FLUOROSTAR 120 F/6.5 APO TRIPLET

I picked up the FTL 120mm from Testar a few weeks ago and have only had one chance to try it out photographically. First impressions are quite good. It is well built and finished. It feels a bit heavier than I expected but the EQ6-R-Pro handles it well. I did have to invest in a pier extension for astrophotography (it was borderline with the camera and flattener attached without a pier). Visually, daytime objects appear sharp and very contrasty. There is a small bit of CA present on high contract objects (roof line or branch against a white sky) but its minimal and you have to look for it. I managed to get one image from it of the Trifid nebula, only 40 minutes and taken in a stiff breeze with passing clouds (attached). The focuser needed a bit of adjustment out of the box (a lit loose) but nothing an allen key couldn't remedy on the adjustment screws. There is a bit of image shift at high powers on moving the focus point but this should adjust out by playing with the tension screws. Attaching an EAF was straight forward and it worked first time in use under the stars. Combined with the 68III flattener, the field looks flat to the edge and virtually no vignetting present with a 2600 MC Pro camera chip. Looking forward to the next new moon to fully test it out.

FLUOROSTAR 120 F/6.5 APO TRIPLET William Optics quality refractor optics are very sharp and a top quality focuser very happy with the refractor not to heavy for my losmandy G11 mount
I have looked at the planets Jupiter and Saturn 150 x could easily see the band clouds on Jupiter and the rings around Satern easily seen very sharp and clear using this refractor mostly for imaging i have taken NGC2070 Narrow Band which i will post on here. the refractor is top notch for Astrophotography taken with x0.8 Flattener 7. Perth Hills.
Martin Williams

Out of the box, or 'soft' case, the Fluorostar 120 is a very impressive bit of kit. Tube rings and dovetail are beautifully machined with all sorts of accessory attachment points. Loosen the knobs a little on the tube rings and the scope slides smoothly to adjust balance. The finish on the scope is a lovely matt pearl white - not sure if it's powder coated, but it's a huge step up from the usual Chinese ED scopes. The long dew cap slides smoothly out and can be locked in place with a nylon tipped screw. If I was really, really picky, I could say that the dew cap does droop just a mm or two when fully extended - but that's nitpicking. Focusser is very, very impressive with the rotolock, 90mm of travel and the ability to rotate either the whole focus unit including the knobs, or just the draw tube. Either rotate smoothly with no play - ideal for adjusting either camera angle or diagonal position. The fine focus also works very nicely. Travel is smooth although not completely uniform in tension on my scope - again, I'm being very picky as it does not affect the focusing at all. I've only been photographing with a DSLR and the focusser has been holding that without problem or effort. In the past I have found EQ mounts to be an absolute PITA for visual, but having the ability to easily rotate either the draw tube or the entire focusser has taken the pain out of it.

First light was late afternoon after I had put it on the AZEQ6 and aimed it out the observatory door at a distant transmitter mast. I was surprised at how neutral, flat and free of fringing it was, so much so that I immediately grabbed the 7mm Delite and had without doubt the cleanest daytime view I'd ever seen. The atmosphere must have been very steady at that time. Venus was the first night time target, and with the 7mm, the best view of Venus I've seen. Just the barest hint of yellow on the edge - and I can't say that wasn't my glasses or eyepiece. No color at all on Jupiter's outline or the edge of the Moon. Nor have I seen any CA in the photos I've taken with the DSLR.

I have been suitably impressed with the optics both visually and for AP. I was hoping that a nice Apo Triplet would give me a nice color-free image and not show signs of falling apart under 100-plus magnification. The 120mm is actually better than I'd hoped it would be - just when I think, nah, this will be too much power for the current seeing, it surprises me by wanting a little more. Star images are tight, pinpoints with uniform and perfectly circular airy discs - not identical either side of focus, but from my understanding, they are very good.

The 2" ES 34mm (68) gave a much more impressive and flatter view than I was expecting - another 'wow' moment. As was an older 9mm Vixen lanthium eyepiece when I popped that in for a look at Jupiter - best I've ever seen through it.

It's very compact for a 120mm with the focus racked in and dewshield retracted. It feels very solid and relatively heavy for its size. With a small guide scope and red dot finder, my two 5kg weights are around an inch from the end of the counterweight bar. The case is well padded and compact and should be excellent for transporting to the occasional star party.

In the flesh, this scope did not disappoint and looking through it, is even better than looking at it! I'm looking forward to many dark nights spent with it.

The photo of M42 is 5 x 30 second un-guided exposures under a full moon. Comet Leonard was photographed in a twilight sky (30s exposures) and Tuc 47 also under a full moon.