Look at This ...From WO

[FlashDrive]

Found this ...... new for 2019 ....WO is making some nice gear.

William Optics RedCat 51mm f/4.9 Petzval Apo Refractor Telescope

https://agenaastro.com/william-optics-red-cat-51mm-petzval-apo-gold-6620.html

Very Compact ....!!

Col....

[sharpiel]

51mm...nice finderscope! :lol:

[Atmos]

Apparently it has a 44mm imaging circle so it could go well with full frame DSLRs. Apparently ;)

[RickS]

Nice, but needs a reducer :) I'm not impressed by anything slower than f/3.6 these days :lol:

[Rkonrad]

Nice the pink will certainly attract a lot of attention

[RugbyRene]

I've got his on my Xmas list. Trevor Jones from AstroBackyard has done a good review.

[Lognic04]

To be fair, he imaged in Halpha. Wait until an RGB image is taken... WO is notorious for optical issues.

[AstroApprentice]

I like the dual arca-swiss/vixen dovetail:
https://williamoptics.com/redcat-51

[AnakChan]

Wei-Hao Wang took this for a spin around WA and shared his pix (taken with FF sensor) :-

https://www.astrobin.com/gear/88440/william-optics-redcat-51-apo/

It’s quite a nifty little Pertzval scope.

The white one is a limited edition of 30 only.

[glend]

Well he is using two pretty good glass elements in that 4 element Petzval design. I am going to assume no flattener will be needed because of the design. This whole "fad" of tiny scopes is getting annoying. Once you have had one for awhile, and scratched that itch, you might be wanting to go back to a real scope. ;)

Having had an Astro-tech 60ED, I can tell you they look like a guidescope stuck on top of my CGX mount.

[FlashDrive]

They are nice alright ....:)

[Camelopardalis]

The images Wei-Hao has posted are pretty impressive. Might not be as “fast” as some power imagers might like (looking at you, Rick :lol: ), but looks like it puts in a pretty tidy performance even with a full frame sensor.

Of course, the fancy design/build results in a certain price point...

[glend]

On the William Optic website the price (direct with free world wide shipping) is $698 USD.

https://williamoptics.com/redcat-51

Available early March.
It has a 48mm inbuilt filter slot, in the rotator I think. It's worth having a look at there.
And Dunk is right, it is more expensive than the FPL-53 Doublet in the Astro-tech and TS 60mm scopes, but it would seem you don't need to buy a flattener.

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah 4 pieces of glass cost more than 2 :D

Looks a nice scope though, if I didn’t already have the WO Z61, it’d be a nice focal length to add to the arsenal.

[LewisM]

Hmmmm... mke a perfect guidescope for the FSQ-106N, plus it'd be a flat field (like it's bigger cousin) to chose guide stars from. With the copied-from-Tak rotator, it really would look classy on the FSQ....


Might order one... Col, hold my beer, watch this...

[Camelopardalis]

So enlighten me...when Samsung/HP/etc repeatedly copy Apple’s phones, tablets and computers, that’s acceptable, but when a small scope producer mimics a great feature from another small scope producer, that’s worthy of a derogatory mention :P

[LewisM]

It wasn't derogatory 'cept in thine own mind. Merely mentioned it, didn't say it was a bad move. Good move by W.O IMHO :P

Sure beats the Esprit's rotator :whistle: :lol:

[FlashDrive]

Hang on....I gotta do this first ......... :rofl:

[Camelopardalis]

Awww the Esprit rotator isn’t THAT bad, at least on the larger ones...functions as a rotator should, like, it rotates :P a bit tricky to use in the icy QLD winter though....

[LewisM]

On the Esprit 80ED it was much like the FSQ-106ED original Capstan's wheel - BLOODY AWFUL :lol:

[Camelopardalis]

:lol:

[Ukastronomer]

W.O don't actually make their own scopes do they ?

