Antares f/6.3 Focal Reducer for Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes

4.0 Perfect and cheaper

Easy to Use,Lightweight,Strong Construction,Compact,Quality Lenses,Accurate

Very good product same quality and cheaper. Constraint of relatively short back focus.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Worth every cent!

Quality Lenses,Easy to Use,Strong Construction,Compact

Works well with my Meade LX90 ACF and Orion Starshoot G3.
Brighter images and shorter exposures than native f/10 with minimal distortion.
Good too for visual use on weaker nebulosities and those objects which would not fit in the eyepiece without it.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Works great!

Quality Lenses,Accurate,Strong Construction

Fit and finish we're perfect. No problem with focusing, and my images are clear and crisp. Recommended highly!

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 It does what it is supposed to do.

Quality Lenses,Easy to Use,Accurate,Lightweight

This focal reducer is easy to use and works like it should on my 8" SCT. Great buy for the money.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Nice product at a good price

Strong Construction,Quality Lenses,Lightweight,Easy to Use

I use this focal reducer with my 8" SCT. I have nothing to compare it with as it is the only focal reducer I have tried. The machining is of high quality. I had no trouble reaching focus and it definitely reduces exposure time.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Nice accessory

Quality Lenses,Strong Construction,Compact,Easy to Use

Only One Lens Cap

I'm very satisfied with the reducer/corrector. Makes my C8 f/10 into an f/6 and sharpens up stars on the edge of field (not as good as my Russian Mak, but pretty good). Gives me a 1.3 deg FOV with my 24mm Panoptic. I haven't had a chance to test if it degrades planetary images any but I find no degradation in nebulae or star diffraction disk. I do have two complaints though. First, one of the outward facing lenses had a film on it. I was able to clean it, but was not happy I had to do so. Second, the reducer only comes with one lens cap two would be nice for storage.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Great product

Strong Construction,Quality Lenses,Lightweight,Easy to Use

Difficult To Focus

When I want to increase my F10 FOV, I attach this 6.3 reducer and I see more area (Arc sec) than without it. It acts more like a Fast Newtonian Reflector. Also,Dust caps would be nice to have included with this product.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Good performance at low price

Quality Lenses,Strong Construction,Accurate

It is the cheapest focal reducer in its class and works well for visual observation and astrophotography.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Great value!

Quality Lenses,Strong Construction,Accurate

The reason this is the best value in a .63 reducer corrector is because it is the same exact quality as the others. This looks the same and works the same. I couldn't be more pleased. Only one end cap, otherwise, a great deal.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Totally satisfied

Easy to Use,Accurate,Quality Lenses

The cheapest price in the world for such a hi-tech lens. I am totally satisfied with the product. Thanks Agena!

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Good results at low prices

Quality Lenses

This focal reducer works perfectly in SCT, is also testing my orion Maksutov 180/2700 Dante a really good result. The focus quality is really good, reducing the focus of the telescope, giving a very good result in satisfactory visual and astrophotography.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 An excellent product

Strong Construction

I use this product with my telescope and I observe the galaxies and nebulae

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Great addition to my CAT

Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

I bought this a while ago but the skies have been unkind. I finally got to use it the past 2 weekends.
Installed easily, no threading problems at all. Effectively doubles the amount of eyepieces I own. It also reduces the edge curvature of my C8 and widens the field as much as a SCT can get. Mainly used for dark fuzzies. It is not needed for planets for visual use but perfect for open clusters and other DSOs

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Sharpens the CATs claws

Well constructed. Flattens the edge. No apparent loss of light. Easy to thread on

None

I bought this focal reducer a while ago. Been cloudy since. I finally got to test it out Friday night. First locked onto M13 without the focal reducer. I could resolve about a dozen stars. Then I put on the focal reducer. Threaded easily. Reacquired M13 and found the same number of stars. The field flattened out nicely. Next, I did the same thing with Jupiter and its moons. The outer moons seemed a little sharper with the focal reducer in place. No loss of Io's shadow transiting the planet. I believe I will keep the focal reducer on permanently.

5.0 Excellent reducer even better value

Strong Construction,Quality Lenses

Very good focal reducer worked great with my C8 Cat also serves as a good dust seal. Superior optics, no visible distortion, easy to focus and capable of increasing exposure time by at least 50%. Highly recommended.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 GOOD PRODUCT FOR THE MONEY

Quality Lenses

Difficult to Use

PROS: 1. WORKS FINE
2. COSTS LESS THAN THE CELESTRON ITEM

CONS: 1. THREADS ARE REALLY TIGHT. CHANCE OF CROSS-THREADING IF THEY ARE NOT LUBRICATED AND INSTALLED ON THE SCOPE WITH CARE.
2. ONLY ONE CAP INCLUDED. WOULD BE BETTER WITH TWO CAPS TO PROTECT THE OPTICS.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Antares f 6.3 reducer...

