Is this the BEST small ASTROGRAPH I've ever used? In-depth HONEST review of the Askar SQA55!

OMG I am going to have to reprocess ALL of my photos from the last couple years.
I was watching you check the edges of the image for star shapes and you kept saying (almost disappointedly) saying "perfectly round"
And I'm thinking to myself, aren't they a little oblong?
THEN I PUT MY GLASSES ON. Sheesh... I've been throwing out perfectly good frames
(I'm new to glasses BTW, but I've needed them for a couple years at least)

Great review. I already have the RedCat so.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Askar thought this one out. I bought it about 8 weeks ago, but not just for Astro when camping. The fact that it can be used for terrestrial photography is a bonus. I do like that Askar threaded the front for camera filters which means I do not have to get a second Bahtinov Mask.

Hi Cuiv, Did the guiding sensor on the ZWO2600Air work well with the M48 connector? That is, you did not need an M54 connector for the guiding sensor to get enough light? Thanks for the review!

i'm looking forward to SQA106 , this is the FSQ106 that takahashi do not produce anymore and for one third cheaper .

Great review as always. Looks like we have here an amazing refractor. Thanks Civ.

Great review. Getting more pro (at content creation) with every video. More b-roll please.

At this point, with what we have, I don't think it's economically efficient to buy a doublet or even a triplet in this size (50-60mm). Just get this, or someone on a budget, get the Svbony SV555. Don't bother with doublets and triplets and mess around with backfocus issues, and still dealing with F5.9 (at best), while these scopes are a full F stop faster! Not to mention the hidden cost of the flattener. Now I feel like, getting a full frame camera starts to make sense😊 , it's just my bank acct. that went on strike. 🙄

I was shocked about the price. It's perfect. Literal perfection.

It’s on my list as the top choice for my first wide field “telescope” as a first step for moving up from my mirrorless setup

Thanks for the review! Very helpful

i just received the askar 71f on Weds..... i heard many good things about this brand ..... hopefully it lives up to its hype

Thanks as always Cuiv! Different scopes, obviously, but how much better (or worse) does it perform against the Askar V with the 60mm reducer, giving about the same focal length?

Oh no Cuiv, I just got a SQA85 and now you are putting me down the SQA55 rabbit hole. Good thing my house is paid off!

I have heard this word “ cheaper “ too many times with this product, in my opinion it is not! Many users will upgrade the focuser with the ZWO EAF and got to buy a guide scope too so this scope will cost you at least 500$ more vs the RedCat come with a proper focuser and guide scope too. So in my opinion is not worthed buy this product just to have perfect round stars LOL considering we have many software that solve that problem……

Let us take a moment and honor the pixel peepers among us. I credit this often maligned group of people with encouraging telescope makers to address poor corner stars.. which have plagued us for years.

The competition is heating up. I don't think telling folks to rely on software to fix corner stars is going to cut it :)

When I first saw the thumbnail of the vid, I thought A55 was a 3 letter word.

Bought it just when it came out, it’s phenomenal!

The only negative is that you have killed the chance I will ever buy a RedCat!

So much better than astro ackyard. Would be nice to see him go away

Excellent test, thank you! I have an SQA55 as well but I’m not seeing anywhere near the level of vignetting you are showing. I see just a minor level of vignetting more in keeping with Askar’s promised specs on field illumination, which claims only a 10% falloff at the corners of a full-frame sensor. You are showing much worse vignetting even on a cropped frame camera, and uneven with the right side much darker than the left. As it is, your results are contrary to Askar’s promised performance, and any difference between promised and actual performance is just what a review should point out. So what might be the explanation of the vignetting you show? It can’t be just sky gradients from your urban site? It would be “enlightening” to find out! Thanks! I enjoy your reviews as they are always thorough and cover products we often don’t hear about in North America.

Any suggestion for a similar quality OTA in the 400-500mm range? I have seen Askar has a 85 version but we also approach the 3000 $ range 😢

Excellent review as well Cuiv. Looking forward to playing with this scope, I ordered it before I even got to the end of Luke's video :)

It seems to outperform the Redcat 51 which is already an exceptional little scope. Now, here is a difficult question: Would you sell a Redcat 51 to get yourself the SQA55?

