INCREDIBLE Scope with an Achilles Heel? - Askar 130PHQ Review

Show us the glass!

It appears the .7 reducer with the 60mm backspacing could still be a useful tool for narrowband imaging. Shame it couldn't perform better for broadband.

A year later and I'm getting to this. No doubt it is the reducer. I wonder if the optics in that particular reducer are over tightened at the factory or maybe even pinched. Did you try another reducer?

I would like to know the visual performance on the
Moon and planets.

Since this 130PHQ and ZWO’s 130FF APO are carbon copies of each other I wondered if ASKAR did a better job of building their case. In particular, can you attach the ZWO EAF on the PHQ and put it away in the case? I love my Askar V scope which can DO THAT. It even has a cutout in the case to do that. I’m a mobile astronomer and need the portability. Taking the EAF to move every time would be a pain…small screws in the dark. Also no mount point for ASIAir on OTA cage with ZWO. Askar? Wondering? Thanks!

Very late reply lukomatico , I know that. It was proven to me that I am a beginner and I am proud that I am a beginner. I have never and will never change what I own Celestron HD11 & sky watcher esprit 120 ED APO ❤❤ Forever 👍😎

I just bought the ZWO version ff107. Are there other aftermarket reducers available that may perform better than the Askar .7?

Great review and what a refractor.
In my opinion it would be nice not to have background sound. It’s just distracting.

Would you recommend this scope over the Esprit 120? Looking for an upgrade in the 800-1000mm FL range. I’m trying to decide which is the better deal and this and the esprit stand out to me. Glad to see the great performance although unfortunate about the reducer.

Do you recommend the Askar 130 for visual use? Or would you recommend something else first? Please leave aside the question of cost. Thank you.

I use the 80PHQ and I have to wonder why anyone would want to install a reducer on these Askar quads.

That was a one hour exposure of Alnitak and the associated Flame Nebula, Barnard 33 (Horsehead Nebula) and NGC 2023 reflection and emission nebula without a H Beta filter was outstanding for an aperture 0f 127mm.

I bought one and did not bother with a reducer and it works fantasic ...does not seem "slow" in the least. It has taken my imaging to a much higher level and I am just so happy with the scope I regard it as perfect. Thanks for your wonderful video.
And thanks to Niko who inspired me to get this scope and to run it at native...

Optics in these are very inconsistent but for imaging it doesn’t matter.

I just got the ZWO 130mm (believed to be a rebranded Askar 130mm PHQ). It is such an amazing scope. The contrast is great! I like to add to your excellent and pretty complete review (one reason why I bought it!), that I also used this scope visually for one night at good seeing conditions. It is also performing extremely well visually. I never saw so many details on planets (Jupiter and Saturn) and could split double stars beautifully. Of course, at 130mm aperture diameter deepsky objects are still pretty dim, but whoever likes to look at planets and those tight doubles, this scope is great for that, too.

A near f/8 refractor should perform very well. Too bad Askar provided a less than optimal flat field focal reducer. They are probably only taking from a short list of menu options from the OEM they arte buying from resulting in very little control over the optical performance.

Luke, I have a newly acquired 151PHQ - with the native focal length and no reducer, the field flatness and color are excellent across the entire frame. With the reducer (same one as yours), 60mm backspacing appears to work much better than the stated 55mm. I have reached out to Askar and sent them the data to look at - stay tuned. Great video!

Thanks Luke. I have been bitten by the bug wanting one of these but I am wondering if I am just making a "Very Heavy (and costly) Rod" for my back? Nico Carver is warning me about that but I am not yet totally discouraged to try it. Costly big bugger though it is $AUD 6500.

If I may can I ask about guiding?

I can see the need to use OAG to get the needed guiding accuracy at 1000mm.
Is it essential to match the 2 path lengths between guide camera and the imaging camera or can their focus be calibrated and/or adjusted independently?

Luke,
Thank you for the amazing review. I just placed my order for the Askar 130 PHQ. Even though I could get a free reducer through ZWO's version of the scope, it was clear from your review that I wouldn't have used it (THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY!) This was a fantastic review and gave me 100% peace of mind ordering the scope. Now I just have to sell two scopes to pay for it! 😂

What was the total weight with the scope and camera?

