$130 Telescope vs. $600 Telescope vs. $1,750 Telescope
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- The 80mm refractor is a great first telescope for the budding astrophotographer, but there are so many choices! This video will review three to give you an idea of what to expect at different price points.
Telescope Purchase Links
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Askar 80PHQ: tinyurl.com/as... and 0.76x reducer: tinyurl.com/80...
Svbony SV503 80ED and 0.8x Reducer/Flattener: ebay.us/A5S4Eb
Alternate links (astrogear.net) for Svbony SV503 80ED and Flattener: tinyurl.com/ag... and tinyurl.com/ag...
Orion ShortTube 80 OTA: amzn.to/3B7CZo7 or with rings: tinyurl.com/st80a
Patreon
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This video was made possible with the generous support of my members on Patreon. If you would like to join, it starts at just $1/month, and there are many perks! / nebulaphotos
Channel Disclosures
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I am a member of the High Point Scientific, Astrobin, OPT, Agena Astroproducts, eBay, and Amazon affiliate programs. Product links in my video descriptions are typically affiliate links, which means, at no extra cost to you, I will make a commission if you click them and purchase something. I also have working relationships with the following companies/brands to receive products to test: Askar, Svbony, High Point Scientific, Agena Astroproducts QHYCCD, WOBoyz, SmallRig, Venus Optics, Astrogear.net, Night Sky Camera, Hunt's Photo & Video. I do not review products for money and any brand deals will be fully disclosed. If you have any questions about any of this, please get in touch.
WARNING: This video was comment-bombed by a scammer impersonating me. If you received a reply from someone about a package, that is NOT me. Do not engage with them. I am not on Telegram or Whatsapp, and will never run a giveaway through youtube comments or those apps. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully TH-cam can fix this problem soon! ~Nico
It's not just your channel, every channel i comment on lately has them lol
@@yesterdayschunda1760 lol, was a joke?
@@borghorsa1902 Nope the bots are real he isn't joking, They are linking to malware
Luckily it happened to me on another general photography channel recently so I was sensitised to it, thanks for the pinned post though, really helpful
I have come across them already, too. Bunch of bottom feeders. what is BackFocus and how would know if and how to account for it?
Well done. It's the law of diminishing returns. Extra $500 gets you a lot of return compared to the extra $1k, but if you're going for perfection it's worth it.
I love my Svbony! It's been a great first refractor for me. I use the reducer/flattener and the Svbony guide scope and 120mini guide camera. Hoping to get a new main camera soon, mine melted in a house fire. Thanks for all the videos, you were one of the people that got me into this fantastic obsession.
For sure!
Unless you need the results to win a contest, the results of the SV503 for $600 is the best bang for the money hands down.
What a great honest comparison of three different price ranges of scopes. I have the svbony 102ed, and it's so hard to break through this "it's cheap so it's bad" mentality with people. I'll be linking your video all over the place, thanks for doing such a great job.
But let’s be honest. That Askar is badass!! Why wouldn’t someone want to upgrade to something that lets us see things we never get to see in better detail! Just gotta save is all of that is what you would be truley happy with
А если бы у вас был Orion то никто ничего бы не заметил? ))
@@jackkenny4194that’s such a stupid outlook. By that logic, don’t bother buying any of these scopes, as the James Webb can see things in detail like you’ve never seen before! Just save up a few billion and get nasa to custom make one for you.
Unless you need the results to win a contest, the results of the SV503 for $600 is the best bang for the money hands down.
Now the 80mm Svbony is just 400$
I'm the happy owner of the best bang for the buck :-)
Contacted Svbony and after several texts they suggested getting sv188p dialectic diagonal. I had the sv221 but they suggested the sv188p was preferred. I bought it, tried it, and was able to focus the tele. No flattened. No extensions.
Thx for your respond!
Any of these for watching the planets
I don't even own, nor have plans to buy a telescope. And I watched your complete video. Thumbs up for such an informative, excellent quality review!
Hi, I started AP last year and have 3 scopes now and still use my ST80 to this day.
