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I've never actually saw a need for flats at the same temperature, I know some people do it because 'why not', but comparing results of flats with cooling and without(tried that multiple times), had no difference at all, so I stopped. Interesting that you say that, wondering what you've seen. I didn't use my Touptek yet but I have used my 2600MM for a while.

Did you guys try to reach out to Touptek or your dealer/retailer and ask about it?

Yeah that's usually the case with vendors, they don't like that, but DIY and messing with stuff is part of the deal in this hobby 😆 But guess if it ain't broken don't fix it, so while it's not an issue, that's ok. Thanks! I'll hopefully buy this soon.

Right, I completely forgot how this strip works ^^ So that's easy enough to use in case needed. And yep that's why I verified it doesn't require opening up the sealed chamber Can you use that dessicant tube on any version? Or it only exists on the omegon ones?

It's a rather minor issue so probably not worth the headache, but generally it seems like there is support on that matter. Seems like the dew can be fixed with the ZWO heat strip, so that's also not much of an issue I guess. Did someone here installed it already? It is surely possible to install without opening the sealed chamber? Thanks.

The good part is that I already own one as I had issues with my ASI071MC Pro at the beginning, but the issue was actually dew on the sensor and not on the protective window, so I bought it and never used it, which I can if I'll need it ^^ I also agree that Gain and Offset shouldn't really be a confusion, it might be a bit more trial and error rather than the common 100/50 by ZWO, but once you figure it out it should all be good. So far I feel pretty positive about it, for a $1000 difference I don't see many things I'll need to compromise on, so that's very nice Thanks.

Thanks a lot for the detailed comment. Why do you lose backfocus? You mean that you can't bolt the OAG? I don't use any either way. I already own the 2600MM but I don't bolt the filter wheel anyway, I have no vignetting regardless, and plan on getting the RisingCam OSC version, so filter wheel/mono is not an issue here I believe. Can you use the regular camera lens ZWO adapter with the RisingCam? Both should be M42 female I believe, and 17.5mm backfocus too. About the dew heater, what do you mean that it doesn't cover the window? I already own the ZWO dew heater strip tbh, but won't it ruin the sealing if I open to install that? Or you can just install it to the window without opening the sealing chamber? The USB hub sounds like it could actually be the most annoying part, I do use the ZWO 5V focuser, and while it shouldn't be a big deal for me as I have my mini PC on top of my scope and can wire it directly, I don't know when I might need it, but for a different of nearly $1000, that's a reasonable thing I guess. Thanks a lot for the list, the only 2 points that I think should be relevant for me are the dew as it is quite humid here, and the USB hub which could be a bit more annoying but not a big deal regardless.

I actually heard from multiple people that their support was good and they had a replacement for issues they had from the aliexpress vendor. Where did you buy the camera from? While it's more of a gamble, you should have 3 years warranty for it, whether it's by the dealer or the company itself as RisingCam or Touptek, even though there's no guarantee after all. As for gain, it seems to be just a different way to handle it by the drivers, either by a gain slider that changes from LGM to HGM, or a direct selection of that. Also wondering about your hub issues, could it be the USB cables themselves? Thanks.

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't follow the whole 7 pages of the thread. I'm thinking of getting the MC version of this Touptek/RisingCam, and would love to hear some about the general idea with this camera. Basically, I think the pros are quite obvious, mostly the price. Are there any cons compared to ZWO in terms of performance? In other words, are there any reasons not to buy this camera? Thanks.

Hey, I have a Canon 6D that I bought and was quite badly astro modified by whoever I bought it from, and I'm thinking of perhaps sending it to a proper astro mod service to have it done properly. The current issues are: 1. The sensor has lots of dust specks. 2. I can't reach focus with some lenses. The astro mod was done with the Baader BCF2 Astro Conversion Filter For Canon EOS, so I'm not sure whether this filter can be reused and cut some costs or needs to be replaced regardless, in case anyone might know, it would be great. I'm basically looking for recommendations in all of Europe, I live in the Middle East so I guess there's no specific country, I'll decide by good service recommendations, cost, and shipping costs probably. Would love to hear some suggestions in case you might know. Thanks

I just hope the cooling intake/outtake isn't from the bottom...

Hey, I own the ZWO EAF, and I wonder about making a DIY temp sensor/hand controller. I just don't need it enough to care about spending money on it, so wondering how much it would cost to DIY it(and it's also fun obviously). For the temp sensor, I think it's just a 2/3 pin temp sensor wired to a 3.5mm aux connector, so I think it should be pretty easy, I even found an actual cable like that here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000895660165.html (5th opion) Not sure if wiring would be correct though, but I can perhaps play with that. Regarding the hand controller, it's also a 3.5mm aux cable(3 pins and not 2 pins it seems), though I have no idea what could be in the remote, and if it uses some internal commands which there is no way of knowing them. Would love to hear some ideas. Thanks

In that case that would indicate the optics of the WO 81 GT itself I assume?

It surely seems like you could perhaps use some more spacing, looks like the sensor is too close, hard to tell if that's the limit of the optics or lack of correct backfocus, guess that's just trial and error From what I can see, I don't think it's the flat field I'm looking for, but quite hard to tell. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks for the comment, do you happen to have a raw frame/stack using this filter with APS-C? I would love to take a look at that Sure do! Thanks a lot! The blues are just slightly slightly bloated, that's pretty fine though, you can also see that in the spot diagram, but the thing I'm not sure if is good enough for me is the 'outwards CA', not sure if there's a name for that, but I'm referring to the edges of the stars towards the 3/4 area of the image, like here: It's a bit of a pixel peeping, it's not really bad and overall pretty good, but I need to think whether I'd like to avoid it or not. Referring to this basically, around the 12-17mm I guess: That was really useful, thank you!

