Experience and recording with Sharpstar 50EDPH 50mm f/5.5 Triplet Apo

Dear telescope specialists!

Here's a short review of my new Sharpstar 50 EDPH with the matching 0.84 reducer. The small APO is a very nice addition to my ToupTek 1" camera with the IMX533 sensor. Together, they create a field of view that allows for beautifully filling the frame with larger objects like the North American Nebula or the cirrus in Cygnus. Since it's January, I've only taken a few test shots in this direction so far. But I'm really looking forward to when the Cygnus is higher up again.

I'm very satisfied with the optics. The stars are small and sharp, even at the edges of the image, and I'm also completely satisfied with the details and colors. The focuser with its gear ratio runs smoothly, and when the telescope has cooled down well, it also keeps me in focus very well. The built-in rotator fully serves its purpose. Therefore, I can say that I'm really happy with the telescope itself.

But... the Sharpstar engineers didn't cover themselves in glory with the mounting. There are only two small and short screws that connect the dovetail bar to the APO. The second time I mounted the APO on my mount, these screws were loose.

The good news is: Sharpstar has made improvements. There's an upgrade: a thicker tube clamp that you mount additionally around the telescope. You then screw the dovetail bar and finder shoe to it, but this time with longer screws. Since the upgrade, nothing has wobbled for me. You should definitely do this!

Generally, the dovetail bar is positioned very far forward, otherwise it would interfere with the rotator. With a camera like mine mounted at the back, the whole thing is quite tail-heavy. But I haven't had any problems with that so far.

You can also use the telescope for visual observation. I haven't really had a chance to try that yet, though.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with the Sharpstar 50EDPH. The optics are impressive, and I can easily deal with the mount's weaknesses.

Best regards, Helmut

The setup I used to take these photos is:
Sharpstar 50EDPH 50 mm f/5.5 Triplet Apo with Reducer
ToupTek 1" ATR3CMOS09000KPA (IMX533) - Color ATR533C
Optolong L-Pro Filter 2" CCD Nebula Filter
Skywatcher HEQ-5 Pro
Pixinsight and Photolab 7

The exposure times are a good 80 x 1 minute each.

Link to the Sharpstar 50EDPH:

https://www.teleskop-spezialisten.de/shop/advanced_search_result.php?categories_id=&inc_subcat=1&keywords=Sharpstar+50EDPH+