Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED vs Askar 71F

The 20-second verdict

Which sentence sounds more like you?

Flat out of the box

Askar 71F Flat-Field Refractor

“I want to screw on my camera and get round stars to the corner — done.”

Built-in flat field — no separate flattener to buy or space

Best when you want fewer parts and fewer things to get wrong

$599typical street price

The proven classic

Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED

“Give me the scope everyone learned on — I’ll add the flattener myself.”

A battle-tested first imaging scope with huge community support

Best when you want the lowest entry price and don’t mind one add-on

$379typical street price

Both take gorgeous widefield images. You’re really choosing between the lowest price and the fewest moving parts.

$Askar 71F Flat-Field Refractor$

Askar

Askar 71F Flat-Field Refractor

A flat-field imaging doublet designed to hit a flat, corrected field with no extra corrector.

$599Compare specs →

Sky-Watcher

Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED

The beloved starter ED doublet — superb value, with a flattener as a known next step.

$379Compare specs →

What owning each is like

Picture your first imaging setup.

Imaging with the Askar 71F

You thread your camera straight onto the back, dial in backfocus once, and shoot. Because the flat field is designed in, stars stay round and tight from the center all the way to the corners without a separate corrector hanging off the drawtube. There's less to buy, less to balance, and less to blame when something's soft — the field is either right or your spacing is off, and that's a short list. For a first system, fewer variables is a real gift.

Imaging with the Evostar 72ED

You're standing on a decade of other people's hard-won knowledge: every spacing number, every flattener pairing, every quirk has been posted, solved, and screenshotted somewhere. Bare, it's a lovely visual and lunar scope; add the matched flattener and it becomes a proven widefield astrograph that has trained thousands of beginners. It costs the least to get started — as long as you're comfortable that the flattener is a when, not an if.

Side by side

Close on paper. Different out of the box.

Askar 71F

Evostar 72ED

Identical on paper

Optical designED Doublet RefractorED Refractor

Both are compact ED doublet refractors in the ~72mm class — the sweet spot for a first widefield imaging scope. The real split is whether a flat imaging field is included or added later.

Where they actually differ

Aperture71 mm72 mm

Focal length490 mm420 mm

Focal ratiof/f/6.9f/f/5.8

Field flattenerFlat field built in — none neededAdd a matched flattener (extra cost)

Ready to imageCamera on, dial backfocus, shootAfter you buy + space the flattener

Parts to manageFewer — one integrated opticMore — OTA plus corrector

Community knowledgeNewer, growingVast — the classic beginner scope

Price$599$379

Find yourself

Which one is you?

The Askar 71F is you if…

You want the shortest path from unboxing to round-star subs

You'd rather not research and buy a separate flattener

Fewer parts to space, balance, and troubleshoot appeals to you

A slightly higher sticker is worth a simpler, complete system

The Evostar 72ED is you if…

You want the lowest possible entry price into imaging

You like leaning on a huge community for every setting

You'll also use it visually and for the Moon, not just imaging

Adding a flattener later feels like a normal next step, not a chore

Related guides

Beginner's Guide to Choosing a Telescope

New to all of this? Three honest paths, including the imaging-first route these scopes belong to.

Start guide →

Best Telescopes Under $500 (2026)

Where these small refractors sit against the field — real optics, no wasted money.

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Lowest price, or fewest parts?

Go a level deeper on whichever fits how you like to build a rig — full details, what it images, and today’s price.

See Askar 71F details →See Evostar 72ED details →

View Askar 71F deal at Agena AstroProducts →View Evostar 72ED deal at High Point Scientific →