The WO Zenithstar 73/430 - A good beginner apochromatic refractor?

[@lungotevere]

This is the best guide for how to buy a telescope that I have seen!

[@DocAstro]

Thank you so much! That is very nice to hear!

[@darcyf.5455]

thanks for the video doc, I've been deciding between this one and the SW Evostar 72ED, and this video made the decision for me. much love :)

[@dcharlton07]

Great scope and video, I didn’t know I could lock focus, BIG HELP! Thank you!

[@truckernige]

Hi Benjamin, when i bought my telescope it clouded over for 3 months…. i hope you get clear skies very soon.

[@DocAstro]

I had great luck! Only a few weeks ;-) I used the time to get my equipment ready for those clear nights.

[@TeamGamingSWE]

I got my guidescope 2 months ago, cloudy since that and before. I never get the chance to learn everything properly now that I use a computer instead of just using my DSLR and the hand controller.

[@wolfieandmasterturtle5728]

Great video- many thanks. I've been imaging with the WO73 and variable field flattener for about a year now. Prior to this. I've been using an 8" Newtonian for about 20 years. The WO really is high quality. Fabulous wide field of view and, importantly, much less of a burden for the mount!

[@DocAstro]

Thank you! I am so happy with the scope. It is just what I was hoping for! :-)

[@godofmyworld77]

I'm your 26th subscription 👌🏻 I'm going to be buying a scope in January/February ish 2023 ready for the summer ☀️

[@DocAstro]

Thank you my friend! That is great news! What scope you have in mind? Do you have a mount already?

[@DocAstro]

And don’t forget about those long winter nights! Sky is alteady dark at 6 here!

[@godofmyworld77]

@DocAstro no I don't have a moumt yet but may pick up a package deal or may even look for a very good condition pre owned scope and mount and whatever I can get with it...I'm total beginner wanted a telescope for about 20 years now and now is the time I think lol mostly will start by checking the moon out and whatever planets I can see I'm going to take a slow stroll though the subject and just enjoy and have fun doing it also want to get my daughters involved they both seem interested so it will be a great thing we can do as a family ..thank you for your reply remember I'm number 26 on your subs lol great videos mate il be checking in regularly and il let you know when and what I end up with when the time comes 👌 do you have any suggestions on good beginner scope that would have entry level deep space capabilities also as well as good for viewing the moon and other planets?

[@DocAstro]

@@godofmyworld77 Great to have you onboard. It is a beautiful hobby. So you want to try observing first? Then I would try to get my hands on a used refractor or Newtonian or even a Dobson with an AZ/AL mount because you don’t need the equatorial mount for tracking. This will be a good and cheap solution to get you into the hobby. If you consider astrophotography then I would think about a small equatorial mount and put a DSLR with a photo lens on it. Those would get you your first images. My first steps were with a 100 eur refractor with an equatorial mount 20 years ago and I could see so many beautiful objects already. Especially for observing you don’t need the expansive mounts and apochromatic refractors. In the end your budget dictates the way you go. :-)

[@godofmyworld77]

@DocAstro thank you 👌 I'm probably going to get a refractor telescope probably will buy second hand and spend maybe £300 I think if I hang on and keep vigilant il find the perfect deal for me I will definitely be investing in a good dslr camera but will in the meantime just practice finding and viewing I feel that will be a great to cut my teeth so to speak then when I have the camera il start another learning curve.. I turned 45 this summer and the last few years I've just had a thing that I just want to learn stuff everything from quantum physics/mechanics and now it's time to get into astronomy I have wanted a scope as I say for about 20 odd years so never too late...thanks you for your replies I appreciate that ans I'm going through your videos as I get the time I watch I listen I soak it up you be amazed what sticks when you don't try to learn you end up just sort of learning you know lol 👌🏻

[@matiragorri]

Hello! Great choice, I have the Z61, it’s my favorite!

[@DocAstro]

Nice! I had this on my list too but wanted to have a bit more narrow field of view with my full frame sensor.

[@Jazzinthecountry]

I just bought a Zenithstar 73III with the flattener and the reducer. I haven't had a chance to get out with it yet 😢 ☁️

[@DocAstro]

Yes, that is one of the main constraints you got in this hobby. Have a lot of fun with it!

[@Dennis-tf2cs]

I have the Zenithstar 61mm and couldn't be happier with it. I don't see any CA at all. Superior optics in these William Optics scopes.

[@DocAstro]

I heard that a lot. That why I went the WO way :-)

[@grybukaras3000]

Have you tried field flattener with fullframe camera? Are the corners flat? Or is it not good enough for full frame camera?

[@DocAstro]

@@grybukaras3000 I have an it is really good

[@efx245precor3]

Interesting the flattener for this one keeps the FR At 1x. I got the 50mm too with unislide (matching color) This tracks better than the 32 mm one

[@Zeroplanetz]

Hello, is there a website or app that will allow me to put in different scopes and accessories to see what I can expect from viewing different objects? I’m willing to spend up to $1500usd at first. Then build onto my setup. But I’d like to use it for viewing and later photography. I do know I don’t want a dob. They are just too big. At first I will use my manfrotto video tripod. It’s really heavy. Then later I will get a camera and a automated scope tripod. Just seeing what would be best in my scenario of wants. Any suggestions? Thank you for any help.