[Ukastronomer]

Jack of all trades and master of none, as a pro photographer why would I want to shoot wildlife on such a lens when I have proper Nikon Glass, and it is no bigger than a finder scope, is there a real purpose for this scope

Leica just keep making pointless cameras because Leica lovers buy them, is this just a scope for W.O lovers,

[FlashDrive]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Ii16qtlTW2I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqjSouILKg

Nice ...:D ...I like it...!!

[lazjen]

I doubt this scope is aimed at the "pro photographers" though. I could see it for someone wanting to travel, do some astro and perhaps some wildlife shots. Having that dual purpose would make it fantastic to me - and my luggage restrictions.

[Ukastronomer]

1st vid is just a noisy over the top promo, as for the second I have seen that, I shoot for Classic Cars Magazine at most tracks in the UK Thruxton, Silverstone and more, you will never see a photographer using a telescope ;) how would you control exposure and DOF

www.jrs-photography.co.uk

[Ukastronomer]

Yes I agree with this but very limiting

[gregbradley]

If this turns out to be nice optically I am in. Love it.

It'd be another imaging rig with a full frame mirrorless.

Greg.

[AstroApprentice]

FYI, I just noticed K-Astec are making a motorised focuser and a camera tilter for the RedCat.

[gregbradley]

The tilter looks good. Focusing these won't be that hard manually so that setup looks like it might cost a lot and only so so benefit.

Greg.

[sil]

The Recat lens was on kickstarter and I grabbed one for my Nikon. First light was a couple of hours ago, havent processed subs yet but peaked at some. This is a huge improvement on my Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 at first impressions. Tomorrow I’ll process and should have something to show. Corner to corner across the frame stars look crisp and undistorted as you always get in even top quality camera lenses, I hope to be able to show this and not just being biased towards my purchase.

Build quality is superb. Firm fitting everywhere, smooth and easy focusing action. Not a hint of play in any part. The lens hood is long and deep with black flocking inside so very effective design to ensure photons coming in are from just the direction you want with no excess from a wider cone. The lens cap is in interesting design too, about an inch deep with soft inner surface it slips easily and firmly over the end of the hood for effective darks, plus the very end unscrews too opening up to reveal a clear diffraction patterned bahtinov mask to help with focusing the lens. There are two rings on the lens with rubber grips, one is the focus the other is a friction adjustment for the focus so you can easily focus and then firm it up to hold the focus from being bumped out of position. The mount has a tension locking adjustment ring so once its all on tripod/mount with a camera you can turn the whole assembly easily around then lock in place if you want a square on orientation of the shot to the gear or to get a whole target onto your sensor. The lens itself has an M48 threaded end and come with an adapter to the DSLR mount of your choice, Nikon F in my case. The dual dovetail style mount foot is well designed for tracking mounts compatibility but also has a couple of 1/4” threaded holes for attaching a camera tripod release plate which gives you a choice to shift the balance which i need to do tomorrow to improve controlling my ball head.

First impressions are I’m impressed at the compact and efficient design. Lots of practical thought has gone into the design. Extremely happy with initial look at subs in terms of consistant sharpness across the field way above my existing high quality lens. Exactly what they claimed, so far so good. F4.9 from f2.8 an expected downside for me since i am limited to camera tripod, not a tracking mount and using an inbody light pollution filter so my photon collecting is limited enough as it is. But if the sharpness holds up after initial processing in the morning it may be enough of an improvement to try to save to astrmod my body and gain a bit more photons and depth. So far for dslr shooters this is looking like a superb choice. Get hung up on meaning less numbers and false assumptions if you want, I’ll just enjoy the improvement to my astrophotography.

[AstroApprentice]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for the First light review - I look fwd to your images. Not tempted to buy a small tracker for it?
K-Astec recommend a longer dovetail for better balancing http://k-astec.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/b1904171_5.jpg
How do you find balancing with the stock WO one?

[AstroApprentice]

For anyone interested, Deep Sky Dad have adapted their EF2 motor to the Redcat:
https://deepskydad.com/autofocuser2/redcat
Funny how DSD wears gloves in all his vids, but can’t stop his kids sticky fingers making an appearance :lol:

[gregbradley]

Thanks for the review.