Accurate,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses,Compact

I haven`t had the opportunity to compare the Antares with a similar model but did have a 0.6 reducer attachable directly to the camera until recently (lost when moving the gear). The Antares seems as good & is doubly useful as it can be used for reducing both imaging & guiding CCDs simultaneously.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Excellent reducer for SCT

Sharp for visual use,Works great for imaging,Price very good

Doesn't work w binoviewer

I bought this item from agenaastro.com, and I tried it on my Meade LX90. It works great (with my W.O. 20mm Superwide).

No problem for focus. Very sharp views! Price is very good. I expect to use it with my Celestron C9.25. Work good too with my EOS350D (direct focus config.).

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Excellent addition to any SCT

Seals end of tube,Inexpensive,Flatter field

None

I picked this up a while back, and finally got around to using it earlier this week. I was surprised at what a difference it made with all my eyepieces! I originally intended to use it with just my longest focal length eyepieces to get a bit more field of view and to try to shorten some exposures as I work my way up the astrophotography learning curve, but every eyepiece seemed to perform just a little bit better with it in place. Star images seemed sharper, and the stars at the edge of the field of view seemed significantly cleaner than they are without it.

I'm considering just leaving it on my scope all the time, as it acts a seal as well.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

4.0 Antares f/6.3 Focal Reducer

Flat design is great,Nice color correction,A must for any f10 user

I got a great deal on a new Antares f/6.3 focal reducer. Plus I needed this reducer because of my C8 f/10's long focal length. Without this lens, it was very hard to view most star clusters and wide nebulae. But there is a problem with this reducer. It's not because of the brand or reduction it provides, but when using very low power eyepieces like a 1.25" 40mm and a 1.25" 32mm, the edge of the view looks like a swirled mess of blurry stars. I would say 1/2 of the view is not usable because of this problem!

On the other hand, when using a 1.25" 20mm and lower focal length, it works very well. I cannot explain this because I have no idea why this reducer does that to the long focal lengths. Also when using a 2" 30mm GSO 68-degree eyepiece, the same problem is apparent. Other than the problems with long focal length eyepieces, it is a very good, high quality reducer with very good color correction. Image flatness is also better with the type of mirrors in my SCT. I have not tried using this with my CCD imager yet but since the imager size is about the same as a 6mm eyepiece, I'm sure it will perform very well. For visual use, I usually just leave the reducer on the rear cell and use it for scanning for goodies - with the 20mm and lower focal lengths, of course :-)

Overall, I think I have made a great choice buying the Antares f/6.3, but if you are going to buy one, I would recommend this to any SCT user. You might not have the same problems I do with your eyepieces.

This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com

5.0 Excellent addition to any SCT

Inexpensive, flatter field, seals end of tube

None

I picked this up a while back, and finally got around to using it earlier this week. I was surprised at what a difference it made with all my eyepieces! I originally intended to use it with just my longest focal length eyepieces to get a bit more field of view and to try to shorten some exposures as I work my way up the astrophotography learning curve, but every eyepiece seemed to perform just a little bit better with it in place. Star images seemed sharper, and the stars at the edge of the field of view seemed significantly cleaner than they are without it.

I'm considering just leaving it on my scope all the time, as it acts a seal as well.

4.0 Antares SCT f/6.3 Focal Reducer

Nice color correction, flat design is great. Perfect price. A must for any f/10 user.

Seems to have a limit on long focal eyepieces using either 1.25" or 2" eyepieces.

I got a great deal on my new Antares f/6.3 focal reducer - at $65 shipped it was too hard to pass up a deal like that :-). Plus I needed this reducer because of my C8 f/10's long focal length. Without this lens, it was very hard to view most star clusters and wide nebulae. But there is a problem with this reducer. It's not because of the brand or reduction it provides, but when using very low power eyepieces like a 1.25" 40mm and a 1.25" 32mm, the edge of the view looks like a swirled mess of blurry stars. I would say 1/2 of the view is not usable because of this problem!

On the other hand, when using a 1.25" 20mm and lower focal length, it works very well. I cannot explain this because I have no idea why this reducer does that to the long focal lengths. Also when using a 2" 30mm GSO 68-degree eyepiece, the same problem is apparent. Other than the problems with long focal length eyepieces, it is a very good, high quality reducer with very good color correction. Image flatness is also better with the type of mirrors in my SCT. I have not tried using this with my CCD imager yet but since the imager size is about the same as a 6mm eyepiece, I'm sure it will perform very well. For visual use, I usually just leave the reducer on the rear cell and use it for scanning for goodies - with the 20mm and lower focal lengths, of course :-)

Overall, I think I have made a great choice buying the Antares f/6.3 for many reasons which might not be available to everyone (like the price), but if you are going to buy one, I would recommend this to any SCT user. You might not have the same problems I do with your eyepieces. I have seen these FR/C lens range from $65-$99 and even if you have to buy yours at $99, it's worth it.