The FF65 is a Flatfield Astrograph with an aperture ratio of f/6.4 and a focal length of 416 mm.
Instead of the quadruplet construction of the other ZWO FF apochromats, the FF65 is a quintuplet with two ED lenses, which allows for excellent control of chromatic and other aberrations. With its self-levelling design, the FF65 offers great advantages for astrophotography. It has illumination for full-frame cameras and a fine spot diagram with only tiny distortions of the peripheral stars.
Optical design
Instead of purchasing additional flatteners, calculating the back focus of the flattener or setting the correct distance, you can simply equip this apochromat with various photographic accessories, keep the object in focus and the entire optical system is perfectly set up for shooting.
The FF65 comes with an extendable dew shield, a Vixen/GP finder shoe, a prism rail, tube clamps with handles and various camera adaptors (M48, M54, M68).
The respective back focus applies to these adaptors:
176 mm from M48x0.75 external thread
105 mm from M54x0.75 external thread
130 mm from M68x1 external thread
ZWO AM3 Equatorial Mount with Harmonic Drive Gears
With the Harmonic Equatorial Mount AM3, ZWO offers a transportable mount for astrophotography. The mount weighs less than 4 kg and carries telescopes up to 8 kg without counterweight. With counterweight and the counterweight rod (not included) the mount can even carry telescopes up to 13 kg. Several years of development and various patents have gone into this exciting mount.
Many functions and easy operation
The AM3 can be operated in equatorial or azimuth mode. For astrophotography, the equatorial mode is used. The mount must be aligned as accurately as possible with the celestial pole. For visual observing or lunar and planetary photography, the altazimuth mode is sufficient. The mount is then ready for use in a few minutes. The status indicator always shows in which mode the mount is: Red represents equatorial mode and green represents altazimuth mode.
No more counterweights needed
Normally, German equatorial mounts need counterweights to balance the telescope weight. This is the only way to ensure proper operation. The AM3 uses a harmonic drive from the robotics industry, it does not require counterweights up to a telescope weight of 8 kg. This makes the AM3 lighter, more compact and easier to operate. Only for heavier telescopes we recommend counterweights to keep mount and tripod in balance.
Smooth tracking is guaranteed
ZWO checks and measures every AM3 mount before delivery and guarantees a periodic error ("PE") of less than +/-20 arc seconds. The periodic error occurs very slowly, so that the autoguider has enough time to correct it. Of course, the mount has an ST-4 autoguiding interface. Via ASIAir or other software the PE can also be reduced electronically.
Useable anywhere on Earth
As you would expect from a true travel mount, the AM3 can be used anywhere on Earth, from the equator to the poles. The mount has room in any flight baggage.
No more cables thanks to WiFi
All functions of the mount can be controlled via smartphone. Of course, the AM3 works especially well with ASIAir from ZWO. With ASIAIR, everything from the camera to autoguiding to the mount can be controlled via app using a smartphone or tablet. The mount can also be operated with the handbox without a smartphone. The handbox also works wirelessly, of course.
The tripod is an often overlooked part of a telescope system. But, if the tripod doesn't provide sufficient stability, this becomes obvious during observation. By choosing a high-quality tripod, the telescope’s capabilities and the joy of observing can be considerably improved.
This tripod's light weight and compact size make it the ideal travel companion. However, with a load capacity of 50kg, using it with large mounts and telescopes is no issue.
For improved stability you can use the supplied weight containers. Simply attach these to the tripod legs and fill them with sand or stones, for example.