Very Nice video Thanks to you!!
Is there a good reducer that could fit on (other than Askar one)?
Thank you (i have had some difficulties to translate you but i have understood anyway) 🙏

A superb and thorough review. The pixel peeping with the reducer issue really gives a solid sense of the new challenges accompanying the increasing advantages of our newest tech.

Ok, we need a MONO CMOS Sensor with BIG PIXELs (~5µ) and 24 mpix

I had a question as I am have been considering this Askar scope or even the next level (151) coming soon. Clearly to get wider views I was thinking the focal reducer was the way to go. The performance issues do cause concern. I was wondering, are there any reducer options from another company or does it need to be matched to the scope from Askar? Also, do you think you may be doing an early review of the 151? Thanks for a very useful review, the core scope certainly seems worthwhile!

Hi, what model of mounting did you use over the cement blocks? Thank you.

just one comment, the same history (Deja vu) with Williams optical zentihstar81 and the WO reducer 0.7x the only thing in common is the optolong l extreme filter . without reducer( native 560mm) perfect stars , my question is maybe the optolong l extreme or another bad reducer. maybe maybe. clear sky

Thank you for this full and deep review.

Awesome review, love the comparison with the reducer. You did it justice. I bought and learned the hard way that the reducer for the Askar FRA400 wasn't as good as the scope's native views, and sold it. So again, great review. All the right points to cover.

nice telescope i want one may be one day

very informative and objective review, well done ! I wish, there would be more of those, who actually measure flatness and aberration, any chance you could do a review on the newest offering from the phq line, the 65 ? I would love to see, how it compares to the likes of red cats and other scopes in that similar price range, as there aren't many, who own this scope yet. Clear skies 🌠, you got yourself a new subscriber 😊🔭🌌

Thank You for the Review. I am considering this Scope because of its 60mm Medium Format image circle but please does anyone knows or have experience if the optics of this Scope is capable to handle/resolve/be on par…or whatever, quality of 100MPx Medium Format camera…be it ordinary one or dedicated Astro one? Thank You

It's probably another Chinese brand they rushed to production. They're still catching up in the telescope industry, except for Syna brand who make telescopes for Orion. They make some great scopes but nothing too high end. Trevor at Astrobackyard had a similar problem with one of the new branded scopes from China. Fact is there are many great telescope companies out there already. I believe they rushed through these new scopes when the demand for them shot up 1000 % because of COVID 19. When your my age you remain skeptical of sudden, new products following social upheaval. I would stick with William Optics, Stellarvue, Meade, Takahashi and and other brands that have been around for a while, till these new companies start doing things better and for the right reasons. Astronomics in Oklahoma carry a great brand called Astro Tech that are great on a tight budget and good quality. They also make fine reflectors as well as apochromatic refractors. They're qyickly becoming a contender as astrographs go. Also, you get what you pay for. I have a William Optics Zenithstar 61mm that beats most, if not all these new triplet apos recently released in corrected image. No chromatic aberration nor coma with the proper flattener.

Luke, thanks for validating my own results. My 130PHQ reducer seemed so bad that I actually thought it was defective. Every manufacturer deals with production variances, but in my case I couldn't believe I needed to add a whole 3mm! After watching your video, I now wonder if I need to add even more. I ended up buying about $400 in M68 spacers, including a Baader Varilock, so I will try adding another mm or two when the weather warms.

Excellent review.

Super review….when’s Christmas again….I must have one, clear skies

Great review, thank you for putting the time and effort to share your findings with us!

Hello Luke, thanks for the lengthy review. Much appreciated because I’m sure it’s a lot of work. I was thinking of buying the 107PHQ because I think the 130 is too bulky and heavy for my circumstances. But your review has left me in something of a quandary with regard to the reducer. I realise it’s a different scope obviously, but I just wonder whether the problems you found with the reducer might also occur in the 107. I hope Askar get this resolved. It’s really good to have the excellent optical performance at the native focal length, but it would be really excellent if that quality of imaging were also available with a reducer for wider field imaging. 😊

Hi Luke! Very much appreciate the effort you clearly put into this thorough review of the Askar 130PHQ. Love your channel :)

Nicely done! Great review and very thorough. I would be concerned about having a filter in place for optical testing as dichroic filters are known to add colour to off-axis images with faster light cones. And Optolong’s are known to exhibit haloes. However, I assume the same filter was in place for the native focal length images. If so, that does even the score between the two sets of images and does point to the Reducer being the source of the aberrations. SharpStar/Askar are known for issuing units initially that have optical issues, only to correct them in later product runs. Owners of the first defective units may or may not get a replacement sent out to them. Thanks again!

