for high contrast and resolution. A focal reducer does just the opposite of a Barlow lens or focal extender. Focal reducers for refractors are easy to use. They provide 0.75x focal reducers for these telescopes that takes an f/8 instrument down to f/6. Both exhibited consistent reduction, identical field flattening, and edge correction properties, and both were high quality optically and mechanically. The Antares FR2-0.7X is the same 4-element f/6.3 lens system used for f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes but in a 2" barrel threaded for standard filters. This is especially true when these reducers are used with cameras with smaller sensors with a dimension of about 1/4 to 1/3 the diameter of the reducer, and with telescopes with a focal ratio of f/7 or larger. These 0.63x focal reducers were originally designed to optimize for an image circle to match 36mm x 24mm film or its digital equivalent for astrophotography. These RC reducers cannot be used with other types of telescopes. Meade once made an f/3.3 focal reducer for SCT scopes. Learn more about extra solar planets imagery, 3D Star rendering, observation planning, telescope control, multiple-panel printing, and much more. These scopes are compatibles with focal reducers. I wont bother with differences in packaging, caps, etc. Images in the Celestron tended to appear ever-so-slightly dimmer (maybe? No rainchecks will be issued for items out of stock at OPTcorp.com to match a competitor's price. Not noticed any optical problems. So it provides a 0.63x design reduction factor when used with an f/10 SCT at the specified working distance. ED stands for "extra-low dispersion," which refers to the composition and optical properties of the glass used for the lenses. Unlike . For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. GSO, for example, has a 0.75x reducer for RC scopes with a back focus of 80mm, which is usually enough room for a wide range of astronomy cameras and accessories and spacers as needed. That means the base of the mounting threads of the focal reducer needs to be 55mm from the camera sensor to achieve the design reduction factor, which is usually 0.8x or 0.85x. Again, to my surprise, there was absolutely no difference between the Celestron and Antares on any star. However, even though the imprint on the item states "Reducer / Corrector" please note that his is a reducer only. Thank you so much for the informative article, I now understand better how to integrate my reducer into my system to get better performance. Manish holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Antares or Celestron? He also holds a Ph.D. in engineering physics from McMaster University. Sign up for our newsletter to get exclusive deals, observing tips, and new product announcements. Copyright 2003-2022 Agena AstroProducts. No negative issues to report. Who cares? Manish Panjwani has been an active amateur astronomer since before Halley's Comet last flew by our neighborhood. Such an image circle is still large enough to encompass the relatively large sensor of many deep-sky astronomy cameras. The Antares f/6.3 Focal Reducer for Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes is a low-price option for reducing the focal length of your Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope from f/10 to f/6.3. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. The author finds differences in throughput and color balance, but then says he thinks the lenses are identical and he reaches his conclusions based on very long observing session. Right off the bat, I was struck by how similar the two R/Cs were. So ab6110 is asking for a FR only without coma correction, there are a couple of brands who make special reducers for the ACF. Celestron is considered better in terms of QA, less likely to come with free dust, hair or fingerprint. Much to my surprise, swapping back and forth between the two correctors using all three diagonal configurations, I also could detect absolutely no change in reduction between the two reducers. I'm going with the Celestron. control and Sky Viewer display makes selecting your target easy. Does anyone have any experience with the Celestron and Antares focal reducers? Easy solution found a very tiny dab of super lube on the threads and all was well and quiet. All Rights Reserved. Focal reducers also move the effective focal plane of the objective inward, that is, towards the objective (see Figure 1). The telescope side of the barrel is often threaded with an M48 x 0.75 thread for standard 2" astronomy filters. This is the simplest way to attach your ASI121 to your telescope. Unique focal reducer and field corrector lens accessory Reduces the focal length and f/ ratio of your Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope by 37% Provides a dual focal ratio instrument, without sacrificing image quality Compatible with all Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (see compatible list in description) Share Customers Also Purchased Description A little longer light path with a 2 Baader click-lock, low profile 1.25 adapter, and the 1.25 diagonal; However, these will not impact optical performance. Or, when the distance of the focal reducer to the focal plane of the objective d1 equals the focal length of the focal reducer FR, the reduction factor MR = 0.5x. At least these two units I tested make the answer - whatever. ED glass is specially formulated and contains rare-earth compounds that greatly reduce a visual defect called chromatic aberration. Observing the microscopic world has never been easier! * Not a Retail Store * 16313 Arthur StreetCerritos, CA 90703, USA, Availability: Item has been discontinued by Agena and we no longer carry this item. M44 was a perfect target for this, as its large size maxes out the FOV on a C8 with a corrector, and its bright stars make great targets for measuring the very edge of the visible field. Please let us know what topics you are interested in. If yes, what kind of focal reducers can I use? This "speeds up" the optical train by reducing the focal length and magnification of the scope, requiring less time to integrate the same signal. Yellow and orange members of open clusters stood out a bit more as the various stars displayed their individuality. Figure 6 shows a 1.25" focal reducer from GSO configured with a ZWO ASI224MC camera. I have this one Opticstar F6.3 Focal Reducer / Corrector. Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 1400 Learn More. I also used several eyepieces including the ES 24mm/68, 17.5mm and 12.5mm Morpheuses, and a 10.5mm Pentax XL. Based on Test 1 and Test 2, I think there is perhaps more validity to opposing statements here in these forums that the Antares and current China-made Celestron do, indeed, have exactly the same optics just with different housings and branding. In this case, an additional T-adapter (with an optical length of 50mm) is needed to get the spacing correct for a DSLR or other camera with a 55mm back focus. There will be no shipments on 3/1/2023, 3/2/2023, or 3/3/2023 (March 1st - March 3rd, 2023). Can these economical focal reducers from GSO and other vendors result in good images? The EdgeHD .7x Focal Reducer Lens makes your EdgeHD 1100 one full F-Stop faster than f/10, reducing your exposure time by half to capture the same brightness of object . For this test, I used a single configuration R/C, Click-lock, and 1.25 diagonal with the adapter. A longer effective focal length leads to higher magnification with a given eyepiece for visual observers. Celestron Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 925 The EdgeHD .7x Focal Reducer Lens makes your EdgeHD 925 one full F-Stop faster than f/10, reducing your exposure time by half to capture the same brightness of object 5-element lens design Maintains similar. The Celestron f/6.3 is ~150 compared to the Antares at ~70. Many focal reducers are meant to be used within a few millimeters of the specified working distance to achieve the best possible image results. Performance wise what differences might there be using the reducer on a smaller scope. Increasing the operating distance, that is, moving a focal reducer away from the eyepiece or camera reduces its reduction factor, or conversely increases the amount of reduction. InternetSales@optcorp.com. Photographically you also get a wider field and much shorter exposures. Now, Celestron is using that same technology to allow star gazers to connect to the night sky and enhance their experience of the cosmos in fun and unique ways. Since 2008, Brian has taught astronomy to tens of thousands of stargazers through his websites OneMinuteAstronomer.com and CosmicPursuits.com. Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 800 Learn More. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. For Ritchey-Chretien telescopes such as those manufactured by GSO, there are also dedicated focal reducers with a reduction factor of 0.7x to 0.8x. One focal reducer will not achieve optimum results with all types of telescopes, so there is no universal' focal reducer. Antares' f/6.3 focal reducer provides a faster f/6.3 system for imaging or visual use when used with an f/10 SCT or other compatible telescopes. It works fine but you should stick with 1.25 EPs; or can use 2" EPs without corrector. Contiguous US Customers:All items we sell ship for free within the Contiguous US. SKU: CEL-94245. In practice, it's important to remember that you will rarely operate at the exact working distance and at the exact reduction factor that is specified. a Tele Vue Panoptic), or a Plossl eyepiece with an apparent field of view of 50 and a focal length of 32mm. I've seen some older threads saying that the Celestron, Meade and Antares FRs are all the same and manufactured in the same factory. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. If you are using a camera that has a back focus of less than 55mm, additional spacer rings will be required between the reducer and the camera. You can probably eke out 1.2 without noticing serious vignetting, which is a field stop of 31.5mm. This fully multi-coated lens provides maximum light transmission with near full-field illumination. More important, its clear that the Antares is a reducer/corrector, just like the Celestron and not merely a reducer. Edited by Tony Bonanno, 16 April 2021 - 06:44 PM. Unlike SCT telescopes, Ritchey-Chretien telescopes and Celestron Edge HD or Meade ACF scopes have internal optics that provide an inherently flat field, so these telescopes require a special focal reducer than does not provide additional correction for field curvature. An eyepiece with a 27mm field stop yields a true field of 1.03 in the C6 at f/10. It was also a little brighter in the center of the field with subtle darkening in the outer 20% or so. On the camera side, the focal reducer has male M42x0.75 or M48x0.75 threads that attach directly to the T-ring (with an M42-M48 adapter if necessary). However, this also came at a cost, as the sky background in the Antares was slightly brighter. But is there a difference in quality between the Antares and the Celestron or Meade focal reducers? As a real-world example plot showing the above relationships, let's look at the 1.25" GSO focal reducer that provides a design reduction factor of 0.5x. Theres a long-running debate in these forums and even statements from some reputable dealers that the Antares is just a reducer (even though it is labeled Reducer/Corrector), whereas the Celestron is a true R/C, which flattens the SCTs naturally curved field and provides some edge correction. Yet, the Antares still easily and fully threaded without any hitches. 1.2" in that scope is a field stop of 43mm at f/10 and 27mm at f/6.3. Sharpness is essentially the same. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. When you said, "in some cases" a focal reducer also works as a flattener/corrector, are you saying that not all focal reducers are flatteners/corrector? I was originally hoping to do this with a made in Japan Celestron, but ended up with a newer China version but thats probably better in the end since it is the version now available, with the Japan ones rarer and only available used.

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