[@DocAstro]

Hi! One way to see what is possible with a given equipment would be to use astrobin. You can filter all the equipment and can look at the images that has been taken with these. There is also astronomy.tools that has a preview on what to expect with a given camera and lens. Even on Stellarium can add a specific focal length and sensor and see your field of view. In my opinion the most important equipment is the mount. For a beginner I would always suggest a EQ5 PRO. That is in my opinion the best bang for the buck. Of course that would be most if not all of your budget. But if you want to get serious with that hobby and want to take images that makes the most sense. You could of course also go with something like eq3. But with that setup i would only use a camera with a normal photo lens. But you won't be really able to put a scope with camera, guiding scope etc on top of it with good guiding results. If you are searching for a scope to look through and take photos later on a Newtonian gives you good options for a reasonable price. But I really love the qualitiy of a good refractor with a shorter focal length. But I really only take images. Hope I could give you a little input that helps. Feel free to ask if you have questions.

[@Zeroplanetz]

@@DocAstro thank you for your help! Sooo… a while ago I sold my canon 60D. But I still have this huge tripod. I figured I could use it with a good scope for viewing til I bought something like the eq5. Appearance wise I’m drawn to refractors. I also have fun piecing parts together, like building computers. I’ve never made a jump into telescopes though. But for some reason or another I keep falling back looking at Williams optics. I will check that site and Stellarium out and see what I can find out.

[@DocAstro]

@@Zeroplanetz Anytime! you can do beautiful pictures with your tripod and a used Canon EOS 6D with short exposure times for example! You dont necessarily need an equatorial mount. But with a bigger scope it is mandatory as the exposure time will greatly decrease with increasing focal length and a non guiding mount. I am very happy with my WO scope! Would buy it again!

[@efx245precor3]

I had a 102 on that mount but was too heavy, switched to GT71.

[@zveck06]

I love mine...

[@sanacca]

Hi have you got a video about the Backfocus using Z73+Flat73a+DSLR ? I would also be interested how and where u placed the asiair? Cheers J

[@DocAstro]

Hi, not yet but until then there are some videos about that on KZbin. I have one video about the field flattener where I assemble it and setup the correct distance for the back focus.

[@jochenretter]

Have you tried the focal reducer already? I would love to see a comparison on picture quality with Fullframe Andromeda shots - is faster 344mm better or more Details with 420mm? Thank you, good videos!

[@DocAstro]

Not yet, but an interesting idea! I would prefer the details as it just hits my sweet spot. definitely something to try out. But I have to admit that I would not get a focal reducer for the zenithstar at the moment. I would rather take another scope like one of the redcats that has this focal length. But of course. That is way more expansive. Thank you!

[@jibino7]

Hi...i loved the video... I'm planning to buy a scope now... I'm confused between Redcat51 and Zenithstar73.... I got myself a Star adventurer 2i pro.. Which scope should i buy

[@jibino7]

I feel like.. Redcat might be very wide... I want little more narrowed image.... But ZS73 plus field Flattener will cost more than Redcat 51 alone...here in INDIA

[@DocAstro]

Thank you! The Redcat has a wider field of view and is faster. And it is a triplet, so it has a lens more which should result in a better image quality. Every scope has its merits. It really depends on what you would like to get an image of. What camera would you use? For me the Zenithstar 73 was the scope of choice because of the bit more magnification. But I think the Redcat is a great scope from what I hear! I suggest you go to stellarium. There you can enter your focal length and you camera sensor. It will show your field of view and you can look at some objects and how they would look in you picture.

[@DocAstro]

And on a side note. With this mount you should not use the zenithstar. It has a max load of 5 kg only. The zenithstar alone weights 2.5 kg. You should only put on 2/3 of the max weight on to the mount for good tracking and guiding. If you can I would suggest the HEQ5 and buy a small refractor like the redcat or even just a photo lens.

[@tracyperry6231]

I currently have a ZenithStar 103mm. Just to put it into perspective, I recently purchased an Apertura 72mm APO FPL-53 from HighPoint Scientific... and it's pretty much the same scope as the ZenitStar73. The build quality on the Apertura is as good as on the ZenithStar 103. The ONLY thing missing with my kit was a Bhat mask... but I DID get a 1x flattener and the Apertura came with a camera rotator built in and a 32mm guide scope. For the scope, the flattener and the guide scope I think I'm into it around $820 USD (tax & shipping). The Z73 would run me about $713 for the scope itself. Both scopes are made by Kunming United Optics. I've got to get a better camera for DSO than the ASI585MC that I have (was targeted at planetary for a NexStar 8se). Once I get to playing with it more I'll be posting updates at my forum at astrowhat.com

[@DocAstro]

@@tracyperry6231 thank you so much for your insight! I have to check that scope out!

[@SKYST0RY]

In regard to the field flattener with the ZenithStar 73, if I am using a dedicated astrocamera with a smaller sensor (like the Player One Uranus-C), do you mean I don't really need a flattener? The Uranus-C's sensor is quite small compared to a DSLR.

[@afryhover]

Have you used it yet? Is there somewhere we can see your astrophotos? Thanks.

[@DocAstro]

Yes, absolutely check out my session playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLf_fEUoUbYIrvyu_7OmOSbSInr0ZigYar

[@benni_osr]

are you from the ore mountains?

[@DocAstro]

Do you mean Erzgebirge? Nope

[@ocinar78]

umm good