SharpStar 61 EDPH2 review

[AstroRuz]

Hey all, 

I completed my review of the SharpStar 61EDPH2 that was loaned to me from FLO. 

I find the scope to be very capable and extremely light and portable. The dew shield on my copy was very loose and often would slip back down, though the build quality, barring the shield, felt sturdy and solid.

The focuser is geared and indexed so it has a lot of fine control and ease to reliably reach focus due to the index marks. It also has full rotation built into it. 

I suspect the glass is FPL51, however this isn't too far behind the more coveted FPL53. Being a triplet the telescope has good colour correction and has a bench test available also. 

I did enjoy the photos I took through the telescope. Natively it's 335mm f5, reduced to 275mm f4 with a full frame imaging circle. Though at its reduced value the telescope would enjoy being paired with cameras of about 2.4um pixels - the 183 is a perfect fit but then you can't capitalise on the enormous fov capable with this Telescope. Every other camera will probably under sample, however you can drizzle to help overcome this. 

The reducer in my copy added blue channel bloat to the images. I've seen this complained about elsewhere and in the video review I show comparisons and my findings that show the blue bloat. 2" filters fit nicely inside the reducers body after removing the lens element, a system I really enjoy. 

Ultimately I really, really loved the wide field of view this Telescope supplied. The telescope itself I think is good value for money when taking into account it's triple lenses. However I found the reducer (which is needed as the scope has bad field curvature) to stymie the full capabilities in my example I had. If SharpStar can find any issues with the reducer and rectify the blue bloat then I would find it very hard to not recommend this scope. As it stands I still recommend it, but give a "buyer beware" note about the blue channel. It can be fixed in post by reducing the blue channel independently but prevention is better than cure. 

I hope you enjoy the video and my review. The video is below, and links to the products can be found here also. They are affiliate links, if you buy through them then I get a small bit of compensation.

 

Thanks for reading, clear skies everyone. Keep looking up and keep them cameras clicking. 

Telescope: https://bit.ly/36reB0i
Reducer: https://bit.ly/2MGbURy

 

 

 

 

[The Lazy Astronomer]

Really good review, felt honest and unbiased, and nice little bits of humour injected in too.

Would be interested in seeing more - perhaps @FLO could sponsor you to live in the Atacama so you have enough clear sky time! 😅

[AstroRuz]

22 minutes ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:

Really good review, felt honest and unbiased, and nice little bits of humour injected in too.

Would be interested in seeing more - perhaps @FLO could sponsor you to live in the Atacama so you have enough clear sky time! 😅

Thanks mate. Glad you enjoyed it! Always do my best to be honest and unbiased

Aha that would be pretty good if @FLO did that. Maybe not live, but an extended working holiday perhaps 😛 Though they supply me with toys to play with and that's more than enough

But some more clear skies would always be good!

[xthestreams]

Helpful review - thanks! You mention the reducer is required to obtain a flat full-frame, which benefits from the 183 - wondering if an APS-C or Micro 4/3rds would give me a flat enough frame that I could skip the reducer and whatever optical issues it causes.

 

Thoughts?

[GTom]

On 30/06/2021 at 02:30, xthestreams said:

Helpful review - thanks! You mention the reducer is required to obtain a flat full-frame, which benefits from the 183 - wondering if an APS-C or Micro 4/3rds would give me a flat enough frame that I could skip the reducer and whatever optical issues it causes.

 

Thoughts?

Maybe we can get away with a 1" sensor but I'd expect the field curvature of a native 335mm FL optics to be terrible: https://starizona.com/blogs/tutorials/field-curvature

Edited July 27, 2023 by GTom

[GTom]

MkIII  is on the market now with two "ED" elements. Looking forward to see if the £200 higher price tag bringing any returns.