antares vs celestron focal reducer
It is not a corrector or flattener. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Celestron or Antares f/6.3 focal reducer for SCT? With the barrel 1.25 reducer won't focus, all I get is fuzzy snowballs. Planetarium software package which provides easy-to-understand explanations and impressive visuals of all kinds. Since the Celestron and Antares are supposed to have different focal lengths and spacing specs, I expected different results. But in the end they both do pretty much the same thing and it sounds like any performance difference is subtle. Free shipping $189.95 By Some third-party vendors also make reducers for SCT scopes. Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 800 Keep in mind that these differences were very subtle, and could be due to normal variations in coatings among different runs, and not necessarily unique to the brands. Obviously bright objects like Jupiter or The Moon show the reflections. Again, these focal reducers are often provided by the telescope manufacturer. Read our 101 article or get in touch. Perhaps not exactly- there will be some uncertainty because of manufacturing tolerances and so forth, but it will be close. Most reducers have a design reduction factor, MRD, that assumes the reducer is placed at a specific working distance, D, from the back surface of the focal reducer itself. It might work but it does not tell us anything about how well or to what extent the product works to correct the field of an SCT. Upon close inspection, it was clear that the housing of Antares assembled in Canada version was a little more substantial than the Celestron. Have always disliked the crude, noisy SCT threads, but I get it. I have the Japanese version and although I haven't used it in quite awhile, the views through it were superb with no internal reflections at all. Fortunately, my neighbors are not out in their backyards at 11 pm, or they may have thought I was torturing a small mammal. Any comments gratefully received. 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. 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. Copyright 2021 Stargazers Lounge The most popular accessories for your new telescope! Here, there was a subtle difference . 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. The f/6.3 reducer is operating at f/5-f/5.5 with a 2" diagonal, depending on the back focus length of the diagonal. They are also less expensive than many external focusers of similar build quality. Whereas the Celestron threaded smoothly onto the scope, the Antares chattered and squeaked a bit more so when being removed. A f/10 focal ratio now achieves a f/6.3, while an f/11 focal ratio now achieves a f/7. To test this, I used three set-ups: 1. Explore Scientific - Keys to the Universe Sale. 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. There may have been an almost imperceptible difference, but the Antares and Celestron were producing precisely the same reduction. 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 These reducers can also be used for visual observing with SCT scopes with eyepieces with a field stop as large as 24-27mm. What an enjoyable read and detailed comparison. There is a way to make subjective data more useful and that way is proper blind, or better still. EclipSmart solar products feature Solar Safe filter technology providing the ultimate protection from harmful solar radiation, including both IR and UV light, and filters 99.999% of visible light. The Celestron f/6.3 is ~150 compared to the Antares at ~70. We do not price match competitors if they are out of stock. Thanks for pointing this out. But when not in the box or on the telescope, there is no cover for the other end. Telescope Focal Reducers & Correctors - High Point Scientific However I've also read that the back focal distance on the Celestron is 105mm while the Antares is 81mm so they couldn't be identical. But is there a difference in quality between the Antares and the Celestron or Meade focal reducers? You currently have javascript disabled. Some faster refractors with a focal ratio of f/6, for example, only require field flatteners and not focal reducers. I focus using a moonlight electronic focuser and focusmax. Agena's Guide to Focal Reducers - Agena Astro I'm going with the Celestron. Contiguous US Customers:All items we sell ship for free within the Contiguous US. Once installed, you can add additional accessories like T-Adapters, 1.25 Visual Back, Star Diagonal, or Off-Axis Guider. High power views will provide flatter fields all the way to the edge, both visually and photographically. Your eyepieces are the first accessories you should learn to use with your telescope. Newtonian reflectors will seldom be able to accommodate the in-focus travel demanded by focal reducers. 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. I have both the Antares and the Celestron reducers. Even though the manufacturer did not specify the working distance or focal length of this reducer, it is easy to see from this plot that this item provides its stated reduction of 0.5x when it is placed at a working distance of 51.5mm between the base of the threads on the mount and the focal plane of the eyepiece or camera. Completely stuck, completely frustrated. And when used in some refractors, the field flattening is not as accurate as it is in the f/10 SCTs. For imaging, a T-adapter is threaded to the camera side of the focal reducer, which in turns connects to the camera with the appropriate hardware. Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 1100 - Celestron For both imaging and visual observing, these reducers also improve image sharpness at the edge of the field by correcting for coma and field curvature. I wont bother with differences in packaging, caps, etc. We process your personal data as stated in our. Anyway, when purchased my R/C the "original" Celestron unit was not readily available and was offered instead the one sold under the shop's own label (in my case Tecnosky, but I saw the same product offered under TS label). and you will be fine. Ive owned Celestron, Meade, and Antares models over the years at least a couple of each. Many focal reducers for refractors have a working distance (or back focus distance) of 55mm. I think there may be some confusion here, because Antares makes a variety of reducers for eyepieces and scopes in addition to this SCT R/C but this definitely is a reducer/corrector. You may need spacers or a T-adapter to ensure the correcting working distance. No difference. This focal reducer from Celestron reduces the effective focal length by 0.63X Enjoy the wider field of view & faster exposure times at f/6.3 with f/10 telescopes f/11 telescopes, such as the C14 will perform at f/7 The Celestron f/6.3 Reducer has four fully-multicoated elements Reduce your exposure times by a factor of 3! StevieDvd Members 1,182 1,812 Location: Stevenage, UK Posted March 9, 2021 (edited) Don't know but your welcome to try out my Meade 6.3 sct reducer next time you are passing. You can probably eke out 1.2 without noticing serious vignetting, which is a field stop of 31.5mm. . Better images are also obtained when using these focal reducers at a reduction factor of 0.5x 0.8x, approximately. looks virtually identical, except for the lettering. How does it look thats what matters. which looks like the same one. If you do so, you will achieve the design reduction factor. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, E of San Francisco Bay and W of the Awahnee, This is not recommended for shared computers, reviews here that suggest a coating problem, Back to Celestron Computerized Telescopes, Looking for advice on first refractor and camera. No idea what the issue is. He received his first telescope at the age of 5 and completed his first university course in astronomy at the age of 12, eventually receiving a master's degree in the subject. There will be no shipments on 3/1/2023, 3/2/2023, or 3/3/2023 (March 1st - March 3rd, 2023). Getting the proper back-focus for your imaging camera is a vital step in getting the best data possible out of your telescope imaging/research rig. USD $80.00. If I had to chose one, I would base my decision on your level of light pollution perhaps the Antares for its slightly higher transmission if you live under less light polluted skies, but the Celestron for its greater contrast if you are dealing with a suburban or urban light dome. They are designed (assuming you are referring to the f/6.3 version) for the f/10 light cone. The working distance (backfocus) of the Celestron f/6.3 reducer is specified to be 105mm from the base of the male SCT thread on the camera side. Sign up to get exclusive deals, observing tips, and new product announcements. (Note: Using the simple equations above, the focal length of this reducer can be estimated to be about 350mm). Product Details 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. But nearly every observer who installs one of these devices is pleased with their performance. Designed distancing using the reducer with a 1.25 visual back and 1.25 Televue mirror diagonal; For these items, please contact us to obtain a shipping quote before you check out using the online shopping cart.International Customers:Free shipping does not apply to international orders. The review is a subjective visual impression, which is interesting but not best evidence. 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. This rugged, 3-in-1 device features a true tactical 3-mode flashlight, a hand warmer, and a portable power bank for recharging your personal electronics on the go. Both exhibited consistent reduction, identical field flattening, and edge correction properties, and both were high quality optically and mechanically. Celestron & Antares f/6.3 Reducer/Corrector Shoot-out Focal reducers for these relatively fast ED refractors are generally for imaging only, not for visual observation. Many reducers, such as the Celestron HD focal reducer mentioned above, and many focal reducers for apochromatic refractors, are meant to be used within a few millimeters (or less) of the specified working distance to achieve the best possible image results. This is a. Focal reducers for refractors with focal ratio of f/7 to f/9, roughly, have a design reduction factor of about 0.75x to 0.8x and produce a flat field by correcting