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Turn your Meade Advanced Coma Free (ACF) telescope into an astrophotographer with outstanding performance with the Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer. By reducing the effective focal length of the telescope by a factor of 0.68, and the associated "acceleration" of the aperture ratio, the reducer shortens the long exposure times normally required to produce high-resolution images of faint deep sky objects. In addition, the reduction in focal length provides a wider field of view, allowing larger objects to be captured in a single image.
In short, the 0.68x Focal Reducer increases the versatility and efficiency of your ACF telescope for astrophotography, allowing you to capture more astrophotos per shooting session. For imaging bright objects such as planets and the Moon, the ACFs deliver stunning images with their long focal lengths and f/8 or f/10 aperture ratio. For this type of photography, you need the high magnification that a long focal length provides. Even with fainter deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae, the coma-free optics of the ACFs can deliver very beautiful images with sufficient exposure time.
However, longer exposure times require precise tracking and control and are therefore more susceptible to disruptive factors such as wind, veil clouds and, nowadays, satellite streaks that run straight across the image... Apart from that, it is tedious to collect enough long exposures under such conditions to obtain a decent overall image.
By installing the Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer between your ACF telescope and your DSLR or a special astronomical CCD or CMOS camera, you can shorten the exposure time and increase your chances of getting sharp, error-free images. The Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer works with all models of f/10 and f/8 ACF telescopes. It turns an f/10 telescope into a faster f/6.8 system and an f/8 telescope into a nimble f/5.5 telescope. This reduction means a field of view that is almost 50% larger and a reduction in exposure time by more than half!
The four-lens Meade ACF 0.68x Focal Reducer provides full illumination of a 22mm diagonal sensor and nearly full illumination up to 28mm with only slight vignetting, which can be corrected with flats calibration. This makes it ideal for use with APS-C and smaller camera sensors. The reducer has a generous back focus of 105 mm, which provides plenty of space for accessories such as a filter wheel and/or an off-axis guider. The optics are broadband and fully multi-coated to ensure maximum light transmission for your camera.