A few notes about the ST-80:
1. My dew shield gets off of mine, but i think i have the older model
2. To reduce gradients, a good and easy tactic is to color the side of your lens with a black permanent marker.
3. I needed to add an extension to my camera to be able to get proper focus.
4. it's 100$ frikin dolla
5. I have been able to produce nice images, most problems can be treated in editing.
Great tips! Thanks
Awesome job Nico! - I love videos like this, huge respect for the amount of work to do it right too my friend, awesome job! 🙂Clear skies!
Thanks Luke! Yes, I still don't quite have my testing protocols to where I'd like, but I try my best, and hopefully get better with each video.
@@NebulaPhotos for 1600 you can have a Nikon p1000. This telescopes are garbage in comparison with that camera. Check how the stars look with that super camera. Little by little people will figure out that naza is a pack of liars.
@@stolearovigor281 what is NAZA?
@@kevinashley478 He meant NASA
Now that SVBONY has released their SV550 APO triplet for around $800 it would be a great comparison to add to this. At half price of the Askar, the new SVBONY triplet seems a great value.
Great video
That svbony 503 80ed was my first refractor and it exceeded all my expectations. With the field flattener it really is an awesome imaging scope for the price range.
Josh, which eyepieces are you using?
Great review. I used to have a 12" Dobsonian and a small refractor for my children when they were young 25 years ago. I'm thinking of getting a hobby scope again and I think I'd like the option of dabbling in astrophotography. This has been a great help in narrowing in on what would be appropriate for me. Thanks again.
Thanks for going out on a limb of the galaxy and boldly showing what no one has shown before.
Was just looking at the SVBONY! Thank you so much for comparing these 3 so I know exactly what I'm getting
Very good review. Drawing analogies to conventional camera optics:
1. Two elements corrects chromatic aberration (color fringing) for two out of three colors to be “achromatic” but adds no correction for coma (triangle effect near the edges) or field flattening. The SVbony does an amazing job of bringing the third color into correction.
2. Add a third element, and you add correction for flatness of field. With the “field flattener” the SVbony becomes in effect a three-element lens.
3. Four elements gets you spherical aberration correction, a fully-corrected achromatic or something approaching apochromat with ED glass, depending on who is in charge of the definition.
Limiting maximum aperture and keeping focal length in the normal-to-long range for the format minimized spherical aberration and field flatness issues for the simpler camera lenses back in the day. Seems like Orion did a pretty good job with the test scope considering the wide aperture. Better for direct viewing with a decent eyepiece than photography, clearly.
Thank you for this eye opening comparison. For an APS-C shooter the Svbony seems to offer very good results.
Thank you, you made me decide. I am gonna get Askar for my daughter as her first telescope. We will go out of the city, set it up, and take many beautiful pictures!
Hi Nico, your content just gets better and better. This really does make it clear what you are getting for your money and just how much of an improvement you get from ED glass compared to an Achromatic telescope. Looks like people will get great results from that Svbony without needing to break the bank.
I honestly think this is a massive service to the community and in hindsight its a really simple idea, just show what each telescope does with the same target.
I recently tried to do mono imaging on a skywatcher startravel telescope, rebadged orion so same scope, and I could just not get rid of halo's on blue filters so sort of solved the question of "Can mono imaging cure the deficiencies of acrhomats?" with a resounding no, even using narrow band OIII filters couldn't cure the blue issue. Would be nice to see what the Svbony could do in mono imaging too does that bring it up to the level of the Ascar?
Welldone!
This is why I’m a Patreon member! So clear, precise, easy to understand information. 🤙
Compliments ! Your presentation is very informative and gives me the idea about the quality-span of the different refractors - thank you for sharing this! All the best & greetings from Switzerland & CS
Your videos are informative, detailed, and "full of learning". You have a wonderful astrophotography channel and your work is greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much! This is one of the best, most thorough reviews I have seen in a long time. Great job!
Awesome video Nico. I have the SvBony 80ed and I am totally pleased with it, even though it is only a doublet. I have a crop sensor camera, so it never disappoints for the price range.
