Sharpstar / Askar

Askar 80PHQ Quadruplet Astrograph

An 80mm four-element flat-field astrograph, reference-grade pinpoint stars across a flat field with no separate flattener, a step up in aperture and reach from the 65mm.

88/ 100

Polaris Score

#3 of 8 imaging APO refractors

See the breakdown ↓

Aperture

80mm

Focal Length

600mm

Focal Ratio

f/7.5

Mount Type

None (OTA only)

Optical Design

Quadruplet Astrograph

Weight

3.9 kg

From$1,499

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Where to buy

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What it's built forOpen these in the simulator →

This telescope was built for the camera.

A fast f/7.5 astrograph designed to throw a wide, flat, well-corrected field onto a sensor. It is an optical tube first — give it a tracking mount and a camera and it rewards long exposures, not eyepieces.

f/7.5 — built to imageNeeds a tracking mount

The view people remember

M57, a perfect smoke ring.

A tiny, flawless grey ring floating in a rich star field — the blown-off shell of a dying star, and one of the most satisfying small targets in the sky.

See Ring Nebula through this telescope →

Where else it shines

Within reach

Orion Nebula

Colorful nebula captured with live stacking — wings and filaments

Open view →

Rewards a dark sky

Andromeda Galaxy

Long-exposure capture revealing galaxy core and outer structure

Open view →

Easy first target

The Pleiades

Field rich with stars — long exposure pulls in fainter members

Open view →

Also excellent on

Saturn

Processed planetary capture with rings or bands clearly visible

Open view →

✦

There is no eyepiece experience here. Its reward shows up on a sensor, after the exposure — not in the moment.

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

Best at

✓A four-element flat-field design gives corner-sharp, colour-free stars with no flattener to buy or space.

✓80mm and 600mm hit a versatile focal length, wide enough for big nebulae, long enough for framing galaxies.

✓Superb mechanical build with a rotating focuser and precise back-focus.

✓A do-more-of-everything imaging refractor that still stays portable.

Trade-offs

!At f/7.5 it is slower than the fast astrographs, so exposures run longer.

!OTA only; a tracking mount and camera are extra.

!The corrector is tuned to a set back-focus, match your camera train.

!80mm is versatile but still modest for small, faint targets.

02In plain English

What These Numbers Mean

Aperture

80 mm

Three inches of well corrected glass. It gathers about 50 percent more light than a 65 mm, which shortens integration times noticeably while keeping the tube small enough to travel with.

Focal length

600 mm

The middle of the useful imaging range: big enough to give real scale on the Orion Nebula, M31's core or the Eagle, small enough that the larger nebulae still fit an APS-C frame.

Focal ratio

f/7.5

On the slow side for an astrograph, so exposures build more slowly than a fast quintuplet would. The upside is easier correction and forgiving tolerances; the fix for the speed is more total integration or a reducer.

Optical design

Quadruplet flat-field astrograph

Four elements with flattening built in, giving clean stars across a full-frame sensor with no separate flattener to space. It behaves the same on any camera you attach, which simplifies the whole rig.

Weight

3.9 kg tube

Around 9 lb, so a compact equatorial or a small strain-wave mount handles it with margin even after camera and guiding are added.

Mount

OTA only

You supply the mount. At 600 mm, guiding becomes worthwhile, so budget for a guide camera and a mount with an autoguider port.

02The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

88/ 100

Askar 80PHQ Quadruplet Astrograph

#3 of 8 imaging APO refractors

Performance

Ease of use

Portability

Upgrade potential

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.

03Who it's for