Celestron Nexstar Evolution HD Review

Celestron NexStar Evolution Telescope

Price $2949 (for 8 inch) Celestron is one of the largest producers of affordable telescopes for beginners and experts alike. The Celestron Nexstar Evolution HD is an advanced powerful telescope suitable for all astronomy enthusiasts. This scope comes in 3 aperture sizes: 6 inches, 8 inches, and 9.25 inches. The 8-inch version has a focal … Read more

ZWO ASI294MC Pro Camera Review

ZWO ASI 1294MC Color Dedicated Astrophotography Camera

Another in the line of excellent, affordable ZWO astronomical cameras is the ZWO ASI294MC Pro cooled color CMOS astrophotography camera. This camera boasts the Sony IMX294CJK sensor, with a 4144 x 2822 resolution with 4.63-micron pixels. This results in a diagonal measurement of 21.6mm, which is slightly smaller than an APS-C sensor found in many … Read more

SeeStar S50 Review

SeeStar S50 on Mini Tripod

Manufacturer: ZWO Introductory Price: $399 Have you been wanting to dip your toes into the fun hobby of astrophotography, but are intimidated by the complex equipment choices, high prices and steep learning curve? Well astronomy and imaging equipment manufacturer ZWO has come up with an innovative, reasonably priced way to produce some quality images that … Read more

Lunt Solar 80mm f/7 Telescope Review

Lunt Solar Telescope

Manufacturer: Lunt Price: $5077with rack-and-pinion focuser With the upcoming April 2024 North America Eclipse approaching, I thought it would be interesting to pique the interest of astronomy enthusiasts in solar observing before the big event by reviewing a solar telescope. Quality telescopes can be a bit pricey, and telescopes made specifically for solar observing are … Read more

The QHY 268M 26 MP Camera Review

Manufacturer: QHY Price $2399 (bundles are a bit more) The QHY 268M 26 MP is a monochrome astrophotography camera that features a 26-megapixel back-illuminated Sony IMX571 sensor. Because of the back illumination, the quantum efficiency is very high and the dark noise is very low.  The sensor also has a large full well capacity of … Read more

ZWO FF130 Refractor Telescope Review

ZWO FF130 Apochromatic Refractor

Manufacturer: Zwo Price: $3499 Zwo is well known in the astrophotography world for producing excellent astronomy gear at reasonable prices. Well, now the company has ramped up the competition for quality refractor telescopes designed specifically for astrophotography, also called astrographs. The ZWO FF130 Apo 130mm f/7.7 Petzval Refractor Telescope is a high-end telescope that is … Read more

William Optics RedCat 61 Review

RedCat 61 Mounted with Handle

Manufacturer: William Optics Price: $1598 William Optics RedCat 61 Apochromatic Petzval Refractor William Optics has done it again. Following up its wildly popular RedCat 51 and RedCat 71, the company has released its new RedCat 61. The latest version comes with some new enhancements including its novel patented internal focusing mechanism. This scope features a … Read more

Askar V Telescope Review – 8 Refractors in One

Askar V Multipurpose refractor

Manufacturer: Sharpstar/Askar Price: $1695 SharpStar is a Chinese telescope manufacturer known for producing high-quality astrophotography refractor telescopes. They offer a range of refractor telescopes for astronomy enthusiasts ranging from deep-sky observers or imagers to planetary observers, all the way to wide-field imagers. Sharpstar produces a number of high-quality refractors under the Askar label. the Askar … Read more

ZWO ASI6200MM Pro Camera Review

ZWO ASI6200MM Pro Camera full frame cooled SMOS camera

Manufacturer: ZWO Current Price: $3799 The ZWO ASI6200MM Pro is a cooled monochrome Astrophotography camera. It is manufactured by ZWO Optical, well-known in the astronomy community for producing affordable, quality equipment. The ASI6200MM Pro offers advanced features and a full-frame sensor, making it a popular choice among astrophotographers. Key Features: Sensor: The ASI6200MM Pro features … Read more

ZWO ASIAir Plus Review

ASIAIR Plus Wireless Camera Controller

ZWO ASIAir Plus Wireless Camera Controller Manufacturer: ZWO Price $299 Astrophotography can be a very rewarding hobby, capturing beautiful images of the night sky. But the learning curve can be quite high, causing many people to give up. I remember when I started in this hobby in the mid 1990’s. Digital cameras were just starting … Read more