Thinking of going the same route. SVBONY has really made a name for themselves in astronomy!
I feel like the Svbony made one heck of a showing here.
As with all things size and quality matter.... In this comparison all 3 have same 80mm diameter. Engineering, material, quality of components all make a big difference. You explained this technical topic is understandable terms and had good examples. I have been looking around for a suitable telescope and this video was helpful.
Fantastic comparison review Nico! Would have liked to see a triplet like Astrotech, Skywatcher or Explorer scientific around $900 price point included. The SVBONY from Hong Kong is an emerging giant killer in this highly competitive amateur astro area. All their accessories also are very good from a price to performance ratio. SVBONY and ZWO products make a wonderful starter kit with a good GEQ mount thrown in. HEQ5 is my preference.
One the best comparison I ever saw. Thank you. I know now what I paying for. Good Job
The # of ED glass DIRECTLY relates to the costs. The field flattener is essentially "built in" to the triplet so... if you have less $'s just buy a good doublet and then add the field flattener. Essentially, you get "what you pay for". Been an AP guy for a while now. My SW 100ED was $900 when I bought it but now goes for around $1,300 so it slots between your top 2. I picked up the SW .80 flattener, ASair Pro, 2 ZWO cameras and use an HEQ5 mount. Just found your channel and have now SUBSCRIBED
Great video Nico! You really know how to pull off a review that is informative and also fun to watch and listen to
I'm happy I came across your channel I want to get a Telescope and your channel has just opened my eyes to everything involved. I definitely will getting the better-quality scope Thanks!!
Have to say that the quality of the svbony is impressive. Looks very good quality.
Just saw the whole video. That svbony is a weapon! He'll of a scope for a low price.
This video cleared all my doubts!
Definitely a case of you get what you pay for. It's all in the optics. Great set of tests. Thanks Nico.
Thanks, now I need a quad.
Really interesting and in depth review/comparison. I really liked your methodology.
Excellent explanation. Very clear. I had to stop the video a couple of times because I though it was my cat calling me, at third time I realized it was from the video.
This was an awesome, educational video. I certainly understand this comment will be cringy... but as a complete novice.. I was like " but I like the cool blue and purple colors"...
Amazing video, Nico, extremely clarifying! Checking the images, it really shows that the Askar is a pretty good bargain at $1750.
100% agree about not skimping on the mount!
Every time I see people asking this I say the same thing to them, that you can have the best telescope, camera, and everything else in the world, but with a crap mount you will still get crap images.
As well as the fact that I'd much rather have two telescopes and one mount, than have two mounts and only one telescope.
In fact that's why I'm here now, I'm thinking about about getting a better scope, because I spent most of my budget on a HEQ5 last year and cheaped out on the scope, and I don't regret it one bit.
And from where do we buy such a telescope?
I saw the Best Buy website that does not have telescopes as good as the one you explain about in the video
But I don't know where we can get a good telescope and get close to long distances, as shown in this video?😥
Agena Astro and High Point Scientific are the main US Online Retailers. But the Svbony scopes also sell on Amazon and eBay. Check the description for links.
Finally someone to explain now what's the smallest one I can use to see galaxies
You can see the brighter galaxies like the galaxies in the Messier catalog with any of these. If you want to photograph them, these would work fine. If you want to view them at the eyepiece, I'd suggest a dobsonian telescope, bigger the better.
That was awesome. Been looking at the Askar Q series and this helps me decide
Great comparison. Nice breakdown between these refractors.
awesome! that was a really helpful and interesting video! thanks for sharing. I especially enjoyed the pictures compared (where you explained the details of the same frame used).
Honestly, I'm impressed with the SVBony. I have a micro four thirds camera I'm planning to convert to full spectrum.
Excellent break down, Nico. Definitely gets into diminishing returns with the higher investment - but still quite clear.
Awesome Nico! I like the William Optics Zenith Star 61 as well. Keep up the great work dude!
Heyyy...very nicely done. Your comparisons were thorough and well explained. And your visual layout was super easy to follow. 10/10, will subscribe.