Mine is on its way to me now.

I hope its a big success for WO as that could mean they develop larger models like an 81mm.

I know someone who was shipped a prototype 81mm Redcat so there seems to be some development happening already.

I wonder how stable focus will be throughout the night.

Greg.

[sil]

Here's my first test processed image: https://www.astrobin.com/402919/ (https://www.astrobin.com/402919/)


Ten subs of the Southern Cross. Just fits in the field of view for this lens and very familiar for most here. No flats, darks or bias or calibration. I only debayered the ten subs, registered and integrated them then a manual stretch and put on Astrobin as a jpg.


This image is only for you to see how sharp and flat the field is and how all the stars corner to corner dont have the distortion common in ever camera lens. The glow around the bright stars I'm unsure of the cause, possibly humidity/condensation. As an astrophoto the image has no redeeming features nor do I care for processing comments of any sort so dont waste your time trolling. The claim of this lens is its sharpness and thats the only thing for anyone to comment on with this image.


As a dslr shooter this is an amazing lens, i hope that glow isnt from the lens but it might be . I still have some things to change and want to add a cover to keep the lens somewhat insultated as its mostly aluminium exterior so very cold to touch and probably will attract condensation. I'm thinking of maybe printing a sleeve for the exterior as a protection from inquisitive hands messing my focus and protect it during transport too. I do hope to get a chance of a lift to a dark site with this lens.


As for considering a tracker of some kind I have a bunch but due to the physical limitations I am now stuck with from my stroke I am unable to use them. Polar aligning and mount weight limitations and ability to handle the setup when only one side of my body works mean camera tripod is my only practical mount choice (but you can follow my sig link to donate towards treatrment if you want, just dont suggest "helpful" ideas as they wont be.


The question of balance is a good one though. I am using a Manfrotto ball head with a handle grip (not pistol grip i have on other tripods). Its a nice one handed ball head to use, smooth to move and grips firmly at any angle, plus the grip itself doesn't limit pointing direction the way the pistol grips can. My pistol grips are cheaper Vanguard units and at extreme angles the weight of my camera/lens can cause it to slip but the manfrotto is proving the best I've used. However the balance is an issue when I point upwards the grip torques easily in my hand so it could do with a weight bolted under the front of the dovetail plate for the lens to help with that... something to look into for me. I've only just added this grip to my setup, I was waiting for this lens to arrive before stripping down my setup so i only had to do it the once. Lens and camera total 1.85kg vs 1.9kg previously. With the lens hood on the Redcat is slightly longer than my Nikon 70-200 lens but its a straight cylinder too not flaring out to the front the way other lenses look. I think it goes from 51mm diameter at the front to 48mm at the rear. so it looks deceptively smaller than a comparable 200mm prime but really its about the same size and weight fairly closely. There's no electronics so its a totally manual only lens. It uses an M8 mount so most people will need a suitable adapter to attach their camera. But you could add a diagonal and eyepiece or a zwo type camera too with the right adapters. Very good lens for terrestrial photography happy with manual use and manually setting their cameras but as i cant do that any more for me this is about the best option for now. The lens is 1.65kg so too heavy for a vixen polarie tracker setup but maybe of for others depending on what camera you hook up etc. Long ago telephoto camera lenses were telescopes retrofitted with body mounts for cameras, then technology moved forward and it became possible to get the same focal lengths with regular lens technology, but the distortion towards the edges remains too large for good movement of the tech back towards telescopes. There no functional difference between an OTA and a camera lens they do the same basic job buy slightly different specific means. Its great to see the improvement in OTA technology and optics are now good enough again to bring them into the camera realm. Looking forward to the future steps, i believe there is an 80mm version in the works to step up from this lens.


steve

[Wavytone]

Dewing...

[The_bluester]

I Ummed and ahhhed over one of these for weeks and ended up buying a Skywatcher Evostar 72mm. I am not 100% sure I went the right way now.