What do you think about the Askar FMA180 (not pro)? It is a tiny (40 mm aperture) triplet apo and comes with a full-frame flattener/reducer. Without that, the telescope can be used with a star diagonal and eyepiece, or a 45-degrees Amici prism and eyepiece, or a Herschel wedge and eyepiece (or camera). It seems to be very versatile.

great reveiw

SQA85 next? Excellent review!

If the lazy guy says it's good, then I'd bet my AOL user name that it's worth it's money.

I'm so happy as an SQA55 owner....I did my own research before buying as was thinking about the cats, but after comparing went with the Askar...now all the reviews are coming in confirming I made the correct choice! I have not had a chance to use it under the stars because of lousy weather, but I can't wait to get it out - thanks Cuiv I learn a lot from watching your reviews, which has helped me make a good choice here.

I bought it, I tested it in depth and I like it very much. Perfect image quality, even ar full frame... !

are there refractor scope that have a faster aperture? my sony 70-200 and 300mm lens are F2.8. and my 600mm is F4

I had to choose between the Sharpstar 61edph iii and the Askar FRA300. I went for the faster optics of the 61edph iii, but something like the SQA55 seems like a great upgrade in the future. I really can't do the belt EAF system as I pack my gear in a backpack, but hopefully we see something similar with a different focuser in the future. It's also great that Askar/Sharpstar is really dropping the price point for great optics. I haven't seen price adjustments yet from other manufacturers, but if they want to stay competitive they're really going to need to make some changes. Although the optical quality isn't on the level of the SQA series, I still can't believe you can get a solid 140mm triplet from Sharpstar for the same price as a 120mm ED doublet from Skywatcher. It's a great time to be in the hobby.

Oh I thought you said that was the sv555

Might want to use higher f ratio for planetary just guessing

Focuser could be more EAF friendly.

What happened to the sv555? 😬

Hi Cuiv. Awesome as always. So one weird question. Sorry if this is a dumb question. I understand the Askar SQA55 Quintuplet does not require a field flattener. However, could it still be used with a reducer? If so, do you know of any reducers that might work with it?

Wow.. I'm already looking at the askar 103APO which seems like an awesome scope. Now I'm thinking this one will also find a home on my mount. Lol

Hi Cuiv, thank you for another awesome video!
In Australia, ASKAR SQA55 is $1300, the SVBONY SV555 is $800. Is Askar worth extra $500?
I was thinking of getting Askar but $500 extra is kinda a lot.
Cheers mate

Can't wait to get mine...nice review, thanks for sharing, CS!

This 'telescope' looks like a camera lense - especially the lense cap. Looks like I can stay with my Canon EF then.

Excellent and informative review!

Obviously ! Look at the specs !!! And results !!!!!

Very convincing...good work. But a noob question: I have a 300mm Nikon f4 lens (prime) that I use with Z6 (full frame). Why do i need this instead? I mean what benefit do i get (practical)? I am just starting out in Astro-Photo, just got my GTi mount. Just waiting for full moon to go away to try out.

Looks like a knock off of the RedCat

Cuiv, Don’t know if you watch comments on older videos, but I received the Askar SQA55 purchased from your link, and it’s defective. I can’t say I’ve received much defective product from Agena, but it is disappointing nonetheless. The SQA55 shoe that the dovetail bracket goes into is loose with no apparent way to tighten it. It must be from the inside. And best I can tell, there is no easy way to open this telescope. There are 4 of these attachment points on the lens and 2 of them are loose, one very loose which is used for the mount dovetail. Hard to see how this escaped QA. I’ve contacted Agena for an RMA and they want to contact ASKAR. So it’s all turning into a long protracted mess. It’s what I get for being an early adopter. Oh well not your fault, but sometimes Females get this kind of treatment from astronomy and photography vendors (many times 2nd hand returns are pawned off on us, and then the doubt when an issue is reported and then the long run-around to resolve things).

how does it compare with Celestron Nexstar 8HD?