Zenithstar 61 Owners

[proven sphinx]

ah didnt know. my other scopes are redcat 71 and skymax 150 mak

[gloomy stratus]

im using the V2

[polar linden]

Oh nice, hows the CA on that?

[fierce creek]

Loves me a good Maksutov.

@polar linden I don't notice ant CA, because it's a triplet. Is it the best 4.5" refractor...? no. Is it an incredibly good value... ? absolutely. The scope is better than I am.

[polar linden]

From what I've seen it seems to have a solid price/perf ratio indeed

I was inquiring about the CA mostly due to the fact that, while not confirmed, many people suspect the glass is comparable to fk-61/fpl-51... Or even a mix of fpl-53 and the glass previously mentioned.

[fierce creek]

Oh, I'm sure it's not fpl 53.... and a lesser glass, but the triplet does a good job at CA. I have not picked any CAover the last 2 years, and I have done a lot of broad band images. It's not a a Tak, but it is not my limiting factor.

The scope in action.

All this being said, the Z61 gets used easily an order or magnitude than this rig. The Z61 is so much easier to deploy,

[polar linden]

I would imagine lol, is that a losmandy g11 I see?

[fierce creek]

Nope, the lowly GM8. Which is an outstanding mount and works well with the ASIair.

I'd love to have a G11, but an AM5 currently may suit my needs better. I've been thinking about it...

[polar linden]

Oh nice! May go harmonic in the near future.

[fierce creek]

So, thinking of the AM5....

Since I don't have an observatory.... yet. It seems like a no-brainer.

Although the GM8 only takes 2 extra trips.

[limpid shore]

What are your experiences with using the ASI 183 MC Pro Color?

[outer yacht]

@arctic oasis you use a 183, right?

[gloomy stratus]

i can vouch for the AM-5 - it’s a really good mount - plus compared to the GM-8 it’s 10 lbs lighter & therefore probably more portable with more capacity

[outer yacht]

Let’s see if this works

[gloomy stratus]

2.5 Month difference

[polar linden]

Nice!

[fierce creek]

Very nice, you can see an improvement.

[arctic oasis]

yeah i do

[arctic oasis]

I use an L-extreme with my z61 and 183mc pro but my stars are always bigger than i really want them too be. I dont know if this is caused by the small sensor of the 183 but im thinking of upgrading to an 294mc pro soon.

Though I have definitely gotten some results I am happy with

[fierce creek]

Oh no, don't get the 294mc-pro, you are better off with the 533mc-pro as it has no amp glow.

I have had both and was surprised by the quality if the 533 so much, I got rid of the 294 and picked up a 2600mc-pro.

My imaging got so much better when I picked up the 533...

The Orion Nebula, Pleiades, and Horsehead frame up nicely with the 533+ZS61.

[gloomy stratus]

Started on M81 last night - single exposure

was hoping for 40 hours total (36 broadband, 9 narrowband) but it’s looking increasingly unlikely as time goes on due to clouds but i’ll try to get as much time as possible

[fierce creek]

Tough target for the lil' ZS61, I'm very interested in your results.

[gloomy stratus]

good news: looks like i may very well be able to get 40 hours on it, weather is starting to look up

[fierce creek]

I got 4 hours on it this weekend.

Pretty lame in comparison...

[gloomy stratus]

got some Ha last night, getting the rest tonight

below is 27hrs broadband with no Ha

[fierce creek]

I didn't expect to see this level of detail, kudos.

[fierce creek]

8 hours and 36 minutes on M42 - The Orion Nebula. I wish I could process better, there is some good data in there....

[fierce creek]

And here is 6 minutes with Airplanes flying through....

[mint inlet]

crazy

that looks nice

[proven sphinx]

You guys are using the field flattener?

[outer yacht]

Yes. The stars are pretty bad otherwise.

[fierce creek]

It depends on your sensor size, you may not need it with a 533, but definitely with a larger sensor. As a general rule I buy the FF when available, because eventually you may get a bigger camera and the FF will be discontinued.

NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula, 10 hours 20 minutes Bortle 8.

[fierce creek]

I've cleaned up the image.... A little bit.

[young fiber]

Looks good , have you ever considered a UV/IR filter ? Ur stats are purple and they shouldn’t be , a UV/IR filter gives natural star colour and reduces the star bloat , makes a significant difference , speaking from experience here

[fierce creek]

I'm also color blind....

I believe the ASI2600MC Pro has one as part of the camera.