I am really keen to see some real world users images from tracking mounts now that these are getting properly out in the wild for use. I might even be tempted by one down the track a little. Cost wise it is really not far away from the ED72, reducer/flattener and appropriate adapter to get them together.

[sil]

I got outside tonight/morn, couldnt sleep, got a bunch of shots, added a sock over then lens to insulate for now. Here's the moon crescent (https://www.astrobin.com/full/403537) through the low cloud and developing fog this morning, jpg straight from camera. Cant see any chromatic fringing. Should be a good lens for the sun too when i make a filter for it. Not finding any meaningful faults with it yet, for regular photography it'll need good manual skills which i dont have anymore and its a solid simple option that beats any comparable lens and less complicated than a scope with flattener and extensions etc.

[LewisM]

I am still having a hard time thinking of spending close to $1K on a 51mm quad :lol: - thing being, I can get a 71mm quad from Sharpstar for almost the same (a few dollars extra): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32969130966.html?productId=32969130 966&productSubject=HERCULES-SHARPSTAR-71Q-71SDQ-ED-Telephoto-photography-telescope-built-in-flat-field&spm=2114.search0104.3.143.18d35319b aT08Z&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb20 1602_2_10065_10130_10068_10547_319_ 317_10548_10696_453_10084_454_10083 _10618_10307_537_536_10131_10132_10 133_10059_10884_10887_321_322_10103 ,searchweb201603_52,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=c41760f8-aabc-4a84-a8b7-fb1a5d2d42d8-22&algo_pvid=c41760f8-aabc-4a84-a8b7-fb1a5d2d42d8

[gregbradley]

[QUOTE=LewisM;1426887]I am still having a hard time thinking of spending close to $1K on a 51mm quad :lol: - thing being, I can get a 71mm quad from Sharpstar for almost the same (a few dollars extra):

Hehe but are they red???

I got my Redcat 51 yesterday. Did some test photos on trees but cloudy last night so no stars.

Overall beautifully made but it needs to perform on stars to the corners of a full frame sensor.

The focuser on mine is a tad stiff but they may be a good thing so no chance of flexure. I have 3 tracking mounts for portable gear (I know I'm over the top). I have a Tak EM10, a Fornax Lightrack ii and a Vixen Polarie which has been accessorised up to have a counter weight etc.

I am also adding a Polemaster to the Lightrack and EM10 to assist in polar alignment.

Initial tests on the Fornax shows it to be the best at tracking. Now to use the Redcat on it or the EM10 or simply piggybacked on a large scope.

Oh and its more like $1350 including import charges, GST and a camera adapter. If you add a red dot finder then that's a bit more again. I got 3 camera adapters, Nikon, Canon and Sony. The Sony one is really well made. The Canon one has to fit on another adapter EOS to EOS RF mount (EOS R mirrorless) and it does not click so it will rotate with some push 15 degrees. I hope they make a straight Canon RF mount adapter. EOS EF mount is dinosaur now hehehe.

Greg.

[sil]

[QUOTE=gregbradley;1426888]

Could be the focus tension ring doing that. the small ring forward of the focusing ring adjusts the tension (how stiff it feels), its an odd setup, the tensioner doesnt seem to have endstops in the design, instead inside there is some eliptical shape that you can turn forever and because its not perfectly round it varies between slightly touching the focuser mechanism to more heavily like a brake really than a proper "locking" mechanism. or mine is broken :)

[gregbradley]

[QUOTE=sil;1427477]

Thanks for that but no its not that.
I think it will get better over time and I would prefer it slightly stiff to move than too loose and losing focusing or shifting alignment.

It will shift focus with temp shifts but not that much. One refocus after a few hours seems to be enough.

Greg.

[AstroApprentice]

[QUOTE=gregbradley;1427929]

Hi Greg,
DeepSkyDad have released the motor focus unit for the Redcat:
https://deepskydad.com/autofocuser2/redcat
If you read down the page, he comments on the stiffness of the helical focuser in first 5 mm and recommends not using that section, if possible. He also diagnoses some internal play with the focuser, which is not ideal, but he thinks it can be compensated for by SGPro etc.