Tanks Nico for your informative vid and tutorials. I just wish a dollar is a dollar regardless of where you are in the world. Here in Australia the ASKAR 80 PHQ sells for Au$2599 without any extras. I have yet to buy any gear but doing a lot of research before jumping into a new hobby. Cheers and keep up the good worl.
I've been looking for a rundown like this for a long time. Thank you!
Who will pay 1750$ for the 80 mm Askar when an Svbony 122/854 mm FPL51 ED-triplet is just 1500 $ ?
Fantastic video Nico. I'm currently testing the PHQ80 for Sharpstar and completely agree with everything you have said. I've been using it with the 2600mm which is an APS-C camera and the stars in the corners are absolutely fantastic. That SvBony seemed to produce some great results as well. Excellent video as always.
Thanks Russell! Yes, the PHQ80 looks like a winner for sure.
A really good video, not glossing over any of the details of each scope, including the different thread options, available flattener/reducers, and great image comparisons to show what each scope is capable of.
This video was perfect for where I'm at. I know very little about telescopes but I've been on the hunt for an amateur setup & have been interested in how ball-park price range translates into visual quality. I know there's variables within each bracket but i feel this has been a sound general unpacking.
Rotation is essential I'd say even just for observational astronomy if balancing an issue though length weight dependant. Richfields can be small portable and a bargain
Awesome Review Nico,The Evoguide50Ed Is The Reason I Chose It,For The Glass,and For Solo Widefield..But Been Looking At That Orion 80..I See It For $199 Rings and 8x40 Finder,90* Diagonal And 2 Sirius Plossl EP,I Forget The Mm,And Already Have Everything I Need To Observe Or Image,And Thank You For Showing Me How To Finally Use My Eqm35Pro😂🤷🏼♀️Clear Skies Nico,and God Bless🙏🏻❤️🌏✨🔭…..Update….Santa Brought Me The Evostar80ed..Paired With My Evoguide,and My Eqm35Pro,Always Been A Big SW Fan,And Now Have What Is A Dream Deep Space Set Up For Me😇Havent Seen The Damn Sky In 4 Months🤨
We are at a golden age to where you can buy a nice refractor for under a grand, only caveat is quality assurance may be off so be sure to purchase from a reputable dealer so you can return if you get a lemon. Not all scopes come out the same in mass production, two otherwise identical scopes may perform differently…. Higher priced scopes normally weed these out in the QA process while lower end ones may slip through. Try to educate yourself on basic star test so you can immediately tell the difference
Just found you, this is the first video of yours I've watched... I'm impressed. VERY well structured. I hate having to wade through the slop of YT video's with ADHD presenters that make it so hard to follow. I've subbed and looking forward to getting into this hobby with my daughters. :)
Thank you! If you have any questions, you can comment on any of my videos, and I try to respond to all the real questions people have. Or if you'd rather, feel free to email me: nicocarver at gmail dot com. Clear skies! Nico
Those scopes would be a piggyback finder scope for my, 9.25 sct . Hand work speaking is overload for me. Rock on 🤘
Always informative and to the point. Thanks!
Thank you. I use a Sigma 150-600mm on APS-C. It works very well
Can you see Saturn rings?
@@cantkeepitin Yes but very small. For Saturn I use the telescope with ZWO ASI camera
I've learned a ton of stuff from this video!
I really like that Askar scope... a bit slow natively at f/7.5... but that's pretty much my only gripe with it. Quadruplet design... good rings / bars with plenty of mounting points... beefy focuser... brings a lot to the table for a $1750 price tag that _includes_ the 0.76 reducer. I own a GT81 and it requires a flattener of some sort. WO sells the 6AIII which is a combined reducer/flattener. They do not sell a non-reducing flattener, so you'd have to get something like the Stellarvue if you wanted to run the GT81 at its native focal length. I like the simplicity of being able to use the Askar scope without any additional components or having to worry about whether you got the spacing right.
If I were looking for an imaging scope in the 80mm aperture range, the Askar would be pretty high on my list.
