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Old 05-05-2022, 11:17 AM
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Nikolas (Nik)
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Sharpstar 61EDPH vs WO or TSoptics 61 ed equivalent

Hi everyone
I know we have users here who have used one or both of these scopes,
I want to pull the trigger on either one but would love to hear people's experiences on either the Sharpstar 61 edphii or the william optics Zenithstar 61 and/or its clones (ts optics 60 ED Altair astro etc.)


What are your experiences like with both or either
I know the sharpstar is a triplet with one ED element of unknown origin and the others are fpl53 and lanthanum doublet
There is so much conflicting stuff out there I want to be sure
Also if there is any on the market I may also be interested.
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  #2  
Old 05-05-2022, 11:56 AM
AdamJL
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Thought about the Askar FRA400? Petzval design so no need for a flattener
They’ve also released a 300
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Old 05-05-2022, 12:29 PM
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Nikolas (Nik)
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Originally Posted by AdamJL View Post
Thought about the Askar FRA400? Petzval design so no need for a flattener
They’ve also released a 300
funds dont spread this far
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Old 05-05-2022, 07:45 PM
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Camelopardalis (Dunk)
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I bought the Z61 early on and it’s a nice little scope. It’s well corrected with the flattener, and I don’t see any colour separation.

The Sharpstar seems to have a bit of a history of blue halos…so may carry a little more risk.

Given they are similar in price, it’s hard to fault the Sharpstar, on paper at least…
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Old 06-05-2022, 08:09 AM
Hoges (John)
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I've found the Z61 an excellent all-round scope. But it definitely needs the flattener - without it, focus drops off halfway to the edge. It's got a bit of heft to it. One thing that bugs me is that the focus knobs don't quite clear the dovetail bracket which means if I want to have the focus knobs horizontal to the ground, I have to loosen the clamp screw, pop the scope out, turn, then put it back in the clamp and tighten, which I have to do whenever I take it in and out of it's bag. A very minor annoyance but the designers just needed to make the dovetail 2 mm taller. Apart from that, quality is excellent, focusser is smooth with 70mm of travel and star images seem pretty good for a doublet - certainly better than my 72/80mm skywatchers - see attached. It's a non rotating focusser, but the flattener has the ability to turn so it fixes that minor problem.
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  #6  
Old 06-05-2022, 08:30 AM
AdamJL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoges View Post
One thing that bugs me is that the focus knobs don't quite clear the dovetail bracket which means if I want to have the focus knobs horizontal to the ground, I have to loosen the clamp screw, pop the scope out, turn, then put it back in the clamp and tighten, which I have to do whenever I take it in and out of it's bag.
There's a similar problem with the ASKAR400, in that the focuser knobs get in the way if you want to mount a ZWO EAF for instance.
The same solution can apply to you though: rotate the scope 180 degrees and leave it setup "upside down"
Then the focus knobs never get in the way.
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Old 06-05-2022, 03:09 PM
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Nikolas (Nik)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamJL View Post
There's a similar problem with the ASKAR400, in that the focuser knobs get in the way if you want to mount a ZWO EAF for instance.
The same solution can apply to you though: rotate the scope 180 degrees and leave it setup "upside down"
Then the focus knobs never get in the way.
I've seen that a lot with some of the smaller scopes, it plays havoc with my OCD lol


Anyone had any experience with the Sharpstar?
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Old 06-05-2022, 08:56 PM
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I've seen that a lot with some of the smaller scopes, it plays havoc with my OCD lol
Yep. I didn't do it. I just bought extensions to lift the scope
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Old 08-05-2022, 10:37 AM
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Hey guys I know some of you have mentioned both scopes, I really need your experiences so I can make a decision.
Cheers.
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  #10  
Old 08-06-2022, 12:24 PM
JoelRed (Joel)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikolas View Post
Hey guys I know some of you have mentioned both scopes, I really need your experiences so I can make a decision.
Cheers.
I have had the Z61 since October 2020.

Personally.... I've never really been in love with it.

I don't know if my expectations were too high for it, but it has never really wowed me.

It looks and feels very well built.

Maybe it's because I use a OSC camera on it (ASI2600MC), but I have always found the stars to have a bit of a blue bloat to them and it also suffers a bit from pinched optics. This may not be an issue with a Mono camera.

I seriously looked at replacing it with either the 61EDPH-II or the (overpriced) Raptor 61, but after talking to Adriano at Testar, I never pulled the trigger.

At this point, I am only really keeping it around to take it to FNQ and get some images of M31, NGC7000 and Veil.

Hope any of this info helps.

Cheers,
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  #11  
Old 08-06-2022, 12:48 PM
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Nikolas (Nik)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoelRed View Post
I have had the Z61 since October 2020.

Personally.... I've never really been in love with it.

I don't know if my expectations were too high for it, but it has never really wowed me.

It looks and feels very well built.

Maybe it's because I use a OSC camera on it (ASI2600MC), but I have always found the stars to have a bit of a blue bloat to them and it also suffers a bit from pinched optics. This may not be an issue with a Mono camera.

I seriously looked at replacing it with either the 61EDPH-II or the (overpriced) Raptor 61, but after talking to Adriano at Testar, I never pulled the trigger.

At this point, I am only really keeping it around to take it to FNQ and get some images of M31, NGC7000 and Veil.

Hope any of this info helps.

Cheers,

Thanks Joel,
What did Adriano have to say about the sharpstar?
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  #12  
Old 08-06-2022, 01:32 PM
JoelRed (Joel)
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Originally Posted by Nikolas View Post
Thanks Joel,
What did Adriano have to say about the sharpstar?
I sent him a few of my raw images and he suggested that I may not see a huge difference swapping it for the Sharpstar.
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  #13  
Old 08-06-2022, 01:45 PM
JoelRed (Joel)
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At this point, I have to weigh up the pros and cons of selling the Z61 and buying a 61EDPH/Raptor. Prices have gone up since 2020 and I am not sure it would be ultimately worth it for me.

If I were starting from scratch however, I would probably go the Sharpstar/Raptor for a few reasons:
  1. As it's almost purely to be used as a travel scope, the Sharpstar/Raptor is a slightly smaller and more compact design
  2. If there is any blue coma on stars, Sharpstar has been know to send out replacement objectives if you contact their support
  3. I have yet to see any pinched optics complaints about the Sharpstar online, but have seen it multiple times with the WO

I really should give the 2600MM a go on it and see what I results I get with a mono setup.

Cheers,
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  #14  
Old 08-06-2022, 07:18 PM
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Nikolas (Nik)
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Thanks Joel
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