Askar V The Askar V provides for 6 different focal lengths by providing 2 interchangeable objective lenses (60mm and 80mm) with a reducer, flattener and extender for both lenses. Askar V is a newly launched product concerning our customers’ needs. It comes out with a big innovation, which means it has not only two objective lens (60mm and 80mm), but also three accessories (reducer, flattener, and extender). Users can choose and adapt accessories according to their needs in focal lengths. The overall appearance of the Askar V is simple and generous, the color scheme of ivory white and silver makes it cool and elegant, and every detail of the design reflects exquisite craftsmanship and quality. Askar V not only has an elegant appearance and high- quality mechanical design, but also has excellent star performance and rich function configuration. The V60 objective lens and V80 objective lens, both adopt a triplet APO design, two of which are ED glass, which can effectively eliminate chromatic aberration and increase image clarity. The V60 native focal ratio is f/6, and the focal length is 360mm. The V80 native focal ratio is f/6.25, and the focal length is 500mm. V is equipped with three additional accessories that are adjustable to 60mm or 80mm scales through rotation. The rear end of each accessory has M48 and M54 adapters with 2" built-in filter thread and the back focus is a standard 55mm. *Please Note: When using the V60 objective lens, you can rotate the accessories to 60 scales to use; when using the V80 objective lens, the accessories should be rotated to 80 scales to adapt to the different aperture sizes of the different objective lenses.

Askar FRA500 Sharpstar Optics introduces Askar FRA500 astrograph, which is the youngest among the well-known FRA- family, to our customers. Compared with its siblings, the 500mm-focal- length refractor has an aperture size of 90mm (f/5.6), so Askar FRA500 can better fit into the scenarios of deep-sky imaging than Askar FRA400. Besides, its more lightweight and compact than Askar FRA600, which makes it a great choice for out-door observation or astrophotography. Askar FRA500 has inherited the legacies of superior FRA- series designing. It boasts a quintuplet air-spaced APO optical structure, a “three plus two” Petzval lens combination. The front lens group consists of three lenses (including two pieces of ED glass) for excellent correction of aberrations. The posterior group is composed of two lenses separated by small space which is able to provide fine sharpness across the whole image. You may barely detect any blurry star at the edge of the image. FRA500 supports an image circle of amazing 55mm, much larger than the standard 44mm full- frame image circle. Its special back-focus design frees users from calculating confusing back-focus distance or rummaging around for a proper spacer. What you need to focus on is just to make your target stay in focus. Askar FRA500 is typically a wonderful mix of pragmatism and aesthetics. The astrograph shows smooth lines and a sound layout of components. From the front, the Askar FRA500 has an impressive dew shield decorated with a classic bright-red bezel ring. The total length of FRA500 is 452mm when the dew shield is stretched out and 410mm when contracted back. At the tail end of the astrograph locates a 3.5" massively-built focuser with dual-speed hand knobs (twin knobs for coarse adjustment and one 1:10 fine adjustment knob), which is of great use in real observation or astrophotography. The astrograph wears smooth coating and is evenly finished. The graduation inside of the focuser is quite clear and easily readable. The focuser is tough and solid, and on the left side of it, there is a standard finder base with a silver thumb screw. So the FRA500 can piggyback carry finders, guiders or other potential astronomy accessories. Askar FRA500 comes also with a pair of sought-after tube rings. On the top of the tube rings attached a handle and at the bottom, there is an Askar Losmandy- style dovetail plate. The combination of milk-white main tube and dew shield together with a high-gloss piano-black focuser makes the optical tube assembly calm and deep which is offset by the bright red decorative ring and tube rings. The Askar FRA500 is 410mm long and weighs about 4kg , so it’s quite convenient for users to carry around or mount on an EQ mount. It’s particularly suitable for astronomy enthusiasts who frequently engage in long-distance trips or out-door astrophotography. Askar FRA500 together with the FRA- family is well received for large aperture, fast speed, delicate focusing system, unique optical design and the subsequently high-quality imaging results. Wish the Askar FRA500 be a loyal companion alongside your journey of astrophotography.

Askar FRA400 Welcome to our brand new Askar FRA series! The FRA, which stands for “Flat-field Refractive Astrograph”,is a refractive equipment with built-in flat field correction. FRA can also be applied in visual observation. So the FRA series is among the few versatile and quality astrophotographic devices in the current astronomy market. The FRA series is among the few versatile and quality astrophotographic devices in the current astronomy market. For easy parameter conversion between different lenses, the first-come of the FRA family features a Petzval- like quintuplet design (two pieces of which are special ED glass) with an aperture of 72mm, a focal length of 400mm and a focal ratio of f/5.6, providing a 44mm image circle. The FRA400 quintuplet astrograph has adopted modern optical design with a retractable dew shield, a 3" rack-and-gear-based high- precision reducer containing a 360-degree rotator, M68×1 thread, a 2" adapter ring and a 1.25" visual adapter. The reducer is equipped with fine focal adjustment function for more precise calibration in practical observation or sky imaging. It’s excellent in controlling and possibly avoiding chromatic aberrations. The image quality is also optimized to satisfy various observing or imaging purposes. It’s worth mentioning that FRA 400/5.6 has a pair of fashionable-looking and multifunctional patented tube rings. Various practical attachments are available on three sides of the tube rings which is really a convenience for practical observation or imaging activities. The back focus of FRA400 is 140mm, starting from the base of mounting thread on the housing to the focal plane. And users don't need to worry about the calculation of back focus when using FRA400, as long as the object in the objective lens is focused. The portable and versatile astrograph can go with many potential attachments of other accessories during your observation or sky imaging. It’s definitely your intimate helper for your exploration. F/5.6 is a relatively fast focal ratio for astrophotographic use, but we further provide an ultra focal reducer to satisfy the special needs of experienced imagers, greatly reducing the practical focal ratio to f/3.9. This inventive combination supports full- frame imaging and can dramatically shorten the exposure time, which is a pioneering design in the astrophotography field. The inborn mission of Askar FRA400 is to simplify and enhance our customers’ observing and imaging practice, bringing them infinite surprise when safariing the boundless universe.