Great review. Such a shame that the reducer is not up to the quality of the scope itself. But i am pleased to see the scope has pinpoint round stars to the corners natively - I hope that holds true for 65PHQ which I have on order and should arrive Feb. I see on the 65 they have included markings for the rotator. Clear skies

Question: did you add backspacing for the additional filter? IE: 3mm filter width = add 1mm backspace to the 55mm. I've found that this makes a difference even down to .10mm makes improvement.

Edit: Ok, yes you did experiment with the backspacing. :)

Hi Luke, long time viewer, rare commenter and I gotta say I appreciate your review as well as Nico's. Especially since I'm in the market for a bigger refractor right now. This one might be just above my budget plus I think the weight would be pushing my old AVX mount and I'm certainty not ready to upgrade both this year. Looks like a fine offering, however. Thanks for the wonderful review. Clear skies and I'd love to see you keep it 😃, entirely up to you, of course. Happy new year!

Great review Luke. Thoroughly enjoyed the comparison of FL. Looks like an absolute belter at native. Glad it’s not just me that sniffs new gear! 👍🏻 Noddy

Thank you for this great review Luke. Every one of your videos is an education—this one is no exception. Would you mind answering a basic newbie question? When you decided that you wanted to tackle the chroma issues, how did you conclude to increase back focus. Was this simply from your years of experience? Anyway a most happy 2023 for Lukomatico and how about a celebration video when you hit 10K subscribers!!!!

This was excellent Luke, most of the other reviews I have seen about Askar said scopes were budget scopes, for that reason I always dismissed the reviews as I want quality stuff, not an econo scope. I know something can be semi-budget and still good quality. You have really enlighted me and provided an excellent review. I have been planning to add a refractor to my scope collection, I was leaning strongly toward William Optics (Redcats and GT series) but now will add Askar to the mix. I know Takas are top of the line but I need something I can afford, Askars are in my price range.

Reviews like these are very helpful (even if the scope is way, waaaay out of my comfortable price range). Thanks for keeping it honest. "Sellouts" are easy to spot and this didn't feel like that at all. Good job. If I'm allowed to name and fame (not shame); I bought some equipment after seeing reviews from Ruzeen (from Astrofarsography) and my experiences were the same as what he mentioned in his videos. Both the good and the bad, so I was warned. The world of equipment is massive and can be confusing and overwhelming. Having skilled people giving trustworthy reviews is extremely helpful. I hope more manufacturers send you stuff for review (if you want to continue doing them of course).

Happy New Year Luke, a great review on a beautiful looking scope.The image at the end you produced was excellent.

Hi Luke. Fantastic thoroughness. I would love to see it compared against a direct alternative. Say a WO FLT132 and it’s flattener reducer. I had a Askar FRA 600 which I sent back due to the softness and dodgy corners. I was told by the supplier that I could exchange but there was no guarantee of an improvement due to Askar‘s questionable quality control. It will be interesting to hear what Askar has to say.

Happy New Year Luke ! I think the perfect pairing of two scopes is probably one at 400mm and the other at 1000mm ( spooky that askar do both !). For me if money was no object I would probably go for the askar 400 and this askar 130 phq. Brilliant review mate; very thorough and unbiased. I'm guessing you would probably need the eq8 mount or equivalent to carry this beast effectively ?

Looks like a fantastic telescope! To be fair, this isn't the only telescope that is held back by an inferior reducer. I had a W.Optics with beautiful clear field of view of the stars, but placing the only compatible reducer/flattener in it, it was like a whole different unit, something a lot worse. I hope Askar is watching and they remedy this issue! Otherwise at full focal length, this is definitely a go telescope!