Sharpstar 94EDPH Triplet APO — image 1
Sharpstar

Sharpstar 94EDPH Triplet APO

A 94mm f/5.5 triplet ED astrograph shipped with its matched reducer, a strong-value wide-field imaging apo that hits a fast f/4.4 for productive deep-sky work.

86/ 100
Polaris Score
#2 of 8 compact imaging refractor
See the breakdown ↓
Aperture
94mm
Focal Length
517mm
Focal Ratio
f/5.5
Mount Type
None (OTA only)
Optical Design
Triplet APO
Weight
4.5 kg
From$1,814

Lowest in 90 daysLowest ever tracked

Price tracked by PolarisObserved 52 timesTracking since Mar 2026

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What it's built forOpen these in the simulator →

This telescope was built for sweeping wide.

A short, fast refractor with a generous true field — the whole sword of Orion in one view, star fields that spill past the field stop. It rewards low power and dark skies far more than chasing magnification.

Widest true fieldsTack-sharp to the edge
The view people remember

The Pleiades, blue and blazing.

A knot of hot young stars wrapped in the faintest haze of reflected light — best at the lowest power, where the whole cluster drops into a single glittering field.

See The Pleiades through this telescope →
01What it's good at

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

The three-element ED design controls colour well and, with the included reducer, delivers a flat f/4.4 field
Best at
✓The three-element ED design controls colour well and, with the included reducer, delivers a flat f/4.4 field
✓517mm at f/5.5 frames larger nebulae and galaxies, a versatile deep-sky focal length
✓94mm of aperture gathers meaningfully more light than the common 72–80mm imaging tubes
✓The matched reducer-flattener is bundled, so the flat, fast field is handled out of the box
Trade-offs
!It is a dedicated astrograph with a narrow visual use case
!517mm keeps small targets small in the frame
!As an OTA it needs a tracking mount, camera and often a guide scope
!The front optics can dew and benefit from a heater
02In plain English

What These Numbers Mean

94mm · f/5.5 · 517mm FL
Aperture
94 mm
Just under four inches of corrected glass gathers roughly 2.4 times the light of a 61 mm astrograph. That is the difference between an hour of integration and two and a half hours for the same signal.
Focal length
517 mm
A wide but not extreme field. Large nebulae still fit an APS-C sensor while galaxies and clusters keep real scale, which makes it a credible single-telescope choice for deep-sky imaging.
Focal ratio
f/5.5
Fast enough for practical exposure times under suburban skies with a dual-band filter, and short enough that guiding demands stay modest. A good balance of speed and forgiveness.
Optical design
Triplet ED apochromat
Three-element correction keeps stars white and blue channels sharp, which matters most on bright stars in wide fields. Pair it with the dedicated flattener or reducer for clean corners.
Weight
4.5 kg tube
About 10 lb, which a compact equatorial or a strain-wave mount carries with margin after camera and guiding are added. Still a one-case travel telescope.
Mount
OTA only
You supply the mount. At 517 mm, autoguiding is worth adding, so plan for a mount with a guider port rather than a bare tracker.
03The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

86/100 · #2 of 8 compact imaging refractor
86/ 100
Sharpstar 94EDPH Triplet APO
#2 of 8 compact imaging refractor
Performance
88
Ease of use
72
Portability
75
Upgrade potential
80

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 for

An honest fit check.

Astrophotographers who want more aperture than a 72–80mm tube for the money
Buy it if you
✓Astrophotographers who want more aperture than a 72–80mm tube for the money
✓Imagers who want a bundled, flat, fast field without buying a separate flattener
✓People framing larger nebulae and galaxies from a portable tube
Look elsewhere if you
!Visual observers, since this is an imaging tube first
!Anyone chasing small galaxies or planets that need long focal length
!Buyers who need a complete scope, since it is an OTA needing a tracker and camera
05Build your rig

What to buy next — and where it leads.

6 pieces of gear, ordered by what changes the view most
Recommended upgrades
No fogging on long sessions★ Top pickPegasus Astro Multi-Channel Dew Controller

Keeps the front optics dew-free across a full imaging night

Make nebulae popOptolong OIII Filter 2″

Isolates emission nebulae for high-contrast wide-field imaging under light pollution

Observe all night, no AA batteriesCelestron PowerTank Lithium

Runs the mount, camera and dew heater away from mains power

Growth path
Portable astrophotographyZWO AM5N Harmonic Equatorial Mount✓ Compatible

Start capturing images of the Moon and planets

Permanent-setup astrophotographySky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro✓ Compatible

Commonly paired with this telescope

Start imagingZWO ASI2600MC Pro

Start capturing images of the Moon and planets

Lunar & planetary
Excellent contrast
Deep-sky imaging
Strong with a flattener
Deep-sky visual
Wide, low-power views
06The numbers

Full specifications.

6 measured and stated values
Optics
Optical DesignTriplet APO
Aperture94mm
Focal Length517mm
Focal Ratiof/5.5
Mount & drive
Mount TypeNone (OTA only)
Physical
Weight4.5 kg