Askar 103APO After a long period of development, Askar have launched the new Askar 103APO, dedicated to enabling more amateurs to own a high-performance astrographs and explore the mysteries of the universe to their heart's content at an affordable price. The Askar 103APO is a 103mm aperture, 700mm focal length, and 6.8 native focal ratios OTA. In astrographs, the size of the aperture has a significant impact on observability and image quality. The aperture of 103mm gives it an inherent advantage in terms of light- gathering power, resolution, brightness, and contrast, allowing the photographer to gather more light and present more details and brighter objects in the image. Askar 103APO adopts a triplet air-spaced APO lens design, including one piece of ED glass. An APO (Apochromatic) telescope is a type of telescope with the ability to correct chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is a common optical aberration that causes colored edges or blurring around the edges of objects in an image. Other telescopes have relatively simple optical designs and are prone to chromatic aberration, especially at high magnification or in observations where color accuracy is required. However, APO telescopes employ special optical designs and multiple lens elements to correct chromatic aberration, naturally providing higher- quality object details and color accuracy. The Askar 103APO not only adopts a triplet lens design (while budget astrographs on the market typically use doublet), but it also has an ED glass to further enhance image quality.

Sharpstar 61 EDPH III The 61EDPH series has long been popular with astrophotography amateurs, In order improve the user experience, Sharpstar has optimized the 61EDPH Ⅱ and launched a new version - 61EDPH Ⅲ. The 61EDPH Ⅲ has more diverse functions and greater performance. It is a great choice not to be missed by wide field astrophotographers. The new 61EDPH Ⅲ still has high-quality optical standards like before and adopts a triplet air-spaced APO design. Compared to the 61EDPHⅡ, it upgraded to two pieces of low dispersion ED glass for more excellent imaging performance. It not only can be applied to visual observation, but also can provide higher- quality astrophotography. 61EDPH Ⅲ has a focal length of 360mm, a focal ratio of 5.9, and supports the 44mm full- frame image circle. It is a high- quality portable telescope. The 61EDPH Ⅲ upgraded the handle of the 61EDPHⅡ to a multifunctional handle, which can be connected to the universal vixen-style finder base. In addition, the 61EDPHⅢ is equipped with a 200mm long vixen dovetail plate, easier to connect to the equatorial mounts and accessories, and makes the OTA easier to balance on the mount. The appearance has smooth and natural lines, with the classic red and white color scheme, very simple and generous. The tube uses high-quality CNC machining, high-grade surface painting, and polished oxidation, elaborate and durable. The special full-frame reducer of 61EDPH Ⅲ: One end of the thread is M68 × 1, connected to the primary lens focuser; the other end of the thread is M48 × 0.75 and has a built-in 2" filter thread. The back focus is 55mm. If it needs to be extended, the adapter can be screwed down to reveal the M54 × 0.75 male thread, and the back focus becomes 75mm. The focuser adopts a quadruplet air-spaced structure, supporting full-frame imaging. With the reducer, the focal ratio of 61EDPHⅢ reduced to F4.4 and the focal length reduced to 270mm, is the first choice for deep sky astrophotography. In addition, 61EDPH Ⅲ can also be equipped with a special full-frame flattener, providing users with more options. The flattener: One end of the thread is M68 × 1, connected to the primary lens focuser; the other end of the thread is M48 × 0.75 and has a built-in 2" filter thread. The back focus is 55mm. If it needs to be extended, the adapter can be screwed down to reveal the M54 × 0.75 male thread, and the back focus becomes 81.5mm. The flattener adopts a triplet air-spaced structure, the peripheral light reduction control is excellent, can effectively improve the curvature of the field, improve the corner image quality, and reduce aberrations, so that users can take clearer astronomical photos.

Sharpstar Z4 Astrograph Sharpstar recently launched an integrated astrograph the - Z4. It has an aperture of 100mm and the focal ratio is f/5.5. The Z4 is a sextuplet astrograph with three lens elements at the front and three elements at the back, and two of them are ED glass. Just like other series of Sharpstar astrographs, the Z4 is designed as self-flattened so there is no need to calculate the back focus. You just focus on the targety and the optical system is ready for imaging.