Used: Askar 230 mm f/4.6 APO Telephoto Lens - Traveler´s Refractor - Guide Scope and Spotting Scope

Askar FMA230 Astrograph and Triplet Apo

ASKAR FMA telephoto lenses are not simple photo lenses, they are apochromats optimized for astrophotography. The triplet APO lens allows magnifications up to about 150x without loss of sharpness performance. To our knowledge, no telephoto lens in this class can do that. The stars on the image are correspondingly sharp.

The 4-element corrector specially developed for the 50 mm triplet lens flattens the image field up to full format and improves the focal ratio to a fast f/4.6 with full sharpness. The internal blackening and the elaborate multi-coating ensure high-contrast and brilliant images without reflections even under difficult lighting conditions.

Astrophotographic results obtained with this telescope on Astrobin:
Here you can find some astrophotographs made with this telescope model: Link to Astrobin

The FMA 230 mm f/4.5 as a telephoto lens:
The manual APO telephoto lens is corrected up to full format. From the M48 thread you have 55 mm working distance. Ideal for system cameras, DSLR and of course astro cameras. The high speed of f/4.6 allows short exposure times even under difficult lighting conditions.

The FMA 230 f/4.6 as astrograph:
Astrophotographers will be delighted with this compact telephoto lens. Stars up to the edge are imaged crispy sharp. With 55 mm working distance (M48 mount) you can connect all common cameras. The multi-function bracket allows easy adaptation to your mount, photo tripod or to compact photo trackers, such as the Skywatcher Star-Adventurer or to a attachable camera mount via the 1/4" female thread.

The FMA 230 as APO refractor and guidescope:
The objective can be combined with 1.25" and also with 2" accessories and allows ultimate wide field observations. Enjoy the landscape or view vast star fields. Use the sharpness performance of the APO lens to see lunar craters, the play of Jupiter´s moons or the rings of Saturn.

The FMA230 is also a powerful lens for autoguiding. With the matching autoguider, you can track telescopes up to 10" aperture flawlessly.

The FMA 230 as spotting scope:
The high-contrast optics enable exciting wildlife and landscape observations. In just a few steps, you have turned the telephoto lens into a compact and crisp spotting scope. You can use all common photo tripods, the adapter is already included. Use 1.25" or 2" eyepieces at low magnification for bright images, even under extreme lighting conditions, and eyepieces for high magnification to see fine details.

Practical tip from Teleskop-Service - how to achieve good focusing for astrophotography:
The FMA230 is equipped with a helical focuser. Although this works, it is relatively coarse. Especially with very high-resolution astro cameras, very good focusing on the star soon becomes a game of patience. The TeleFokus75 solves the problem. It offers a very precise and, above all, reproducible fine adjustment.

Astrophotographic results obtained with this telescope on Astrobin

Here you can find some astrophotographs made with this telescope model: Link to Astrobin

Safety informations: PDF Download