William Optics Redcat 51 vs Zenithstar 73

[ThomasF1234]

Hi all I’m looking for a good telescope for astrophotography to use with my Canon EOS M50 I’ve narrowed it down to the Redcat 51 and the Zenithstar 73. Any ideas which is better? I mainly want to take shots of deep sky objects like M44 and M3 ect

[Wyvernp]

Not had any first hand experience with those scopes but I have a WO GT81 and the build quality is very good. One thing I would say is the focal length of those scopes mat be a little short for some of those smaller DSO's however would be great for some of the bigger nebulae such as the heart and rosette nebula.

The image circle would be fine with either scope with your camera.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Wyvernp

[ThomasF1234]

1 hour ago, Wyvernp said:

Not had any first hand experience with those scopes but I have a WO GT81 and the build quality is very good. One thing I would say is the focal length of those scopes mat be a little short for some of those smaller DSO's however would be great for some of the bigger nebulae such as the heart and rosette nebula.

The image circle would be fine with either scope with your camera.

Thanks I think I’m leaning towards the Redcat but then again still not sure as the Zenither would be a bit more zoomed in 

Edited April 26, 2020 by ThomasF1234

[Wyvernp]

Here's the difference in FOV with your camera

I've included the flattener for the Zenithstar, I'm not sure if one is needed for the redcat.

I also plugged details for your camera into http://astronomy.tools/calculators/ccd_suitability and whilst both will be undersampled, the Zenithstar less so.

What mount will you be using? As weight will also be a consideration. Either way, I've seen great photos taken with both of these scopes. I believe Trevor from Astrobackyard has done a some videos on youtube with the redcat, worth a watch if you havn't already seen them. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Wyvernp

[ThomasF1234]

11 minutes ago, Wyvernp said:

Here's the difference in FOV with your camera

I've included the flattener for the Zenithstar, I'm not sure if one is needed for the redcat.

I also plugged details for your camera into http://astronomy.tools/calculators/ccd_suitability and whilst both will be undersampled, the Zenithstar less so.

What mount will you be using? As weight will also be a consideration. Either way, I've seen great photos taken with both of these scopes. I believe Trevor from Astrobackyard has done a some videos on youtube with the redcat, worth a watch if you havn't already seen them. 

Thanks I’m going to watch some of his videos. The mount I would be using is and EQ3 won’t the synscan GOTO handset. I’m thinking the Redcat may be the better option as it will have a wider FOV and may be easier to find objects when starting out

[Adam J]

17 hours ago, ThomasF1234 said:

Hi all I’m looking for a good telescope for astrophotography to use with my Canon EOS M50 I’ve narrowed it down to the Redcat 51 and the Zenithstar 73. Any ideas which is better? I mainly want to take shots of deep sky objects like M44 and M3 ect

If you want to take a shot of M3 then a longer focal length would be best. I would say the 73 is best out of those two. For me the 51 is a travel scope not a main scope for every day use unless you want to go really wide.

Adam

[smr]

I have a ZenithStar 73. I love my scope... really nice build quality and optics and the R&P focuser is great. Nice fov for many nebulae.

Edited April 27, 2020 by smr