Esprit with Starizona Apex ED 0.65x Reducer/Flattener

[SB]

Hi Everyone,
I am currently using an Esprit 100 with ASI183 MC Pro. I like this camera and it gives good images. It would be nice however to make use of the Esprit 100 wider field of view. It appears I have two options.

1: Get a second camera being an ASI 2600 to get an APS-C frame
2: Use a Starizona Apex ED 0.65x Reducer/Flattener using with the ASI183 MC P (this will give almost the same field of view as using the ASI2600). This is the less expensive option.

Of course the options are not mutually exclusive!

Has anyone used the Starizona Apex ED 0.65x Reducer/Flattener with the Esprit, and if so what was the experience and results? Did you have to order it from overseas?

Many thanks

Chris.

[Emuhead]

Hi Chris,

I've seen a lot of nice astrobin images with the Riccardi 0.75x reducer. If you do go APSC, and if you use filters you may need to factor larger filters into the cost also.

Cheers,

[sunslayr]

Both the Riccardi and Starizona reducer can work well with the esprit 100 but I would be reluctant to recommend the Starizona. At f3.5, spacing and tilt become critical to getting a flat Image. So unless you can fit a tilt ring in your imaging train be wary of such a harsh reduction. Unfortunately the Riccardi isn't as easy to use with the esprit, It needs at least two adapters from ts optics to work with the esprit and might actually be cheaper to get one made from your local machine shop. Long story short I'd recommend you grab all the shots that fit nicely in your fov for now and wait for a good deal on a 2600 and sell (or keep) the 183mc.

[Camelopardalis]

I have to agree with David, I’ve had a Riccardi reducer for over a year and despite many attempts have yet to get satisfactory images. This “only” reduces the scope to f/4.1, but my stars are pointy on one side...

I bought the two adapters from TS and they are well made and fit perfectly, but it’s not an impossible task to get a single piece made locally. The reducer fits up inside the focuser tube. The spacing is not impossible to achieve, but does take some experimentation as precision is critical. So this is not exactly a plug and play option.

I also have an M48 tilt adapter and haven’t been able to eliminate the problem, so suspect that my reducer is at fault. I bought mine used from a trusted source so I have no recourse, but for my purposes it would be an expensive exercise to send it back to Europe for repair.

I should add that I’ve used both my ASI1600MM and ASI183MM and it’s noticeable with either.

Needless to say, my scope works perfectly at native focal length, so that’s what I stick to. The Esprit 100 is an excellent scope, and I’d imagine an ASI2600MC would be an awesome match :thumbsup:

[kosborn]

I have an Esprit 100 and bought the Starizona Apex ED 0.65x about 6 months ago. It's a great combination, giving roughly 357mm focal length and f/3.57. I ordered it direct from Starizona (and I previously ordered their autofocuser for the Esprit). Good service and quick delivery on both items. The reducer gives a very nice flat field across the entire sensor of my ASI1600mm and I understand gives the same flat field with larger sensors. It's as good as having a second wide field fast refractor. Having said that, I do have an ASI2600 on order currently...

Here is an example (https://www.astrobin.com/full/2p948i/B/) (ignore the poor processing mostly due to using old dark frames). There is some distortion of stars lower corners but the same appears without the reducer and also appears with my Newtonian so I assume it's due to sensor tilt within the camera. I also used it for a couple of mosaics of the Rho Ophiuchi region (https://www.astrobin.com/full/pb9chq/B/) and the Vela supernova remnant (https://www.astrobin.com/full/izxe35/0/).