Askar
Askar FRA400C Quintuplet APO Refractor
A 72mm f/5.6 five-element flat-field astrograph, pinpoint stars corner to corner with no separate flattener to buy, source or space out. A wide, fast, ready-to-image refractor in one box.
87/ 100
Aperture
72mm
Focal Length
400mm
Focal Ratio
f/5.6
Mount Type
None (OTA only)
Optical Design
Quintuplet Astrograph
Weight
2.5 kg
From$895
Lowest in 90 daysLowest ever tracked
Price tracked by PolarisObserved 98 timesTracking since Jul 2026
Where to buy
Verified 15h ago · prices tracked daily
01What it's good atWhat it's best at — and the trade-offs.
A five-element (quintuplet) design delivers a flat, colour-free field to the corners with nothing extra to add.
01What it's good at
What it's best at — and the trade-offs.
A five-element (quintuplet) design delivers a flat, colour-free field to the corners with nothing extra to add.
Best at
✓A five-element (quintuplet) design delivers a flat, colour-free field to the corners with nothing extra to add.
✓Fast f/5.6 and a wide 400mm field make short work of large nebulae and star fields.
✓A petzval-style flat field means no spacing math and no flattener to buy, it images as delivered.
✓Compact and 2.5kg, it pairs with small trackers and travels easily.
Trade-offs
!Only 72mm of aperture, wide and fast, but not a light bucket.
!OTA only; a tracking mount and camera are extra.
!The built-in corrector is optimised for a set back-focus, match your camera train.
!A dedicated reducer is a separate purchase if you want to go faster still.
02In plain EnglishWhat These Numbers Mean
72mm · f/5.6 · 400mm FL
02In plain English
What These Numbers Mean
72mm · f/5.6 · 400mm FL
Aperture
72 mm
Modest light grasp, chosen for field width rather than reach. Faint targets need stacked hours rather than single frames, but wide nebulae and star fields come out clean and evenly lit.
Focal length
400 mm
Genuinely wide. The Andromeda Galaxy, the Pleiades, the North America Nebula and the Veil all frame comfortably on APS-C, which covers most of the popular first-year target list in one telescope.
Focal ratio
f/5.6
Fast. Signal builds quickly, sub-exposures stay short, and small tracking errors are hidden by the short focal length. This is the combination that makes wide-field imaging forgiving for beginners.
Optical design
Quintuplet Petzval astrograph
Five elements including a built-in flattener, so the corners of a full-frame sensor stay clean with no accessory to buy or space. Petzval designs like this need no back-focus arithmetic, which removes a common source of frustration.
Weight
2.5 kg tube
Around 5.5 lb. It rides a star tracker, fits in hand luggage, and turns a dark-sky weekend into a realistic plan rather than an expedition.
Mount
OTA only
No mount included, but almost any tracking mount will do. That keeps the entry cost of a complete imaging setup unusually low for this level of optical correction.
03The Polaris ScoreHow it scores, and why.
87/100 · #2 of 8 imaging APO refractors
03The Polaris Score
How it scores, and why.
87/100 · #2 of 8 imaging APO refractors
87/ 100
Askar FRA400C Quintuplet APO Refractor
#2 of 8 imaging APO refractors
Performance88
Ease of use84
Portability88
Upgrade potential80
Polaris weighs optical capability, how easy the scope is to live with, how portable it is, and how far it takes you before you outgrow it — not list price or brand.
04Who it's forAn honest fit check.
Imagers who want a ready-to-go flat field without buying and spacing a corrector.
04Who it's for
An honest fit check.
Imagers who want a ready-to-go flat field without buying and spacing a corrector.
Buy it if you
✓Imagers who want a ready-to-go flat field without buying and spacing a corrector.
✓Beginners wanting one integrated wide-field imaging scope.
✓Travellers pairing a corrected apo with a light tracker.
Look elsewhere if you
!Anyone needing reach on small targets, 400mm is a wide field by design.
!Visual deep-sky observers; astrographs are camera-first.
!Buyers who want maximum aperture; this trades size for portability and correction.
05Build your rigWhat to buy next — and where it leads.
7 pieces of gear, ordered by what changes the view most
05Build your rig
What to buy next — and where it leads.
7 pieces of gear, ordered by what changes the view most
Recommended upgrades
No fogging on long sessions★ Top pickPegasus Astro Multi-Channel Dew Controller
Stops dew from ending an imaging night.
$259.90View details →
Make nebulae popOptolong UHC Filter 2″
Lifts nebula contrast out of light-polluted skies.
Observe all night, no AA batteriesCelestron PowerTank Lithium
Runs the mount (and heaters) all night off one pack.
$99.95View details →
Imaging path
Better tracking & light imagingSky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GoTo Mount✓ Compatible
Commonly paired with this telescope
$1,625View details →
Portable astrophotographyZWO AM5N Harmonic Equatorial Mount✓ Compatible
Start capturing images of the Moon and planets
$2,299View details →
A versatile upgradeSky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi GoTo EQ Mount Kit✓ Compatible
Commonly paired with this telescope
$830View details →
Start imagingZWO ASI533MC Pro
Start capturing images of the Moon and planets
$799View details →
06The numbersFull specifications.
6 measured and stated values
06The numbers
Full specifications.
6 measured and stated values
Optics
Optical DesignQuintuplet Astrograph
Aperture72mm
Focal Length400mm
Focal Ratiof/5.6
Mount & drive
Mount TypeNone (OTA only)
Physical
Weight2.5 kg
07AlternativesFor a different goal, start here.
2 alternatives, each mapped to the goal it wins at
07Alternatives
For a different goal, start here.
2 alternatives, each mapped to the goal it wins at
Community
Used in these setups.
Real builds from the community that include this product.