TS-Optics Doublet SD Apo 150 mm f/8 FPL53 / Lanthanum Glass Objective - 3.7" Focuser

TS SD-APO 150/1200 mm FPL53 / Lanthanum Glass Doublet APO Refractor

The TS 150mm APO is our largest SD-APO doublet refractor. It has the same optical design as the successful Photoline 125 mm f/7.8 apo. The inexpensive yet powerful optical concept makes this dream telescope affordable for amateur astronomers. Whether you are interested in solar and planetary photography and observation, or astrophotography of nebulae, star clusters and galaxies, this telescope will give you a very good performance.

The doublet lens with SD glass, one lens of which is made of FPL53 and the other of special lanthanum glass, brings the maximum performance and chromatic correction previously known only from triplet lenses. Each apo is tested on our optical bench before shipment, so you always have optimal performance at your disposal.

Astrophotos with this apo on Astrobin

Here you find results from amateurs with this telescope: Link to Astrobin

The advantages and features of the Photoline 150 mm f/8 apo:

Well corrected, air-spaced doublet objective - special glasses FPL53 (from Ohara) and lanthanum glass

Temperature compensated, fully adjustable metal cell

3.7" RAP Photoline rack-and-pinion dual-speed focuser carries accessories up to 7 kg.

Direct M92x1 and M68x1 thread connection for correctors and reducers for astrophotography

Working distance 130 mm from the 2" receptacle, so you can easily get in focus with common accessories

If you unscrew the extension between focuser and tube, the working distance increases to 230 mm. This allows you to use binoviewers without glass path compensation.

Sturdy aluminum tube with inner baffles

CNC tube rings with Losmandy style dovetail bar

Weight only 9 kg at a length of 1.1 metre - so the apo is still very transportable

Each apo is tested and optimally collimated on the optical bench of Teleskop-Service before shipping, so you have an optimal telescope for your use right from the start.

Upon request and for an additional charge, we will send along a photographic test documenting the clean stellar imaging of the apo. An image focal, extrafocal and intrafocal and a Ronchi image is included. The apo will then get a TS serial number.

An ultimate high-end 3.7" focuser:

The RAP focuser is designed for heavy camera photography and observation. The focuser holds camera-side accessories up to about 7 kg without causing tilting. The focuser´s illumination is also optimized for full-frame sensors.

Rack and pinion drive - no friction - no yielding as with a Crayford focuser

M68x1 and M92x1 threaded connection for further adaptations

Self-centering eyepiece and accessory adapter for 2" and 1.25

360° rotation for optimal camera positioning is built in

Dual speed for precise focusing is built-in

Motorized focusing can be retrofitted

Astrophotography with the TSAPO150-37:

The focuser of the apo offers the large M92x1 female thread, so professional correctors can be connected. We especially recommend:

TSFLAT3 - 1.0x full frame corrector

The focal length is not changed.

The corrector fits directly to the focuser

TSRED3 - 0.8x full-frame corrector

The focal ratio improves to f/6.4.

The focal length reduces to 960 mm.

The corrector fits directly to the focuser.

P-Flat8 - 0.72x full-frame corrector

The focal ratio improves to f/5.76.

The focal length reduces to 864 mm.

The corrector fits directly to the focuser

Technical Information

Teleskop-Service has collected a lot of helpful information about refractors and provided it in English as a PDF file: refractors.pdf

Astrophotos with this apo on Astrobin

Here you find results from amateurs with this telescope: Link to Astrobin

Report on the new 150 mm TS F8 SD APO

At the beginning of February 2020 I was faced with the decision to buy a 6" with triplet design or the new TS 6" SD-APO doublet with Lanthanum / FPL 53 combination. Since I have a 5" TS SD F7.8 Dublett APO with the same glass combination in use and I know the qualities of this SD-APO device, the decision was easy. The new 6" SD-APO is with 9 kg (incl. tube rings) very light and the cooling time of the lenses is very short because of the doublet design.

After a few mails with Wolfgang Ransburg the new 6" SD-APO was delivered well packed at my place in the middle of February. The new SD-APO will be placed next to my TS 14" RC on an EQ8-R. To make sure that it is carried safely, I made a new dual base plate for the EQ-8. The two telescopes can now be fine balanced in both axes.

After the new 6" SD-APO was installed on the EQ8-R, I checked the optics for alignment with a Grabowski collimator. The cell seems to be very good, because the optics is very well adjusted.






Visually I was able to test the new 6" SD-APO on the moon with Baader Bino and 18 mm APM UFF eyepieces and I was thrilled. In focus no approach of color. Positive is that I don´t need a GPC on the binoviewer for the 6" SD-APO, because it has the right backfocus.
Because of the bad weather I had the opportunity to test the new TS APO photographically only on 27.03.2020.
Here I used the possibility to expose M42, even if it was already very low.
As camera I used an EOS RP/A with IDAS LPS P2.
9 x 300 sec at ISO 800; 20 x flats; 20 x bias
Like the whole week, the transparency was very poor. The exposures were stacked with APP and denoised with Denoise Prof. More was not done with EBV on the image.
I think the price-performance ratio of the new 6" TS SD F8 APO is excellent and I am looking forward to taking pictures of many exciting objects in the night sky over the next years.





Thomas Dahmen, Horperath 29.03.2020

Moon images with the Photoline 150/1200 SD apochromat

taken by Markus Langlotz

The three lunar craters Eudoxus (below center), Aristotle (above center) and Bürg (right, in Lacus Mortis)

Photographer: Markus Langlotz
Telescope: 150/1200 SD Doublet Apo TSAPO150F8
Focal length matching: TeleVue Powermate 2.5x
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC


The prominent crater chain Theophilus (top), Cyrillus (middle) and Catharina (bottom) on the left side of Mare Nectaris)

Photographer: Markus Langlotz
Telescope: 150/1200 SD Doublet Apo TSAPO150F8
Focal length matching: TeleVue Powermate 2.5x
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC


Jupiter, derotation of 14 videos at 10% usage rate each.

Photographer: Markus Langlotz
Telescope: 150/1200 SD-Doublet Apo TSAPO150F8
Focal length matching: TeleVue Powermate 5.0x
Camera: ZWO ASI224MC


The TS-Team congratulates Markus Langlotz for these well taken images!

Moon photo of our customer Dominique Dierick

Our customer Dominique "Dodi" Dierick from Ghent (Belgium) has created a great moon image from two mosaics (one with a color camera for the different rock colors, one with a black and white camera for higher resolution), to which we link here. Feel free to click on the image and then move the mouse. And then click again ...

The TS team congratulates Dodi Dierick on this stunning photo!