I'm not really looking for a lightweight scope, weight is not a big factor for me really, only the length, so there's not much benefit for me in the Borg scopes. I don't think I'll go for premium either, don't see the need for that for my needs. If you're going to sell the NP-101 you're surely going to have enough for a smaller premium scope Do you happen to have the raw stack perhaps? Thanks Can you share a raw image with the WO81 and the flattener? I was only aware of the WO 0.8x which isn't useful for me here. Is it completely flat with APS-C? Is there any chance it could work with full frame as well? Thanks.

Do you have another PC to try it on? I had some similar driver issue with some ioptron drivers, it worked with no issues on the other PC when I tried, so just trying over and over, reinstalling, deleting and installing, repair, stuff like that and it eventually worked, no idea why it happens, but I assume it would be something similar.

Lovely review, the pros and cons are pretty much what I knew, except for some things that were improved with the Askar FRA500. The price tag of the FRA500 is much higher, but it also comes with a case, so I assume that's extra cost besides the actual size itself. One thing I wonder, in the M31 image you shared, it seems like the blue channel is slightly more bloated than the other channels, did you notice that? Not sure if it's the result of editing or the optics itself. With an OSC camera 55mm backfocus should be easy and precise with the supplied 16.5mm + 21mm adapters ZWO supply, but the lack of need to worry about that is really really nice. Thanks, but I'm not looking for anything bigger here, I'm actually prefer something smaller and more compact, weight is not an issue, but the size and length does. I already own an Esprit 120 so not looking for anything similar in size.

Hello! I'm looking for a 500mm~ focal length telescope, and I would love to hear some suggestion about 2 specific ones as well as general suggestions. I'm looking for something not too big and not too small, so 90mm is a pretty good size for that. I'm also looking for a rather fast scope, so around f/4-f/5.5~. I'll mostly use an APS-C sensor, but also own a modified 6D which I might occasionally use, it's not mandatory but full frame support would be a nice to have feature. I ended up looking at these 2 telescopes, the Askar FRA500 and the TS-Optics CF-APO 90mm. Both seems to be rather new, and I couldn't find much results on any of them. Here are some thoughts I have on each: 540mm@f/6 for the TS Optics is okayish, a bit slow, but it has both a 1x flattener and a 0.8x reducer/flattener so 432mm@f/4.8 According to specs the 1x is: "Fully illuminated and corrected image field: 45 mm full frame format." The 0.8x: "The corrector is designed for cameras up to full frame format" So according to specs this look like a pretty awesome scope, FPL55, TS Optics is known for its quality in general.. But according to the very few astrobin images I've find with this scope and the 0.8x reducer, it looks far from being flat with an APS-C sensor, this could be a user issue with incorrect backfocus as well, I don't know.. The FRA500 also looks pretty nice being a quintuplet scope, so natively at 500mm@f/5.6 it doesn't require a flattener or anything else, supports up to 55mm image circle which is far greater than a full frame sensor, as far as I could see the results with this scope seems really great, completely flat and no CA, it also has a 0.7x reducer, so there's also an option for 350mm@f/3.9, not my main goal, but it's a pretty nice option to have.. As far as I could see, with the 0.7x reducer there is the slightest CA and the frame is not completely flat with APS-C sensor, even though the description does indicate a full frame support, but same here, it might be due to incorrect backfocus or something similar, and regardless, my main objective with this scope is mostly the 500mm focal length, so the 0.7x is only a nice to have thing. One more thing that really draws me towards the FRA500 is that at native 500mm is doesn't require any accurate backfocus, as long as you can reach focus, the field will be flat. That is an amazing feature in my opinion and will actually be very useful for me due to some gear that has 56mm backfocus instead of the common 55mm, and that makes quite a big difference. So these are my thoughts about both of them, personally I lean a bit towards the FRA500, but I'm open for suggestions and opinions. My budget is around the $2000~, could spend more but both of them seems quite sufficient for me so I don't see a reason to spend more here. Anyone owns any of the scopes? What is your opinion? Thanks

In that case, I think the 12-14" would be a good fit for that: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telegizmos-telescope-covers/telegizmos-365-scope-cover-for-12-14-dobsonians.html

Guys any ideas about the above? I still didn't really get my answers for that and I'd like to place an order for the TS365 cover, but still not sure exactly which one

Thanks, but as far as it seems this only protects from rain and nothing much more. As I said, rain is not really my issue, it's mostly heat and humid, so I doubt this cover is what I'm looking for.

Luckily for me frost would never be an issue for me It won't be cold enough for that.

Yep I totally understand the logic, but as I said above, if more moisture is gathered between the cover and car, that means this is somewhat of a closer environment, and with that I should be able to control the humidity more easily? Obviously I aim for a humidity and maybe cooling solution as well, so it's not like I trust all the work to the cover without thinking about the results of that. As for size, I think I'd rather get a bigger cover than a smaller cover, I could somewhat control a bigger cover, a smaller cover might be more of an issue. I plan on having a solution(passive/active) for dew, as I'm sure no matter what I'll do I'll get moisture without any control, so that's a must for me.

What is the purpose of having airflow? I can think of 2 scenarios: 1. The cover completely covers the scope top to bottom, meaning there is sort of an 'enclosed environment', I can see that it can be good by being able to possibly control the environment more easily, but can be bad by the fact that it can produce more humidity, keep the heat inside. 2. Let the cover some air to breathe, so the above 'bads' aren't much of an issue, but if there is high of humidity outside or extreme heat, I believe it could be harder to control the humidity/cool under the cover? That just what I think, I might be completely wrong, which is the reason for asking experienced people here Thanks.