Explore Scientific FCD100 ED APO Refractor

HOYA FCD100 is an extra-low dispersion glass that significantly reduces chromatic aberration, which is the color fringing you often see around bright stars or the moon. By bringing different wavelengths of light into a tighter focus, it ensures your images are sharper and more color-accurate.

The carbon fiber construction is primarily functional. It is significantly lighter than traditional steel or aluminum, making the telescope much easier to transport to dark-sky sites, and it offers better thermal stability, meaning the tube expands and contracts less as temperatures change during the night.

Yes, the 2.5-inch dual-speed hexagonal focuser is designed specifically to handle the weight of modern cameras without slipping. However, you will still need to purchase a field flattener or reducer separately to ensure your stars remain sharp across the entire frame of your camera sensor.

The hexagonal shape provides a larger surface area for the drawtube to grip, which offers greater rigidity and prevents the focuser from sagging under the weight of heavy imaging equipment. This design is generally more stable and precise than standard round focusers when you are locking in focus for long-exposure photography.

It is excellent for both. While it is highly capable for astrophotography, the air-spaced triplet design provides high-contrast, crisp views that make it a fantastic instrument for visual astronomy, particularly for observing lunar craters, planetary details, and bright deep-sky objects.

Because this telescope weighs 12 pounds and has a focal length of 952mm, you will need a sturdy equatorial or alt-azimuth mount with a payload capacity of at least 20 pounds to ensure stability. Using a mount that is too light will result in vibrations that make focusing and tracking difficult.