Telescopes

$400 telescope shootoff

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

In a head-to-head battle of entry-level astrographs, the $400 telescope shootoff between the precision-crafted Askar 80ED and the flat-field Svbony SV503 reveals how thoughtful upgrades and filter choices can dramatically affect astrophotography results.

Let’s be honest - astrophotography isn’t exactly known as a “cheap” hobby. But for a lot of folks, especially those just getting started, there's a hard limit on what they can spend. Maybe it’s $400. That’s it. That’s the telescope budget. And in a world where eyepieces can cost that much alone, you’ve got to make it count.

Luckily, we’re living in a golden age of affordable gear. Two telescopes have risen to the top of the “serious-but-budget” list: the Askar 80ED and the Svbony SV503 80ED. Both offer real ED glass, decent focusers, and enough aperture to do some legitimate deep-sky work. But they take different paths to get there - one aims for modular flexibility, the other tries to give you more out of the box.

This isn’t a spec sheet shootout. It’s a real-world look at what you get when you’ve saved up, scraped together a few bucks, and now need to make a single decision that could shape your entire experience with the night sky. Let’s see which scope delivers the most stardust per dollar.

Both telescopes are designed to attract beginners while packing enough features to keep more experienced users engaged. Each features 80mm of aperture, uses ED glass to reduce chromatic aberration, and supports astrophotography workflows with robust rack-and-pinion focusers. However, their approaches diverge: the Askar 80ED leans into upgradability and modularity with a clean OTA-only design, while Svbony’s SV503 80ED includes a more complete visual package out of the box.

$400 telescope shootoff: Askar 80ED vs Svbony SV503 80ED

Despite the similar optical specs, the experience of using each telescope differs notably depending on the application, especially once a camera is added to the mix.

For purely visual observers, both scopes can perform well under dark skies. Lunar details, bright star clusters, and open nebulae are within reach of an 80mm refractor. However, buyers should be aware that these telescopes do not ship with essential accessories like diagonals or eyepieces. Adding a 2" mirror diagonal and at least one quality eyepiece is a must, easily adding another $150-$200 to your setup cost unless you already have them on hand.

The Svbony SV503 includes a dual-speed 2" rack-and-pinion focuser with a 1:10 fine adjustment knob and a built-in 1.25" adapter. It has a retractable dew shield with a locking thumbscrew and CNC-machined tube with textured paint for a premium feel. The visual back is easy to use with compression rings, and the scope rotates 360° for comfortable eyepiece orientation.

Askar’s 80ED offers a similarly excellent dual-speed focuser and ships with a reversible (but not retractable) dew shield, tube rings, and a Vixen-style dovetail. It also includes a 360° rotator and M54 to 2” adapter. While the Askar OTA is slightly lighter at just 4.4 pounds, it feels just as robust.

Both scopes offer finder shoe mounts, dual finderbases for the Askar and threaded mounting holes for the Svbony. Only the Askar includes a carrying handle, though Svbony sells an aftermarket one.

For astrophotographers, the mechanics and optical train compatibility matter just as much as the glass. Backfocus spacing was a major consideration with both models. The Askar required about 75 mm of total backspacing with the visual back in place and its focuser nearly fully extended. The Svbony surprised with even more distance required: about 82.5 mm total to reach focus with a camera.

This long spacing is not inherently bad, in fact, it allows plenty of room for filter drawers, off-axis guiders, or rotators, but it means buyers must account for that in their accessory planning. A basic DSLR or astronomy camera will need additional spacers or a 2” nosepiece to make up the distance.

Askar's dedicated accessories (1.0x flattener, 0.85x reducer, and 0.7x reducer) are all triplet designs with one ED element and maintain a 55 mm backfocus distance. Svbony offers a 0.8x reducer/flattener separately for its scope, priced under $100.

Threaded connections on both scopes are serviceable. Svbony ends in M54x0.75 female threads, which can be adapted using standard astronomy spacers. Askar’s native thread is non-standard (approx. 58 mm), so users often rely on the included M54 adapter or use the dedicated flatteners.

Image quality and aberration control

Broadband imaging reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each telescope. Askar’s 80ED, when used without a flattener, shows field curvature and aberrant star shapes near the corners, especially with APS-C sensors. Adding the 1.0x flattener dramatically improves star sharpness and eliminates distortion across most of the frame. However, some corner stars still show asymmetrical halos, a minor issue for many users.

Svbony’s SV503 80ED, in contrast, offers a flatter field by default but suffers from significant purple fringing on bright stars when used with broadband filters. The fringing is due to its use of FPL-51 glass in a doublet design. While this isn’t unique to Svbony, it does affect color balance and star sharpness in white-light imaging.

Where the Svbony shines is in narrowband use. Paired with a dual narrowband filter, the purple fringing disappears completely, and the field remains impressively flat across APS-C sensors. This makes it a compelling option for emission nebulae under light-polluted skies.

Stacked three-minute exposures taken with both scopes revealed the Askar 80ED’s superior color accuracy and slightly finer detail. However, the Svbony was not far behind, and when processed carefully, its results were nearly indistinguishable in narrowband imaging.

Using tools like BlurXterminator, both scopes’ images could be improved, but with tradeoffs. In the case of the Svbony, trying to remove purple halos sometimes led to unnatural greenish tints or oversharpened star edges. With the Askar, star deformation from the optical design was sometimes accentuated, though easier to correct selectively.

The takeaway is that while software tools can help, high-quality optics and matched accessories still matter. The Askar 80ED requires a flattener to perform optimally, while the Svbony demands narrowband filters to hide its chromatic issues.

For imaging with a DSLR or color astro camera and mostly broadband imaging, the Askar 80ED is the stronger choice, especially when paired with a 1.0x flattener.
For narrowband imaging or budget-conscious buyers who already own filters, the Svbony SV503 80ED is an outstanding value with impressive flat-field performance.
For visual use, both perform well with quality eyepieces, but the Askar’s build quality and finder mounting options offer more versatility.

The $400 telescope shootoff between these two models highlights how each takes a different path to serve budget-conscious stargazers, one with upgrade-focused modularity, the other with generous optics and aggressive pricing.

Askar 80ED specifications

Aperture: 80 mm
Focal Length: 560 mm
Focal Ratio: f/7
Optical Design: ED Doublet (includes one ED element)
Glass Type: ED (unspecified, likely FPL-51 or similar)
Weight: 4.4 lbs (2 kg)
Focuser: Dual-speed rack and pinion (1:10 microfocus)
Dew Shield: Reversible, not retractable
Accessories Included: Tube rings, Vixen dovetail, M54 to 2" adapter, dual finderbases, rotator
Optional Accessories:
1x Flattener - $189
0.85x Reducer - $189
0.7x Reducer - $189
Native Threading: ~58 mm (non-standard), uses included adapter
Price (OTA only): $399.00
Price with Flattener: $588.00