I bought the Svbony 503 scope. It has very good optics for the price! Can’t wait to try it out during the winter:)
I wonder how the pictures would have looked like if the Orion would have been an 80 cm long F10 instead of 40 cm F5. With an F10 the chromatic aberrations would have been a lot less visible, right?
Thank you for this breakdown. Very helpful video.
Sir. Excellent video. Outstanding presentation and breakdown details about the scopes. Subbed and Voted.
With that being said and on a personal note, I highly recommend you do something with your hair. I know it is the thing these days, but it is not working for you at all. Mid length or semi-close cut. Add some volume with styling. Maybe the swept back high top look. Total look changer. Ladies will like it even if it is superficial.
Your videos are incredibly informative and helpful, so thank you for all the great work! The Askar design seems great. I'm thinking about the 107 rather than the 80 though (I already have a WO Redcat 71. Trying to figure out what kinds of FOV the 107 would offer for galaxies. Anyway, outstanding content, thanks again!
Everything I've tried in the Askar PHQ series has been great so far! For visualizing the FOV of the 107 with different DSOs, you can use telescopius.com or my favorite is Blackwater Skies Imaging Toolbox: www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/imaging-toolbox/ I have a short tutorial on using it here: th-cam.com/video/gRd3_rszpKI/w-d-xo.html
You should do an “all you need to know about tracking mounts” video :) Love your channel by the way.
Great video.
As a photographer, I have the following question: how do these telescopes compare to a decent 500mm F8 mirror lens (e.g Minolta, Tamron or Nikon, not the el-cheapo mirror lenses) you can get for many cameras?
The f/8 will be a drag compared to the f/4-f/5.5 range of these scopes for deep sky work (you will need about 2x the total integration to match signal to noise ratio). I suspect that star performance will be better than the Orion, but nowhere near the Svbony. Usability would be worse than any of these: harder to stay in focus (no locking nut), no included mounting points or hardware.
Thank You! Excellent comparison.
Thanks Nico! love the content! took my first photo with my telephone a few months back and i got instantly hooked on astrophotography. This was a great breakdown! I was thinking of getting the Orion 80mm as a cheap starter scope but i think ill spend a bit more for the SvBony scope!
Probably my first time here. I'm interested but not that much: I looked at the video for roughly 20 seconds at the start, and about 3 minutes at the end, for the comparison. Still, this video is valuable as hell. Thumb up.
Great presentation Nico, I have the Rother Valley Optics Horizon 80ED doublet Refractor scope which seems very similar to the SVBONY. I find it a very respectable telescope for my needs. Reasonably priced and with field flatteners and reducers.
Do rother valley do good scopes. It's not to far away from me and I've often thought of popping over there for advice
@@garybeaumont543 Hi Gary, Rother Valley Optics have the finest showroom around. Its a 100 mile round trip for me and Trust me, it is well worth the visit. There's scopes and accessories that will make you feel like a kid in a sweet shop. Great staff, very knowledgeable and fantastic prices.
Now, this is a great comparison!
Interesting to hear this. I have none, only my trusty Samyang 135mm f2.0 and Canon 90D
I have a canon eos 1200D with 55mm kit lens and I’m happy! I’m saving up for an omegon LX3 so I can track. :D
@@OwnittEdits You can get Canon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 prime and be good optically for milky way and wider shots. You can also use a tracker on dslr+lens combo too :)
That Samyang 135 is a great lens. I use it on my Canon T6i :)
Great Video as always! Thanks Nico!
I've wanted one of these since high school and know nothing about them. I'm about to pull the trigger so thank you for this video, I really needed this info. I just wanted to know why I was spending all the extra money and for me I have no other way to learn other than YT
I love the Iris Nebula
I am torn between the Svony 503 and 550 80mm now. I can get a flattener/reducer for the 503, I don't have to pay extra for the camera rotator, it's $300 less, but the 550 is a triplet! Right now Amazon's page for the 503 says there's a new version of the 503, and it links to the 550. Are they discontinuing it? It's $389 USD right now, and the 550 is $699. I think I know what I must do... They used to say money doesn't grow on trees.
Good explanation. Very helpful. kind regards from Germany!