for the curvature of the objective lens. Your price: $579.00. * Not a Retail Store * 16313 Arthur StreetCerritos, CA 90703, USA. This means that there must be sufficient travel on the telescope focuser to make up for this. I really don't see any difference in the current crop except the "Meade" is usually the cheapest. If used with other f/ratios, the field flattening characteristic may be unpredictable. a Tele Vue Panoptic), or a Plossl eyepiece with an apparent field of view of 50 and a focal length of 32mm. For imagers using longer focal-length refractors and SCTs, especially when using smaller sensors that place less demand on the focal reducer, there are economical alternatives for focal reducers from manufacturers such as GSO, Agena, and Antares. What I do know is that the Antares and the Celestron samples that I have perform exactly the same from the center right out to the edges. 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. Reducer - Corrector At least these two units I tested make the answer - whatever. control and Sky Viewer display makes selecting your target easy. This innovative software solves the time-consuming problem of trying to pinpoint the North Celestial Pole. As another example,GSO makes focal reducers for their line of Ritchey-Chretien imaging telescopes. That's partly because focal reducers correct for field curvature, which itself depends on the focal ratio and other optical design factors of the telescope. At a significantly lower price point, the Antares is a steal, and theres no need to upgrade to the Celestron if you already have one. Focal Reducer, 2", 0.7X - Antares Despite never removing it no matter what I was looking at. riklaunim Members 559 3,445 Location: Poland Posted October 11, 2010 They are reported as identical. The faster f/ratio allows you to use slower film or shoot in lower light level situations and still properly expose your subject. The female end attaches to the rear cell of the telescope. Celestron Nexstar+ 127 SLT, several budget plossl eyepieces, Celestron 8-24mm zoom EP and a 12.5mm illuminated double reticle EP, Svbony SV205 camera w/.5 focal reducer, Celestron SkyMaster 20x80 binos on a 40 yr old QuickSet PanHead tripod, Stellarium, Sharpcap and ManyCam on my laptop, SkyView and Nightshift on my phone and a dandy little $9 . F6.3 Focal reducer for F/10 or higher telescopes, 43mm aperture, 4-Element, Fully Multicoated. I was going to measure the difference in grams, but my lovely wife caught me trying to use her precious, high-tech kitchen scale for the cause, and put the kibosh on it. If I had to go out on a very thick limb, I would have to say that these two reducers/correctors are, indeed, identical the exact same glass in slightly different housings with different lettering. Benefits limited to hardware and conditions? This was most noticeable on the eyepiece end of the RC, where the metal rim surrounding the lens was about 1mm thicker than on the Celestron. The reducer is we might presume designed to correct to some as yet un-measured extent, the image of a standard SCT. A reducer is a set of converging (or positive) lenses that cause the light from a telescope objective to converge at a steeper angle to the focal plane as if it were coming from an objective with a faster (lower) focal ratio and a shorter focal length. Sign up for a new account in our community. I have this one Opticstar F6.3 Focal Reducer / Corrector. So ab6110 is asking for a FR only without coma correction, there are a couple of brands who make special reducers for the ACF. As a result, the smaller tube may cut into the light cone and effectively reduce the working aperture of the telescope. Meade does not make an equivalent line of focal reducers for the ACF scopes, although some models of Meade ACF are already at f/8, faster than the f/10 ratio of Celestron Edge HD scopes. Start Chat As a consequence, the standard f/6.3 and f/3.3 focal reducers for SCT scopes do not work. Due to the design, the Reducer/Corrector lens does diminish a small amount of field curvature common to all Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes but does not eliminate it. Just point the telescope at any three bright objectsstars, bright planets, or even the Moonand your telescope can orient itself with the night sky. 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! if the illuminated field is 27mm wide without the reducer, it will be 27 x 0.63 = 17mm with it in place. The equations in the Appendix show how this all works. 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 tested GSO's 1.25" 0.5x focal reducer at a variety of operating distances and calculated the field of view through a telescope to derive the actual reduction factor that is plotted below. Because of their distinct optical design, slower Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes (SCT) with focal ratios of f/10 require a different design of focal reducer compared to refractors. Reducer Lens .7x - EdgeHD 1400 Learn More. WiFi technology encircles the globe in a web of connectivity, knowledge, and information. 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.
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