[young fiber]

Ah okay , my apologies , still a great image tho nevertheless

[fierce creek]

No worries, I do the best with what I got, I also used an l-ultimate filter in bortle 8 skies.

[mint inlet]

fr

[strange oar]

zenithstar more like zenith-takeallmymoney

[polar linden]

For used prices their solid

[fierce creek]

Then you're better off not looking at Takahashi...

[gloomy stratus]

@polar linden Just curious - would you sell your Flat 61R alone? if so how much would you sell it for?

interested in yoinking one soon since i’ve got a 533 coming in tomorrow

[polar linden]

Considering it's got some wear on it (nothing that impacts optical perf of course) id do like 150 USD... Iirc that around 80 USD less than retail. Shipping included.

[gloomy stratus]

alright cool

don’t exactly have money for it now but i’ll probably get back to you next month on it

[polar linden]

Np, just dm when ready.

[fierce creek]

Beautiful rig.

[gloomy stratus]

anybody got a spike/spider mask 3d printing file i can yoink?

i’m feeling the mood for stars with spikes

[polar dagger]

YO. It's a Zenithstar 73. I'm pretty happy with it and i'm getting my first Mono cooled camera with LRGB+SHO filters and all that this week.

[gray scroll]

How’s the zs61 been treating you guys? I’m considering buying one

[polar linden]

Let me know if you want the 0.8x reducer/corrector for the Z61

Whenever you pick one up that is

I have one for sale along with the rotator

[neat dust]

My reducer kind of a bad apple. Corners are not great with aps-c

think Ein’s is really good performer

WO no longer sells the reducer. Getting a good one might be a rarity soon. The included rotator is really nice too

[gray scroll]

Oh I didn’t know that

[gloomy stratus]

i’m also selling mine currently if you decide on it!
lmk if you want to see some images from it

[gray scroll]

Yea would love to see some

[gloomy stratus]

some of these were done with a modded canon t7i, others were done with a 533mc pro

[gray scroll]

Are there any issues you faced with this scope?

Other than needing a flattner

[gloomy stratus]

not really honestly

closest thing to an issue was the dslr t-ring becoming stuck but i wouldnt call that a scope issue (i did get it unstuck)

[gray scroll]

Optics are top notch aswell?

[gray scroll]

The galaxies look better than I expected at that fov

[gloomy stratus]

probably not top-notch in comparison to other scopes (esp not my svx) but for a beginner i'd say its better than a lot of starter telescopes

if you mean in terms of quality now vs new I'd say so

[gray scroll]

I was thinking of going for either the redcat or zenithstar61 but I’m leaning towards the zs61 a lot more now

Price is attractive

[gloomy stratus]

Mhm, definitely

i will say though if you can afford it, the redcat may certainly be a better option - however the zs61's price point (especially used) gives you a lot more room for cameras, mounts, and any other accessories for a beginner setup

[gloomy stratus]

while also still allowing you to upgrade in the future

[gray scroll]

Yea exactly that reason

And it would feel hard to upgrade from an rc51 as a first scope lol

[polar linden]

I found out my focuser was misaligned, so I dealt with tilt in just about all my images. The scope might have been dropped by the previous owner honestly lmao.

But yea, the Z61 is fantastic for starting out seriously.

These were all with a modified 450D

[neat dust]

Same. Adjusted mine too. It needs a wear in checkup

when bought new

[gray scroll]

Wow these are amazing

I’ve never seen a double cluster image like that before

[trail frigate]

Hello Zenithstar 61ers, lovely photos you're all taking🔥. I am returning after more than a year of no astro! I'm wondering what to target, can't be too difficult because I've not done it for so long. I'm thinking of maybe doing North America Nebula or Heart/Soul Nebula depending on when the next clear night is

[polar linden]

Heart is nice with the z61 FOV

[gloomy stratus]

https://www.astrobin.com/h02t4q/D/?_ga=2.127450248.463483163.1728353724-1551878094.1717814869

here's my result earlier this year with it and my modded dslr

optolong l-enhance with rgb stars

[trail frigate]

Woo I'm happy with this result, 2hrs of integration in full moon, with the SV220 dual narrowband filter infront of a Canon T2i/550D. If anyone has any tips around the colour noise, especially on darker areas, I would much appreciate it. Cheers

[fierce creek]

Nice, I just rigged up my Z61 this weekend, I hope to have some nice images later in the week.

[limpid shore]

Hey guys, do you know an auto focus for the ZS61?

Or how to build one?