Very interesting. I already learned it’s absolutely not worth to me, spending way more than the €160. I just want to see the center for live object viewing. Mainly planets.
Excelente video de información e imágenes... Muchas gracias máster!!!
What a very informative video. Thank you so much!
I would love to see you do this exercise but compare one telescope (80, 120, 150, C9.25 ect) against a couple different size sensors (Full frame, ASPC, IMX533) . I am curious to see what effect different sensor sizes will have on the field of view. I think this could help with choosing my next camera. I have my eye on the 2600 right now because I would like to get a wider field of view for larger targets. I have a Esprit 120ed and a C9.25. I am also shooting with the asi533 mono and the asi294 One shot. Would my money be better place getting a good 80 like this ASKAR or is the camera the more versatile choice. I guess what I am asking is to actually see the effects of image scale.
Brilliant comparison Nico! So useful for people to see side by side exactly what they're getting for their money. I think one take away is that you can get away with a relatively affordable ED scope if you keep to APS-C or M43 sensors (That Askar is stunning though!)
I can't say I've seen anyone imaging with a Sigma FP before either, that was interesting, plus I'm trying to work out what camera you're filming on as the grade almost has that Black Magic look about it?
the sigma fp has a great dynamic range suitable for good video recording
Thanks!
I did pick up the Sigma fp because I was interested in both it's video and astrophotography capabilities. It is a neat camera, but has some usability drawbacks, so it won't become an everyday camera for me.
Since May 2020, I film my youtube videos (including this one) with a Canon EOS Ra. I usually use an RF 16mm lens stopped to f/4 in 4K crop mode which does a 1.8x crop in on the center of the sensor, giving the 16mm more of a 28mm feel. I shoot in Canon Log and do a very simple grade in Final Cut Pro.
Thank you so much for your Videos. Im looking since 2 Weeks for a first investment for astrophotography for beginners. You videos helped me so much. :)
I shoot mono and always wondered, if I focus each color separately can I get away with no chromatic aberration from an acrhomat?
Greetings from the Upper Midwest.
Really like this. I am actually trying to get back into astrophotography and am looking for a good scope to start with. A lot of good info here.
I'm in the same boat. Just be aware, a lot of the low cost mounts only have 11lb capacity. After that they get up to $800+.
So the scbony 80ed will need a bigger mount. And you'll be spending $1600+ easily for all of it.
I'm considering the 70ED, so I can get a cheaper mount.
Also check out William Optics. APO and much lighter doublet.
Hard to beat svbony sv503 at that price range...
My takeaway is that the Orion is pretty bad and not worth your time, but the SVBONY is pretty good with a crop-frame camera. The ASKAR is worth the money if you want to shoot full-frame.
Excellent tutorial.
For sure a beginner who wants a good telescope but doesn’t want to get something that will be over my head or too complicated, it’s complicated enough just doing research on what to buy. Still very confused. Subbed and liked. Thank you.
The Celestron 1 1/4 variable zoom is the cream of the crop even for collimation …
one suggestion: when naming something, put that name and a photo of it on screen. i never had a telescope and wished your video has more visual cues to help me understand what you talking about, without needing research. nice video anyway.
Excellent comparison! Thank you. The Sigma Fp has its small but loyal following. I’d be interested in seeing more tests of the camera and its merits for various types of astrophotography. Thanks!
Quality work Nico.
Excellent, great work! Thanks.
As usual Nico, great job of presentation video, when i watch your video i know i will learn and get the answer, no more of brands promoting hypes by some, or at least you don't much go that route and compare fairly, thank you very much
I just bought an SVBONY SV503 Telescope, 70ED F6 Extra Low Dispersion Refractor OTA and the associated SVBONY SV193 Focal Reducer and Field Flattener from Amazon. Will arrive this coming Thursday. It will be replacing my GSkyer short tube 80.
Looked at the 80mm, but it was too heavy and the focal length was too long. I wouldn't be able to photograph everything I wanted with my ZWO ASI183 camera.
Appreciate your videos. Informative.
Great video! I would love to see a similar thing with newtonians at different price points