SKYWATCHER EVOLUX 62ED REFRACTOR

With a UV/IR cut filter in place, this scope gives massive blue halos around bright stars. No way is this an apochromatic scope, despite the description on Testar's site (which they have since changed). Testar reviewed my results, agreed it looked faulty, and offered to replace it. Then they spoke to Skywatcher Australia who told them this performance was "normal for this scope", so they decided a replacement wasn't going to work, and offered me a refund if I didn't want to keep the scope. Further testing shows the scope works OK with narrow band or UHC filter, or anything that cuts the far end of the blue spectrum. I got it at a great Black Friday price (basically half price), and for that price plus the cost of a basic UHC filter it is maybe just about worth the money, so I will keep it. At full price, it would be terrible value for money. If blue halos are normal, Skywatcher should be providing filters for free with this scope.

This is first refractor telescope for astrophotography I am using. I was amazed how significant improvement it is over Samyang 135mm F2 lens. The focusing mechanism is good, much easier to use than I expected.
I didn't purchase field flattener. It seems that you need it because at the edges there are visible distortions, but for me for start isn't a big problem. Probably the next purchase will be field flattener.