[lone glen]

I’m using the qhy focuser (precision version), works very well. I imagine that any electronic focuser out there will work with this scope. Also looked into the Primalucelab one, but that required me to buy an additional coupler to connect it to the scope, so skipped over that one

[limpid shore]

Thank you ☺️

[neat dust]

Eaf also works with the stock bracket. The hole spacing juuuust about is ok

Need a 1mm washers between focuser and bracket to space it out abit

[fierce creek]

I've had the ZWO EAF for a couple of years and it's a game changer, it has made my imaging so much easier and more efficient.

[gloomy stratus]

Definitely helped a lot with streamlining my imaging process

[limpid shore]

But the scope does not fit in that transport bag then, does it?

[fierce creek]

It does not fit in the bag... Once I assemble the scope, flattener, focuser, camera, guide scope, etc... It rarely comes apart. It seems every time I fiddle around with the rig there is always trouble shooting.

[gloomy stratus]

I hijacked a canon camera bag and it fit nicely in there with all of my equipment

barely, but it fit

[fierce creek]

I once used one of the Apache cases from Harbor Freight, but the rig evolved and eventually out grew it. I usually keep it mounted up in the dining room, ready to go at a moments notice. If it travel, I put it in a random plastic bin surrounded by some sort of padding.

[limpid shore]

hm... okay. I do travel a lot with my scope so I will see how to resolve this issue

[fierce creek]

Look into the Apache cases at HF.

[polar linden]

I have one of those

Solid case for the price

I need to get new foam insert though

[fierce creek]

NGC7000, ZS61, ASI2600MC-PRO, L-Ultima, 21.25 hours, Bortle 8.

[polar linden]

Looks like you could bring out those nice OIII blues a bit more, also the background has a slight blue tint. Looks like you got solid details tho!

[neat dust]

i was gonna say its flipped upside down, but saw hes from Australia

[fierce creek]

Too funny Stench.

[neat dust]

Ty. I rate the joke same level as brits banter about ”weather”

[fierce creek]

Love, Love, Love setting the clocks back.

[fierce creek]

NGC 7635 - Bubble Nebula, SH2-157 - Lobster Claw Nebula, NGC 7538 & M52

14 hours 45 minutes total integration from 5 minute subs / Z61 w/FF and L-Ultimate filter from Bortle 8. I wish I could get some more time, or from a darker location... Oh well.

[gray scroll]

did you use siril starnet?

[fierce creek]

I used Siril, but I had problems with starnet's platesolving....

[outer sentinel]

You can't platesolve an image without stars

[fierce creek]

M31 Andromeda Galaxy - 12.2 hours / bortle 8 / 3 minute exposures / ZS61 + FF / ASI2600MC-PRO / L-Pro / Siril / Gimp

[limpid shore]

How do you guys manage to keep the Stars small? This was taken with a ZWO 183 color

[polar linden]

BlurX and star reduction

[limpid shore]

...aight xD

[timber saffron]

will you guys accept me

z73 owner

[timber saffron]

its always tough with these scopes are they are only doublets, my best tips are use smaller exposure times, use starX to remove stars not starnet, and get your data blurXed asap

[limpid shore]

Hm… then I shall try that. Thank you ☺️

[polar linden]

Thought bro was tryna sell it

[timber saffron]

#1299822899376554074

[fallen parrot]

Taken with a Sony A7iii and ZS61ii on bortle 2 skies. Waiting for my new ASI533mm Pro to arrive so I can start doing SHO with the ZS from my light polluted backyard

The JXL attached is an HDR version, I tried to make the core not blow up in the SDR (png) version but it just looks much better in HDR. Sadly Discord doesn't support jxl nor HDR

[fallen parrot]

oh and this is 9 min 40 sec total, couldn't have much time, really looking forward on traveling again to get at least an hour or more on this target

[limpid shore]

Hey guys, when the dew cap has become kinde loose how can I fix that?

[lone glen]

Oh my, it’s been very quiet here. I also posted this in the ‘ask a nerd’ channel, but anyone that can enlighten me on backfocus with the flat61A, using a filter drawer (21mm)+astrocam (17.5mm)?

[neat dust]

adjust the flattener to 12.9mm. Then add 16.5mm spacer, filter drawer and then astrocam

basicly when the flattener is adjusted out the specified ammount, it has 55mm of backfocus left to fill with stuff

[lone glen]

At 12.9 I had it for my DSLR, which worked well. Now I’ve got it at 8.4mm (+21 mm filter drawer + 21mm spacer +17.5 mm astrocam), which seems to work

[meager spear]

Where would yall recommend putting an ASI AIR? scope or someplace else?

[trail frigate]

Attach to dovetail maybe